Azuma Patisserie

Day 2 did not end with Zumbo but rather, in a small Japanese dessert cafe near our accommodation. I was not expecting this place to open past 6pm and am not complaining at all. Only problem I had was that the cafe's not able to seat many patrons so doing takeaways may be an option for some.

Most of the baked items were sold out by the end of the day, leaving us with not much to choose from although that doesn't bother me too much as I just needed to nibble a little at this established Japanese cafe.

Chiffon cake ~ light and airy as it should be. Not too sweet for my liking:)

Macaron ~ I have made it a point to sample macarons from various parts of Sydney (just like what I did in Melbourne!).

Green tea tart ~ The tart filling was slightly hard for my liking (found it difficult to slice into it) but it oozes a strong green tea flavour and that made me happy. Tart case was crumble and goes well with the green tea filling. Yummy!

Adriano Zumbo Patissier

On day 2 of my Sydney trip, the sister and I managed to drag ourselves to the much-anticipated and raved about dessert cafe..ZUMBO!! I have been meaning to have a taste of Zumbo since his first appearance in Masterchef a few years ago. I literally googled up the cafe a few times to make sure I got the correct opening hours for the dessert train.

Unfortunately.... we arrived on thursday evening and no dessert train as the hours have changed. Boo.... was disappointed and most of the baked items were gone:( There were still quite a few macarons available but I was sulking as I could not sample his cakes. Ah wells...

On a positive note, I still managed to get a glimpse of my potential sweet victims via the displays.

I wonder what would Zumbo say if I had actually broke the glass?

Managed to get my hands on a few different types of macaron flavours. They were beautifully crafted and well-flavoured. Would love to participate in his annual Macaron Day event if I lived in Sydney:)

A piece of baked item from Zumbo. I cannot remember what was it but I was a happy foodie:)

So...to the Star casino for a few games or for good bites? You might be able to guess what my choice is!

Chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting

I can be very experimental at all the wrong times on most days. A close friend/ colleague of mine had a mini birthday morning tea at work and I figured this would be a good opportunity for me to attempt something different. Rather than opting for my usual sweet treats, I decided to whip out the jar of thickened cream that's been sitting in my fridge for a few weeks and make a salted caramel.

Browning sugar is very tricky as it borders between beautifully caramelized to burnt/ non-salvage-able. I watched my pot of sugar like a hawk as I slowly attempted to brown it (also because I did not have any more granulated sugar so it's swim or sink!). Was a little concerned when it did not caramelized but thank goodness it did while I was texting. After that, it was a matter of making sure I incorporate the butter at the right time.

I made chocolate cupcakes with salted caramel frosting but I was not a big fan of the chocolate cupcake recipe that I had. It was quite airy and had a strange bicarbonate soda after taste which is a major turnoff for me. Hence, no chocolate cupcake recipe will be provided but any good recipe that you may have will suffice:)

Caramel sauce:
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup water and a few extra tablespoons if needed
6 tbsp salted butter
1 cup heavy cream

Place sugar and water into a pot over medium heat. Keep stirring to avoid burning the bottom and be patient with it or risk burning the sugar. Once it starts to brown slightly, stir it more vigorously to dissolve any lumps. After achieving a nice amber colour, take the pot off the heat and slowly add butter in. Keep stirring throughout this process and incorporate cream. A smooth consistency should be achieved.

Salted caramel frosting:
1 cup salted butter at room temperate
4 cups icing sugar
3/4 cup caramel sauce
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt

Cream the butter until smooth before adding the icing sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Then add the caramel sauce and stir until a decent consistency is attained.

I drizzled leftover caramel sauce around the piped frosting for a pretty effort (which turned into a kind of mess, ohh wells...). Do note that the caramel frosting may harden over time to try not to add too much caramel if possible.

The last picture turned out a bit fuzzy, possibly because my camera battery's running low or my hands were too shaky in the wee hours of the morning:)

Danny Thai

Yet another movie day and once again, headed to Danny Thai's for a quick bite. This time round ,we decided to sample a couple of different options rather than stick to our usual favourites.

Oysters ~ an interesting twist with the usage of Asian sauces and fried shallots as the drizzling component for the dish. Not sure if it's my cup of tea but do give it a try if you are bored of the ordinary lemon and tobasco or kilpatrick variations.

Green curry chicken ~ an easy to eat dish with no chicken bones attached for minimal fuss. Goes wonderfully well with rice!

Seafood and vegetables in peanut sauce ~ not too bad and I like how the vegetables were not soggy at all.

Fried rice ~ probably one of the must haves here as the rice is so fragrant and infused with basil leaves. The portion size is sufficient to feed a male adult and hence, I think this would be ideal of you are looking for a worthwhile dish to have for tea. Try this out the next time you are here!

Nordburger

Today, I shall introduce to you guys the newest burger joint in Adelaide, Nordburger. Opened a couple of months ago, Nordburger is slowly gaining popularity among the locals and I have seen long queues appear at their doorsteps at dinner time.

I am not a big fan of waiting to be fed so I decided to pop by before the dinner crowd creeps out and thankfully, Nordburger is open throughout the day. The menu is not extensive at all and hence, we were able to pick our meals fairly quickly:)

Salted caramel milkshake ~ not too bad at all and what a brilliant flavour to add to the market:)

Cheeseburger ~ not too heavy and yet, not too light that it resembles a fast food type of burger. I daresay its a cross between gourmet and convenience food. Would have liked a bit more greens in the burger but nevertheless, was still a yummy treat.

Chilli dog ~ A decent fare to have at about $6.90, from memory.

