Devon on Danks

February 1, 2015January 5, 2019 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone and welcome back to yet another Review Sunday on the blog! Devon Café is one of those that I’d never fail to go back to for a nice Sunday brunch, well besides the Potting Shed at the Grounds though – I can’t pick between the two! So recently, I think somewhere in mid-November, Devon Café expanded their brand and opened up a new venue over on Danks Street in Waterloo. I quite honestly did not get into the hype of it until late December, after Christmas, before New Years – not that I wasn’t into it, but I just wanted to wait until the hype died down a bit. Knowing that this is Sydney, the hype never dies down! The first time I went here wasn’t that bad though, we managed to get a seat straight away but even so, the place was pretty packed. If we had arrived any later we could’ve easily been standing outside waiting for at least 10 minutes or so for a table for 3. Don’t even get me started on how packed it was on ‘Straya Day, but lucky again we managed to get a table for 2 with ease, but I did feel sorry for the others who had to wait out in the rain for a table.

‘STRAYA DAY SPECIAL
Medley of tomatoes, avocado, olive oil, and soft-boiled egg, on toast ($16.50)

As mentioned above, this dish was only available during Australia Day. I ordered it because it’s one of their specials and it won’t be on their menu ever again (maybe)! It was a difficult decision because I was eying their ‘Naked’ Bruschetta at that time as well. I actually have no regrets going for this dish because it blew my mind. Yes I know, some tomatoes and avocado on toast – really? The dish was just so flavoursome and fresh at the same time. The crusty white bread added that crunch texture to the palette and was excellent for soaking up the olive oil. The disappointment in this dish though was that my egg was not at all soft nor runny liked I’d expect it to be. Would’ve loved a runny yolk to compliment the crusty bread to soak it all up. Also, $16.50 for this dish? A bit too much in my opinion.

BREAKFAST WITH THE SAKUMA’S
Miso grilled king salmon, smoked eel croquette, 63˚ egg, radish petit salad, and kewpi mayonnaise ($24.50)

This dish is probably Devon’s signature as it appears in both menus at the original Devon and Devon on Danks. My Instagram newsfeed always features this dish from other people’s brunches. I never really had this dish for myself to consume, but I did manage to have a bite from my friend’s plate. According to her, the salmon was cooked to perfection and I can definitely vouch for that statement. The egg was perfectly cooked, and flavour combinations worked well together. She overall liked the dish.

LITTLE LOST BREAD
Brioche French toast, fresh and freeze dried strawberries, balsamic and strawberry gastrique, strawberry cheesecake ice cream, and Arnott’s biscuit crumble ($16.50)

Again, I did not have this dish to myself, but I did manage to have a small bite. My friends, who at that time share this dish as a dessert, really loved this dish, but it was a bit sour for my liking, which I think mainly came from the balsamic. But otherwise, the brioche French toast was amazing, and so was the ice cream that topped it. What I found interesting was that at the end of the description for this dish it said “add bacon $4.00”. BACON? I was so confused and intrigued at the same time, but my friends didn’t want to get the bacon with it.

DR SEUSS’s GREEN EGGS AND HAM
Thick cut bacon, crispy potato, 63˚ egg, green tomato ketchup, pea purée, soybeans, pea tendrils, and jus ($19.00)

This again was a dish that was predominately popping up on my Instagram newsfeed. I think what is attractive about this dish is its name. It brought back many childhood memories and this was a dish that I really wanted to indulge in, but unfortunately lost the battle with Marissa. She told me to order the same thing but I was like NO that’s not point! Because I write a blog, I actually hate it when people order the same thing, because then that means that I have one (sometimes two) less dishes to write about. Which also means that I have to again visit the café/restaurant so that I am not just reviewing two or three dishes. Anyway, tangent aside, the bacon was delish, cooked to perfection, and paired well with the other components in the dish. Marissa seemed to love it too!

SOFT SHELL CRAB SALAD ala JAPANOIS
Crispy soft shell crab with sichimi pepper, wasabi mayo, tobiko, nori, pickled cucumber, daikon, carrot, and shiso ($19.90)

Originally, this dish was meant to be a soft shell crab roll. I don’t know what happened, like whether they ran out of rolls or whatever other reason, this time when I came back with Tara, they had blacked out the ‘roll’ on their menu and changed it to a salad. Despite it not being a roll anymore, the dish was beautifully presented and was very flavoursome. The soft shell crab was crunchy and was packed with a lot of spice, quite possibly from the wasabi. That was on point for me. The salad was flavourful, but in the end I kept thinking that the dish looked really small, and for roughly $20.00, it almost seemed that you didn’t a good value for your money. I’ve had soft shell crab salad elsewhere before at a Japanese restaurant and it was about $11.00 for more than just ONE crab.

LUCKY DUCK
French buckwheat crêpe, crispy duck leg, duck liver parfait, fried duck egg, and blueberry preserve ($24.50)

This was the dish that I had that time I was out with Marissa and her friend Karina. Duck is one of my favourite meats which is why I had no doubts when having to select another dish after not being able to have my way with what I wanted in the first place. I regret nothing. This dish was top notch for me, despite me having doubts about the liver parfait. It actually tasted good together with the blueberry preserve and the other elements to the dish. I could not fault this dish, and unlike most dishes, this definitely was a great value for money.

CRONUT
Green tea matcha cronut with red bean filling ($7.00)

This was by far the best cronut I’ve had to date (not that I’ve had many anyway), but the flavour combinations happening in this one tiny cronut was to die for. The amount of red bean filling in this cronut might I add was very generous! It just oozed out every time we sliced into it for a bite. Though I did feel that by the 5th or 6th bite, I could feel that the red bean filling was a bit too sweet for my liking.

SOFT SERVE SUNDAE
Pandan soft serve, banana, rice and coconut krispies, kalamansi cream, palm seeds, and gula melaka ($11.00)

What I love about Devon is the Asian fusion that they bring into their cuisine. This ice cream, though Asian inspired based on ingredients and flavours, is nothing that I have seen at all in Asia. Pansan, kalamansi, palm seeds, and gula melaka, are all flavours that I am familiar with, but never did I think that they’d all work so well together as an ice cream sundae! Loved the flavour combinations in this sundae, better than the salted caramel soft serve. I only wished that it had been a very hot day instead of a gloomy ‘Straya Day the time I shared this with Tara because the cloddish weather and really cold ice cream did not feel right!

