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

The Month of May.

May is always a significant month in our household due to both my sisters' birthday which just so happens to land on the same week.

May 20 - for Ate Pam & May 23 - for Ate May.

Ate Pam is actually not a cake person and my attempts to convert her still stand unmoved but there is one weakness for this person - Leche Flan, which I will cover soon - ish. Whereas my other sister, May often demands a cake to be made for her specially - no matter what the occasion or lack thereof.

So on her birthday I decided that I will be making her a Blackforest Cake.

Turkish!!

One saturday morning I came in to work to realise that we have a new supplier trying to get into our shelves.. they were selling cupcakes and such but one flavour stood out for me.

Rose and Lavender cupcake.

Now I have not been so motivated to make cakes since after the competition and I have been dying for some inspiration for some new flavours rather than the usual, banana, hummingbird and mudcake that I do. So when the previous Better Homes & Gardens magazine came out to feature Mother's Day and they had a recipe for a Rose butter cake .. I simply must try it. and so I did. with some extra Turkish Delight & White Chocolate goodies!!

Rose Butter Cupcake with Turkish Delight Frosted with Vanilla Buttercream and White Chocolate

Domesticating Natali...

So tonight, I was looking through my photo albums and I found a little treasure!

This day was from probably around a few months ago during summer in which I decided to help my bestfriend, Natali become somewhat domesticated... Now this girl does know how to cook (trust me hands down BEST Chicken Tikka Masala in town!) but with baking .. not so much. She's been obsessing over these Lemon Polenta Cakes at work and when I saw a Manna from Heaven cookbook, I just had to get it and make it with her!

Melbourne ♥ ...

Sometimes when I feel like Sydney is getting the best of me rather than me getting the best out of Sydney, I like to do a little get away.. may it be an hour drive away for a diverting hiking trip for an hour and a half or a 3 day getaway in the Southern part of New South Wales. It's nice to get out from the hustle and bustle of the Sydney City life - considering I'm pretty much there every. single. day.

So when a much needed holiday is in order - It's time to hit up Melbourne & pay a visit to the wonderful Bellos.. and what other fantastic time to visit than Tita Cecile's Birthday!!
During the stay there, Kat and I organised a day for a baking session complete with Mudcake & Macarons and look what we came up with...!

Dark Chocolate Mudcake with Dark & White Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate & Coffee Macarons with Mocha Ganache filling

Happy Birthday Tita Cecile!!!