Sarah Cooks

Iso Birthday 2020

4/17/2021 10:26:00 PM

This post is almost a year late but better late than never! I started writing it shortly after my birthday in April 2020, and then, well, life got in the way, and it sat, neglected, in draft status since then. It almost feels like there's no point blogging my 2020 birthday now, but I know for sure in the future I'll want to look back on this birthday in the most bizarre of years and remember it. (And I'm now thinking of my upcoming birthday plans, so I've got birthday celebrations on the brain). So here we go.

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I'm someone who really enjoys celebrating my birthday, and in normal circumstances I have lots of little traditions which I spread out over a few weeks. (Or even a whole month back in 2015; where on earth did I find the energy?) There's usually my annual free birthday Nando's, coffees and cupcakes with colleagues, the slumber party at home with my close girlfriends, and a fancy dinner with my parents. I also always seem to fit a few bonus impromptu celebrations - drinks, dinners, cakes - any excuse!

Things, of course, are very different this year. Not only do we have a newborn (although technically she's made the leap to "infant"), so the celebrations would never have been as epic as in years past, but of course Coronavirus restrictions have also forced a reduction in celebrations.

I literally only made one plan for my birthday this year - a Skype call with some close friends to replicate the slumber party tradition. However, over the day and the week that followed there were quite a lot of wonderful surprises and treats, most of a foodie nature and I'm excited to share them here on my blog! Let's take a look.

I decided to treat myself by baking a fancy birthday cake - the Beatrix Bakes "Notorious BFC" (Black Forest Cake). Incidentally, Nat from Beatrix is the only non-German baker I'd trust with a Black Forest Cake recipe. Her version comprises layers of light cocoa sponge brushed with kirsch, whipped cream, crème fraîche chocolate mousse, cherry jelly and cherry compote, covered in a chocolate glaze and decorated with chocolate curls. I luckily had a batch of the chocolate mousse in the freezer, as well as gorgeous pitted cherries from Wandin Valley Farms, which reduced the effort required. I started baking the cake the night before my birthday, assembled it and kept it in the fridge overnight, and finished off decorating it in the afternoon. What a treat! The description makes it sound rich but it was really light and airy (like a traditional German BFC, btw).

The Notorious BFC

For the day, Sandra said she'd take care of all the food, (apart from the cake). For breakfast, she made mee swa birthday noodles! This is the traditional Malaysian-Chinese birthday breakfast - with the noodles representing long life and the red mark on the egg representing good fortune. Soooo delicious and warming for breakfast.

Mee Swa Birthday Noodles

For lunch, she organised a delivery of sashimi-quality tuna and salmon from Nosh. She served the salmon as plain sashimi, and marinated the tuna poké style on rice. I hadn't had sushi in ages and it was so lovely!

Sashimi from Nosh

Sandra ordered dinner as well - a delivery from excellent local wine bar Mister Sandrino - but we were too full at dinner time to eat it (and I wanted to save room for cake, haha). So I ate the entrée while we were on the Skype call, and we saved the mains for the next night. The drink of choice was La Crema Monterey 2018 Chardonnay (again a gift from Sandra as she knows I looooove oaky buttery chardonnays), which matched well with Mister Sandrino's cured salmon. This was followed by caaaaake!

I was lucky enough to receive some gorgeous gifts throughout the day! Flowers from Sandra and also from my brother and his girlfriend in Japan, as well as some generous vouchers from friends. The big gift from Sandra was a selection of awesome spa products from Mecca Cosmetica - Drunk Elephant TLC Happi Scalp Scrub, Ren Kelp and Magnesium Body Scrub, Tatcha Luminous Dewy Skin Mask, Posh Peel Pedicure Foot Mask, Ren AHA Smart Renewal Body Serum - so luxurious!

Birthday Flowers

Spa gifts

By sheer coincidence, I received a delivery of mini-gins from Imbue distillery - we follow each other on Instagram and Mel from Imbue kindly sent some gins as a Mothers' Day gift. They happened to arrive on my birthday so I'm claiming it a both a birthday and a Mothers' Day gift - hooray.