DD’s SPECIAL SOFT SERVE SUNDAE
with salted caramel ice cream, black salt, and hot chips ($10.00)

Ever since the opening of Devon on Danks, I have seen this pop up on my Instagram feed one too many times! It brought back a lot of memories of when I was a kid and how I’d use to dip my order of fries into my soft serve ice cream on a cone from McDonalds. I think it was everyone’s childhood memories for everyone had written about how they did that when they were kids when talking about this sundae. Though I thoroughly enjoyed this, there was too much salt going on for me. I was fine at first, but I struggled to finish the rest. Salted caramel ice cream, TOPPED with black salt, AND salted fries on the side. Salt overload!

I’d rate the food probably an 8 on a scale of 10, just cos of some minor issues I had with some of the dishes that were served. Service was on point and the waiters/waitresses were always smiling, friendly, and gave great recommendations when it came down to having to make a decision on what cronut we wanted to have for dessert. The ambiance was sort of like modern meets industrial which by the way is what I like most about cafés around Sydney who embrace this interior design style fusion. Value for money is variable – some dishes I feel were reasonably priced while others I felt that they were a bit overpriced for the amount of food that was on the plate. Then again this is my opinion, and I’m pretty sure others will have a different say to this. But overall, be it the original Devon Café or Devon on Danks, I will always pay a visit when I am in the mood for a pretty epic brunch date.

Devon on Danks
2 Danks Street
Waterloo, New South Wales
Australia, 2017

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Vegemite & Cheese

January 27, 2015January 4, 2019 amcarmen2 Comments

Hello Everyone! Knowing that Muffin Making Monday would fall on ‘Straya Day, I just knew I had to make these muffins. All I can say is that when I was out doing groceries over the weekend, I had so many doubts about this, and I could not even comprehend WHY I decided to do this. I even struggled to place the tiny jar of vegemite into my trolley of groceries. I just could not bring myself to, but in my head I kept saying, “just do it. Do it for ‘Straya Day” and I did (what am I doing to myself).

Besides lamb, vegemite is another ‘Australian thing’. Vegemite has appeared on my blog once before, but for those of you who don’t know, vegemite is like the Australian version of marmite, a popular spread for sandwiches, toast, crumpets, crackers, and as well as a filling for various pastries. It is salty, slightly bitter, and apparently is similar to beef bouillon. You’ll either love it or hate it, and I did mention before that I am on the hateful side. The smell for me is a bit off-putting, and I know Vidhya hates it too, so I kept shoving the jar of vegemite up her nose whenever I had the chance to *cheeky grin*.

I was too scared to bake a whole dozen muffins because I wasn’t too sure on how the taste would go down with me, so I only baked half a dozen, however, please note that the recipe below is for a full dozen – if you’re like me and don’t want to end up having to throw away the whole batch after eating one, then just half the measurements from the recipe below! Also, a little side note, I followed Sally’s master muffin mix recipe for these, and then added the vegemite and cheese. I only added about a tablespoon of vegemite as I was again afraid that the saltiness of it would overpower the taste of the muffin. But I can tell you that the batter smelled amazingly good!

But to be completely honest, these muffins did NOT taste as bad as I thought they would. It’s sort of like a taste that I cannot really describe. The only issue I had with them this morning was that because knowing that there was vegemite in them, I gagged a couple of times before even putting them in my mouth, so it kind of threw me off just a little bit. Nevertheless, the muffins were beautifully moist though, and I think that all the other ingredients mixed together with the vegemite sort of diluted its taste a bit. They weren’t at all overly salty like I thought they’d perhaps turn out to be. Having said that though, I would probably still never indulge in vegemite just as it is, like on toast or something as they have it here down under.

PREP TIME 25 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | MAKES 6 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 handfuls of grated mozzarella cheese
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
1-2 tbsp vegemite
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Add the baking powder and flour in a large bowl, gently whizzing together until well combined. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Then add in the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until the mixture is pale and yellow in colour.
Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and lightly mix everything together until all the flour is off the bottom of the bowl and no big pockets of flour remain. Then add in the cheese and vegemite, and continue to mix. Be careful as to not over mix the batter; it will result in tough, dense muffins. The batter will be extremely thick and somewhat lumpy.
Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top.
Bake at 220C degrees for 5 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 190C and continue to bake for a further 25-26 minutes until tops are lightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool down completely.

Muffins taste best fresh the same day. Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Ampersand Café & Bookstore

January 18, 2015January 2, 2019 amcarmen2 Comments

Hello Everyone and welcome back to an all new Review Sunday! Ampersand Café & Bookstore is one that I am very fond of mainly because of the memories and conversations shared over food. I have been going to Ampersand on a frequent basis over the past 4 years; it was the go-to brunch/lunch spot before or after classes at the then-COFA (now known as UNSW Art & Design). I remember popping by the café with Bec many times before our 9am classes; I would always get a regular latte, and she would always get a regular flat white. Then there are many times we’d visit for a quick brunch/lunch in between classes. Most recently, it was an after photography class lunch date for Anastasia, Jess, Jialing, and myself. We would sit and talk about the most random things for 2 hours, and even quote from White Chicks all throughout lunch.

What I also love about this café is that it is also a bookstore! It has a rustic, or as one would use the term, ‘hipster’ feel to it which makes it even that more inviting for the suburb that it is in. The café and bookstore has three amazing floors of dining areas surrounded with an adjoining library and bookstore with many books to choose from. A great place for those who just want to sit and immerse themselves in a book over a cup of coffee, or with friends over food.

Besides all the fond memories I have of this café, and the cozy ambience, the coffee and food are also quite excellent! The menu that you are about to see in this post is some of the dishes that my friends and I have indulged in. I have had many more dishes from this café but I think that during first two years of visiting this café I wasn’t taking any photos or I just can’t seem to find where the photographs are if I did take any. I have indulged in the Ampersandian, the Morning After Breakfast, and their Club Sandwich from their counter items. Nonetheless, I feel like the dishes on this post are quite a good range of the food that Ampersand has to offer. Also, I should make mention that they also have another café known as Ampersand on Crown | Café, Bar & Bookstore. I actually didn’t know that this existed until I went and had brunch with some friends at Rustic Pearl. Ampersand on Crown was just right next to it! 413 Crown Street, Surry Hills for those who want to know where!

HOT DRINKS: CAPPUCCINO
brewed using Allpress Beans (Regular $3.30, Large $3.80)

Their coffee art amazes me every time. I have yet to come across an ampersand on the drink as I have seen in many Facebook/Instagram posts by others.

