Spicyicecream

Perama, Petersham

Mixed Dips – Tzatziki, Tarama, Split Pea, Olive Paste and Smoked Eggplant served with Pacimadia seasoned with sesame seeds and oregano, Mixed Pickles – Cabbage, Mushroom and Octopus, BBQ Marinated Artichokes

Brace yourselves. It could only be described as a feast of epic proportions. I lost count of just how many dishes we went through at the Tweetup dinner at Perama Restaurant in Petersham, but I think the official figure was about thirty-five. Head Chef David Tsirekas fed us until we were full to bursting with his banquet menu and other dishes, and all the wine we could manage, all for an unbelievable $50 per person. I was a little unfamiliar with Greek food but I can now say that I am converted.

Greek Salad – Dressed with Cretan Minos Olive Oil, Deep Fried Haloumi

This Greek Salad was far and away the best I’ve ever had, with a generous slab of creamy fetta. I also loved the deep-fried haloumi, and I had quite a few of these. The texture is so unique and lends well to being fried.

BBQ Haloumi Cheese – Char-grilled Cypriot haloumi cheese served with chopped tomato, olive paste and honey peppered figs, Graviera Crumbed Halloumi– Crumbed Haloumi and green tomato served with frisee leaf, capers, pomegranate seeds and pomegranate vinaigrette, Hand Rolled Spinach Filo Pie

More haloumi, a real treat as I love it. The honey peppered figs were absolutely beautiful and this was one of the dishes I liked best. The filo pie with spinach was also delicious with amazingly crispy and perfectly cooked filo pastry and a tasty filling. I didn’t get to try the Manouri salad but it’s one of the things I’m most looking forward to about going back to Perama. Yes, you heard right, even after this onslaught of food, we are definitely planning a return visit.

Filo Pastries – Danish White and Ricotta cheese, shredded lamb and white bean, rabbit stifatho and scallop and prawn. Sheftalies (Pork Sausage) & Chilli Mussels

Vine Dolmathes, Giouvesti Goat

An interesting addition to the banquet was the Giouvesti Goat, an experiment that David did in raising a goat for 3 months fed on beer and chestnuts, based on the same principle of raising Kobe Beef. Steph and I began referring to it as the ‘Magical Goat’ (“would you like some more Magical Goat?”). I had only tried goat meat once before and this was completely different and so much better. It was a delicious dish, a real treat to get to taste the end result of such an interesting experiment!

Hand Rolled Pumpkin Filo Pie – Baked hand rolled filo and pumpkin pie served with a roasted beetroot, leek and mustard puree, Zucchini Fritters, Bean Salad

Rustic Chips with Ouzo Mayonnaise, Fried Calamari – Calamari served with ouzo garlic mayonnaise, Pork Belly Baklava – Layers of flaky filo pastry, pork belly meat, date and pistachios,  topped with crispy crackling and served with a date and mastic sauce

The chips were quite nice but I was a little undecided about the ouzo mayonnaise. In theory it sounds fantastic but personally I am not much of a fan of aniseed or Ouzo so I think the others may have enjoyed it more than I did. The pork belly baklava however was a masterpiece with so many flavours and textures working together in harmony.

Lamb Skaras – Slow braised lamb shoulder with oregano, olive oil, wine and garlic, served with baked oregano lemon potatoes and string beans, Roast Duck with cumin spiced quince and served with wilted greens, Lamb Kleftiko (Casserole)

I really loved the Lamb Skaras, and even though I was getting pretty full by this point I kept coming back for more and more of this delicious slow cooked lamb. The roast duck was lovely with the quince, but may have been just slightly overcooked. I didn’t get to try the Lamb casserole, but it was presented to us in a lovely way, the waiter cut open the paper at the table and told us a little story about how the Greeks used to cook this dish during the War of Independence.

