Strawberries and Cream Rocky Road

I really enjoy a good white chocolate rocky road, so when the idea came to me for a strawberries and cream version I knew I had to make it ASAP. The strawberry element comes from homemade strawberry marshmallows (made using fresh strawberries) and some freeze dried strawberries too. The cream element comes from the white chocolate,

I have written before that I love marshmallows. I know they can be a divisive thing, people have strong opinions about them. Most of these opinions are formed by the marshmallows found on supermarket shelves. Those marshmallows pale in comparison to homemade ones as are used in this recipe, so please don’t judge them before you try them! Everyone I know who says they don’t like marshmallows has liked these homemade ones, and been very surprised at how different they are to bought ones and how fresh the flavour is (as they are made with fresh fruit not artificial flavourings).

You can make the marshmallows a few days in advance and make the rocky road another day, this recipe can’t be done in one day anyway as the marshmallows need time overnight to set.

You won’t need all the strawberry marshmallows for the rocky road (or you could probably make a double batch of rocky road if you were thinking of using them as gifts), however they are superb on their own, and last around 3 weeks in an airtight container. The marshmallows make wonderful gifts on their own too.

Strawberries & cream Rocky Road

Ingredients for the Marshmallows: 

275g pureed fresh strawberries (the seeds can be strained if you wish, however the total weight still needs to be 275g)

50g gelatine powder

115ml water

820g white/granulated sugar 

320g glucose 

50g potato flour/starch

50g icing sugar (pure or confectioners)

cooking spray

Method: 

Spray a slice tin or lamington tray (at least 30x20cm) with the cooking spray and set aside. A slighly deeper tin will work well for this. If your tin is quite shallow, you may wish to prepare a second smaller tin) or grease some baking paper for any excess marshmallow that doesn’t fit into your main prepared tin.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, briefly mix together the strawberry puree and the gelatine powder. Leave for now, ensuring the whisk attachment is fitted and everything is ready to go once your sugar syrup is ready. 

In a medium/large saucepan place the water, then the sugar, then the glucose. Place over high heat and cook until the syrup reaches 120 degrees Celsius on a candy thermometer.

With the mixer on low, gradually pour the sugar syrup into the strawberry mix. Whisk on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture turns a more opaque colour. The mixture will also start to thicken. Then increase mixer to high speed for about 8 minutes, until the marshmallow has tripled in volume and has thickened. 

Pour marshmallow into the prepared tray, tapping it down on the bench to remove any air bubbles and to ensure it is sitting in the tray evenly. 

Leave to set overnight before cutting (room temperature is best, preferably covered with a food net or cover).

Once the marshmallow is ready to cut, in a small bowl whisk together the potato flour and the icing sugar (sift if necessary). 

Dust some of this mixture onto your clean work surface. Remove the slab of marshmallow from the tin, use a spatula to pull the sides away from the tin and tip it onto the dusted work surface. 

Dust more of the icing sugar mix over the top of the marshmallow slab, and around the sides. Using a large sharp knife, cut into cubes, by cutting the slab into rows, then cutting rows in the other direction. Dust your knife regularly with the icing sugar mix, and continue to dust the marshmallows as they are cut. The size you cut the marshmallows is completely up to you, I like cutting them into larger cubes (as pictured). 

Ensure every part of the cut marshmallows are covered in the potato flour and icing sugar mix. Toss them around on the bench to remove any excess.

Store in an airtight container. The marshmallows will keep for about 3 weeks. 

Ingredients for the Rocky Road:

700g white chocolate - choose one you like to eat (I used Cadbury Dream)

80g flaked or slivered almonds, lightly toasted

20g (approx.) freeze dried strawberries (sliced or roughly chopped whole strawberries)

500g homemade strawberry marshmallows 

Method: 

Line a square baking tin (approx. 22-23cm) with baking paper - I like to use small bulldog clips to hold the paper in place. 

Have all the rocky road elements ready to go next to your prepared tin. 

Melt the chocolate by placing a small pot with a little water on the stove and allow to simmer. Plate another pot or bowl that will comfortably sit over the top of the water pot, on top of the smaller pan, and add the chocolate to this pot/bowl. Gently mix the chocolate until completely melted. 

Pour about a third of the chocolate into the base of the prepared tin and allow it cover the base completely. Scatter in half the marshmallows, and one third of the almonds and freeze dried strawberries. Cover with another third of the chocolate, then place the remaining marshmallows and another third of the almonds and freeze dried strawberries. Cover with the remaining chocolate, and scatter over the remaining almonds and freeze dried strawberries.

Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set (especially if you are working in warm or humid conditions), however you can prepare this in advance and cut the next day.

Once set use a large sharp knife to cut the rocky road into desired sizes. 

I prefer to keep the rocky road in the fridge. Keeps for about 2-3 weeks. 

Makes 8 generous blocks of rocky road. 

Macadamia and Davidson Plum Melting Moments

I love a good melting moment. They are a classic Australian sandwich biscuit (or cookie if you are outside of Australia), and paired with macadamia and Davidson Plum they just end up being a little more Australian for it.

Davidson Plum is an native Australian fruit, purple like many plum varieties, however not technically part of the plum family. Often called ooray by Indigenous Australians, this fruit was traditionally eaten raw and used for medicinal purposes. Now it is often found in freeze dried powder form.

The freeze dried powder gives an intense purple colour, though quite a mild flavour when used in smaller quantities (such as this recipe). Davidson Plum is quite sour, so if you want to increase the quantities in the icing, just keep that in mind and taste and you go.

If you don’t have access to freeze dried Davidson Plum powder, you can substitute with freeze dried blackberry or raspberry powder.

Macadamia and Davidson Plum Melting Moments

Ingredients:   

65g macadamias                                    

300g unsalted butter, softened

120g icing sugar/mixture

450g plain flour

Ingredients for the filling:

80g unsalted butter, softened

200g icing sugar/mixture

2 tsp Davidson Plum powder

Method: 

Preheat oven to 145 degrees Celsius, and line three large baking trays with baking paper. 

Place the macadamias on one of the prepared trays, and toast in the oven for about 5-7 minutes, or until the macadamias are lightly golden.

Allow the macadamias to cool, then chop roughly into small pieces. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until creamy.

Add the flour and chopped macadamias to the creamed butter, and mix on low speed until a dough forms (cover your mixer with a tea towel to avoid the flour going everywhere). 

Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and place on the prepared trays (you should end up with 40-44 individual dough balls/biscuits) leaving a little space in between each). Then lightly press down each ball with the back of a fork so they flatten out a little. Dip your fork in flour if it is sticking to the dough.

Bake for 25 minutes. They will be cooked when the undersides of the biscuits are lightly golden. To ensure a even bake, rotate the baking trays in the oven around half way through. 

Allow to cool on their trays.

Once the biscuits have cooled make the filling by beating the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment or by using a hand held mixer. Mix until light and fluffy and everything is well combined. Then add the Davidson Plum powder and mix until combined. 

Pair up the cooked biscuits, and turn one from each pair over so the underside is facing up. Spread or pipe the filling on to the underside of one biscuit in each biscuit pair, then gently sandwich the paired biscuits together. 

Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2024 Part 2

This round of cookbooks worth waiting for was hard to choose. I don’t quite feel the same level of enthusiasm for the cookbooks due to be released in the second half of the year as I did in the first half - maybe the demise of Booktopia has something to do with it and having one less place to buy them from. 

There are also a few books being released later this year (not included in the list below), that I would really like to have a look through in person - so they don’t fit the ‘worth waiting for’ criteria as I would actually like to wait and see what they are like! They are titles from authors I have cookbooks from already, and I’m not 100% convinced their new title will add value to my cookbook collection. This feeling is based on their previous works, and a wonder about whether I need too many more cookbooks on one particular topic (and from the same authors). 

I think a few trips to book shops will be in my future to work out my feelings on some of the other new releases coming soon (what a hardship haha!), but for now, let’s get to those cookbooks I think will be worth waiting for!

Let me know in the comments what your top picks for the rest of the year are!

Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh (September 2024) - I generally look forward to all of the Ottolenghi groups books, though I have to say I am excited about this one as I enjoy Helen Goh’s recipes and use of flavour so I’m thinking this book may just be really good. No Ottolenghi cookbook has surpassed Simple (published in 2018) for me, and I can’t say I use the last three or so releases (Flavour, and the two Test Kitchen books) as much as I do Simple and those published before it. So while I know that this new title may not surpass Simple for me, I’m willing to give it a go since this book is touted as comfort food Ottolenghi style. And that sounds very good to me!

Sofra by Karima Hazim Chatila and Sivine Tabbouch (September 2024) - I came across this book on social media and was immediately interested in it. A debut cookbook from a mother daughter duo, this book is described as a love letter to Lebanon. It sounds like my kind of book as it will contain recipes, but also stories about the food and the authors connection to Lebanon and its cuisine. 