Imbue Distillery Gins

The next night we ate the Mister Sandrino dinner - there was cassoulet (so delicious), slow-cooked beef cheek, broccolini, and couscous. It was all really great (especially the cassoulet), and I chose to order from them again for my Dad's lockdown birthday two weeks later, as I liked it so much.

Mister Sandrino Dinner

My great friend An gifted us an "Amaru at Home" experience, which we enjoyed the weekend after my birthday. Some of you may remember that Amaru is one of my favourite high-end dining destinations, so it was such a treat to be able to enjoy it at home! (Even without lockdowns, there's no way that mums of a newborn would be able to get out to a degustation, so having it at home was a special treat). The food was, as expected, incredible. It is one of the more labour-intensive high-end home meals that we've had, so there was quite a lot of popping back and forth from the kitchen to assemble and finish off each course. We actually ate the food in our pyjamas, with a sleeping baby in Sandra's arms, while we binge-watched Masterchef UK: The Professionals. What a world we live(d) in.

Amuses bouches - Quinoa & sea lettuce crisps with smoked eggplant & red pepper emulsion
Hemp & linseed crackers with sunflower hummus

Dinner rolls with cultured and smoked butter
Turnip dashi, fermented daikon, shiso jelly

Salt-baked celeriac, white miso sauce (ZOMG INCREDIBLE), Swiss brown mushrooms, mustard leaves with dill pickle sauce

Jerusalem artichoke crisp & ice-cream, ginger crème, apple compote, dried honey & apple

I'm getting quite emotional looking back at all the generosity and deliciousness, especially in such a bizarre locked-down time! Thank-you to my lovely friends and family and wife for creating such a special vibe!

Cake

Beatrix Bakes The Cookbook

4/06/2021 04:08:00 PM

Beatrix Bakes Cookbook

My absolute favourite cookbook right now is Beatrix Bakes. Definitely my cookbook of 2020 (and likely 2021 as well). I know most cookbook reviews come out just before or after a cookbook is released, but I'll level with you - as an avid home cook, I don't find regular cookbook reviews that useful. You really need some time with a cookbook to see if it will become much loved and regularly used in your own kitchen, and the promotional cycle of cookbooks just doesn't allow reviewers the time to sit with and really get to know a book inside out. (Of course, these reviews definitely serve a purpose and have value, but I just really like getting stuck into a good cookbook properly).

So, more than a year after it was released, but with lots of experience baking from its pages, let me present to you my review of Beatrix Bakes.

You may already know that cute little Beatrix is my favourite bakery in all of Melbourne. The gorgeous cakes, the tarts, the scrolls, the ciabattas, the everything! It's been nine years of loyal, overly-enthusiastic custom! We had Beatrix cakes at our engagement party (red velvet, passionfruit chiffon, GF chocolate brownies) and our wedding day (red velvet), and even now we still excitedly read their daily cake list when it pops up on Instagram, and visit every couple of months for a total cake fest. Genius baker Natalie Paull has really created a little slice of happiness in North Melbourne!

When Nat released her cookbook last year, I couldn't have been more excited. Sandra pre-ordered it for me - hooray! Before receiving it, I was sure I'd love reading the book, but wasn't sure if it would be useful in my home kitchen - commercial baking and home baking are two entirely different beasts, and I've previously bought restaurant cookbooks that were gorgeous to look at and read (e.g. Spice Temple, Nopi), but utterly impractical for a home cook.

I'm pleased to say that this is not the case with Beatrix Bakes. It is an immensely practical, usable cookbook for a home cook, and I have learned so much baking from it this past year! I love the warm, chatty tone that Nat uses throughout the book, and the intense level of detail and precision. It's like she's holding your hand in the kitchen and guiding you along the process.

An example...

"Cool in the tins on a wire rack for 2 minutes, then gently cut around the sides of the cakes, flip them out onto the rack and remove the paper. If they steam in the tin, they will toughen".

Many of the bakes are quite challenging and complex with many steps and components, but just follow the instructions and you'll be fine. (Like, read them carefully and actually follow them properly - don't be messing around with a twenty-three centimetre tin if she specifies a twenty centimetre tin). There are loads of tips and tricks woven into the recipes, plus fun variations and adaptations ("adaptrix" to use the Beatrix parlance), and even tips on what to do if the bake goes wrong.

