A deserted Crossley Street, on a weekday just after lockdown ended

Hello hello everyone! How are we all today? Time for an Obsessions post! Today's post isn't about my "current" obsessions, but rather about the obsessions that kept me going during Melbourne's super-strict second lockdown. Obviously though, Lockdown 2 is over now! Woohoo! Victoria is currently 45 days without a new locally acquired case (28 days is the accepted threshold for having eliminated the virus in the community - amazing), and more and more freedoms have been and are being returned. I'm hopefully optimistic that it stays that way, and that we all keep doing our part to keep it at bay, and that any flareups or new cases that pop up in future (especially through the recently restarted program of hotel quarantine for international arrivals) are identified and squashed quickly.

Baby Banana Bundt Cake with Sour Cream Glaze

Cheddar and Chive Scone Mixture

Then you stir through buttermilk to form a dough. With this small amount, it makes more sense to cut the dough into four pieces, rather than rolling it out and cutting it into individual circles.

Small-Batch Cheddar and Chive Scones

More cheese on top before baking! I like a mix of grated cheddar and a little parmesan for a boost of cheesy savoury umami goodness.

Covered in cheese!

And then you bake them! That's it. 

Small-Batch Cheddar and Chive Scones

Potato Chip Rocky Road

Potato Chip Rocky Road Ingredients

Small Cheesecake

Small Cheesecake

Biscuit base

Small cheesecake

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies
Adapted from Tartine No. 3

Ingredients
55 grams (1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons) rye flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
185 grams (1 + 1/3 cup finely chopped) dark chocolate, 70% cocoa solids
30 grams (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter
2 eggs
150 grams (3/4 cups) dark brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
Flaky salt, for sprinkling

Method
Place the rye flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
Place the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Allow to melt, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Place the eggs into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk for 2 minutes or until fluffy. With the mixer running add the brown sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue whisking almost tripled in volume, about 6 minutes in total.
Pour in the chocolate mixture and the vanilla, and whisk until combined.
Add the flour mixture and whisk until combined.
Use a flexible spatula to mix the dough through and check for any last pockets of flour.
Cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 175C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Scoop 2 tablespoon-sized balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, allowing room for spreading. Sprinkle with flaky salt.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until cookies are puffed and the outsides are dry.
Allow to cool on the baking sheets until firm, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool further.
Makes approx. 12-15 cookies

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog

Petite Passionfruit Loaf Cake with Sour Cream Glaze

And just like that... Melbourne is back under lockdown. In my most recent post, (Baby-Batch Buckwheat Brownies), I mentioned that some harder hit suburbs had been moved back to Stage Three "Stay at Home" restrictions. Since then, overall numbers haven't improved, and three weeks ago all of Melbourne and Mitchell Shire were moved back to Stage Three restrictions for six weeks, or until corona numbers come back down. It's disheartening that this had to be the case, but I absolutely think it's the right thing to do. When the news came out, I allowed myself to have a little emotional wallow and a stiff drink, and then accepted the situation and focused on getting on with it. The way I see it, obsessing over what you can't control only serves to upset yourself further - for me it serves no purpose, and would only prevent me from being grateful for all the good things in my life that I am so lucky to have.

From a purely practical perspective, the transition back to stricter restrictions was easy for us - during the first lockdown we'd already set ourselves up for online grocery shopping, organised the home office, and gotten used to being at home all the time. But I'll admit that I'm finding Melbourne lockdown V2.0 more emotionally difficult than the first. It's that sense of moving backwards, combined with the fact that many friends and family interstate and overseas are further ahead and starting to enjoy tentative freedoms again, and of course just the general anxiety from watching the daily corona updates, and having to navigate new social distancing protocols and etiquette any time that we actually do need to leave the house.

However, some small joys. For this lockdown, I've set a couple of self-care goals: I've started a short daily at-home (of course) yoga practice, and I've stopped drinking alcohol. I don't have any hard-and-fast end date in mind for either, but three weeks in so far and they're going well. I purposely haven't set any super-tough goals (like no caffeine - hah, can you imagine?) - it's about being gentle on myself during a challenging time, rather than distracting and punishing myself with unrealistic goals. I recommend it.

So forgive my long and rambling, typically food-blog-esque introduction, but all this to say that small-batch comfort baking is still very much needed in my household, and if you're feeling the same (and even if you're not), I do hope that you enjoy this cake!

Petite Passionfruit Loaf Cake with Sour Cream Glaze

The details...

This is a lovely butter cake, with a rich crumb and the gorgeous fresh flavour of passionfruit. The eagle-eyed among you will see that it's essentially a miniature version of my beloved passionfruit and sour cream bundt. I absolutely love sour cream in cakes - it adds richness from the fat, tenderness from the acid, and a wonderful rounded dairy-flavour from the lactose. I believe passionfruit are in season right now, but I'll level with you - it's been months since I physically stepped into a supermarket, let alone a fresh food market, so my sense of what's in season is all over the place right now. You could also replace the passionfruit with the lemon zest (half in the cake, half in the icing) if you can't get a hold of passionfruit.

For the icing, I took a leaf out of the magnificent Beatrix Bakes cookbook and made a sour cream glaze. (I mean, you have to open a tub of sour cream for the cake; you may as well use it in the icing). Nat's excellent recipe has you whisk together a little sour cream and passionfruit, and then add enough icing sugar to form a sticky, drippable glaze. It's such an easy and lovely icing, and the tang of sour cream cuts through the sweetness of the cake, really bringing all the flavours into focus. It's a simple cake but so delicious, perfect for afternoon tea or dessert or even breakfast. No judgement from me.

I hope you're keeping well and safe, and taking care of yourselves both physically and mentally.

Petite Passionfruit Loaf Cake with Sour Cream Glaze
A Recipe by Sarah Cooks

Ingredients
For the Cake
120 grams (2/3 cups) plain flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
75 grams (1/3 cups) softened butter
150 grams (2/3 cups) caster sugar
1 large egg
100 grams (2/3 cups) sour cream
1 passionfruit
For the Sour Cream Glaze
1 passionfruit
1 tablespoon sour cream
Approx. 1/2 cup icing sugar, as needed

Method
To make the cake, preheat the oven to 175C (350F). Spray a 20x10cm (8x4 inches) mini loaf pan with vegetable oil spray and line the base and sides with baking paper. (Alternatively, use a foil takeaway container in the same size and spray it but don't line it).
Sift the plain flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer, and beat on medium-high speed for approx. 5 minutes, or until pale and fluffy. Add the egg, beating well. Scrape down the sides as necessary.
Stir in one third of the flour mixture, followed by half of the sour cream and the pulp of the passionfruit. Follow with one third of the flour, the remaining sour cream, and finally the remaining flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown and cooked when tested with a skewer. You may need to cover with foil halfway through to prevent it from over-browning.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then turn out onto a cake rack, remove the paper, turn the cake the right way up and allow to cool completely.
For the icing, place the passionfruit and sour cream in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add icing sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until you reach a thick dripping consistency. Spread over the top of the cake and allow any excess to drip down the sides.
Makes one little loaf

Have you made this recipe? Leave a comment below! Tag me on Instagram @sarahcooksblog and hashtag #sarahcooksblog