Caramel Baklava Ice Cream, Mandarin Bougatsa, Ekmek, Kalamata Baklava

And finally, it was time for dessert! The caramel baklava layered between creamy vanilla ice cream was delicious, and went perfectly with the mandarin bougatsa, which had a lovely custard and mandarin segments inside the pastry, and this dish was one of my favourites from the night. I didn’t get a photo of the olive oil ice cream but that was also a surprise highlight and I am looking forward to trying to replicate this recipe at home with some good quality olive oil. The Kalamata Baklava and kalamata mascarpone ice cream did indeed have olives in them. I was a little undecided about this dish, though if you like your olives I think it’s safe to say you’ll love this one.

Another delicious dessert was the Ekmek, which was brioche soaked in syrup and served with cream. Steph loved it so much she went home and made her own version! There was also a nice rhubarb rice pudding and poached pears in red wine syrup that I didn’t manage to snap photos of on the night.

It was a great night with an awful lot of amazing food for an unbeatable price. I would definitely come back for more, but next time I think I’ll skip lunch beforehand.

Steamed Gingerbread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

I am a little late with posting my monthly Tartine Cookbook post, but I couldn’t pass this up because it’s such a wonderful sounding dessert that I just had to try. June’s recipe was the Steamed Gingerbread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce, which I picked because it sounded perfect for winter. It was dense yet moist, spicy enough to be intriguing but not overpowering, and would make a wonderful addition to your Christmas in July dinner party!

I made a few modifications to this recipe, substituting golden syrup for most of the treacle (blackstrap molasses) called for, because it’s such a dark smoky taste and I didn’t want it to completely overpower the other flavours in the pudding. I added a couple of tablespoons for a more subtle flavour. I also decided to make an actual bourbon sauce instead of a hard sauce because it was what I was in the mood for at the time – warm spiced pudding, melty ice cream and hot boozy bourbon sauce on top. Using basically the same ingredients as the recipe called for, I just whisked them together over low heat until the butter melted and then added some cream at the end to round out the flavour.

I really liked this dessert, and it was definitely a winner with my trusty taste testers. I can’t seem to get enough of warm puddings these days and it really hit the spot on a cold wintery night. And if you’re in the mood for something summery, go and check out Mark’s blog to see his gorgeous Summer Fruit Bavarian that has me pining for the warmer months!

Steamed Gingerbread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce
Recipe adapted from the Tartine Bakery Cookbook
Yields 6-8 small cakes or loaves

Gingerbread
• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 5-6 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
• ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons hot water
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup golden syrup
• 3 tablespoons treacle (blackstrap molasses)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs

Bourbon Sauce
• 115g butter, room temperature
• 1 cup icing sugar
• ½ cup bourbon
• Pinch salt
• 3 tablespoons cream

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (325°F) and butter the bottom and sides of 6-8 ceramic ramekins or small loaf pans.
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and pepper into a mixing bowl.
3. Place the ginger in a blender, add enough of the hot water to cover and process until smooth. Pour into a large mixing bowl. Pour the rest of the hot water into the blender to dislodge any remaining ginger and add to the bowl. Add the sugar, oil, molasses and salt to the ginger and beat on medium speed until well mixed.
4. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until moistened, then switch to high speed for about 1 minute until the mixture is perfectly smooth.
5. Add the eggs and beat on medium speed until the incorporated. The batter will be very thin. Pour into prepared ramekins or loaf tins, dividing it evenly. Bake for about 45 minutes – 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center.
6. To make the sauce, whisk the butter, sifted icing sugar, bourbon and salt in a saucepan over medium heat until the butter is melted and the alcohol has evaporated. Add the cream and stir to combine.
7. When the cakes are ready, let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream and the bourbon sauce. Cakes will keep well wrapped in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Ripples, Sydney Wharf

I was very excited when Prue from The Mint Partners invited a group of food bloggers out to the brand new Ripples on beautiful Sydney Wharf, the newest addition to the Aqua Dining group under Head Chef Richard Park. It was a cold and drizzly night, but that didn’t dampen our spirits as we set out for Pyrmont. Located just across from Star City Casino, and the view of the city skyline was beautiful. It was also a chance to enjoy a unique ‘Chef’s Table’ style of dining I had only read about but never before experienced. I was looking forward to being close to the action, to get a glimpse into the workings of a professional kitchen during dinner service.

