Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins

Do you like muffins that crack on the top? I do.
I skipped school and baked muffins instead. Makes sense? Definitely. At least I learnt that sprinkling raw sugar on top of your muffins produces these beautiful crack lines.

From the Bourke Street Bakery cookbook (again), I found this dark chocolate and raspberry muffin recipe which I thought I would give it a go since I have raspberries left over from the sourcream and raspberry butter cake. This recipe is pretty good and very easy to follow. By substituting the chocolate and raspberries, this is a good muffin base recipe to use. Feel free to do it with oats, almond, mixed berries, raisins... it is up to your imagination. It produces a light muffin with a not-too-crumbly texture. Best eaten warm, when the chocolate is soft and molten. Yummm.

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Muffins - makes 12 (recipe says 12 but I could make 12 muffins and 24 mini muffins with the recipe)

400g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
300 caster sugar
310 unsalted butter
480 buttermilk
3 eggs
225g dark chocolate (55%), roughly chopped
225g raspberries
55g raw sugar, for sprinkling

1. Line muffins tins with muffin cups or baking paper cut into squares. (Do cut your own baking paper for lining. I find it gives a more artisan look to the muffins.) Pre-heat oven to 190℃.

2. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat, then remove from heat, stir in buttermilk.

3. Using a whisk, stir in eggs to combine.

4. Pour egg mixture over dry ingredients, whisk to combine roughly. It is okay to have small lumps of flour at this stage.

5. Use a large spoon to gently fold through the chocolate and raspberries.

6. Spoon mixture into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle tops with raw sugar.

7. Reduce temperature to 180℃, bake for 25-30mins.

8. Cool in tins for 10mins before serving.

End.

Bourke Street Bakery - Crown Street

I love Crown Street. I love its seriously good cafes and restaurants, the cute little shops that you can't resist buying from, the gourmet grocers and the fact that Bourke Street Bakery is so close.

秋

Ginger Brulee Tart, $4. I have forgotten how good it is.

Dark chocolate and sour cherry biscuit, $3.50. Soft, short and moist. Really chocolatey with random bits of sour cherry. I thought it could go for a bit more in the oven. I like my biscuits well done.

Fatter = More of me.
You see, eating all these heavy-duty goodies is actually not as bad as it seems.

The sky overcast, a drizzle that goes on and off, and wind that howls from start to end of the street. It was kind of romantic, just the two of us huddling under one umbrella, slowly making our way to the busstop. If only, if only it were a guy beside me. Then it wouldn't be so god damn cold. Not that I mind that it was Elise...

The loaf.

End.

Sourcream Raspberry Buttercake

It has been a long time since I have baked anything. I attribute that to lazy fingers and the lack of a more modern oven. What excuses! I know... No matter how I explain, I can never justify for not baking. Now that winter is well on its way; and I am constantly hungry due to the cold, I can no longer put off my desire for a proper butter cake. I need all the butter and sugar to insulate against the cold! I did try to get Sara Lee's pound cake instead of having to bake one myself, but it seems Sara Lee's pound cake is non-existent in Sydney. No choice, it's time to go back to the kitchen.

I currently live in an Australian house that must be at least 30 years old. Yes, it's like a little cottage house which comes with the a gas oven- an oven powered by real flames. There is a knob controlling the temperature by adjusting the fire and that is about it. How do you tell 180℃ from 200℃? Eye-power? Sense of touch? Years and years of experience? Temperature control, even in an electric oven is something I have yet to master, let alone a gas oven. But, if the people who pre-dates the electric oven can bake the most delicious cakes and breads, I'm sure I can too.

I have adapted the sourcream butter cake recipe from the Bourke Street Bakery Cookbook. I have cut the sugar, omitted the poached pears and increased the raspberries. In the recipe, it says to scatter the raspberries on the top of the batter just before you bake it, so that the raspberries will sink into the batter while it bakes. I did that, but for some reason, the raspberries did not sink. It stayed on the top, some got burnt, some turned in to jelly, which gave a brilliant red colour to contrast the sea of dark gold. Rustic is as rustic does. A bit burnt around the edges, uneven cracks, but that precisely is the beauty of gâteau rustique.

