Ottolenghi's Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

Layer cakes are like wow.  Like double decker buses, cakes are just plain cooler with more levels.

Layer cakes are really not my strong point.  Not. At. All.

Layer cakes are my nemesis.

If the middle frosting isn't squishing out all over the show, it's the cake layers that slide all over each other refusing to line up.  Like when you put the wrong ends of two magnets together.  Utter cake fail.

But then I see the beautiful pictures of other bakers' majestic multi-layered marvels on foodbuzz, tastespotting and foodgawker; and over time the anguish and heartache of previous cake fails is forgotten and that urge to attempt the impossible creeps in again: the irrepressible urge to make a layered cake.

So when it was my mother-in-law-to-be's birthday, the layer cake fairy once again whispered in my ear and I found myself trawling the web for choc-free layer cake recipes.

Enter Ottolenghi's Apple and Olive Oil Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting. 

Black & Blue Weekend: Black Swan & Blue cheese and pear salad with honey roasted walnuts

{Blue: honey roasted walnuts for the salad}

Black 

{via fanpop.com}

We watched the movie Black Swan with Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis in the weekend.  Absolutely mesmerizing - amazing acting, beautiful costumes...but it was just plain creepy.  No scrub that - it was frrrrrreaky.

{via media.theiapolis.com}

I am definitely not a scary movie fan.  The Sixth Sense gave me nightmares for weeks.  But having danced for most of my childhood, I couldn't resist a ballet movie.  The dancing, the costumes, the Tchaikovsky score - it was both hauntingly beautiful and gave us major heebie geebies.

Oh and did I mention the clothes? Bring back ballet chic baby.

{Jacket love - via chosen4evr.xanga.com}

Blue

This weekend I also made Blue Cheese and Pear Salad with Honey Roasted Walnuts and a Honey
Mustard White Wine Vinaigrette for C's dad's bday party.  God, I love this salad!  What a combo...creamy pungent blue cheese, sweet crunchy walnuts and crisp fresh pear.  What's not to love?

AND it took all of 15 minutes to make max. Just throw it all together...instant deliciousness.

Foodie highlights from Sri Lanka: Part 2

{grilled whole mackerel by the beach at Unawatuna}

6. Grilled Fish

This was a stunning dish.  Sitting in a wee Jamaican themed restaurant right on the beach at Unawatuna, and I mean right on the beach, the water literally under our feet as we sat on the deck.  We were treated to the very freshest fish, caught that morning by the fishermen sitting on poles over the next bay.  It was grilled in banana leaves and topped with a coconutty, garlicy sauce with melt-in-your-mouth shallots and chopped tomatoes.  Heavenly.  One of the best fish dishes I've tried in a long time.  Have been scouring the net for recipes but to no avail so if you know how to make this pretty pretty please share the recipe!!!

This place, called the Bong Chili Spice Cafe also did mean mojitos.  Yes, mojitos at lunch time...why not?!

Foodie highlights from Sri Lanka: Part 1

{pineapple and chilli at Galle Face}

Honey, I'm home...

Sri Lanka was one of those places I never thought I'd go to.  But boy oh boy am I glad I did.  The food was incredible, the landscape breathtaking and most of all the people were truly amazing.  Massive smiles everywhere you went.  Tuk tuk drivers that said you're welcome when you said no thank you.  It really was a piece of paradise.

{the crew at a beach in Yala National Park}

I took over a thousand photos on our two week holiday but instead of boring you with a typical post holiday slide show (which my very lucky family members will have to sit through) I thought I'd give you the Top 10 Foodie Highlights from Sri Lanka.

Onion Bhajis and Spicy Tamarind Chutney

C's folks have the best neighbours ever.  The next door neighbours are a family from Fiji who are always super warm, kind and generous.  Need a cup of sugar? Of course!  Need someone to feed the cat while we're away? Not a problem.  AND we often get to scoff absolutely delicious plates of indian cooking brought around by the ever-smiling Pawati.  Talk about neighbourly perks.

The latest dish we sampled was Pawati's spinach pakoras with tamarind chutney.  Ah-mazing.  They literally flew off the plate.  They were so good, we almost coming to blows fighting for the last couple.

Of course, what does ever good cook do after tasting amazing food? Why, google some recipes of course!  I have yet to interrogate Pawati for her fabulous pakora recipe (all in good time my friends) but I did try my hand at some google researched recipes for Onion Bhajis with Spicy Tamarind Chutney.

Merry Christmas Chocolate Fruit Cake

Belated Merry Christmas everyone!

So so sorry for the slack posting.  Christmas is an intensely insane time of year.  But for some reason this year's Christmas craziness really takes the cake.

On top of the usual Christmas madness, I'm at a humungous turning point in my life.  At the cusp of something very exciting but it could mean moving away from all the people and places and things I love to pursue a dream of mine.  It's terrifying, exhilarating and mind boggling.  And all still up in the air with nothing completely confirmed yet.  Very. Eek.

And on top of that I'm flying out to Sri Lanka tomorrow, then have a trip to HK all the while trying to plan my wedding (5 months to go!)...whew!!

So in all the madness, all I have for you lovely people today is a short and sweet post today this super yummy Christmas Chocolate Fruit Cake with Chocolate Brandy Ganache adapted from a Nigella recipe, made for the family Christmas lunch and used a practice round for my wedding cake!

White chocolate eggnog truffles for Baking for Hospice

Ahhh Christmas time.  I am a total Christmas nut...lurve the whole shebang.  Yip, I am one of those people.

I love the tinsel, the tree, the presents, the goodwill and peace on earth.  And I adore Christmas food...Christmas pudding with lashings of custard, gingerbread men, champagne ham, mulled wine, and eggnog.

For those of you who have never tried eggnog, boy are you missing out! It's the creamy spicy tipple that has gotten many a people in trouble at work Christmas functions. I like to think of it as a Christmassy version of Baileys.  Yum!

So to celebrate the annual Christmas Round for Baking for Hospice I made White Chocolate Eggnog Truffles.

Lemon polenta rose cakes at an italian summer lunch

December.

I must have accidentally stepped into a time machine for it to already be that crazy time of year again.  And crazy it is...the Christmas shopping, the parties, the family dos.  Luckily for us downunder, it also means that we are heading into a glorious summer.
 
So in the hustle and bustle of the silly season, when my gorgeous friend Chloe suggested an italian long lazy ladies lunch in the sun, we all jumped at the opportunity to eat, unwind and chillax for an arvo away from the insanity of Christmas time.

And it was the perfect opportunity to try out a recipe for Lemon Polenta Rose Cakes.