We started with some crusty French epi bread with anchovy butter, a lovely fresh tasting pesto butter, olive tapenade, onion marmalade, pickled prunes and the most amazing duck liver parfait with a tangy layer of cranberry jelly. I had to keep reminding myself that there was much more food to come, and not to keep shovelling the lovely parfait onto the fresh crunchy bread!

Spring Bay Scallop with Fennel Salad

For entrée a few of us picked the Twice Baked Goats Cheese Soufflé with Onion and Thyme Soubise. It was perfectly cooked, with a lovely light texture and is wonderfully cheesy.

Oysters were also a popular choice, served either warm with leek fondue and goats cheese sauce, or with a mignonette dressing.

For main course, I had the Duck Leg Confit, served with red cabbage, frisee salad, hazelnuts and a tangy seeded mustard dressing. It was a beautiful dish, the flavours went wonderfully together and I loved every bite.

Pan-Seared Kingfish, Gnocchi Parisian with Olives, Braised Fennel & Baby Eggplant

The Signature Bouillabaisse was a seafood extravaganza served with garlic bread and rouille. I tried a little of Lorraine’s and though I don’t usually go for seafood, it was great.

Ripples Famous Fish & Chips, Homemade Tartare Sauce & Lemon

Billy’s Six Hour Braised Lamb Breast was a dish I had my eye on and almost ordered. It was served with petits peas and green olive salsa, and was so wonderfully tender. I would love to try this all to myself next time!

Lyonnaise Potatoes

Reem shared her Rabbit Fricassee with Mushroom, Lardons and Potato Dumplings which was the perfect dish for a wintery night. It was the first time I’d tried rabbit since I was little, and I quite liked the taste. It was a nicely balanced dish, cooked well and served beautifully.

And then after a lull in activity in the kitchen, the chefs busied themselves with preparations for dessert. The Grand Marnier Crème Caramel was intense in flavour, definitely one for Grand Marnier fans.

Chocolate Terrine with Pistachios and Raspberry Sorbet.

The Warm Chocolate & Hazelnut Pudding with Chocolate Ice Cream & Nut Toffee was another perfect dish on this rainy night. It was rich and deep, I loved the nut toffee.

Apple Tarte Tatin & Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

But the absolute hit of the night however, was the Leatherwood Honey & Goats Curd Parfait with Poached Quinces. Not only visually stunning, the flavours and textures of each component from the spicy gingerbread to the melt-in-your-mouth Persian fairy floss were so well balanced that you could take spoonful after spoonful without ever feeling like it was too sweet.

It was a fantastic night, a wonderful meal with some great friends. Thanks goes to Prue for being a wonderful host, Head Chef Richard Park and the team at Ripples for putting on an excellent dinner. Check out Lorraine’s, Billy’s, Jen’s, Helen’s, Melissa’s, and Reem’s blogs for their thoughts and photos from the night!

56 Pirrama Rd, Pyrmont
www.ripplescafe.com.au

Cocoa Nib Buckwheat Butter Cookies

After our lunch at the Counter Burger in Crows Nest, Steph and I wandered around enjoying the first sunny day in what felt like ages. She happened to know the area very well, having lived nearby in the past, and pointed out her favourite restaurants and the new shops that had popped up since her last visit. She showed me her favourite bakery, the bottle shop (where I had hoped in vain to find the Mr Riggs Sticky we had at Mumu, but picked up a bottle of Zen green tea liqueur instead), and Essential Ingredient – a heavenly but dangerous place for a foodie to enter.

Amongst the aisles I spied products that were quite hard to come by in normal supermarkets, cooking and baking ware, and let’s not forget the cookbooks. Steph spied a very large container of coca nibs and we decided to go halves and split it. She made some gorgeous cocoa nib flecked banana bread, and I finally crossed another recipe off the ever-growing list of things to make, Alice Medrich’s Buckwheat Butter Cookies with Cocoa Nibs from her gorgeous book ‘Pure Dessert’.

