Bunker

I've been hearing for months, whispers about a leafy coffee/chocolate mecca, located in Milton inside a World War Two air raid shelter. Normally I would act without a second thought but unfortunately Bunker is only open Monday to Friday, 6:30am - 3.30pm or Saturday, at the Kevin Grove Markets (5:30am - 1pm), times that sadly do not suit my hectic schedule. So now that I'm on holidays I grabbed my cousin, Yens and we headed off a pilgrimage to sample this much cavorted elixir.

We were lucky to find a street park as when we arrived the place was a hive of activity. But it didn't take long to place the order for a tea and a hot chocolate. Though the flavour of the day was chai, the staff very kindly offered to make me the dark jaffa hot chocolate which I had heard so much about.

When the drinks arrived I wasn't disappointed. Beautifully presented, velvety smooth liquid with accents of the finest orange chocolate. It was a world shifting foodgasm moment and I highly recommend you take the journey to Bunker for their fabulous elixirs as you really don't have anything to lose.

Rating: 4 out 5.
Address: 21 Railway Terrace, Milton QLD 4064.
Open: Monday - Friday. 6:30am to 3.30pm.
Phone: 0422 124 767

Honey and Pistachio Biscotti

I currently have an over supply of pistachios so I've been making friends these Honey and Pistachio Biscotti from Taste.com.au. Preheat your oven to 160°C, line and grease a baking tray and measure out 1 cup of unsalted pistachio kernels. Chop half of them with a sharp knife and place in a large mixing bowl with 1 cup of plain flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate soda and 1/3 cup of caster sugar. Mix the dry ingredients before adding 2 tablespoons of honey and two tablespoons of cold water. Using your hands, combine until you have a sticky dough.

Mould the dough into a long flat log and bake for 20 minutes or until the log in golden and firm. Remove from the oven and allow the log to cool. Then using a serrated knife, cut the log into 0.5cm slices and place them in a single layer on two trays. Reduce the oven to 130°C and bake them for 15 minutes or until browned and firm. Remember to turn them occasionally and be careful not to burn the pistachios.

The finished result in these caramel coloured, flavoursome biscotti. Best enjoyed in the company of friends with a cup of tea or coffee.

Mixed Berry Crumble Cake

My brother Michael very kindly gifted me with Annabel Langbein's 'The Free Range Cook' for Christmas and since its arrival I haven't stopped recreating recipes from it. This Mixed Berry Crumble Cake is divine and to begin you need to make the crumble mixture (note it will make a bulk amount so if you are planning to just make it for the cake I would recommend cutting the quantities by two thirds). Place 2 cups of plain flour, 1 cup of ground almonds, 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 2 cups rolled oats, 1 cup of slivered almonds, 2 teaspoons of mixed spice in a bowl and stir. Combine with 250 grams of melted butter.

Preheat your oven to 180°C, line and grease the sides of a 23cm springform cake tin. The beat 140 grams of softened butter and 1 cup of sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.

Then add 2 room temperature eggs, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 3/4 cup of plain yoghurt to the cream mixture.

Then add 2 cups of plain flour, 3 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/2 a teaspoon of baking soda. You will note the mixture is quite thick but don't be alarmed.

Smooth the batter into your baking tin, sprinkle with 2 cups of frozen mixed berries and the layer over 1 1/2 cups of crumble topping. Bake in the oven for an hour or until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow the cake to stand for at least 15 minutes before you remove it from the tin. Then greet and enjoy this piece of beauty.

Ruby Cafe

After I dropped my bake off submission off to the Brisbane Arts Theatre I headed to Paddington to catch up with Miss Sarah. We had planned to have brunch at the ever popular Anouk but alas they were closed, so a short stroll up the road brought us to the recently opened Ruby Cafe. Ruby Cafe is adorable addition to the suburb with its red and white candy strip awning, bird themed wall paper and a menu featuring many fresh tasty items that won't break the budget.
The photograph above is Sarah's breakfast consisting of poached eggs on toasted sourdough and a side order of bacon. Miss Sarah confirmed that it was good but she was having suffering food envy from my simple but tasty breakfast. It was the perfect thing to enjoy with the hot summer's day and peerless blue sky.
Here is the subject of food envy: watercress, chevre, lemon on toasted sourdough. Such a simple but effective combination and I was pleased to find that the sourdough was pliable. I will alert you to the potential hazard of watercress as it has a tendency to escape so perhaps not the right selection if you are trying to impress someone. Like the meal, Ruby Cafe is simple, warm and familiar but extremely satisfying. Definitely worth another visit for breakfast or for lunch.