Even if I hadn't ever heard of the cafe I would have loved the book - it really is a book for serious bakers, and there is so much knowledge contained within those pages. (Make sure you read the introduction chapters, and the detailed notes at the start of most recipe chapters to set yourself up for success!) I highly recommend you buy a copy and start baking immediately. And for those of you who don't live in Melbourne and can't get to Beatrix in real life - I can assure you that the recipes in the book really turn out like the cakes at the cafe.

I've bought the book as a gift for two friends, and have baked so much from it over the past year! There was literally a point last year when Sandra banned me from baking from it as there was just Too Much Damn Cake in the house. You know, between the cookbook and our semi-regular Beatrix visits, my Instagram account turned into a hardcore Beatrix-stan account so gradually, I didn't even notice. Hah!

Ok, let's take a look at everything I've baked!

A Smoky, Salty, White Chocolate Chip and Pecan Cookie

A smoky, salty chocolate chip cookie

First recipe - chocolate chip cookies! I picked these because I wanted to start with a quick and achievable recipe. I did the pecan and white chocolate option, and skipped the addition of smoky Lapsang Souchong tea because I didn't want to buy a whole packet of tea just to use two grams. I did use smoked salt for the salty sprinkle though, to try and get a hint of smokiness. These were good but, controversially, my favourite is still the David Lebovitz chocolate chip cookie. However, I learned some good techniques from this - particularly Nat's tip to only roast nuts in the oven (and not in a frying pan) for the most even browning and aromatic nuttiness.

All-Purpose Sponge Cake ("Strawberries and Cream Sponge" adaptrix)

Sponge Layer Cake with Cream and Strawberries

Sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries, and strawberry sour cream glaze

The first time I made the All-Purpose Sponge Cake, I did the classic strawberries and cream sponge adaptrix - sponge layers sandwiched with whipped cream, fresh strawberries (I didn't bother trying the cooked "Strawberry Jewels" recipe) and topped with the Simple Sour Cream Glaze. The sour cream glaze is just sour cream and icing sugar (Nat offers many flavour adaptations as well), and it's so simple and so good! It's softly set, not too sweet and takes barely any effort to put together. I've made it so many times (see my Petite Passionfruit Loaf Cake) and it's really become part of my baking repertoire.

However, the sponge cake recipe itself was an absolute game changer for me! Prior to this recipe, I'd never really been able to get the hang of an old-fashioned sponge cake - you know the type that is super light and fluffy and gets most of its leavening quality from whipping the bejeesus out of eggs. Mine always ended up too eggy or dense. However, Nat's sponge cake recipe is just perfect! It starts from a base of whipped egg whites (egg yolks are folded in later) and is a bit more stable than a trad sponge recipe, but still incredibly light. I've made it a bunch of time and it always works.

I mean just look how even and perfect those sponge layers are. HEART!

All-Purpose Sponge Cake

Apart from the double-layered classic you see above, I've also done the sponge in a single layer for a smaller treat; I've done the chocolate version (and I'll show you in a bit); and I've used it to make Erdbeerkuchen (German strawberry cake). It is the absolute greatest!

Erdbeerkuchen

Chocolate Crème Fraîche Mousse

Chocolate Crème Fraîche Mousse

Chocolate mousse isn't normally the type of recipe that would speak to me, but eh, we were in lockdown last year, and I was really intrigued by the notes that the mousse "freezes and then thaws like a dream". (Spoiler alert: it does!) The crème fraîche gives it a lovely mild tang, and I used honey instead of light corn syrup, which I already had on hand, and it gave it a nice flavour. (If you read the "shopping list" section of the introductory chapters, you'll know that honey "will do a similar job" to light corn syrup). We ate it as dessert with fresh berries, in fancy cocktail glasses with the tops smoothed off and dusted with cocoa powder (the "fancy pants" adaptrix) and it was gorgeous! Leftovers were frozen carefully in a snap-lock freezer bag and brought out again for the Notorious BFC (Black Forest Cake).