Last year I tried her buckwheat strawberry shortcakes, which were a huge success, and I was looking forward to trying another of her inspiring recipes. These cookies had an incredible depth of flavour from the buckwheat flour, and I loved the crunch from the cocoa nibs. They also went just perfectly with a cup of tea on a cold wintery day.

I misread the recipe a little and stopped mixing before the dough was very dark and thick. My cookies turned out lighter and a little more crumbly, and they reminded me of sables actually. Either way, they were great and I really enjoyed them. And Molly was right when she said that the cookies were even better on the second day, though I’m actually surprised they lasted that long…

Cocoa Nib Buckwheat Butter Cookies
Recipe adapted from Alice Medrich’s Pure Dessert

• 1 ½ cups plain flour
• ¾ cup buckwheat flour
• 225g unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup coca nibs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter with the sugar and salt until smooth and creamy but not fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the nibs and vanilla and beat to incorporate. Add the flours and beat on low speed until just incorporated. The mixture will seem dry at first but keep beating, and it will slowly moisten and darken. You’ll know it’s ready when it pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will be very thick.
3. Form the dough into a long log about 5cm in diameter. Wrap well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line two baking sheets with non-stick baking paper.
5. Using a thin, sharp knife, carefully cu the dough into slices. I made mine about 1cm thick. Put slices on the prepared baking sheets, spacing each cookie about 3cm apart.
6. Bake until cookies begin to just colour around the edges, about 12-14 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through. Transfer to wire racks and cool the cookies on the baking sheets. Cool completely before eating or storing.

Brand New

This month’s Daring Cooks challenge was a great opportunity to try a brand new technique – one that I had never attempted before – and I was very excited about giving it a go. That’s right, this month the Daring Cooks challenge was all about Chinese dumplings, chosen by Jen from Use Real Butter. The catch however, was that we had to make the dough from scratch! At first I was a little nervous, especially about folding those gorgeous pleats, but I found that I quite enjoyed the process and would most definitely try it again to experiment with different fillings and dipping sauces.

This time I made a pork filling with ginger, green onions, water chestnuts and soy sauce. It was very tasty and had a nice balance of flavours and textures. The dough came together pretty quickly and easily, and I was thankful for Jen’s step-by-step photographic instructions on her blog. The pleating tutorial was especially useful, and I like to think I did a passable job for my first attempt! My sister and I made quite a good team, with her rolling as I folded, and then swapping so she could have a practice at folding them too.

I chose to make potstickers, because they looked and sounded delicious, and they most certainly were, with crisp and slightly crunchy bottoms. To go with them, I made a simple dipping sauce similar to what Jen suggested which was delicious as well. I will say, though, that they all disappeared in less than a quarter of the time it took to actually make them. Next time I will have to make a double batch!

Chinese Potstickers
Adapted from Use Real Butter

Pork Filling
• 450g pork mince
• 3 stalks green onions, very finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• ¾ cup water chestnuts, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons corn starch

Dough
• 2 cups plain flour
• ½ cup warm water

Dipping Sauce
• 2 parts soy sauce
• 1 part vinegar (red or white)
• A few drops sesame oil
• Sugar, to taste

1. To make the filling, combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl and mix well to combine.
2. To make the dough, place flour in the work bowl of a food processor. Run the processor and pour the warm water in until incorporated. Pour the contents onto a clean work surface and knead until uniform and smooth. The dough should be firm and silky to the touch but not sticky. Cover with a damp towel for 15 minutes.
3. Take the dough and form a flattened dome. Cut into strips about 4-5cm wide and then shape strips into rounded long cylinders. On a floured surface, cut the strips into 2cm pieces. Press palm down on each piece to form a flat circle. With a rolling pin, roll a circular wrapper from each flat disc. Take care not to roll out too thin or the dumplings will break during cooking. Leave the centers slightly thicker than the edges.
4. Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of each wrapped and fold the dough in half, pleating the edges along one side. Use Real Butter’s pleating tutorial was indispensable to me here! Keep all unused dough under a damp cloth.
5. To pan-fry, place dumplings in a frying pan with 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Heat on high and fry for a few minutes until bottoms are golden. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Cook until the water has boiled away and then uncover and reduce heat to medium or medium low. Let the dumplings cook for another 2 minutes then remove from heat and serve.
6. To make dipping sauce, combine ingredients in a small bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved.