Bake with Brooki by Brooke Bellamy (October 2024) - After being sent some of the Brooki Bakery cookies by a friend last year, I am keen to see what this cookbook will be like. Baking books like this one feels like aren’t always my style - is the social media hype of the successful bakery in Brisbane going to translate well in cookbook form? I have found cookbooks that stem from social media success a bit lacking in the past. Despite being at a point where I’m not sure how many more baking books I need, I am interested to see how this one pans out and whether the cookbook can provide substance to the hectic social media and bakery pace owner Brooke seems to be riding. 

Karkalla At Home by Mindy Woods (September 2024) - The beautiful design of this cookbooks cover caught my eye first, and then the subtitle (‘Native foods and everyday recipes for connecting to Country) and description kept my interest going. Author Mindy Woods is a restauranteur, and brings her deep knowledge to this cookbook by sharing stories and profiles of our continents most readily available native ingredients. I love that this cookbook is described as a ‘please-use-me- cookbook’ (I suppose the hope of all cookbook authors!), and promises to bring native foods into our kitchen. 

Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2024 Part 1 - A Recap

Now the wait is over for all the books on my last cookbooks worth waiting for list, it’s time to let you know what they are like, and where they worth waiting for?! (Yes).

You can check out the original Cookbooks Worth Waiting For list for these books here.

What Can I Bring? by Sophie Hansen (Murdoch Books)* - As I mentioned previously, my family loves all of Sophie’s books (we even have duplicate copies of them so no sharing is necessary!). What Can I Bring? has the same use of seasonal ingredients and unfussy easeful recipes that I have come to expect from her books, but with the added bonus of recipes from others which adds more variety to the mix here. I have made the Strawberry Jam Crumble Slice (p.55) (with rhubarb jam, another of Sophie’s recipes from a previous book!), which was really nice and writing this reminds me that I do really need to make it again. My Mum made the Really, Really Good Roast Chicken with Orange and Bay (p.102), and confirmed yes it is, really, really good!

I love the bright colourful design of the book, and Sophie’s photography always makes me want to join in on whatever is happening in the scene (mostly eat the food!). This is the third cookbook (or fourth if you count Around the Kitchen Table co-written with her mum Annie Herron), that revolves around the theme of feeding people and sharing food with others. I think it’s something Sophie clearly does very well, however I find myself keen to see something a bit different if there is another cookbook in our future from Sophie (and hopefully there is!). Maybe a book purely dedicated to baking, or even something inspired by the podcast Sophie co-hosts with Germaine Leece, Something to Eat and Something to Read. Either way, I love all Sophie puts out into the world and her recipes and work remain firm favourites in this household. 

Beatrix Bakes Another Slice by Natalie Paull (Hardie Grant)* - Another joyful cookbook from Natalie Paull of former much loved Melbourne bakery Beatrix! While my hope of a few more simple bakes would be included in this second instalment of Beatrix Bakes (and of course this opinion is tempered with the fact that what you consider simple bakes may differ from mine!), there are a few more biscuit recipes than last time - I have tried the Macadamia and White Chocolate Chonky Chip Cookies (p.49) and they are very good (and very massive!). This book is definitely a ‘baking projects’ kind of baking book (there is even a chapter called ‘Day-off Baking Projects’). However if baking projects are your thing, or you like a nice selection of more involved things to make for when the occasion calls for it (again a very subjective thing!), this and Natalie’s first book are for you. 

Natalie has a way of explaining even the most complex baking techniques in a way that make you feel she is in the kitchen with you, gently supporting you through. The advisory sections throughout the book are well worth reading to help you get the ultimate outcome for all your baking efforts (and learn lots too!), along with the specific tips on each recipe on how to change things up. I also love a cookbook that utilises cute illustrations and lovely photography to give the book an inviting and interesting feel, that is also useful to the reader or potential baker - which Beatrix Bakes Another Slice has in spades (or should I say in slices!?). My next bake from this book will either be the Triple Ginger Gingerbread Hoops (p.57), which are something I remember buying and enjoying from Beatrix on my one visit there in 2019, or the Jammy Crumble Crostata (p.129)

Bethlehem by Fadi Kattan (Hardie Grant) - As I mentioned on the original list for this lot of cookbooks, I knew Bethlehem would be a cookbook I would be interested in. I was not wrong, and it is probably one of the most interesting cookbooks I have added to my collection in a little while. Fadi really takes the reader on a tour of Bethlehem, where we share in memories of Fadi’s family, and meet many people along the way who are part of the food culture of Bethlehem today. The location photography in particular is really fantastic in this book, as are the portraits of those Bethlehem natives who Fadi profiles in this book. Their stories are captivating and it really adds to the story of Bethlehem that Fadi is telling through food to highlight these people, like Um Nabil whom Fadi affectionately dubs the ‘Queen of Herbs’.

