Best of 2012

best of 2012

2012 was a very interesting year. It was without a doubt one of the busiest and most challenging (both professionally and personally) but I feel like I’ve grown and learned a lot. One of the biggest moments for me was being promoted to Senior Designer at my day job mid-year, which had me facing all sorts of new pressures while trying to balance freelance work, a social life, this blog, and my other design blog that launched in March as well. Not always easy!

Spicyicecream celebrated its 5th birthday in July, and even after all this time I still love coming here and sharing crazy sweet recipes with you guys, even if the the posting was a little less frequent! Here’s a small roundup of my favourite recipes of 2012…

1) The first recipe of the year was also one of my favourites. This Mixed Berry Cobbler started as a way to use up some leftover berries and ended up more delicious than I could have imagined! It was also featured in Girlfriend magazine!

2) My doughnut obsession continued in 2012, and these cute Lamington Doughnuts were the perfect way to celebrate Australia Day.

3) This Boozy Lemonade was one of the most popular posts of the year, and for good reason! Spiked with vodka, whiskey and Cointreau, this lemonade is sweet, refreshing and definitely has a kick. Perfect for summer.

4) I made my sister this cute purple Chocolate Ombre Cake for her birthday. Ombre was definitely one of the biggest trends of the year in everything from baking to craft to fashion. I also made a little video showing how I decorated the cake. More videos are definitely on the agenda for 2013!

best of 2012

5 & 6) I also developed an obsession with Cake Batter flavour this year, experimenting with it in Cake Batter Marshmallows for my birthday and also Cake Batter Ice Cream Sandwiches later in the year as a guest post on Raspberri Cupcakes. Sprinkles are definitely not optional where cake batter is involved!

7) My favourite ice cream flavour of the year was definitely the Cinnamon Doughnut Ice Cream I made as part of my blog’s 5th birthday celebrations. Inspired by Ms G’s restaurant in Potts Point, this ice cream totally captures the doughnut flavour in ice cream form!

8) Oh man I love this Berry and Moscato Trifle so much! I made it again for Christmas lunch this week and it disappeared so quickly. Put it on the list for next festive season!

best of 2012

And this post wouldn’t be complete without the best restaurant meals I’ve eaten this year! I made a decision this year to only share the best restaurant experiences I had, and these were my favourites.

1) Next time you’re in Melbourne, you must check out the Newmarket Hotel in St Kilda. The Mexican/Latin trend has been huge in the last few years, and I think it’s far from over yet. But Newmarket nails it better than many other places I’ve visited. Try the Grilled Buffalo Milk Haloumi and the St Louis style pork ribs and don’t forget to leave room for dessert!

2) Also in Melbourne is my favourite breakfast spot, Hardware Societe. Whimsical decor, great coffee, tea cozies and that fried brioche that is adapted to feature different flavours and seasonal fruits. I totally had breakfast envy that day!

3) My two best girlfriends took me out for lunch on my birthday to Orto Trading Co in Surry Hills and spoiled me rotten! Fantastic espresso martinis, very generous servings and mmm those waffles, not to mention the best company in the world!

4) And lastly, a recent visit to our new venue Sweethearts BBQ exceeded all expectations. A rooftop BBQ in Kings Cross, with some cracker dishes like this Grilled Watermelon with Feta and Mint. Also on the menu are fall-apart-tender lamb ribs, sirloin steak with bone marrow butter and house made choc tops. It’s already one of my favourite places to be this summer!

I also want to say thankyou, always to all of my lovely readers who visit me here. I hope you all have a wonderful 2013 and looking forward to seeing you back again soon!

Lisa xxx

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