The Counter Burger

There is something so appealing about the concept of The Counter Burger. Assembling a burger from the bottom up, or should I say bun down has me completely sold. I think its popularity stems from the fact that people love possibilities, and when handed a clipboard and a pencil once seated at a retro-looking booth on a gorgeous sunny day, they feel endless. Steph from Raspberri Cupcakes and I braved track work and rail buses to meet for lunch at the Counter Burger this past weekend. She had been there before, but this was my first time. I’d heard a lot about it, so I skipped breakfast in preparation!

We started off with milkshakes. After hearing so much about the apple pie milkshake, I decided to try that one and Steph went for the Shake of the Month which happened to be Tim Tam. Some of the people I told about the Apple Pie milkshake were sceptical, as there is a real piece of apple pie in there but I thought it really worked, because apple pie and ice cream go so well together. Steph liked her Tim Tam milkshake, though would have preferred more crunchy bits throughout.

Next, the half and half fries and onion strings arrived. The fries had a nice flavour, paprika we thought, and you can never go wrong with aioli and smoky barbeque sauce. The onion strings were battered and fried, and had a nice flavour but were perhaps slightly oily.

And onto the burgers! Steph decided to have a ‘Burger In a Bowl’ this time, which is basically a burger served with salad instead of on a bun. She had the 150g turkey patty with melty Swiss cheese, roasted pimento, dill pickle chips, cranberries, grilled onions and the sauce of the month, which was wasabi aioli. It looked gorgeously colourful, and though she was unsure at first about the combination of flavours, she ended up really loving it. The turkey was flavoursome, well cooked and was lovely with the cranberries. The pickles and pimento added interesting flavours that complemented the turkey.

Mine was a 150g beef patty with sharp provolone, pickle chips, sweet red hot capsicum, tomato, mixed lettuce, honey-cured bacon and roasted garlic aioli on a wholemeal bun. You can’t really see in the photo but the bun had rolled oats on the top, which was quite lovely, and I was pleased to find that it didn’t get soggy at all. The beef was cooked to medium so it was very juicy, but still nicely charred on the outside. I really loved all the flavours here, especially the bacon and the pickles. Even though this was the smallest burger, I couldn’t finish it, so I would have absolutely no chance of ever attempting the giant 450g burger!

I really loved the retro interior, looking like something straight from 1950’s America. Picking the burger toppings was an interesting and fun novelty that I really enjoyed, and the food itself was great. It certainly lived up to all the hype, and I am definitely looking forward to going back and trying out other burger combinations! And I’m also looking forward to having more food related adventures with Steph!

The Counter Burger, 118 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest

Gazebo Wine Garden

After meeting Steph from Raspberricupcakes at the Mumu Take It Slow Dinner and getting along famously, we decided to catch up again for lunch at Gazebo Wine Garden in Elizabeth Bay. It is one of the many venues run by my work, but I had never been there despite nothing but excellent reviews. Even though it’s only a short walk down Darlinghurst Road, it feels a world away from Sydney’s infamous Kings Cross. I loved the mismatched furniture and quirky touches like the flowers in wine bottles on each table, or the live plants growing behind the bar. However my favourite thing was Foxy the Fox, suspended upside down from the ceiling dressed stylishly in shoes and fairy wings.