HOT DRINKS: LULLABY NIGHTCAP
Nutmeg, malt, cinnamon, and honey served with hot milk ($4.80)

What really struck me about this drink was that, on their blackboard menu, it said ‘seahorse eggs’. Being naive and gullible at that time, I legitimately thought that the drink actually had seahorse eggs it in. Only then did I come to a realisation that the seahorse eggs referred to the frothy, fizzing bubbles in the drink. I was not disappointed though; the drink was absolutely amazing! However, probably not a great idea to have before a boring lecture (which was what I did at the time). It’s all in the name of the drink!

LUNCH BLACKBOARD MENU: RISOTTO
Arborio & barley risotto, confit cherry tomatoes, garlic, halloumi, and pesto ($15.90)

What attracted me to this dish was the fact that it was originally ‘arborio & barley risotto, tiger prawns, lemon butter, and crumbed pancetta’ on their blackboard menu. The combination sounded so great in my head that I had no second thoughts of wanting to order it. However, for a reason that I cannot remember, the lady at the cashier told me that their risotto for that day was confit cherry tomatoes, garlic, halloumi, and pesto. At first I was hesitating whether or not I should have that or order something else off their menu, but at that time there wasn’t anything else that tickled my fancy. So I decided to go for this, and absolutely no regrets. It tasted amazing! But I secretly think that the tiger prawns, lemon butter, and crumbed pancetta would’ve been amazing-er!

LUNCH BLACKBOARD MENU: THE HASH
Braised beef cheeks (slow-cooked), seasonal veggies, potato rösti, and poached egg ($16.90)

This dish, that Jialing ordered and we shared with Annie, was again to die for! The only criticism I have with this dish that it said ‘poached egg’ and the egg we for that day was what you would get between a soft boiled egg and a hard boiled egg. No runny yolk! Disappointed. Other than that, the beef cheeks where tender and full of flavour; verging on the dry side which is why it was important that we had that runny yolk!

I mean, if these empty plates of the first two dishes mentioned above does not convince you of their deliciousness, then you sir are not my friend (the other empty plate is of the stuffed red capsicum which is the very last photograph on this post).

LUNCH BLACKBOARD MENU: SWEET POTATO CRISPS
served with aïoli ($6.00)

This is a winner side dish for me. I never fail to order these babies each time I visit Ampersand. But sadly over the past month in late October, early November last year, I did not get to have any. Why? Because their deep fryer had been broken during those times. But for a month? Pure torture. I have not been back since our last photography class which was in early November. Maybe it’s time I paid another visit – hopefully their deep fryer is fixed by now! I just love the thin crispy sweet potato sliced paired with garlic-y and tangy aïoli.

Besides their blackboard menu, they also have a selection of pre-cooked counter items. Possibly an easier and quick option for those who have their breakfast/lunch/brunch to go, but that never stopped us from trying them ourselves over a two hour lunch session. You can probably tell that we have a thing for their arancini as it appears in almost every counter item on this post, but are paired with a different salad each time. This is because no salad is ever the same whenever we visit the café. One thing that I do love about their salads is that they aren’t your regular Joe that you see in almost every café; they are pretty exotic to your taste buds! Black sticky rice? Miso chic pea? Cracked wheat? I mean, who would’ve thought these combinations would work so well?! Yum! So what you can do is order an arancini, sandwich, wrap, or whatever hot dish they have at the counter, and then add $5.00 on top for a salad on the side.

COUNTER ITEMS: ARANCINI & CHIC PEA SALAD
Arancini with tomato & mozzarella ($5.90) & Chic pea salad with miso and red wine dressing, enoki, kale, and raw zucchini (+$5.00)

COUNTER ITEMS: ARANCINI & CRACKED WHEAT SALAD
Arancini with tomato & mozzarella ($5.90) & Cracked wheat salad with mixed beans, feta, grilled sweet potato, asparagus, and sweet & sour paprika dressing (+$5.00)

COUNTER ITEMS: ARANCINI & ROASTED EGGPLANT AND WHEAT SALAD
Arancini with tomato & mozzarella ($5.90) & Roasted eggplant and cracked wheat salad with green peas, red pepper, and balsamic reduction (+$5.00)

COUNTER ITEMS: BREAKFAST WRAP & BLACK STICKY RICE SALAD
Poached egg, crispy bacon, spinach, tomato, cheese, and hollandaise ($9.50) & Black sticky rice salad with cherry tomatoes, bocconcini, rocket, and balsamic reduction (+$5.00)

COUNTER ITEMS: STUFFED RED CAPSICUM
with pearl barley, pumpkin, feta, and spinach purée ($5.90)

Ampersand Café & Bookstore
78 Oxford Street
Paddington, New South Wales
Australia, 2021

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Mixed Berries

January 13, 2015January 4, 2019 amcarmen8 Comments

Hello Everyone and three cheers for the return of Muffin Making Mondays! I hate to start off on a bad note, but this is sadly my second last muffin making session with Jialing as I will be leaving this beautify country that I have called my second home for the past 4 years. I now truly understand the concept of time flying past.

Anyway, all that mushy stuff aside, yesterday we were joined by Yvonne, who spectated our Muffin Making Monday session, and was going on about how she should’ve started coming over when we first started our muffin baking sessions. It wasn’t so that she could bake with us too, but so that she could have a muffin from each of us to eat on the spot, and another to takeaway!

I whipped up a dozen very berry muffins while Jialing made a muffin. Yes you read that right, just ONE muffin. One BIG muffin. She had no muffin cups left and said that it was too far to go out and buy new ones; so she brought her pie tin over instead and made the decision to make ‘muffin slices’. She made an eggless and flourless chocolate muffin (cake) topped with chocolate bits, a chocolate streusel and mixed berries. Unfortunately for her, the streusel burnt, but nonetheless, beneath that was a very chocolatey and moist muffin (cake). It tasted delicious even though the little mishap!

Mine tasted really good as well! If you want to check out the original recipe, please head on over to Sally’s Baking Addiction. Also, while you are there, read up on how she came up with the Master Muffin Mix; basically kitchen tested bakery-style muffin batter with endless possibilities! Never have flat and/or deflated muffins ever again with her master mix!

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

3 cups plain flour
2 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen (not thawed)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk, at room temperature
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large free range eggs, at room temperature
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Coarse sugar for sprinkling on top

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Add the baking powder, cinnamon, flour, ad salt in a large bowl, gently whizzing together until well combined. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined. Then add in the milk, oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until the mixture is pale and yellow in colour.
Using a spatula, fold the wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix everything together until all the flour is off the bottom of the bowl and no big pockets of flour remain. Be careful as to not over mix the batter; it will result in tough, dense muffins. The batter will be extremely thick and somewhat lumpy.
Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, about halfway. Then press a few berries into the batter of each muffin cup. Spoon the rest of the batter into each cup, filling them all the way to the top. Press a few more berries into the tops of each muffin and sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Bake at 220C degrees for 5 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 190C and continue to bake for a further 25-26 minutes until tops are lightly golden. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool down completely.

