Vive la Révolution!!

*waves tiny little French flag* 


So last week on the 14th of July - marked the Bastille Day celebrations. To some of you who may not know what that is... here's French History 101 just for you.


Bastille day commemorates the 1789 French Revolution in which France was declared independent of the monarchy. Now I'm sure you may all have heard of Marie- Antoinette's famous speech: "Let them Eat Cake!" (which of course, most of us wouldn't mind at all these days - but it seems the French back then didn't find humour in such a statement and decided to chop off her head in a public execution. Ruthless - I know.. but if I have been deprived of such beautiful food because the Royal family are too precious and greedy to allocate us any - I would be too!) 


So in celebrations of such a memorable day... Ate Angeli & I decided to head out to Baroque Bistro & Patisserie for some French loving... & a 5-course degustation menu! 

Steak Tartare

Bouillabaisse

Coq Au Vin façon Baroque

et 

Bouche D'Affinois Au Truffe (aka. "I died and went to heaven.. twice" dish) 

Creme brûlée with Pistachio Ice cream

Bastille Day Macarons!

(And can I just say ... BEST $60 experience I have ever spent in my whole entire life!) 


After that dining experience, I had realised that I was born in the wrong country & also migrated to the wrong country! So with inspiration and delight in hand I decided that I would make some classic French dessert and went for a Poached Pear & Frangipane Tart... with a classic Francesca twist! 

Poached Pears & Frangipane Tart 

Pears poached in brandy, orange zest, vanilla bean and spices with frangipane on a cinnamon, orange zest & vanilla bean short crust pastry.

Jus que la! 

Chugga Chugga... Choo-choo!

A few weeks ago my brother and sister-in-law enlisted a task for me to make a Thomas the Tank Engine cake for their godson Marx. It just so happened that things piled on this week which involved 3 days and 3 different cakes... and 30 hours of work -  with a busy schedule like that I need all the help I could get! 

Now surely everyone has got their own parent-child arguments/disagreements. Not everything can be perfect right? 


I'm lucky enough to have a mother who is pretty much Superwoman in a 5 ' 2" pocket rocket frame. She has always been there for me in my times of trouble and in my times of need but just like any other parent she is also there to give her 'opinions' (aka criticisms...). Not so much a bad thing when it helps me to be productive - but is a very annoying thing when something gets wrecked in the process. 


Mum: Make sure you shape and fix the thing right ... *rolls fondant*
Me: *shapes the cake and fixes the fondant cover* 
Mum: Oooo.. what's that thing there!? *touches the cake and rips the fondant*
Me: MUM !! Don't touch tha...t! ahhhh. *sighs* You do know I have the knife on my hand right!? 
Mum: *laughs to herself* 
Me: * @#%#%#! * 


Yes. It's love right there... sometimes I think my life is a real - life sitcom. 


To be honest with you though, I was very lucky to have my mum there with me making the Thomas cake... aside from her fondant ripping abilities and the need to touch things that I'm working on - she has eyes which has attention to detail and she helps me with the last minute stuff and I love her for it! 


I love you Mummy Dearest! 

Happy Birthday Marx!!

We have a lady PM now..!

"Where were you when Julia Gillard was announced the first female Prime Minister of Australia!?"


Surely this question would be piled under those epic moments that defines our lives. 
And I definitely wish I was able to say something a lot more interesting like "I was in the middle of saving a child that was stuck in a pram which fell on the railway tracks while the train was approaching only seconds away..." 
Yep. Something definitely heroic like that. 


But the truth of the matter is that when she was announced as the new PM - I was sleeping. soundly. on my warm comfortable and cuddly bed. So much for living my life in colour. 


So when I was recently asked to make a cake with the NSW logo on it - I thought why pass the oppurtunity to be all patriotic... well for my own state at the least! 

Special mention to Jason Fernandez for this cake order & also the photo as I was not able to photograph the cake before it was taken. 


Oh and to our Lady Prime Minister , Miss Gillard - Good Luck!! 

Nu- sha- what!?

"Neufchatel..."


"Right..."
*"Neufchatel...Nooo-sha-tel. ..What!?"* 


That's how the conversation in my head went when one of my dearest friend, Naima was trying to educate me about cheese that they use in cheesecakes. This just so happens when we decided to share a certain kind of cheesecake at work which was sparked by intrigue as it paraded itself on our shelves. 


THE Simmone Logue Lemon Curd Cheesecake... (can I just say, THIS should be the new definition of heaven!)


I must admit, I have never been a fan of cheesecakes so me saying that this is heaven in a plate has got to mean something... in fact I only ever really liked one cheesecake in my life and that's the Strawberry Cheesecake that Tita Cecile makes...! And I haven't even started talking about how much I fail at making it! (I've only ever had one really successful attempt in making a cheesecake which was the cold-set blueberry cheesecake that I've been making since I was 14 that my mum absolutely loves!) 