The impact of colonisation and the Israeli occupation are weaved through the story of Bethlehem, their impacts cannot be ignored. The diverting of water ways into settler communities away from their natural course, has changed the landscape and what can grow there. Fadi explains for example what his childhood memories of Jericho were and the types of herbs that grew there and the date tree farms. Now Fadi laments the loss of these things, and the displacement of the Bedouin population who had settled in this area, due to the encroaching Israeli settlements and the diverting of water to those settlements.  

For all the hardship, and there has been generations of this as those of us in the West are finally catching up with, Fadi and those he profiles in his book are proud to be Palestinian, and from Bethlehem. They are connected to their land and culture through the food they grow and cook, and how this food connects them as people and how it is used to celebrate holidays and mark everyday rituals. The recipes Fadi shares are separated by the seasons, and there is much to choose from. There are recipes like Falafel (p.220) and Shawarma (p.126) which you may expect to see from many cookbooks from the Middle East. However there are surprises (to me anyway, only having two other books dedicated to Palestinian food I am clearly still learning) such as Dibs and Tahina Shortbread (p.113) (dibs is grape molasses of which I have a jar and now with this book have quite a few recipes I could use it for!), Quince Jam (p.168), Poached Peaches in Pomegranate Juice (p.171) and Teta Julia’s Christmas Cake (p.230). 

Greekish by Georgina Hayden (Bloomsbury Publishing)- Georgina’s cookbooks are pure joy and this one is no different. The recipes shared in Greek-ish are Georgina’s take on traditional Greek recipes made a bit simpler for everyday cooking and eating. Unlike Georgina’s previous books which have drawn from her Greek Cypriot heritage and family more directly, this book uses this as its inspiration to create recipes that are shaped by Georgina’s “busy family life”. She has simplified some much loved Greek favourites, and utilised traditional Greek ingredients to ensure flavour and ease at the same time. Much to my approval, there is a large use of both feta and halloumi in this book (see page 62!) so I’m assuming that will be a big win for any cheese loving people out there. There is even a biscuit recipe containing feta cheese for those that need this delicious Greek staple in almost every meal (p.232). 

Recipes like Filo-Wrapped Feta with Spiced Honey (p.64), Beetroot and Dill Tzatziki with Fried Capers (p74), One-Pot Chicken Thighs and Rice (p.114) and Sticky Date and Tahini Aubergine (p.189) are top of my to cook list from Greekish (though I have marked many more recipes with sticky notes!). All the recipes have notes if they are vegetarian, dairy free or gluten free, and I think there is a nice selection of recipes to cater for meat eaters, vegetarians and everyone in between (for very excellent vegan recipes check out Georgina’s book Nistisima). 

I’ll Bring Dessert by Benjamina Ebuehi (Hardie Grant Quadrille)- If you have either of Benjamina’s previous books, you will be familiar with her distinctive use of flavour and ability to create recipes that stand out from the sea of baking books out there. I think this book is no different, but rather than a focus on cakes and baked goods the focus has every so slightly shifted to desserts (which thankfully (for me) still includes some cakes!). With this cookbook, Benjamina is hoping to assist all of us in becoming dessert people, the people who when asked to bring something to a gathering, will echo the name of the book and say ‘I’ll bring dessert’. Some of us may need little assistance in becoming dessert people in terms of eating, but new recipes ideas are always welcome when it comes to actually cooking dessert. As with Benjamina’s previous two books, the recipes are divided up into flavour profiles (e.g. something fruity, something creamy, something nutty etc), which I personally really like and find useful. 

The photography is also a real stand out in this cookbook, it is simple yet inviting and the lighting of each photograph feels just right. There are make ahead suggestions for each recipe, and the variety of desserts is so varied you will no doubt find something to suit what you might be looking for. I would really like to make the Rhubarb Meringue Cake (p.29-30) and the Poached Quince and Custard Crumble Cake (p.48-9), however those temped to stray past having cake for dessert will find all sorts of pies, crumbles, tarts and puddings (and lots more). 

I think for me, in terms of looking at I’ll Bring Dessert and Benjamina’s previous two books, I only prefer the previous two (A New Way to Cake and A Good Day to Bake), as I am more a cake/baking person than a dessert person and am more than happy to have cake for any meal of the day including dessert. 