Muffins taste best fresh the same day. Store muffins at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Muffins freeze well, up to 3 months.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

The Potting Shed at the Grounds

January 11, 2015January 2, 2019 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! It’s Sunday which means another review on the blog tonight for you! Today’s post is one of my favourite cafés to date. I’ve been here a total of 3 times now and this place always finds a way to impress me. That’s right, I am talking about The Potting Shed at the Grounds of Alexandria! The ambiance, the feels, the food, the service, and of course the ever so friendly, drop-dead gorgeous waiters there – spot on. I came to know about this place through Instagram photos from friends and various food bloggers that I follow.

My first trip here was when my high school friend Andrew came to visit, which was somewhere in mid-August. We, and three of my other friends went along for a lovely Sunday brunch. I remember that day clearly – it started off wet and gloomy, but ain’t no rain gonna stop me from getting FOOD, especially from the Potting Shed. By the time we finished catching up over food (which was a very long time indeed – basically the table next to us seated 3 different customers before we got up and left), the sun came out and it ended being such a beautiful day. My second trip here was for dinner; a complete different feel to the ambiance as it was dark, but food was the same – spot on delicious. The third time, we were a group of about 12 people, gathered together to celebrate my 23rd birthday over a delicious brunch. And finally, I popped by the Grounds for their Christmas markets. I got a photo with Santa and instead had food from the Garden Café – it was a festive day and again the food didn’t disappoint.

The Grounds of Alexandria is located in an old pie factory from the early 1900s. The exterior and interior design maintains the integrity of the former warehouse, embracing its rustic and industrial aesthetic. Besides the cafés, the site opens onto a luscious garden of heirloom vegetables and fragrant herbs, in which the kitchen uses sustainable practices. This includes picking fresh herbs every morning and working with full time horticulturalist to grow seasonal produce for the menu; offering a wholesome and rustic menu. The site is also home to a coffee research and testing facility as it is known to be the flagship venue for its specialty coffee. If you want to know more about their sustainable practices and research facility, head on over to their website at GroudRoasters.

The Potting Shed is one of the eateries that can be found at the Grounds. It is located towards the back of the site, if you’re entering from Huntley street, right next to the florist. When you walk in, you are immediately greeted by one of the locals at the café Fluffy the Blue and Gold Macaw. The café is surrounded by lush greenery and really defines its name throughout – from how they presented their menu right down to the cutlery used; terracotta pots everywhere! This is also one of the reasons why I love this place so much.

SHARE WITH FRIENDS: PUMPKIN FATTEH
Roasted pumpkin, za’atar, pine nuts, labne, black sesame seeds and flatbread ($16.00)

This roast pumpkin fatteh was melt-in-the-mouth perfection; a wholesome burst of Middle Eastern flavours that is sure to tingle your tastebuds. If you’re looking for a great entrée, this is definitely one to try and share with friends. The pumpkin was so tender that you could easily spread it onto your flatbread. Top it off with a bit of labne, pine nuts, za’atar, and chives and you’ve got every element of this dish in one bite. My only criticism for this is that the flatbread-pumpkin ratio isn’t quite balanced – would love more flatbread to wipe up the rest of the labne and pumpkin!

SHARE WITH FRIENDS: KUROBUTA PORK BELLY SLIDERS
with kimchi and rye-eye mayo on a charcoal brioche ($16.00)

Taking a shift in culture, these pork sliders are a fusion of French (brioche), Japanese (kurobuta), and Korean (kimchi) cuisines. I am not a complete fan of kimchi, but these flavour combinations worked to my liking. The pork belly sandwiched between the charcoal brioche buns were flavourful and melt-in-thee-mouth tender. The pork crackling on the side of each slider? Crispy. They are offered as a set of three per order on their menu, but you can always ask your friendly waiter/waitress to add an extra or two at additional costs.

SHARE WITH FRIENDS: MINI DOGS
Shed-made Kurobuta pork & fennel sausages with caraway seed, cabbage and apple slaw, plus white onion, dill and mustard ($16.00)

This was probably one of the most enjoyable entrées on their menu as it was served as a sort of DIY plate. It was quite entreating in a way because not realising that they had already cut a slit into the buns, Jialing further made a horizontal cut along the sides of the buns. When she cut through halfway and the top fell right off, she realised that incisions had already been made. But other than that little mishap, the dogs tasted amazing. Like the pork sliders, you can ask for an additional serving or two at additional costs.

You’d imagine having these 3 hefty entrées would already be ever so filling for 5 people, but no, we were just getting ready and pumped up for our mains!

SHED MAINS: BATTERED MARKET-FRESH FISH OF THE DAY (WHITE FISH)
served up with hand-cut potato chunks and rosemary salt, lemon, watercress, radish and tartare ($23.00)

SHED MAINS: GRILLED MARKET-FRESH FISH OF THE DAY (WHITE FISH)
served up with hand-cut potato chunks and rosemary salt, lemon, watercress, radish and tartare ($23.00)

You have a choice of battered, crumbed, or grilled for their market-fresh fish of the day. As you can see, we went for the classic battered and grilled. The fish was cooked to perfection and again just melt-in-the-mouth, especially the grilled fish. It’s like a fancy take on fish and chips, but instead of the chips, you have baked potato chunks seasoned with rosemary salt. The salad on the side added an extra texture to the palette and a burst of freshness to the tastebuds.

SHED MAINS: SLOW COOKED GRAIN-FED ANGUS SHORT RIB
with sweet & sour glaze, spiced eggplant ($23.00)

This was amongst the best mains that I’ve had from the Potting Shed. Beef and eggplant are a match made in heaven, both absolutely tender and packed with flavour. We were unsure though whether it was actually beef ribs as according to Jialing, they didn’t taste like ribs. For me, they didn’t look like the classic ribs for they weren’t served on the bone, but nonetheless, delicious!

SHED MAINS: CHARCOAL-GRILLED HOLMBRAE 1/2 CHICKEN
amongst fenugreek, coriander, walnuts, pomegranate, cucumber, radish and grains ($28.00)

This charcoal-grilled chicken was another favourite amongst us. I actually can’t remember if the skin was crispy, but that golden tan on it though! Tender, juicy chicken on a bed of yummy grains. The broth (sauce?) that came on the side to bathe your chicken in was also very flavoursome, and the fresh greens on the side balanced the dish as a whole.

