recipe

Lime chiffon cake with lime curd and coconut custard *

Lime chiffon cake

It was Alastair’s birthday yesterday, and as per tradition, there was birthday lasagne.

Naturally, it’s not a real birthday unless there’s cake, so I asked him what he wanted.

“Chocolate?”

“What kind of chocolate? Chiffon? Mudcake? Flourless?”

“Ahh… how about chocolate beetroot?”

During the conversation, I agreed to chocolate beetroot and then later… totally disregarded his request. However, in my defense – actually, I have no defense. I just wanted to bake another chiffon cake. I don’t know why I bothered asking for his opinion.

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Pear and maple syrup cake

Pear and maple syrup cake

Is there anyone out there who actually loves pears?

I always think of them as a very boring fruit. There’s a tiny window of ripeness where I think they’re okay, but they go soft and mushy so quickly.

I’ve been ordering fruit and veg boxes occasionally, and apart from the dreaded parsley (a bunch showed up in my last box) I’ve also been receiving pears.

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Bread Machine Butter Bread *

Sandwich

Who owns a bread machine? Hands up please.

Who owns a bread machine that languishes in a cupboard, never used? Keep your hands up.

That was me, until recently. My bread machine sat in the bottom of my pantry for – I kid you not – at least five years, unused.

If you own a bread machine, you may know this story. I stopped using mine because it made terrible bread. Really terrible bread.

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Fig Clafoutis

Fig clafoutis

Fresh fig season is the best season (apart from summer, but we’re not counting that).

I’m really lucky that my friend’s mum has a large fig tree, and I’ve been reaping the bounty of their harvests.

That’s right – free figs all for meeeee. Alastair doesn’t really eat them, so I’ve been scoffing them down like crazy.

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Chocolate brownies

Brownies

These brownies came about due to op shopping.

There’s an op shop near my workplace that I pop into occasionally to look for photography props. Most of the time I come out empty handed but sometimes I get something good.

On my last visit, I found something great – a large French crystal cake stand. For the huge sum of $5. Wheeee.

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Cold brew coffee

Coffee

Hey, it’s summer.

And surprise! It’s hot! Well, it’s not that hot *today* but it was stupidly hot last week, and we have another bout of 40°C weather coming up early next week.

What to do when it’s already 30°C at 7am and getting a bit too warm for coffee?

Never fear coffee addicts, there’s always cold brew.

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Roast goat leg with chimichurri

Roast goat leg with chimichurri

So peas are the most evil vegetable in existence (and if you don’t think so, you are wrong). As I said in an IG comment this week: peas hide under your bed so they can murder you in your sleep and they kick puppies for sport.

It’s true.

And if peas are the most evil of evil, then parsley is the evil understudy.

Really, what do people *do* with parsley apart from pushing it to the side of their plate and trying to ignore it?

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Chocolate chiffon cake *

Chocolate chiffon cake

I’ve said it before, but it was a whole month ago, so it’s time to say it again:

Chiffon cakes are the best cakes.

And this particular chiffon cake is pretty damn good. Look at how tall and beautiful it is! It’s not just pretty though, it’s also delicious.

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