Sourcream, Raspberry Butter Cake - adapted from Bourke Street Bakery Cookbook

28cm round tin (I used a 20X20cm square tin), bottom and sides lined, paper should protrude 1 inch (2.5cm)- makes 16

Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter, softened
355g caster sugar (I cut it down to 250g, but not sweet enough. will use 300g next time)
a few drops vanilla essence
4 eggs
200g sourcream
300g self-raising flour (if using plain flour, add 15g baking powder)
200g raspberries (recipe specified fresh, but I used frozen. it works as well)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200℃. (I just jack mine up high)

2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla till pale and creamy.

3. Add eggs one at a time. Make sure the egg is fully incorporated before adding the next.

4. Mix in sour cream in two batches.

5. Fold in flour in 2 batches. Mix till well-combined.

6. Scatter berries on top. (I'd probably mix the raspberries through next time)

7. Bake for 55 mins to 1 hour 15 mins, or until wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted.

8. Remove from oven, cool in tin for 10mins, turn out onto wire-rack to cool completely.

May store in airtight container for up to 3 days.

Conclusion: I was quite happy with the result, having feared the worst since I was still trying to figure out how to work the gas oven. I ended up turning it every half hour, changing tier after an hour and covering the top with baking paper during the last half hour. It was worth the effort. The butter cake was a little dry from staying in the oven for too long, but overall still moist. It was not sweet enough probably because sour cream dampens the sweetness from the sugar, which I found out from making this cake. Also the texture was quite fine due to the creaming method (I prefer larger crumb).

Yes yes, quite happy this time though I only ate one tiny slice of my much-awaited butter cake, I gave the rest away. Food should be shared, agree?

End

Something I found-

Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

And smile always.

Black Star Pastry

From fouratefive, onto Black Star Pastry. The view from Black Star.

Olive Bread, $5.50. Time-Out Sydney rated Black Star Bakery one of the top ten bakeries in Sydney, so of course have to try their breads too. I chose the olive bread because 1: I love olive bread and 2. the other alternative was raisin bread, can't say I love raisin breads. the breads were almost sold out. It is a sourdough alright. Rough textured, the type that goes hard in days. I quite like the bread, but compared to consummate's olive bread, I prefer the latter. Black Star's one is a true sourdough, whereas consummate is more of an olive oil bread, therefore is softer and more fragrant.

Ninja Gingerbread, $4. It is expensive for such a small piece of gingerbread, but it is well worth the money. It is quite thick, and texture is something between a shortbread and a chewy biscuit. Spicy, bits of ginger, and a thick coat of tempered chocolate, yumm yumm.

Canele, $3. Stella ordered the canele. I am not familiar with canele, but Stella said it was very good. She likes the strong caramel taste.

I started with the legs of the gingerbread man. Imagine him crying bloody murder!, while I happily chew him off bit by bit. haha.

On our way back to the city for dinner.

277 Australia St

Newtown, 2042

Phone: 02 9557 8656

www.blackstarpastry.com.au

End.

fouratefive

First cafe to be rated five star on Time-out Sydney. They must have some seriously good stuff there hey?

Welcome to fouratefive. As you can see, the doorway is pretty small, two is a tight fit. I arrived in the afternoon for lunch. When I got there, the cafe was packed, there was a queue outside and I was quite overwhelmed by the bustling waitress and zealously eating patrons. I stood outside the entrance, didn't quite know what to do.. how am I going to eat in there? The barrister cum host (their coffee station is right smack at the entrance, so the barristers have the double duty of hosting as well, don't ask me why, they must have their own reasons. their kitchen is in all places with the patrons eating around it. well, as long as I get my food hot and within reasonable time frame, I'm happy.) must have noticed me standing in the doorway, he shouted out: have you got your name on the list? Ohh, the list... so that's how things work here. After I got my name written on the list, I didn't have to wait long at all for my table to be ready.

I sat outside, exposed to the elements. I thank thee for thy good weather.

Apple, carrot and ginger juice, $5.50. Extremely fresh and generous as well. Ginger is good for cold weathers.

Rare roast beef with onion relish, fresh tomato, dijon mustard, polski ogorki &
cos lettuce on grilled sourdough $14.
I am in love with this rare beef sandwich. The beef is so rare, yet so tender and moist. And the combination of sweet, sour, pungent, salty pickle and fresh lettuce, all stacked in this lovely dark sourdough, perfect. This is one seriously good sandwich, which I am sure I will dream of from time to time.