The next two mains I unfortunately cannot comment on because I did not get to have a bite of! This was during my birthday and everyone basically had their own mains. I am assuming that they all taste very good anyway as my friends ate every single thing on their plate and left nothing behind.

SHED MAINS: DAVID BLACKMORE FULL-BLOODED WAGYU CHEESEBURGER
with shed-made dill pickles, mustard seed onions, tomato chilli jam and lettuce, all on a poppyseed bun with chips ($21.00)

SHED MAINS: LAMB SHANK POT PIE
with piped buttered mash and green leaf salad ($24.00)

SHED MAINS: BBQ CHILLI & GARLIC QLD JUMBO PRAWNS
(6) covered in burnt lemon dressing, served whole ($32.00)

I actually got to try one of these plump jumbo prawns – they were cooked to perfection and packed with flavour. I actually have a funny story to tell about these. But first, flashback to entrées. So amongst the friends who came to my birthday brunch was Daniel. When digging into our pumpkin entrée, we realised that he was putting the pumpkin skins to the side. We told him that you could in fact eat them. Then came along this main of his – I didn’t actually notice it at first, but towards the end of his meal I realised how clean his plate looked. He had eaten the shells of the prawns. After that we all made fun of how when he could actually eat the skins, he’d put them aside; and when he’s not meant to eat the skin (shells), he ate them anyway!

SHED MAINS: CHAR GRILLED MARINATED LAMB CUTLETS
(6) infused with oregano, mint and grilled lemon, with beetroot, potato & feta salad ($34.00)

When i visited the Potting Shed for the second time for dinner, my eyes were all over this dish as I was deciding on what I wanted to have. I went for something else though only because I thought it was a bit expensive for a casual weekend dinner. We settled the bill and just before I walked out of the café, a waited walked by carrying two plates of these babies and I had an instant food regret. They looked so good even though it was relatively dark and I could barely see a thing. I knew then that this was definitely a dish that I needed to order for the next visit despite how expensive it was. And voilà! I went all out and ordered it for my birthday and definitely no regrets. My only criticism? It was probably a little bit too pink on the inside for me, but otherwise, flavour combination was on point!

DESSERTS: BAKED APPLE PIE (for 2 people)
amongst home style vanilla custard ($16.00)

I actually cannot remember what my mouth felt like after having this dessert which means that it probably wasn’t as memorable as the last dessert you’ll see in this post. Nonetheless, it was a great tasting apple pie. I really liked how they served the vanilla custard in an old-school milk bottle, it made us fight over who wanted to pour it onto the pie!

Again, I was not able to have a bite of the next two desserts, so I won’t be able to comment on them. But judging by the orgasmic sounds that my friends made while consuming the dessert, I’m guessing they were pretty top notch as well!

DESSERTS: BANANA TART TATIN
alongside coconut ice cream and hazelnut praline ($14.00)

DESSERTS: BANANA BANOFFEE PIE
short crust pastry with caramel topping, flavoured cream, grilled banana and coconut ice cream ($12.00)

DESSERTS: SELF SAUCING CHOCOLATE PUDDING
with vanilla bean or salted caramel ice cream ($14.00)

Ever heard of the saying that there’s always room for dessert? THERE WILL ALWAYS BE ROOM FOR THIS DESSERT HANDS DOWN! You can obviously tell that this is probably the most mouthgasmic dessert I’ve had EVER! The first time I had this dessert I unfortunately had to share with 4 other people – it was definitely not enough! I had about 2 mouthfuls and that was it! Much rage. But for my birthday, I ordered one just for myself! This warm and chocolate-rich pudding is to die for, and the salted caramel ice cream on the side was the perfect match. I mean, if this photograph of the dessert doesn’t entice you into making that wise decision to order it, then I have no words for your insane mind.

What I have shown in this post is just a number of dishes that you can find at one of the cafés at the Ground of Alexandria. The site is filled with various food stalls and I definitely recommend spending a sunny weekend at the Grounds with friends for some delectable eats. Explore the gardens, the markets, and of course say hi to the various farm animals!

The Potting Shed at the Grounds
Building 7A
No. 2 Huntley Street
Alexandria, New South Wales
Australia, 2015

– Ally xx

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice)

January 6, 2015January 3, 2019 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! I’m back tonight with a recipe for you guys. So I did a little bit of reading on what Nasi Lemak actually translates to – I knew “Nasi” (pronounced nah-see) meant rice, but I was not sure what “Lemak” (pronounced leh-mahk) meant. Lemak apparently, if directly translated means “fat” and therefore Nasi Lemak means “fat rice”, but in the cooking context, lemak means enriched, and in this case, rice enriched with coconut milk.

The truth is, no one really know where the dish originated from as coconut rice is common in many other South-east Asian cultures such as Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Apparently there is an old folklore story from a village just south of the country’s state, Kuala Lumpur, where a village girl accidentally spilled a cup of coconut milk in a pot of rice while she was helping her mother cook. Though her mother was enraged, she ended up liking the taste of the rice with coconut milk, and hence the birth of Nasi Lemak.

Traditionally, the two elements that make up this dish are the rice of course, and the spicy sambal (a chilli-based sauce) that either has anchovies or prawns in it accompanying the rice. Sliced cucumbers, half a hard-boiled egg, and roasted peanuts are also essential condiments found in this dish. Nowadays, many variations of accompaniments are served with the dish, such as chicken, beef or prawn curry, and even fried chicken. It is then wrapped and packed in a banana tree leaf as this gives an added fragrance. Restaurants nowadays serve up a modernised version on a plate with all the trimmings.

Back home in Brunei, Nasi Lemak was practically on every menu in every restaurant. They were sold in almost every stall at the Gadong Pasar Malam (Night Market) and even on the side of the streets if I’m not mistaken. All ranging between $1.00 to $3.00, probably a little bit more in restaurant, but surely no more than $5.00. I remember I went to Mamak in Chinatown somewhere in the middle of last year to meet up with Sam’s friends (now my friends too) from the Netherlands. I had a sudden crave for Roti Kosong and Nasi Lemak, but it was so difficult to order it. I think I may have complained about this place before in terms of price comparisons to back home, and I am about to do it again. Their Nasi Lemak here was $9.00, and if you wanted a curry or fried chicken to go with it, it was another $3.00 extra, $4.00 if you wanted seafood. After that, never getting Nasi Lemak here ever again. Thus I decided to give homemade Nasi Lemak a go! Now, I may have steered away from ‘traditional’ by using pre-made sambal, but it tasted pretty good!