We were welcomed by a friendly and knowledgeable waiter who told us the first glass of wine was courtesy of Gazebo, one of the little perks of my job. He gave us some excellent recommendations from the wine list. Let me just pause a moment to explain that the wine list was the biggest I’ve ever seen – many pages long and delivered in a hefty ring binder, because they take their wine seriously at the Gaz. There were categories such as Slurpable, Opulent, Mysterious and even Unpronounceable! I had a sweet young red from Mornington, Victoria. Steph decided on a Reisling.

The menu looked incredible and we were absolutely spoiled for choice. We hardly gave the starters a glance as we were both more interested in trying to fit in dessert. I decided on the Mint & Pine Nut Lamb Burger with Onion Jam and Eggplant and Roast Tomato ($21). It also came with a side of crinkle cut chips, which was quite exciting as you don’t see them very often anymore and they are my absolutely favourite. The burger was generous in size and so delicious and flavourful. I loved the crunch of the nuts in the patty. It reminded me a little of the lamb and walnut burger I made a while ago, but I have to say it was even better. In a remarkable stroke of luck, it was also perfect with the wine I had ordered, I couldn’t have asked for a better match.

Steph picked the Champagne, Grape and Dijon Chicken Pie on a bed of buttered spinach ($22). I would never have thought to add grapes to a savoury meal but it really, really worked, giving little pops of sweetness to the dish. I couldn’t really taste the champagne but it was nonetheless a lovely creamy and perfectly cooked filling. The pastry looked and tasted amazingly buttery and flaky, and I think Steph was very happy with the choice.

By this point we were quite full, but had to have a look at the dessert menu, which came out pegged to a stick, in a flowerpot of what I think were gorgeous pink hyacinths. I couldn’t go past the chocolate and walnut brownie, served warm with icecream, fairy floss (!) and chocolate sauce ($13). It was very cute, and looked like it was wearing a little wig. It was amazing – so rich and chocolatey, with a nice crunch from the walnuts. The fairy floss melts in your mouth and made me feel like a little kid again. The staff were also wonderful enough to offer me a complimentary glass of port with my dessert, which was just lovely. Unfortunately because of Steph’s nut allergies her choices were more limited and she decided on an affogato – a scoop of vanilla bean icecream doused with espresso ($6). It was served beautifully in a martini glass.

I was so impressed with everything, from the quirky décor, to the wine-related black texta graffiti in the bathrooms, the wonderful staff and brilliant food. I literally couldn’t eat anything else until the following day. The serving sizes are very generous for reasonably low prices, none of the mains were over $25. It was awesome to catch up with Steph again and hope we can again in the near future, perhaps a return visit is required for a Girl’s Picnic!

Gazebo Wine Garden – 2 Elizabeth Bay Rd, Elizabeth Bay

Cold-Weather Cooking

Winter is just around the corner – the nights are starting to get chilly, scarves and boots and back in fashion and I’ve been craving warm, comforting food. Around this time of year, the kitchen is one of my favourite places to be second only to under a blanket. Cold-weather cooking makes the winter easier to bear. Hearty soups and stews are on the menu, along with pies and puddings. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

The other day I told you all about my adventures with making Tartine Bakery’s brioche recipe. It was certainly an interesting experience! I ended up making five small loaves of brioche. One was eaten for breakfast, warm out of the oven, there are three are currently sitting in my freezer waiting for next time and the final loaf became bread pudding.

Once all the hard work was done, putting the pudding together was an absolutely cinch. I made my brioche puddings in small individual ramekins rather than in a large dish and added a handful of raspberries to each for a bit of extra flavour. You could of course use almost any kind of seasonal fruit, or sultanas, or even omit it altogether and serve the puddings with a fruit sauce instead.

Interestingly the custard is not cooked prior to being added to the puddings, which surprised me a little as I had never made bread pudding before. But as the puddings are baked, the custard cooks in the oven and sets slightly as it cools. It is important not to overcrowd the brioche slices when assembling the pudding as they expand once the custard is added.