Baked cheesecakes are even more disastrous! Cream cheese and cream that have been baked in so much that it had split which turned out all greasy and oily to absolutely dried out baked ricotta cheesecakes. I began to believe that me and baked cheesecakes are just not meant to be and should be left to the cheesecake making pros! 


But all that changed upon Naima & Reika's joint introduction between Neufchatel cheese & myself. 
It's one of those days when the world as I know it - had suddenly changed!


So what did I do you may ask? 
Well after countless hours of cheesecake researching- another Simmone Logue challenge of course!! 
THE Lemon Curd Cheesecake. 


En Garde! 

Neufchatel Vanilla Cheesecake in lemon zest short crust pastry with home made Lemon Curd.

Ooohh Lala!!

Parlez vous Francais!? 


My obsession for anything french has gone into a whole new level. 


Now, I have never been one to adore designer brands as I have always preferred quirky, alternative and vintage things. The only exception of this perhaps is when it comes into Christian Louboutin shoes... those sexy little red soled heels - I can't help but oggle! 


So I'm guessing that the same goes for people who absolutely adore designer handbags... specifically Chanel handbags. The soft lux leather and hand-stitched detail must set it apart from the rest - well I hope that it does considering it sets you back a few thousand dollars which in Francesca dollars - four pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes or thirty-five 5 kg blocks of Calebaut Chocolate. And THAT is a lot of chocolate!! 


But who I am to deprive someone of having a Chanel Bag cake for their 21st Birthday!? When Ate Angeli's sister Misha approached me about this cake order - I just had to take it up! 


Here's to hoping I did Coco Chanel proud...!!

Surfing in the bushes!???

What's better than a weekend away with friends...!? 
I say.. A weekend party bender and a Luau in a 3 story mansion in the middle of nowhere with an outflow supply of delicious food and alcohol...!! 


Mid-June marked the 25th Birthday of my dear "Kuya" Matt/Louie.. and a weekend full of partying hosted by Ate Angeli with the Beach Boys playing on the background is the only way it can be done!!! 


Aloha!!! 

       

        

Ate Angeli & Kuya Matt

        

And as we all know a party isn't a party without a cake ... 

and what's more suited to a Luau than a Hawaiian T-shirt Cake!! 

Happy 25th Birthday Kuya Matt!!! 

Panna Cotta au Frais ala Juju et Hobo..

Juju.. or Justin is my little brother from another mother who lives in Melbourne.. we go way back since 2 years ago and have always had each other's back since then. He recently got in touch with his 'foodie soul' and was intrigued enough to make some Strawberry Panna Cottas... and with great success actually did and I heard it tastes delicious!

Juju & Hobo 

photographed by Janet Chan

But of course my own curiosity got the best of me and I wanted to see how it tastes like! So when Justin gave me the recipe .. I just had to make it .. with a few tweaks here and there ..

Strawberry Panna Cotta with Vanilla Bean infused Strawberry Coulis.

Dear Winter June..

Winter hits Sydney on the first day of June and the chill radiates through my bones leaving me as lazy as can be. My entire being is reduced to such a sedentary lifestyle of over- sleeping, over-eating .. and rolling around my bed encased in my very warm and comfortable blanket. The only thing that ruins this for me is work... which requires me to wake up in insane hours of the morning. It is also during this time that I thought to myself that I do not want to do this anymore.. I don't know what had struck me .. but I had a sudden loss of inspiration which was my main drive to do these wonderful desserts.


And just like a passing storm - the lack of passion left as quickly as it came in... I woke up one day and I decided to battle this demon by making two cakes in a day.. I decided to redo the classic blackforest cake and something a little bit more experimental.

Inspired by my bestfriend, Natali's insane obsession over Nutella-- I decided to surprise her with my take on a Nutella cake....

Happy 22nd Birthday Natty!!

Mocha Hazelnut Torte filled with Dark Chocolate Mousse and covered with Tia Maria and Hazelnut Ganache sprinkled with hazelnut and toffee crumbs and topped with Hazelnut Toffee

Pokerface Night!

One night in May, I decided to hold a Poker night at home with a few of my close friends.. but of course noone ever rocks up on time.. and Poker.. didn't last for that long either.. (especially when everyone is getting their asses kicked by an 11 yr. old.) 


Anyways.. I made a special cake just for the occasion ( and also because I've been continually harassed by my neice, 'Patis' for her birthday cake... even though she's miles away living in the Philippines.. ) - so in dedication for this glorious occasion, without further ado... 

Banana Cake with Maple Syrup and Coconut Cream Cheese Icing with Pecans