Attachments: 

• June 2012 Menu

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
Address: 233 Given Terrace, Paddington, QLD 4064.
Open: Breakfast and Lunch.
Phone: (07) 3369 5256.

Bernard I ate your Bees

My running partner, Mister Spensley is currently working on Hansel and Gretel at the Brisbane Arts Theatre and somehow between the lines of Facebook banter, a bake off arose. I've always kept to the straight and narrow of baking, as after all: cooking is an art, whilst baking is a science. But dare I create a brand new concoction, put family name and my chef born blood on the line to defeat a mouthy upstart baking whelp? The answer is yes and I code named my project 'Bernard I ate your Bees (I am unashamed Black Books fan girl).' To complete my vision I procured two beautiful, loose base, miniature cheesecake pans from Wheel and Barrow and set about bring a two toned cake decorated with toffee and marzipan bees.

To begin I greased the pans (I didn't do this, but I highly recommend that you line the sides of the tins with greaseproof paper), preheated the oven to 180°c and blitzed 250g of plain chocolate biscuits and half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon in a food processor. When the mixture was fine I then combined it with 125g of melted butter until I had a wet sand consistency. I then even distributed this across both pans and popped them into the fridge to set for half an hour. While they were setting, I melted 125gms of dark chocolate in the microwave. Then beat two eggs and 75g of caster sugar in the mix master until they were creamy. I then added 375g of cream cheese, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence and the melted chocolate into the mix master. I then evenly distributed this mixture across the pan. The chocolate mixture should reach no higher than the half way mark of the mould. Clean all the equipment and prepare for the vanilla layer.

To create the vanilla layer, beat 500g cream cheese, 2/3 cup caster sugar and one teaspoon of vanilla until smooth. Add two eggs, one at a time and then 1/2 cup of sour cream and distribute across the pans. Place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes, remove and allow the cheesecakes to cool. In the meantime prepare the sour cream topping by mixing 3/4 cup of sour cream and 1 tablespoon of caster sugar. Ladle the mixture on top of the cheesecakes and bake for a further 5 minutes and allow them to cool in the oven with the door ajar. Refridgerate overnight and remove from the pan. They look pretty good as is but to add that special touch make toffee shards (3/4 cup of caster sugar and 1/4 cup of water) and mazipan bees (dye mazipan yellow and use melted chocolate and flaked almonds to create the bees).

So did I win the bake off? I honestly don't know as I'm yet to receive my girlish tears of defeat from Spensley. But he did leave me with a parting shot, "the result doesn't matter as I get to eat anyway." Blast! I'll get you next time Spensley!

A Very Foodie Christmas

Wishing all my readers a very merry Christmas. Eat, drink and be buoyant in the ocean of wrapping paper!

As you can see from the photo my friends and family know me too well and quite a number of gifts revolved around food. I'm absolutely enamoured by all my gifts but the thing that really caught my attention was the box of Patrice Newell Garlic. So when you are next thinking about gifting something like an avocado slicer, maybe you could consider a gorgeous box of purple Australian garlic instead.

European Gingerbread Amusement

Engrish is often associated native speakers of East Asian languages and provides me with hours of entertainment. But I've finally found this glorious example of European Engrish on the back of a colleague's gingerbread assortment and I thought I would share. Enjoy!

• Delicious gingerbread cookies with a tinge of fig paste, orange skin and spices will send your taste buds into a blissful spin!
  


• Exclusive chocolate cubes combining the flavour of fruit jelly, gingerbread and persipan. Their aroma will bring back into your mind the atmosphere of family reunion.


• The mystery of fruity filling trapped in a soft and delicate gingerbread will tantalise everyone's pallet!


• Traditional gingerbread combing sweet flavour of honey, cloves, ginger and cinnamon.


• Exceptionally soft gingerbread with crispy sugar glazing dipped in delicate chocolate. Will just melt in your mouth!


• Exceptionally soft gingerbreads with crispy sugar glazing, dipped in delicate milk chocolate. Will just melt in your mouth.


• Cheerful, colourful and chocolateful - they taste just great!


• Spicy gingerbread men cast in a chocolaty spell.


• Honey-flavoured gingerbreads, great for afternoon tea!