I’m sitting here with a boiling hot cuppa enjoying some cold leftover bread and butter pudding. WOW! I don’t think there could be any better ‘special treat’ afternoon tea. My grandma Mim used to make this pudding often and I loved helping her butter the bread. I used to pick out the sultanas then, and […]
I saw something on Insta today. I saw this clip of master baker, Claire Ptak making the Royal Wedding cake for H + M. (Which brings me to think – why haven’t fashion power house H&M been milking it for the royal wedding)? They probably have. Anyway, the royal wedding cake is reportedly a three […]
Mum’s butterfly cakes sat in pride of place at every birthday party we ever had growing up. I have lots of memories making these too when I’d go out to Mim and Pa’s farm in the school holidays. My job was always to line the muffin tins with the patty cases and as the years […]
This dish is inspired by a lovely dessert Mim used to make using homegrown peaches and oranges from her trees on the farm. She used to cover the freshly picked peaches with a sprinkling of sugar, some freshly squeezed orange juice and a generous amount of Cointreau. Oh my gosh- talk about heaven on a […]
An Anzac biscuit is a deliciously sweet biscuit that goes brilliantly with a hot cuppa. They were named after the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC’s) which were established in World War I. The women left on the home-front made these biscuits to send over the sea to their loved ones at the front. The […]
If you haven’t heard of Yotam Ottolenghi before – go and check out one of his cookbooks. He’s an Israeli-British chef and cooks some amazing food drawing heavily from middle eastern flavours. He writes cookbooks, has a tv show and owns a heap of deli’s and restaurants across London. This apple and olive oil cake […]
Saturday mornings are for throwing some muffins in the oven. They’re so simple to whip up and make the house smell lovely. I cooked these very muffins at the end of last year when we sold our place in Wagga. A real estate agents oldest trick in the book; their advice to sellers is to […]
Who wants in on THE best cake recipe ever invented? A very good family friend of ours, Annabelle passed this recipe on to my mother in law who in turn passed it on to me. Annabelle is such a gorgeous girl that we even named our daughter Annabelle after her and I’ve lost count of the […]
A ‘Nanny’s chocolate cake’ has stood proudly at many a Thomas family gathering. More candles have been blown out over this cake than any other and to this day my dad and his brothers still fight over the corner piece. I can remember sitting in the red booth seat at Nanny and Bull’s in Strathfield, […]
Friends often say to me: “How do you cook with the kids all the time”? “They make so much mess”! “They get in to absolutely everything”. “It’s so much quicker to cook when they’re at school/asleep/out of the house”. I reckon you’ve got to go in with low expectations. Yes. There will most likely be […]
“Yuck!” Charlotte pipes up as she watches me peel the severely overripe, browned (ok, more like blackened) bananas for this cake. If you’re anything like me, you’ll often have fruit left in the fruit bowl that has gone a little past its use by date. But don’t worry about your bananas. Once matured, they have […]
You’re standing at the Woolies checkout; glancing over at Harry and Meghan on the cover of some glossy magazine, and your eyes land on a packet of crumpets piled up high on the “impulse buy” stand. “Of course I need crumpets”, you say, throwing them into your trolley. You get home, pop them in the […]
Are you lucky enough to have a surplus of pears growing on a fruit tree in your garden? I’m not.. but Corks’ Aunty, Ingrid is and some of these little beauties have made their way in to my fruit bowl. My dad grew up on a vineyard and stone fruit orchard so growing up, I […]
The girls and I love making (and eating) crepes on Monday mornings. What better way to start the week. I love them with lemon and sugar and years of practice have meant that I can get them paper thin. Practice makes perfect. Note to self: remember to buy a second whisk to avoid fights! These […]
The perfect end to our Italian dinner party, this recipe is based on Jamie Oliver’s two nut torte from The Naked Chef. I have added fresh raspberries and my raspberry coulis that I usually make with my Eton mess cups at our annual Christmas party. Meemar also bought me a bottle of raspberry liquor from Distillery […]
My grandma Betty is a beautiful cook. She makes the finest shortbread, her macaroni and cheese is to die for and never will you see anyone cut up a charcoal chook with more finesse. Sharing these recipes that have been handed down from Grandma to mum and now to me are so important. I don’t […]
It’s Valentine’s Day.. any excuse for a morning full of cooking and an outdoor picnic with the girls. We made three different things today and I’ve included the recipes below for you to do at home with your little ones. Watermelon lolly pops (which are SO easy and healthy that you simply must give them […]
Monday’s, we cook! After our big weekend away, I haven’t been grocery shopping so we’re cooking muffins today to use up the leftover bits and pieces that we have in the fridge and fruit bowl. I often make muffins with my girls as they are so easy to make that they can really get stuck […]
Having two small girls, I can say that we have definitely had our fair share of babycino’s and banana bread in many a cafe in town. This recipe is great to create at home and is the easiest and the nicest banana bread I have tasted. Make this, wrap it up in some kitchen paper […]