Brioche Bread Pudding
Adapted from Tartine Bakery Cookbook
Makes 4 small puddings

• 6 brioche slices, cut 1 inch thick
• Fresh or frozen raspberries

Custard
• 4 large eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter four small ramekins, or line with non-stick baking paper.
2. Arrange the brioche slices on a baking sheet and place in the oven until lightly toasted, 4-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
3. To make the custard, crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and whisk until blended. Add the sugar and whisk until smooth. Add the milk, vanilla and salt and whisk until fully incorporated. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve over a small jug. This will make pouring the custard into the dish much easier.
4. Place the toasted brioche into prepared ramekins, cutting or tearing them to fit as needed, and scatter raspberries between the layers of brioche. Pour the custard evenly over the bread. You may not be able to add all the custard at this point. Let sit for about 10 minutes or so to absorb.
5. Just before baking, top the dishes with more custard if the previous addition has been completely absorbed. Cover the dishes with aluminium foil and baking for about 1 hour. To test for done-ness, uncover the dish, slip a knife into the center and push the bread aside. If the custard is still very liquid, bake for another 10 minures. If only a little liquid remains, the pudding is ready. Let cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

Brioche (Tartine Bakery)

I’ve been well and truly bitten by the bread-baking bug, and whether this has anything to do with Molly’s theory I’m unsure, but I hope it doesn’t stop anytime soon. I love kneading the dough and the wonderful smells of bread baking that emanate from my kitchen. While originally, this month’s Tartine Cookbook challenge was going to be brownies on page 160, I’d made a similar dessert recently and was eager to try something else. Something like brioche, perhaps.

I have made brioche before with a much simpler recipe – it was almost too easy – so I was keen to try Tartine’s, wondering if it would taste different. This recipe is very time consuming because there is a lot of waiting around, and making these took practically the whole weekend. The recipe could have been a bit more detailed in explaining what to look out for, rather than how long it should take, because in quite a few parts I was left scratching my head, doing what I thought sounded right and keeping my fingers firmly crossed.

Was it worth all the time and trouble? It had all the hallmarks of a good brioche, but the simple recipe came pretty close in the end. However, I’m glad I gave it a go and I definitely learned a thing or two in the process, and got some bread baking out of my system. Check back on Friday to see what I made with my brioche!

Brioche
Adapted from the Tartine Bakery Cookbook
Makes 3 loaves

Preferment
• ¾ cup low-fat milk
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 ¾ cups bread flour

Dough
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 5 large eggs
• 1 ¼ cup whole milk
• 3 ½ cups bread flour
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 235g unsalted butter, chilled but pliable

Egg Wash
• 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• Pinch Salt

1. To make the preferment, warm the milk just enough to take the chill off. Pour into a mixing bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the milk and stir with a wooden spoon to dissolve, and then add the flour, mixing with the spoon until a smooth batter forms. Cover the bowl with a cloth and place in a cool, draft-free area for 1 hour and then in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours to cool down. The mixture will rise until doubled in volume and not yet collapsing.
2. During this time, measure all the ingredients for the dough. To make the dough, transfer the preferment and then the yeast to the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed until the yeast is incorporated into the preferment batter. Stop the mixer as needed and use a spatula to clean the bottom and sides of the bowl.
3. When the mixture comes together into an even well-mixed mass, begin to add the eggs one at a time, increasing the mixer speed to medium to incorporate the eggs.
4. Once the eggs are incorporated, reduce the mixer speed to low and begin to slowly add 1 cup of milk. When fully incorporated, stop the mixer and add the flour, sugar and salt in 3-4 additions. Increase the speed to medium-high and mix until you see a dough forming and it starts to come away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
5. Turn off the mixer and let the dough rest for 15-20 minutes. Begin mixing again on medium speed until the dough again starts to come away cleanly from the sides of the bowl. At this stage, the dough will appear very silky and elastic.
6. To add the butter, squeeze small amounts through your fingers so they become ribbons as they drop into the bowl. Stop the mixer to clean the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed with a spatula. Don’t mix too much butter in too quickly because the mixture will heat up. When all the butter has been added, allow the mixer to run for another 2 minutes to make sure the butter is fully incorporated. The dough should still be coming away from the sides of the bowl at this point.
7. Now, slowly add the remaining ¼ cup milk in increments of 1 tablespoon and increase the mixer speed to high. Mix until the dough is very smooth and silky and continues to pull cleanly away from the sides of the bowl.
8. Cover the bowl with a cheesecloth or plastic wrap. Put into the freezer for at least 2 hours and then transfer the dough to the refrigerator for 3-5 hours before shaping the dough.
9. Spray three 9×5 inch load pans with cooking spray. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge and roll out until about 1 inch thick. Divide into 3 equal portions. Press each portion into a rectangle the length of the loaf pan and slightly wider than the pan. Starting from a narrow end, roll up the rectangle tightly, pinch the ends and seam to seal, and place seam side down into prepared pan. The pan should be no more than 1/3 full.
10. Place in a draft-free area and let rise for 2-3 hours. During this final rising, the brioche dough should at least double in size and look noticeably puffy but still resilient to the touch.
11. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F). When loaves are risen, make the egg wash. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolks, cream and salt until you have a pale yellow mixture. Using a pastry brush, brush the mixture onto the tops of the loaves. Let the wash dry for 10 minutes before baking.
12. Place the loaves in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 175°C (350°F) and bake until the loaves are a uniformly dark golden brown, about 45 minutes longer. Remove the pans from the oven, and immediately turn the loaves out onto wire racks to cool.
13. The loaves can be eaten warm from the oven, or allowed to cool. If you keep them for longer than a day, wrap in plastic wrap and store for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Cultural Cuisine