Easter Hot Cross Buns

Easter Hot Cross Buns

Judging by Beatrix' Instagram stories, the hot cross buns are one of the more popular recipes for home bakers to try. And with good reason! They look great and taste amazing. They've got a whole puréed orange in them for super moistness and citrussy zing. The recipe includes a "Beatrix secret spice mix", and whilst I'm sure they would be absolutely next level if you ground your own whole spices, I used a dusty old packet of powdered Lebkuchen spice from Germany and they still tasted fabulous.

The Notorious BFC (Black Forest Cake)

The Notorious BFC

I love a classic German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, and Nat is the only non-German baker I'd trust to make a good version. Nat's version is intense and a lot of work - four layers of chocolate All-Purpose Sponge Cake filled with kirsch (I used my father-in-law's homemade kirsch), Chocolate Crème Fraîche Mousse, sour cherry compote, sour cherry jelly, and whipped cream, topped with a cocoa glaze and Chocolate Bark. Phew! I made it for my birthday last year (lockdown birthday, my friends watched me eat it on a Zoom call but couldn't share - oh no!) and it was glorious! I used sweet cherries because sour ones are hard to get (but premium sweet cherries that were gifted to me from the farm) and it still tasted deeeelicious.

Nat's cake / mousse / cream layering technique is so clever and achievable - look how neat and tidy the sides are! The Chocolate Bark (a recipe in the "Finishing Touches" chapter) is an easy cheat's method for tempering, another technique I'd never been able to do previously. Deliciousness AND improving my baking skills.

I've actually never tried the BFC at Beatrix - when she makes it during the short sour cherry season, it sells out pretty much instantly, and the stars have never aligned. But I suppose I don't need to try it at the cafe any more now that I can make it at home!

Ricotta Crostata with Spiced Quince

Ricotta Crostata with Spiced Quince

One of my favourites from the cafe! You've got the crunchy Polenta Crust, encasing a rich and creamy buffalo ricotta and cream cheese filling, studded with soft yet gritty and aromatic Four-Hour Spiced Quinces. All the elements are pleasingly grainy and meld so well together. It took me a good four days to make this tart, fitting in all the elements around Mum Life - phew! Totally worth it thought as it was absolutely wonderful! Quinces are back in season so I'd love to bake it again!

Four-Hour Spiced Quinces

Bonus sweet treat! Strawberry Ricotta Tartlets - my simple adaptrix of the Blackberry Ricotta Tartlets recipe adaptrix adjoining the Sweet Whipped Ricotta Cream recipe. I had leftover Polenta Crust and lots of ricotta leftover, so baked the crust in mini muffin tins, whipped up the Sweet Whipped Ricotta Cream, and topped them with fresh strawberries.

Strawberry Ricotta Tartlets

Pink Grapefruit Cloud Chiffon Cake with Sour Cream Glaze

Pink grapefruit chiffon with sour cream glaze

Similar to whipped sponge cake, I'd never been super-confident with chiffon cakes, but you can see the excellent results I got with this recipe - check out the impressive height and the fluffy fluffy fluffiness! I need more practice de-moulding chiffons (you can see the messy edges, whoops), but overall I was super proud of myself. We often get chiffons at Beatrix and the home version tastes just like the ones at the shop.

Tiramisu Layer Cake

Tiramisu Layer Cake

The tiramisu cake was an adaptrix of my own (basically it's just the Tart-a-misu but not in the tart shell - turtle power). Specifically, it was half a batch of the chocolate adaptrix of the All-Purpose Sponge Cake, sliced into three layers, and a single batch of the Mascarpone Zabaglione, layered in a twenty centimetre springform tin as per the instructions Notorious BFC. I think I could have cooked the zabaglione a bit more and whipped it more to get it to be thicker and more stable, but it still looked tempting and tasted great! I loved that the cream was a lot lighter in texture than the usual tiramisus I make at home.