Here is where you can get quite creative yourself. As I’ve mentioned before, the rice and the sambal is essential. The other components are basically up to you. I paired my Nasi Lemak with Sambal Kangkung, which is basically water spinach stir fried in the chilli-based sauce with garlic and onions, and a piece of fried chicken. You can whip up your own curry with your choice of meat or vegetables to accompany this dish.

PREP TIME 1 HOUR | COOKING TIME 20-25 MINS | SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS

For the coconut rice

2 cups long grain rice
1 cup of water
2 pandan (screwpine) leaves, tie them into a knot as shown above
1 small can (170ml) coconut milk

For the fried chicken

4 pcs chicken thigh cutlets, skin-on, washed and cleaned
1/2 vegetable oil, for shallow frying
2 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp water
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of ground black pepper

For the sambal kangkung

1 bunch kangkung, washed, leaves separated from the stems, and stems cut into short lengths
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 red bird’s eye chillies, sliced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 & 1/2 tbsp sambal belacan
1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
Handfull of small-sized ikan bilis (dried anchovies), fried
Handfull of peanuts, roasted
Sliced cucumbers

Banana leaf

METHOD

First things first, combine all the marinade ingredients for the fried chicken in a large bowl. Mix the chicken around until well coated in the batter. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and set aside to marinade for 1 hour.
Coconut Rice: Just like making steamed rice, rinse your rice and drain. Add the coconut milk, a pinch of salt, and water. Add the pandan leaves into the rice and cook your rice. Once done, transfer to a serving dish lined with a banana leaf together with the other condiments.
Fried Chicken: Preheat oven to 180C. Heat up oil in a large frying pan an working in batches, shallow dry the chicken until skin is crispy and golden (about 4-5 minutes per side). Remove from the heat and place on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Place the wings in the oven for a further 8-10 minutes to finish off in the oven.
Sambal Kangkung: Heat oil in a medium frying pan over high heat. Add the garlic and 1 of the sliced bird’s eye chilli and sauté until golden brown. Add in the onions and sauté until soft. Bring the heat down to low and then add in the sambal belacan, cooking the belacan over high heat will cause it to spit all over the stovetop and we don’t want to have a messy cooking area. Cover if needed. Sauté the belacan until fragrant.
Add the the kangkung leaves, stems and a little bit of water to dilute the belacan you think can’t handle the heat. Cover until the leaves start to wilt. Toss around the belacan to coat the leaves and stems evenly (kangkung literally takes only a minute to cook). Serve together with your coconut rice and fried chicken, and top with fresh red chillies.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

December 23, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen4 Comments

Hello Everyone! So today’s recipe was made a while back, somewhere in November before I travelled to the Red Centre of Australia. The story goes back to my former housemate Lydia. Long story short, after having lunch together and going back to our rooms (or so I thought) I came back down to the kitchen and Lydia was STILL in the kitchen. She was flipping pancakes. I asked her how she was going with them, and she replied “not so good. I actually waited for you to go upstairs so you wouldn’t see my fail pancakes!”

If you’ve read my blog post from somewhere in September, you’d know that Lydia and pancakes do not go well together. Even when she tried to flip them the first time we made them together, life was just being too difficult for her – until we made these pancakes though! She flipped about 3 or even more pancakes successfully! And these pancakes aren’t considered easy for beginners like Lydia I would assume. I didn’t want to just make plain pancakes, we we stepped it up a notch and we (mainly I) decided to try out a recipe for Cinnamon Roll Pancakes.

The first pancake I attempted was a slight fail – I didn’t know when to pipe the cinnamon filling onto the pancake. What I did at first was basically wait for the pancake batter to start bubbling on the top and then pipe on the filling. Two things went wrong; firstly the filling was a bit firm so it wasn’t piping out in one smooth squeeze. The second thing, when I flipped the pancake, the filling just went everywhere. The first one was easy to resolve, we basically just let the filling out for a while until it started to soften a bit. The second took a little bit of thinking, but in the end we ended up piping the filling straightaway onto the pancake batter as it hit the pan. 100% success from then on!

Also, this recipe can originally be found on Vegan Yumminess – though I highly doubt that these pancakes that I’ve made are 100% vegan because of the choices of ingredients that I’ve used.

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 45 MINS | MAKES 6-8 PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

For the pancake batter

40g unsalted butter, melted
1 & 1/2 cup plain flour
1 & 1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp lemon juice

For the cinnamon filling

60g unsalted butter, slightly softened
5 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp plain flour

For the cream cheese glaze

100g cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners sugar, sifted
3 tbsp milk, plus more if needed
1 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of salt

METHOD

Preheat oven to 100C. Line a tray with baking paper.
Cinnamon Filling: Place all the ingredients into a zip-lock sandwich bag and seal closed. Knead the ingredients together with your hands until there are no big lumps or chunks of anything. Place the bag in the fridge for at least 10 minutes to allow the mixture to firm up a little bit. The consistency should be similar to that of toothpaste. When you are ready to draw swirls into your pancakes, cut about a 1/3-inch (.8cm) hole in one of the bottom corners of your sandwich bag.
Cream Cheese Glaze: In a medium-sized bowl beat the cream cheese using an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add the sugar and beat until combined, about 1 minute. Then add the salt, lemon juice, and milk; mixing on low speed until smooth. If the glaze is too thick to drizzle, add more milk, 1 tbsp at a time.
Pancake Batter: Add the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk to combine. Then add in the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Heat a nonstick pan on the stove on medium and once heated, turn the heat down to medium-low. Lightly butter the pan and pour about a 1/4 cup of batter. Immediately add your cinnamon filling by gently squeezing your sandwich bag in a circular motion around your pancake to form a swirl. Try not to get too close to the edge of your pancake.
When bubbles have formed towards the centre of your pancake (about 2-3 minutes), flip your pancake quickly in one continuous motion. When the pancake has cooked on the other side for a further 1-3 minutes, remove it from the pan and place on your prepare baking tray and place into the oven to keep warm while you work on the remaining pancake batter. Make sure to wipe your pan clean before starting your next pancake.
Stack your pancakes and drizzle with cream cheese glaze.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Beer-braised Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict

December 9, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen4 Comments

Hello Everyone! Today’s post will actually consist of two recipes; one leading to the other that is. So I’ve been debating whether I should actually post them as two separate posts but then I thought to myself that I wouldn’t be able to do a proper write up (i.e. a story for Vidhya) if I had just posted the first recipe. She would’ve been so mad at me if I didn’t have a story for her! But I do have a good story to tell about the second, which I kind of already mentioned it to Vidhya briefly when I saw her in the kitchen on Monday afternoon.