Pulled pork on ciabatta with pickled carrot & radish, aioli, apple & tomato
chutney & rocket $13.
The menu says ciabatta but I got the same dark sourdough instead. After all the raving reviews of this particular pulled pork sandwich, it fell short of my expectations. Don't get me wrong, it is still a good sandwich. It's just that when I compare it to the rare beef sandwich, this is a little bit disappointing. The pork is slightly dry and under seasoned. I can't quite taste the chutney in some parts of the sandwich. And there I was, expecting that "striations of sweet, sweet meat meld seamlessly with cooling fresh cucumber and apple spiced up with tomato chutney and slathered with aioli"- from Time-Out Sydney. Overall the sandwich was too dry and bland for me.

I would love to come back again to get my hands on their beef burger and perhaps their salads. Who wants to come with me? =)

485 Crown St

Surry Hills, 2010

Phone: 02 9698 6485

www.fouratefive.com

End.

Kawa Sydney Cafe

It is a cafe that Elise and I stumbled into. We were walking along Crown sreet, Surry Hills, on a bright and sunny Saturday, after a satisfying lunch at Spice I Am. And we were looking for something sweet to finish the deal. I was particularly looking for coffee.

It was rather interesting, walking along Crown Street. It is not unlike Darling street of Balmain, or Australia street of Newtown, where cafes litter the street. Except that restaurants like Marque, Bills, Billy Kwong are also on the menu. Crown Street is clearly the place to go for seriously good food.

As I said, we stumbled into Kawa, or rather drawn by its cute exterior and busy-ness, we decided to give it a go. Kawa Sydney Cafe is just across the road from Thomas Duxton Grocer.

French tables and chairs. I love the alfresco sitting. Bask in the sun till you are warm and toast.

Elise had her usual latte with the unusual addition of soy milk, $3.50 + $0.50 for soymilk. Urgghh, it was bitter with a very strong taste of soy. Unless you are a soy-lover, I'd say give this a miss. I reckon they burnt the soymilk too, since the froth was tad too dry.

I opted for a cold banana and raspberries, honey yogurt smoothie, $6. Can't go wrong with a smoothie when you've got all the right ingredients. Yumm, perfect for a sunny Saturday afternoon.

I'd say Kawa is your average cafe that got lucky because of its location. Ambiance is definitely better than its food and service.

Something interesting that caught my eye.

348A Crown St Surry Hills NSW 2010

Phone: (02) 9331 6811

Open Daily 8am-5pm

End.

Spice I Am

Ja was raving about this Thai restaurant ever since I started school in January. Constantly talking about how good the basil chili pork belly is, how she could eat it every single day if it weren't for her reflux... It was the last straw when she brought me to the restaurant (on our way back from Bourke Street) just to point out to me its location. Okay, I get it. I will go try.

Together with Elise (since Ja was still recovering from reflux, I did not invite her), we took our lunch at Spice I Am. Not to be confused with Spice I Am- The Restaurant (Darlinghurst), though of the same company, this hole-in-the-wall Spice I Am is smaller, friendlier, cheaper. Its dishes are less done-up, which suits me just fine because as long as Thai cuisine is concerned, I'm only interested in the food.

As you can see, the people are sitting pretty close together...

Longan drink, really really good. I think they cook it themselves?

Deep fried whitebait with a sour basil sauce. Really fresh fish, cooked to perfection, crispy. The sauce, wow, is sour, a little spicy and very fragrant. The only thing I didn't like about this dish is: too little sauce!

Kra Pao Moo Gob
Stir fried crispy pork belly with SpiceIam chilli jam, basil and long red chilli- the much raved-about dish and it fully deserves the title. Crispy, tender pork belly, spicy, salty and slightly sweet. I will definitely be back for more.

Shop 1, 90 Wentworth Ave
Surry Hills, 2010

Phone: 02 9280 0928

Opening hours: Tue-Sun 11.30am-3pm; 6-10pm

End.

The best hand-cut 炸酱面 in Burwood, Sydney.

Out of routine

I went through a forest to get to school. How strange does that sound? Why did Heidi want to get to school that badly that she had to trek though soil, fallen dead leaves and tree roots?

To be honest, I did think of giving up and returning home. Twice. But since I am such a goody-two-shoes, I stuck out to the end. Now you know the end of this particular story, you might be wondering what led to it. Don't worry, you won't have to back-track far.

You see, as with all typical Mondays, I slept in. It was a cold morning (as with all other mornings of the week..) and that is all you need for an excuse to stay nice and warm under your blanket with the electric heater turned on. As a result, I was late for my bus. (though I suspect the 518 bus arrived earlier than usual- I was at the busstop only one minute late..) I took the 501 bus, which arrived 15 minutes later, an awful long time that I spent debating whether if I should return home and slumber on. I did not, however.