*These books were gifted to me by their respective publishers. Murdoch Books was gifted with the understanding a review would be written, Hardie Grant was not. All opinions expressed are my own, and to be honest I would have purchased these books myself if they had not been gifted to me. Links to all books are just for your reference. Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Oven Poached Quince

Since this recipe has the quince tightly covered with foil during the cooking time in the oven, I think it’s still classified as poaching? 

Whether it’s technically poaching or baking, I find this a great way to cook these tough but delicious fruit. 

I used to spend time cutting out the cores of the raw quince to then wrap in muslin to add to the baking, but if the quince cores are in good condition I will now leave them in tact and cut them out after cooking - much easier!

Many times I have cooked quince I have found the cores are not in good condition as they contain a little mould etc. I think this occurs if a fruit fly or similar has burrowed its way into the centre of the fruit (any experts let me know in the comments if my assumption here is correct!). Look out for fruit with small holes in the flesh as these are likely to be poorer quality and may have cores that are not usable. I avoid fruit with these little holes if I can as even cutting the quince can be a lot of work, and it’s disappointing to find the core (and all the pectin it can give the poached quince) has to be completely discarded along with some if of the rest of the quince too.

In these cases I keep any useable core and place in muslin to poach with the quince, but if your quince are very good quality you should be able to leave the cores until after cooking.

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Oven Poached Quince

Ingredients:

4-5 quince

300g white sugar

130ml water

juice of two lemons or two bergamots (approx. 120ml)

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 vanilla bean halved length ways

8 cardamom pods

handful of fresh or dried rose petals

Method:

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius.

Peel and cut the quince into quarters and place in a single layer in a large baking dish. 

In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, citrus juice, vanilla, cardamom and rose petals. Place over low/medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Once the sugar has dissolved allow to simmer for a couple of minutes, then pour over the quince and cover the baking dish tightly with foil.

Place in the oven for at least 2 -3 hours, turning the quince over halfway so they colour evenly. The quince will be ready once they have softened (but remain whole) and have turned a ruby red colour. The cooking time will depend on the size of the quince. I check mine at the 1 and 2 hour marks, and then at 30 minute intervals after that if they need more than 2 hours.

Once the quince are cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Discard the cardamom pods, and once the quince have cooled enough, gently cut out the cores and discard. If the colour of the quince is lighter underneath the cut part, turn them over so they are face down in the quince cooking syrup and they will colour up a bit while the quince cool further. 

Once cooled, place quince together with the syrup in an airtight container (I find glass containers work best). Keep in the fridge, they should last for a couple of months for so. You can freeze the quince as well. 

Off The Shelf - The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment

Bought At: Pre-ordered from Amazon, however I have since bought two copies as gifts directly from Tilly.

Recipes Made: So many!

I made A Plain Cake with Passionfruit Buttercream (p.16) knowing I had all the ingredients, even some passionfruit pulp in the freezer. It was a lovely plain cake, unfortunately especially so as my passionfruit were decidedly un-passionfruit-y! It was the least passionfruit-y passionfruit I’ve ever eaten, and I was quite disappointed to experience that when making this cake! I can certainly imagine however, how much better this cake would usually be with probably any other passionfruit than the ones I used!

A Plain Cake with Passionfruit Buttercream

I made the Weekday Lemon Cake (p.19) when I had some in season bergamots and can confirm it was delicious, as I’m sure it would be with lemon (or any other citrus). Another lovely simple yet very flavoursome and satisfying cake from this book.

Weekday Lemon Cake (with Bergamot)

Strawberry Streusel Cake (p.20) was the first recipe I made from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, as it was a recipe featured in a Graziher magazine newsletter back in 2021. I liked it then as was happy to see it was in Tilly’s book. I have made it since with plums, then with donut peaches and raspberries. All versions were delicious, and it’s a great cake to make if you have run out of milk or have issues with lactose as this cake uses no milk, cream, sour cream or yoghurt. It is a great recipe to make if you want to use up some in season fruit, and the streusel topping adds a little something too. 

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I requested Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake (p.30) for my birthday last year, and while we don’t have a Bundt tin as nice as the one Tilly used in her book, it was a delicious cake. Pistachio and rose are just about my two favourite flavours so I was definitely always going to love this cake. The only thing I would personally change if I made it again was to ice the cake once the cake had cooled, as the icing soaks into the cake after that and isn’t as spectacular the next day or so. Not a problem if you know the cake will be eaten on the first day however, but in our house these things do last a good few days. 