Overall, Nordburger is a nice addition to the already growing burger market in Adelaide. Delicious food at reasonable prices, it is a good bargain for the budget-conscious consumer:)

Steven Ter Horst Chocolatier again

I have probably been here less than 8 times throughout my stay in Adelaide (blogged about a couple of these trips here and here) and gotta admit that my sweet-binge experience just keeps getting better each time! Each piece of cake or tart has evolved aesthetically, which obviously, makes it harder for me to select just one piece.

I have not personally tried many types of chocolates here (I want cake!) but I am keen to find out what is your favourite piece!:)

Chocolate truffle tart ~ rich, dense and moist piece with a good serving of dark chocolate incorporated into it. Was a crowd winner from the first time we had it and it still is:)

Iced chocolate ~ this drink just keeps wow-ing us each time. It's chocolate-y flavours has certainly evolved since our last trip and unlike the other types of iced chocolate drinks we had, this one was creamy but not overpoweringly excessive.

Mascarpone dream ~ we opted for this little gem for a nice contrast from all the rich, petite delicacies that we ordered. Light as a feather filling and still well-crafted. Delicious.

Chocolate tart ~ this version does look a lot more classier than the previous ones we had. However, it still tasted the same (big thumbs up for consistency) and is still a must have at Steven Ter Horst!:)

Cin cau and soyabean drink

One of the easiest item to make for functions or for the unexpected guest would be a drink. Not only does one need fluids to quench their thirst, but it can also act like a semi-dessert.. not too sweet or filling and light enough to keep the conversation running. Malaysia is truly blessed with kopitiam/ food outlets that serves a nice array of non-alcoholic drinks for customers to choose from and knowing what goes into these drinks helps us hosts keep our guests happy!

*Starbucks, Gloria Jean's or other franchised outlets do not count! We are definitely digging deep into our ancestor roots now*

This recipe is simple and only requires 2 ingredients. Yes, just 2 unless if you want to complicate matters by trying to produce the ingredients from scratch. Remember, we have to prepare some finger food for the guests too!

Ingredients:
Cin cau / grass jelly
Soya bean milk

I got a can of grass jelly from my local Asian grocer for about aud$1.50 and I think it would suffice for about 8-10 serves? Bought a 2 litre bottle of soya bean milk for aud$3.30. These prices may vary depending on which grocer you go to.

Slice grass jelly into roughly 1cm cubes and place in individual glasses or into a big jug. Add soyabean and you are ready to serve!

How easy was that?:)

I was not very precise with my measurements but you get the idea;) Ps, this was only half of the can.

If you wait a little longer, you may see a nice colour gradient appear. Pretty impressive for something so easy to produce?

Black star's watermelon cake recipe

It has been weeks since I departed Sydney but one thought that still lingers on would be the taste of Black Star Pastry dessert. I constantly try to envision the cake's ingredients because from memory, it was not too complicated, provided that I approach it in a more domestic-friendly manner.

And hence, I found it purely coincidental that I stumbled upon their cake's recipe on Gourmet Traveller whilst browsing for random/ challenging recipes. I quickly jotted down the recipe and within the next few days, had assembled the necessary ingredients.

Ingredients:

Almond dacquoise:
150gm almonds, coarsely chopped
150gm icing sugar, sifted
5 egg whites
135gm caster sugar

Process almonds in a food processor before adding in the icing sugar. Whip the egg whites until soft peaks form before gradually adding the caster sugar to achieve stiff peaks. Spread on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake at 150C until golden.

Note: I have used a lower temperature compared to the recipe's but this is only because of how my oven works (bottom part heats up too quickly and can burn the dacquoise!).

Rose scented cream:
300ml thickened cream
30gm caster sugar
2 tbsp rosewater

Whisk cream and caster sugar until soft peaks form before adding rosewater and whisking until stiff peaks are attained

Note: I tasted mine and had to use another 2 tbsp more of rosewater as mine did not produce the desired rosewater flavour that I was after. I have read other blogger's reviews on the cream and some bloggers recommend doubling the amount of cream used. Being the worrywart that I am, I did exactly as recommended and regretted my decision as there was way too much cream in the cake. Stick to the recipe!

Assembling ingredients
250gm seedless watermelon, thinly sliced
60ml rosewater
4tbsp caster sugar
40gm almond meal
500gm strawberries
10 seedless grapes, halved
1 tbsp slivered pistachio
1 tbsp dried rose petals (available at speciality stores which I had omitted due to cost :/)

Sprinkle 20ml rosewater and scatter caster sugar on watermelon. Allow to macerate for 30 minutes before patting dry.

Assembling:
Spread 1/3 of cream evenly on dacquoise, scatter with half almond meal then top with watermelon. Scatter remaining almond meal on watermelon then spread remaining cream. Top with dacquoise and spread remaining cream before refridgerating for 2 hours (left mine overnight!)

Combine strawberries, rosewater and sugar in a bowl and allow to macerate for 10 minutes. Pat dry and decorate cake with strawberries, grapes and pistachio pieces.

I think I am pretty good with whisking egg whites by hand, after getting a lot of practice from attempting macarons in the past;)

At this stage, I was not convinced that the cake's going to make it:S Did not look as pretty as I wanted it to be.

Finished product was stunning (after trimming the sides a bit!). I am very impressed with what garnishes can do to an overall piece. Aside from its beauty, the cake tasted quite nice, minus the extra bit of cream that I was misguided to add.

Ohh and what did I do to the remaining egg yolks? I made mayonnaise with white wine vinegar and dijon mustard. More whisking but definitely tastes better than the store-bought versions:)