Baking 2017

Better late than never, most of the stuff I baked last year. I was hoping to bake at least twice the amount of this since I supposedly had more free time, but that time disappeared pretty quickly.

Spinach and ricotta quiche

I understand why people 'blind bake,' so the pastry doesn't split and fill with with air whilst it's baking. It ended up being a bit soggy since there was a tear in the base whilst I was pouring the filling, so had to place a baking tray under the tin, then use extra pastry to 'glue' the tin to the tray so the filling won't spill all over the tray....It tasted quite nice, but the pastry wasn't light enough and tasted on the buttery side. There is probably a way to get the same amount of butter but then get a diff texture, but I just don't know how to do that, or even make a sort of flaky pastry without so much butter...

   Zumbo Baking-Raspberry and white choc muffins

Jap matcha chiffon cake

I don't have an angel pan since I only make this stuff literally once a year, but I still managed to get some height in a normal pan. Quite like the lightness in this cake.

Zumbo brownies

So rich and sweet, really need a cup of tea with this. Overbaked it so it didn't have the 'gooey' texture, but you can also have cake textured brownies anyway.

Those Zumbo stuff were from the freebies I got from being one of the first to line up on Zumbaron Day to buy a packet of Zumbarons (macarons).

Coconut flour, almond flour, flour, mixed berries, banana, cinnamon, whatever else I have in my pantry

Texture was more dense and bready. Why did I even buy a packet of coconut flour? It's so hard to use. Need like half a dozen of eggs which I didn't want to use to make a coconut flour cake, so went with this random thing instead. 

 Vanilla soufflé

Accidentally turned the heat too high and cooked the flour a bit too much so the consistency was a bit gluey when I poured it into the ramekins...It did rise though, so at least this time I didn't over beat my egg whites, and it didn't have an eggy flavour like my last attempt since I actually put sugar in it this time.

I have a feeling my packets of almond flour has expired after a year. Goodbye $5ish...I thought a year expiry date would help force me to make macarons from scratch (this has been on my 'to do' list end of 2012 and just keeps on being there...).

Haven Summer Menu

So used the last of my drink vouchers from my 21st...yes, they are super nice people (but we do leave tips for them). Finally had time to come after exams.

Geisha Cold Brew-$9, Iced Mocha $5

side view

First time having cold brew coffee. This blend wasn't really strong but quite fragrant (until the ice melted). Really interesting, but I'm not a massive coffee drinker so hard to describe....The iced mocha had bits and pieces of cocoa nibs, but it wasn't really smooth to drink. Definitely more coffee the chocolate, compared with the hot version where you can taste some chocolate. Here it was more on the coffee side.

menu

Potato and Smoked Mackerel Salad-$13.50

The fish was nicely smoked, and actually heaps of potatoes buried under the lettuce. Potatoes could have been softer. The sour cream helped give some creaminess to the potatoes. 

Vegetarian Lasagna-$13

Yep, unfortunately it was as small as it looks irl, so we were both a bit disappointed. We originally wanted the gnocchi, but they sold out about 12.30...The lasagna had a crispy top, but not your normal lasagna. Definitely felt a lot more healthy with the spinach inside and not a lot of cheese. I think the pasta sheets were homemade since it was really soft unlike your frozen lasagne...not really oily or salty either, just really wanted a bigger slice...

food :)

Rose, pepita, honey and ricotta muffin-$5.50

Since we weren't super full, we decided to get a muffin, and I always wanted to try this flavour, and managed to get the last one for the day. They have different flavours everyday and only a set amount. The muffin when warmed was so delicious with the ricotta! Made it more moist, and the honey in it wasn't too sweet. Loved the rose petals as well.