Food, Finds &n Forays
Hey there....
Hey there…I’m back! Gosh it’s been a minute but feels like a month. Isn’t that the best kind of minibreak though? When you go away for a few days and feel like you’ve been away a lot longer, you know it’s been a good one. We adored out stay on the NSW south coast as we always do, stunning beaches and a milder climate is always a good mix. We ate well, explored and relaxed but sadly are back to reality.
I’ve shared with you, today, one of my favourites finds from last week’s holiday, along with a couple of books and of course recipe and kitchen hints.
Inspired by my travels I’ve created a delicious loaf cake combining the perfect bedfellows of spices and apples, I hope you enjoy as much as I have been this week.
We’re heading into another extended long weekend to celebrate the Melbourne Cup here and as always another little trip and adventure. If you’re reading this from overseas the Melbourne Cup is a horse race and yes we really do have a long weekend for a horse race, something that people marvel over. I’m hoping to be back in time to write to you again next week but if I’m missing from your inbox next week don’t panic I haven’t fallen off the side of a Victorian Hight Country mountain just quite possibly stuck in horrendous long weekend traffic.
If you’re heading away for the Melbourne Cup Long weekend enjoy and stay safe otherwise enjoy the rest of your week and perhaps some time for a cup of tea and spiced apple loaf.
Cheers
S x
Food
Though this newsletter and blog my lead you to believe otherwise I’m actually not a big sweet tooth. I do however love home made sweets.
There’s something about cakes and pastries made by hand that hold a magical quality all their own. Many are recipes passed around families like a favourite auntie’s sponge cake or others like this one that become family favourites. Some hold historical value like the scones I’ve shared with you before or the delicious persian love cake we enjoyed on our holiday last week….quite apt really on an anniversary trip but I digress. Persian Love Cake was first created by a woman madly in love with a prince. In an effort to bewitch him with her culinary wiles she concocted a cake flavoured with spices and rosewater. Perhaps she imagined the spices, used as currency in ancient cultures, would offer a suggestion of wealth, perceived as an attractive attribute. Or perhaps in the true spirit of 'a way to a man’s heart' is through his stomach, she hoped to entrance him with her culinary skills.
As I sat with my husband sharing cake and coffee in a dreamy country café last week (more about that below) I was taken with heady yet subtle mix of spices and it occurred to me this is what I love most in baked goods. Indeed when I mentally scroll through other cakes and the like I’ve shared with you this became even more evident to me. Likewise as we communed over cake and reacquainted ourselves with each other I was reminded of our mutual love of apple in baked goods. He loves a sweet old school aussie bakery apple cake which weirdly is not cake at all but rather a round overgrown hand pie type dish of apple encased in a shortbread like pastry and topped with a thick layer of simple vanilla icing. I, as we all know, love a warm apple dish like a crumble but at apple we meet. It got me to thinking about a dish that could be sweetened in a more subtle way, laced with spices for interest and threaded with apple. Maybe I should call it Frawley Love Cake…..or maybe not….too cheesy? Probably lol.
Spiced Apple Loaf is all the things for me. My favourite spices, sweetened with caramel like brown sugar and honey come together all wrapped around chunks of tart granny smith apple in this moist loaf. Served warm with lashings of butter I can’t promise it won’t be gobbled up before it’s cooled completely but if it does it will last a few days. Served cool it makes a lovely breakfast in the same way as banana bread does perhaps topped with ricotta and a little drizzle of honey or even some persian feta and a sprinkle of pistachios or just simple with a drizzle of cream with your tea or coffee.
Ingredients:
3 eggs
1/3 c brown sugar firmly packed
1 tsp vanilla
180ml neutral flavoured oil. I’ve used grape seed here.
¼ c honey
1/3 c Greek yoghurt. You can sub in sour cream or buttermilk.
220 gm plain flour
80 gm wholemeal spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cardamon
½ tsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt flakes
3 apples 2 chopped one grated. I’ve used granny smiths but any baking apple is fine.
Method:
Preheat oven 180c non fan forced (160 if using fan forced)
Grease and line 20cm x 10cm loaf tin ( check the link below in finds and forays for a hot tip on lining).
In a large bowl combine flours, spices and baking powder. Dry whisk with a balloon whisk to combine and aerate and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium until combined then increase to med-high for 5 minutes or until lighter in colour, thick and frothy. Th sugar will be almost dissolved if you rub some mixture between your fingers. Reduce speed to medium and add oil pouring in a thin stream until completely added. Increase speed again and mix for one minute until combined. Add honey and yoghurt and mix again briefly until well combined.
Tip apples into dry ingredients and gently stir to evenly distribute through the dry ingredients.
Pour wet mixture over dry ingredients and gently fold through until just combined. Like when making muffins, don’t overwork it as it will toughen the texture. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 minutes to make sure the top isn’t browning too quickly. Pop a loose sheet of foil over the top if you need to protect the crust from burning.
Finds & Forays
“How on earth do you find these places?” he asked me as we drove through drizzly rain down a narrow country road. “It’s my secret superpower,” I announced. We can travel anywhere in Australia and I can sniff out somewhere interesting to eat. Ok I admit, I may have had help. You guys were amazing sending tips for our trip and this was one of the best. It comes into view as you travers the rise in a narrow road set between rolling hills. Only minutes from Milton township directly east and the greater south coast region Milkhaus is one of those word-of-mouth destination dining spots shared in whispers. A place locals want to keep to themselves but love so much they can’t help but share. Set in a restored cheese factory in the rolling hills of dairy farming country the architectural heritage of the building has been lovingly maintained and respected creating a welcoming dining area with open kitchen. Which is all well and good but nothing if it’s not set off with good food and the food here is exceptionally good. Everything is made on site with 90% of the ingredients sourced from the gorgeous garden right next to the building which drives the menu. The current owners have been there for seven years and have built quite a following. If I lived nearby this is the kind of place I would visit A LOT especially with the launch of cooking classes coming soon featuring one of my favourites for all the baking goods. Also on the grounds is a little pop up retail space which currently features gorgeous ceramics. Take this little reflection as me whispering in your ear to pop this one on the list if you’re planning a trip ‘down the coast.’
You might recall from my last letter that we were planning a special dinner for our anniversary. I can confirm it was magnificent. Well worth the drive all the way from Melbourne and a perfect location for a special celebration and as you would expect I bought a little souvenir to remember our visit. I mean seriously, I was hardly going to go to the restaurant of an uber famous chef and not buy a book right?
On the subject of books I was excited to add this beautiful new publication to my collection this week. A stunning collection of images and stories from some of rural Australia’s most talented photographers and writers, it’s a wonderful publication that I may well purchase a few more of for xmas gifts, especially for overseas friends and families.
Holidaying by the sea and in a hotel owned by a seafood restaurant, I’ve returned home with a hankering for more fish dishes. The boys aren’t huge fish fans but I think this one might be a winner and looks super easy.
Finally if you're going to try my Spiced Apple Loaf or this loaf cake you may want to watch this first (originally shared by an insta pal)….game changer!!