Anyway, so what happened was that somewhere during the beginning-mid year, my friends and I went out for brunch on a fine weekend. I suggested that we head on over to John Smith Café in Waterloo specifically because I saw a whole lot of Instagram posts about this heavenly Pulled Pork Cronut with Hollandaise Sauce! I was seriously drooling all over my phone, so naturally I made it my mission to head on over and drag my lovely ladies Jialing and Yvonne along too. We planned to meet for brunch, and but of course brunch turned into late lunch as Jialing and I adjusted our timings to suit Yvonne. When we got to the café the waiter (possibly owner) showed us to the table and said that he had good news and bad news. I honestly forgot what the good news was, but the bad news was indeed BAD news. So bad that I just can’t even. They ran out of pulled pork. I was so devastated that I even told the guy serving us in a sort of like sad little girl voice “but I came specifically here for that!” To which he replied “I am very sorry about that, but here’s a cronut on me!”

Oh well, at least I got a free cronut. But what I really wanted to say is that I really wanted to go back another time to devour this Pulled Pork Cronut of theirs – but sadly it’s already nearing the end of the year and I have no been back! So I thought to myself, why wait to go back if I can possibly just whip one up of my own at home? Minus the cronut that is; just the pulled pork, eggs benny style. I know it’s not the same thing, but who doesn’t love pulled pork eggs benny for a big Sunday breakfast/brunch/lunch?

First things first, the pulled pork. This recipe for beer-braised pulled pork is just so great. Why I have chosen to braise the pork in beer is because, well I’ve had a 6-pack of Corona lying in my closet for quite possibly 7 months now. For those of you who know me, I don’t drink beer. I just don’t like the taste of it. So why do I have beer in my closet do you ask? I bought it for a prank video I filmed for my Major Design Project for an anti-binge drinking campaign. So instead of drinking it, or giving it away, I decided the only way I can ‘consume’ it would have to be incorporating it into my cooking – hence the beer-braised pulled pork. So technically you don’t have to follow this pulled pork recipe, you can find another one to use, or if you have one of your own up your sleeve then be my guest!

*Note: my casserole dish was a wee-bit too small for the meat I had. Oops! I didn’t have anything bigger so I ended up using only half of the vegetables and half a bottle of beer. Ideally you would use all! Also, you can find the original recipe for this beer-braised pork shoulder over on The Kitchn. I tweaked the recipe a little bit, and of course to suit my not-so-good oven that jut takes double (sometimes triple) the amount of time to cook anything. I also kept the fat on the pork shoulder – that’s where the goodness is!

Beer-braised Pulled Pork

PREP TIME 30 MINS | COOKING TIME 5 HOURS | SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1kg pork shoulder
355ml beer of choice
4 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 large brown onion, cut into wedges
1 large carrot, cut into chunks
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp brown sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ground rock salt
1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbsp plain flour

METHOD

Preheat oven to 200C. Combine the brown sugar, cumin powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the pork with the spice mixture and allow to sit for about 30 minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Sear and brown the pork on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and transfer to the casserole dish. Sauté the garlic and onions until fragrant. Then add in the tomatoes and cook until soft before adding the carrots and celery. Scrape the bottom of the pan while mixing to bring up any browned bits.Transfer the vegetables to the casserole dish with the pork.
Pour the beer over the meat and vegetables and cover. Cook in the oven for 5 hours, checking once or twice, until the meat is extremely tender. Once done, transfer the pork to a plate and shred using a fork.
Strain juices into a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the flour in and stir continuously to get rid of any lumps. This will be your gravy to go with your pulled pork eggs benny.

Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict with Sriracha Hollandaise Sauce

This is where shit gets real. Sriracha Hollandaise Sauce? Yes please! Also, please see the original ideas that I got form Pineapple & Coconut (basically where I got the idea to use English Muffins and Sriracha Hollandaise sauce for this recipe).

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME 15 MINS | SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS

For the Eggs Benny

1 cup pulled pork
3 tbsp pulled pork gravy
2 English muffins, lightly toasted
2 large free range eggs
1/2 avocado, mashed
Handful of snow pea shoots
Pinch of paprika

For the Sriracha Hollandaise Sauce

3 large free range eggs, yolks separated
175g unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1-3 tbsp sriracha sauce (depending on how hot you want it)
Ground salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD

Sriracha Hollandaise Sauce: Place a heatproof bowl over a medium saucepan that is quarter-filled with water. Make sure that the bowl should fit snugly into the pan without touching the water (lift the bowl to check and remove some water if it does). Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to very low so the water is barely simmering (there should be almost no movement at all). It is important that the water is barely simmering while making the sauce – if it is too hot, the egg yolks will cook too much and the sauce will curdle.
Place the egg yolks and the 2 tablespoons of water in the heatproof bowl and place over the pan. Whisk the mixture constantly for 3 minutes or until it is thick and pale, has doubled in volume and a ribbon trail forms when the whisk is lifted.
Add the butter a cube at a time, whisking constantly and adding another cube when the previous one is incorporated completely (about 10 minutes to add it all in). If butter is added too quickly, it won’t mix easily with the egg yolks or the sauce may lose volume. At the same time, it is important that the butter is at room temperature and added a cube at a time, so that it doesn’t take too long to be incorporated – if the sauce cooks for too long, it can curdle.
Remove the bowl from the pan and place on a heatproof surface. The cooked sauce should have the consistency of very lightly whisked thickened cream. Whisk in the lemon juice, sriracha sauce, and season with salt and pepper.
Poached Eggs: Bring small saucepan of water to the boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low-medium – the water should be just simmering. Add in the vinegar and stir. Crack one egg into a small bowl and quickly, but gently pour it into the water. Repeat with the other egg. A really soft poached egg should take around 2 minutes, but if you want it a bit more firm, it will take about 4 minutes. To check if they’re cooked right, carefully remove the egg from the pan with a slotted spoon and give the yolk a gentle push (you can tell just by your instincts if it is under or overcooked – or perfect)!
Assembly: Combine the pulled pork and gravy in a small bowl. Spread each English muffin with mashed avocado and top with the pulled pork. Place the poached egg on each and top with a generous amount of sriracha hollandaise sauce. Crack a a little pepper on top, sprinkle with a bit of paprika, and decorate with snow pea shoots. Serve immediately!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Citrus Poppyseed

December 2, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen6 Comments

Hello Everyone! So I think I mentioned that last week was supposed to be Muffin Making Monday, but because I was still travelling the outback, scaling one of the best climbs from that trip, and ever, at Kings Canyon. I do apologise if I happen to bring this up in every single post for the next couple of weeks – I just can’t get over such an amazing trip!