The Raspberry Studded Tea Bars (p.36) are definitely our most made recipe from Tilly’s book. Between my Mum and I we’ve probably made these at least 10 times since September 2023. They are a simple cake, but are very tasty and very dietary requirement friendly as well - they are gluten free, lactose free and relatively low fodmap (depending on your almond and berry tolerance). We often have a batch of these in the freezer as they freeze well, and make the nicest snack when we don’t have time to bake. The first time my Mum made these she did include the ground up tea in them, however we’ve never added it since as we like them just as much without (and it makes them even easier to make). As you can see in the photo we bake them in a friand tin as we don’t have any bar tins suitable, and haven’t been able to find anything yet either. You still get 12 little cakes out of the mixture and they bake for the same amount of time as well. 

I was lucky to make the Quince and Blackberry Crumble Cake using the recipe for Baked Quince (p.108) before quince were all out of season not too long after Tilly’s book was released last year. I love quince and knew this cake would be worth making. I made half the recipe of the baked quince (which is enough to make one cake, I did swap the orange for bergamot in the recipe as I can’t eat orange), and made the cake and it was just so so good. The brown butter crumble on top of this cake is a real standout, you can really taste the browned butter and it really elevates the cake flavour wise. I made this cake again with blueberries and raspberries once quince season was over, which I can also highly recommend. Similar to the Strawberry Streusel Cake (p.20), this cake can be made with many different fruits and served as a dessert or just a nice cake with tea.

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I had some apples to use up later last year, so I made the Apple and Cinnamon Cake (p.113). From memory I didn’t have any Greek-style yoghurt as the recipe asked for, and used milk instead and it still worked really well. I didn’t lay out the sliced apples on top of the cake nearly as nicely and neatly as Tilly has, I ran out of patience when doing it 🤣. My cake may not look as good, but I can guarantee it was very delicious and very nice with a cup of tea. 

Apple and Cinnamon Cake

Being a pistachio lover I had to make the Pistachio Cake with Rhubarb Buttercream (p.114). I also had some fresh rhubarb, however no cream cheese to make the Rhubarb Buttercream so I omitted the icing and put a few pieces of rhubarb on the top of the cake before I baked it. The cake is quite light so the rhubarb drifted all the way to the bottom of the cake, but it was no less enjoyable for it. This pistachio cake is quite different to the Pistachio and Rose Bundt Cake (p.30) texture wise, and I can see why a buttercream was Tilly’s choice for this one. I do really need to make this again properly, however if you have a craving for pistachio cake and don’t have all the buttercream ingredients, I would still recommend making this cake on its own.

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Similar to the Strawberry Streusel Cake (P.20), the Matcha Tea Cake (p.117) was also featured in a newsletter from Graziher magazine a couple of years before The Plain Cake Appreciation Society was published, so I made it back then. I actually made it with freeze dried raspberry powder, a suggestion given by Tilly for those of use who don’t like matcha. It was a fun marble style cake, however I don’t recall the flavour being enough for me. I dare say matcha would be a much better substitute flavour wise if you like it.

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Favourite Things About the Book: Everything! I honestly do love everything about this cookbook. From the photography and styling, to the design and colour palette used throughout, Tilly’s writing and the way the book is divided into sections/chapters, to the recipes themselves and the delightful use of flavour in each. The Plain Cake Appreciation Society is my favourite book of all 2023 releases, and remains so into 2024. I don’t think I’ve made so many things from one book in a long time (maybe ever?). When I open this cookbook I not only want to make almost every recipe, but I also just want to look at it all. Tilly’s photography is so captivating, it makes me wish I was as good at it as she is. The Plain Cake Appreciation Society has a really clear and cohesive vision behind it, everything just works and transports the reader or baker to a quiet moment filled with tea, cake and flowers. The cakes in the book are really anything but plain. The recipes are generally unfussy, and maybe I am taking plain to mean ‘boring/bland/tasteless’, when Tilly clearly means something more like everyday and comforting, but the flavours used in these recipes are not only exactly the things I want to eat, but in my mind are far from plain in the best possible way. 

Bookmarked Recipes (to make later!): Berry Cloud Cake (p.55), Vanilla Cake with Baked Rhubarb (p.78), Burnt Butter and Blackberry Sheet Cake (p.94), Pistachio and Plum Cake (p.99), Malted Banana Cake (p.128), Ginger and Rose Madeleines (p.150), Date and Ginger Bundt Cake (p.156). and Citrus Madeleines (p.182).