The 501 bus, unlike 518, brings me to the back of my school, which usually requires a walk through the meandering gardens of the horticulture faculty. I quite like the gardens actually, and would gladly take this route if I could wake a little earlier to catch the early 501 since the garden route takes abit more time. I think by this time it is quite obvious that I was late for school.

Coincidentally, the gardens were closed for a huge make-over, the entire horticulture section was walled-up. One of the construction worker, on his way out, had kindly told us the alternative route to school. Now enter Chris, my classmate who was in the bus with me. While following the given advice, Chris had discovered a little path which looked like a short-cut to school. Perhaps it was our over-eagerness to get to class, we dumbly took the short-cut. It wasn't before long that we realised something was wrong.

The short-cut itself was under construction as well. Great. Faced by a dead end, my only natural response is to turn back and continue with the advised path. Chris thought a little differently and for that I really admire him. He gave his surroundings a good scan-over and said to me: okay, now, we create our own path. Just like that, relying on Chris' sense of direction, we deviated from the stone path and headed for school.


Yes, and that was Chris' chosen path, the fastest way to get to school. He chose to climb a rather steep slope. (above) We stood there for a while, contemplating. This was when I thought for the second time: I want to go home... Then Chris turned around and said: "well, I can climb this. But I don't know if you can..." I wished I said something along the lines of: Of course I can, lead the way! But at that moment, I think I muttered: "let's go..." in a small small voice.

Clutching at dried bushes, trees and Chris' helping hand, together, we spilled onto the bright sunny school field, with lots of soil and dried twigs in my shoes and a few weird stares from passerbys. Thanks Chris. We made it to class, slightly late.

Now you ask, why did I want to get to class so badly? There was a test, duh. Who would want to go to class?

Bits of My Mundane Life

Writing for the sake of writing is pretty lame, which is what I am currently doing because well... I feel compelled to blog, or rather I am bored and have nothing better to do and I am too lazy to transfer pictures from my camera to the computer, hence this is me recycling my old pictures. I don't think I have anything of interest to share with you guys, unless of course if you are family or friends. Now that you have been warned...

I'm going to share my tiny bits of mundane life with you.

As you know, I am a student at LCB, Sydney, in the middle of Certificate IV (Hospitality Management) term 2. I am well into my third week of school after my summer holidays, and I can safely say that school has been quite bland, like gooey porridge. Out of the three subjects I am having this term, one we have covered last term, and one I have covered in high school when I was 13. I am miserably miserably bored at school. You know what I do when the teacher repeat the slides from the powerpoint? I draw, scrawl, invent codes that only I would understand and write French curses all over my lecture notes...

On the other hand, my foodie life is good. I cook a fair bit.. either that, or Elise would cook and I'll head over for dinner. We always try to make the other happy, so you can imagine, dinner is usually quite good. Weekends are usually reserved for visits to bakeries/patisseries/cafes/restaurants. Actually I would love to go on foodie tours on every non-school days (make the best out of my remaining days in Sydney) but due to the lack of company, lack of funding and my desire to not be fat, I will stay home and read books instead. Although on the bright side, I do have a japanese degustation dinner planned at the end of the month. And maybe Tetsuya in July. Maybe.

Two weeks in Sydney now and I haven't had a cup of decent gourmet coffee. Don't know why but something always happen. Last week I had a cold, so no coffees since the caffeine dehydrates you. This week was too warm for coffees. All I wanted was a cold banana and raspberry smoothie. Well, I will be going to campos next week, and hopefully I will be in the mood by then.

I miss Japan terribly. The nice air, food, hot springs and many many things. And you of course, who had kindly taken the time to read this post. =)

Bourke Street Bakery

Hi guys, I'm back in Sydney. Holiday is over, school has started. It will be three months before I return to Singapore, this time for good. So might as well enjoy Sydney while it last. =)

One thing I will definitely miss: Bourke Street Bakery: their tarts! sausage rolls! and their amazing sourdoughs!! I won't wish for Bourke St. to open in Singapore though.. they will loose their magic there. Please don't come! I will visit you instead!

Lamb, harissa and almond roll, $4. I love the huge bits of whole blanched almonds, the sweet raisins and the very fragrant mince lamb!

Ja's raisin snail. She has got reflux, so it is all mild and gentle food for now.

Ja: my best Sydney foodie friend. I will also miss her.