Anyway, so technically Jialing and I had our Muffin Making Monday… on a Sunday. Jialing got called into work just for this Monday, but we still didn’t want to miss out on muffins as to quote Jialing “I didn’t have breakfast for the past two weeks” *insert sad face emoji*. So we then decided to bake on Sunday instead! Jialing again whipped up her Raspberry & White Chocolate with Lemon Streusel Muffins (she actually wanted to do a mixed berry one this time, but gutted that Coles ran out of them when we went to do our groceries together). And as the heading of this post states, I made Citrus Poppyseed Muffins, which Jialing actually made before and tasted so good that I wanted to make them for myself this time around. Please check out the original recipe over on Sally’s Baking Addiction. The original recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of poppyseeds, but because I used what Jialing had leftover from last time. I think I only had about a tablespoon for these so they aren’t quite as evident in the photographs.

Poppyseed fun fact: It takes 2,000,000 of these tiny black polka dots to equal one kilo.

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 15-18 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

2 & 1/3 cups plain flour
1/2 cup Greek or regular yoghurt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
115g salted butter, melted
2 large free range eggs
Juice and zest of 2 medium-sized lemons
Juice and zest of 1 large orange
3 tbsp poppyseeds
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
Coarse sugar, for sprinkling

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Whisk the flour, white sugar, brown sugar, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl until well combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, lemon juice, lemon zest, orange juice, and orange zest together thoroughly mixed. Then, whisk in the eggs one at a time, and then whisk in the yoghurt and vanilla.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and gently mix together until no pockets of flour remain. Be careful as to not over mix the batter. The consistency of the batter should be quite thick.
Spoon the thick batter into the muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top and sprinkle each with additional lemon and orange zest as well as coarse sugar.
Bake in the oven for 5 minutes at 220C. Then, reduce oven temperature to 190C and continue to bake for 10-13 minutes longer or until tops are lightly golden. To check if they are done, insert a toothpick in the centre of the muffin. If it’s cooked through, the toothpick should come out clean, if not then bake further at 2-3 minute intervals (as to not accidentally over bake them).
Once done, remove from the over and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Muffins stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Breakfast Muffins: Spiced Carrot

November 13, 2014December 31, 2018 amcarmen6 Comments

Hello Everyone! Back with another muffin (borderline cupcake) recipe for you! This week, I decided to whip up some lovely spiced carrot muffins while Jialing made some yummy raspberry and white chocolate muffins with a lemon crumb top. I had a bag of about 400g of baby carrots sitting in the fridge, given to me by my housemate Vidhya before she flew off to South Africa. She was telling me how she went out and bought a lot of food, not realising that she’d be jetting off in a few days for a month. So hence why I got the bag of carrots! Now, for those of you who don’t know me that well, I am actually not a fan of carrots. There’s just something about the taste (raw and/or cooked) that I don’t like. I remember how I’d use to add it to my stir-fry just for the colour. I’d eat a slice or two and I’d just be like, no. So when I got this bag of carrots, I had no idea what I was going to do with them. I wanted to give them to Lydia, but I know for a fact that she also does not like carrots. She only eats them because she knows it’s good for your eyes. But other than that, she tries to avoid eating them too.

Solution? Spiced Carrot Muffins! At least this way I won’t taste much of the carrot… I hope. And I still even have 3-4 baby carrots lying in my fridge! No clue what to do with them next. In the end I think my Spiced Carrot Muffins turned out to be Spiced Carrot Cake Cupcakes because I decided to top the muffins with a yummy cream cheese frosting (I know, so much cream cheese for the past week – for those of you who didn’t see it, I made a Red Velvet Cheesecake on the weekend for my birthday!) I know, this week I was supposed to make savoury muffins as I was unintentionally alternating between sweet and savoury. I feel like it’s a mix? Remove the cream cheese frosting and you have a sort of savoury muffin? Maybe. Please also check out the original recipe over on Williams-Sonoma. The original recipe uses raisins, and if you know me, another thing I don’t like. So add them if you want to (about half a cup), otherwise, I replaced them with roughly chopped walnuts. I also tweaked up the spices by adding ground allspice, cloves, and nutmeg. Much yumminess indeed!

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 15-18 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

For the muffin batter

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and finely shredded (2 large carrots, or 4-5 baby carrots)
2 large free range eggs
1 cup buttermilk or sour cream
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

For the cream cheese frosting

250g cream cheese, at room temperature
60g butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

Preheat oven to 220C. Line a 12 hole muffin pan with paper cases.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices into a large bowl and stir together until combined. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and brown sugar until blended. Whisk in the buttermilk, and then butter.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and, using a rubber spatula, stir just until evenly moistened. Fold in the carrots and walnuts just until evenly distributed (reserve some for decorating later).
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Once done remove from the oven and set aside to completely cool down.
Meanwhile, as the muffins bake in the oven, smooth the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla together using an electric handheld mixer. Fold in the icing sugar, and then use the mixer again to beat it until it is light and fluffy. Place the icing mixture into a piping bag (or a regular zip lock bag if you don’t have one in handy like me, and snip off a corner to allow the frosting through). Frost the muffins/cupcakes, and top with some crumbed walnuts and shredded carrots.

I think I may have gotten Lydia into a dilemma; she now can’t choose between my Banana and Cinnamon Crumb Top Muffins, my Pumpkin and Cheesecake Muffins, and now these babies!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

AMCARMEN'S KITCHEN

A Third Culture Foodie

Tag: Breakfast

Devon on Danks

Breakfast Muffins: Vegemite & Cheese

PREP TIME 25 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | MAKES 6 MUFFINS

Ampersand Café & Bookstore

Breakfast Muffins: Mixed Berries

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 25 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

The Potting Shed at the Grounds

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice)

PREP TIME 1 HOUR | COOKING TIME 20-25 MINS | SERVES 4

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 45 MINS | MAKES 6-8 PANCAKES

Beer-braised Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict

Beer-braised Pulled Pork

PREP TIME 30 MINS | COOKING TIME 5 HOURS | SERVES 4-6

Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict with Sriracha Hollandaise Sauce

PREP TIME 5 MINS | COOKING TIME 15 MINS | SERVES 2

Breakfast Muffins: Citrus Poppyseed

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 15-18 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS

Breakfast Muffins: Spiced Carrot

PREP TIME 15 MINS | COOKING TIME 15-18 MINS | MAKES 12 MUFFINS