Chocolate Dipped

I've already mentioned that I'm a big fan of chocolate that incorporates fruit to trick your mind into thinking you're eating something healthy. These chocolate dipped orange peels are the perfect balance of good vs bad. Just cut the flesh away from the orange peel in quarters and make sure to remove the white pith which is the bitter part. Boil the peel slices for 10 minutes in 1 cup of water and 1 cup of caster sugar and lay them out to dry overnight on a wire rack. Once dry, dip one end of the peel in melted chocolate and leave to set. These are the perfect bite size nibbles to serve as something different with cocktails or after dinner with an expresso.

Whipped

It seems the majority of my cakes, cupcakes, cookies, slices, whatever are always chocolate based. This is mainly due to the fact that Husband and I are chocoholics not-so-anonymous, but also because chocolate based baking is usually so foolproof. I decided to venture outside of my chocolate box and make the Hummingbird Bakery's Coconut Meringue Cake. This recipe was (a lot) more complicated than the easy ones I usually attempt to make and of course i cheated quite a bit- I used desiccated coconut rather than fresh and I made the cake only two layers instead of three. There was a lot of mess involved and more bowls required than I care to wash up but it all turned out ok in the end. The whipped meringue icing means the cake is quite rich but not in a sickening way. I thought I had done a pretty decent job of it until I offered Husband a slice and he responded with........ "Wheres the chocolate?".

Brunch With Bill

I had a brunch date with a friend last week so we visited Bill's in Darlinghurst. The inconspicuous corner cafe is Bill Granger's original eatery and its the perfect place for a coffee and Bill's famous scrambled eggs or freshly baked muffins and cakes. The food is simple yet amazing and the relaxed dining room has that quintessential laid-back feeling that you only get in Sydney. The Darlinghurst venue only does breakfast and lunch so it's a great option for a mid-week catchup with friends. You must order the ricotta hotcakes with honeycomb butter. Too good to describe.

A Loaf Less Ordinary

I like to believe that anything with more than one type of fruit in it is super healthy and counts towards my five-a-day. Blueberries automatically seem to make everything a bit more interesting when it comes to baking and they definitely made a nice change when added to a regular banana loaf. I found this recipe for a banana & blueberry loaf that is not only delicious but low-fat as well. I used greek yoghurt instead of the apple puree and added a splash of vanilla extract to bring out the banana flavour. This is the type of simple recipe that is easy to substitute with whatever you have at home, like raspberries, strawberries or apple. Perfect mid-morning sugar fix.

Cheesecake Bake

I've been craving honeycomb cheesecake since I had it for dessert at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago but have failed to find a recipe that looked good enough to make myself. I gave up on the honeycomb and opted for lemon instead with this recipe. I added ginger biscuits to the base as well and it went really well with the lemon filling. You do need to have a bit of patience with a cheesecake as it should be eaten cold after refrigerating overnight, needless to say I couldn't wait that long and ate some straight out of the oven!

Dinner, Drinks & Drinks

With Husband & I's impending move to the southern hemisphere, it occurred to us that we'll be unable to take our rather well stocked bar that we have accumulated over the years with us. So with the slightly nauseating thought of having to get through over 20 bottles of alcohol on our own we had a few people over on the weekend to help us make a dent in it. Needless to say Husband took the chance to slow roast as much meat as possible and I forced copious amounts of cheese and cake onto our poor unsuspecting guests. Topped off with a magnum of champagne, ginger ale cocktails and shameful Glee karaoke, there were a few sore heads in the morning. I'm definitely going to miss entertaining in our cosy little flat!

French Sojourn

Is there anything better than a long weekend in Paris? Well, there is, but a weekend in Paris is still high up on my list. I took the chance in autumn to pop over to meet Husband while he was on a work trip & we managed to fit in a few days of eating, drinking, walking the streets & eating some more. Coming from a country where you have to fly for at least 4 hours to get anywhere, I think the UK takes for granted how amazing it is to be able to just hop on a train and then end up in another country a little while later. These are a few pictures of the wonderful food, sights and surroundings from the City of Light.