Most Australians are very passionate about their vanilla slice, and rightly so. Much like the lamington or pavlova, it is part of our cultural cuisine. I guess you could call it the laid-back Aussie cousin to the well-dressed French mille-feuille. National events are held annually in its honour where bakers from around the country compete for the coveted title of Best Vanilla Slice. If you’re in Melbourne this blog will tell you where to find a good one, and the criteria that a really good vanilla slice should meet.

When done right, a vanilla slice is a beautiful thing. Each of the three elements – the flaky buttery puff pastry, the creamy vanilla custard and the topping, usually fondant icing, but sometimes passionfruit icing or icing sugar – have to each be perfect to create a really spectacular slice. My mum is a big fan of this particular confection, and I had been promsing to make her a vanilla slice for many months now. Her birthday came and went, but Mother’s Day turned out to be the perfect occasion.

Luckily it was proclaimed to be worth the wait, and I honestly wouldn’t change anything when I make this again the future. The custard comes together easily, with the addition of cornflour so it thickens up nicely to set in the fridge. I used a split vanilla bean and infused the milk/cream mixture for an even stronger vanilla flavour, which is what this is all about after all! The puff pastry is baked with a weight on top (I used another baking tray) which ensures that it puffs evenly. It is just an absolutely fantastic recipe, but make sure you have a lot of friends around because it is at its best on the day it’s made.

Vanilla Slice
Recipe adapted from ‘Modern Classics 2’ by Donna Hay
Makes 9 slices

• 2 sheets ready prepared puff pastry, thawed
• Icing sugar, for dusting

Vanilla Custard
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 1 ½ cups cream
• 60g butter
• 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cornflour
• ½ cup water
• 6 egg yolks

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Trim each piece of puff pastry to slightly bigger than the slice tin you are using. Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper. Top each piece with another baking tray as a weight and bake for 35 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool on racks.
2. To make the custard, place milk, cream and vanilla seeds and vanilla extract in a medium sized saucepan and heat until just before boiling point. Turn off the heat, cover, and allow to infuse for 10-20 minutes.
3. After it is infused, add butter and sugar and cook until hot but not boiling. Mix the cornflour and water to a smooth paste and whisk into the hot milk mixture. Ad the egg yolks and stir, allowing to simmer for 6 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
4. Line your slice pan with non-stick baking paper. Place one of the pastry sheets on the bottom, pour in the custard and top with remaining pastry. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set. Cut into squares using a serrated knife. Dust with icing sugar and serve.

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