Roasted Peach and Custard Trifle

Roasted Peach and Custard Trifle

Around Christmas last year, Nat posted a bunch of Christmassy ideas on the Beatrix Instagram using recipes from the book, and the Roasted Peach and Custard Trifle really caught my eye. It's basically a trifle version of the Alabama Cake in the book, containing layers of: whipped cream, pink champagne-roasted peaches, pink champagne & peach jelly, All-Purpose Sponge Cake dabbed with Marsala wine, amaretti biscuits (I subbed homemade spekulatius because I can't deal with amaretti), and Vanilla Bean Pastry Cream. It was EPIC.

Roasted Peach and Custard Trifle

Carrot, Toasted Hazelnut Cake

Carrot and toasted hazelnut cake with cream cheese mascarpone frosting

Sandra always thought she hated carrot cake, until one day she ordered the carrot cake at Beatrix (because all the other cakes she wanted were sold out) and thought it was just amazing! It isn't a typical carrot cake though - rather, it's a super light and fluffy whipped sponge, with some grated carrot folded through, a hint of cinnamon, and toasted hazelnuts. It's gorgeous!

The full version of this cake has two twenty centimetre rounds of carrot sponge, a layer of cheesecake (honest to God, cheesecake) in the middle, and is topped with a cream cheese mascarpone white chocolate frosting. Woah. Nat often sells it without the cheesecake layer, and stipulates in the recipe that it's worth making even without the cheesecake layer. When I made it, I did half-quantities of the cake, skipped the cheesecake, and did a double quantity of the frosting. Superb!

Key features of the recipe for me - the oven-roasted, evenly browned hazelnuts, and the frosting! The frosting is super easy - just whip together mascarpone, cream cheese, vanilla, soft butter and melted white chocolate. You can imagine how good it tastes, but also because there's no granulated sugar added it stays lusciously soft and smooth. Clever Nat using melted white chocolate to bring the sugar without the graininess. I've used the frosting again for other cakes - so good!

Cocoa Meringue Roulade with Mascarpone and Berries

Cocoa meringue roulade with mascarpone and berries

Last recipe for this post, I promise! I made the cocoa meringue roulade for an afternoon tea with some friends, one of whom is coeliac, and rather than making the toffeed figs specified in the recipe, I took it easy with plain fresh berries. A meringue roulade is the type of recipe I wouldn't previously have had confidence with (meringue roulade, Swiss rolls, way too much room for error!), but I knew that with Nat's recipes I'd be able to do it. (And incidentally this recipe has a really long paragraph explaining what to do if it goes wrong, so I can't be the only one who struggles with roulades!) Anyhoo, it worked out fine, and was super delicious and impressive, even if I wasn't able to get as tight a roll as the picture in the book.

Phew, that's it, that's the post! If you haven't already got the book, I do hope this inspires you to go and buy it and start some epic baking of your own.

So what's next for me? (I mean, apart from a long nap!) I have my eye on the espresso marshmallows, the blood plum galette with cream cheese pastry, the rugelach, the rum baba, the pecan maple cinnamon scrolls... and upon reflection I realise I've only made one pastry recipe so far, so I'll definitely have to try some of the others. I also have it on good authority that a second Beatrix cookbook is in the works! So exciting! I can't wait - I am totally ready to level up my baking yet again!

Cake

Maya's First Birthday Party!

3/10/2021 12:38:00 PM

Happy Birthday Maya!

Hey Hey! Two weeks ago we celebrated our beloved daughter Maya's first birthday with a super fun party and I wanted to tell you all about it! It was a party in the park with friends and family, with a decoration theme of "rainbows" and a food theme of "Kids' Party Food from the 90s". Such fun!

After the whirlwind of lockdowns and restrictions last year (and this year), we weren't sure what Maya's first birthday celebrations would look like, or if we'd even be able to have a party at all. So we were absolutely thrilled to be able to celebrate with friends and family! It was the first time we saw many of them in over a year - and actually, there were many that we hadn't seen since the (pre-COVID) baby shower! This also reminds me that I haven't blogged the baby shower, so let's put that on the list - it will be interesting for me to compare the pre-COVID and post-COVID party considerations!

Maya's actual birthday was on a Monday, and our initial plans were to have a small gathering at home with my parents - dinner and cake - and have a party in the park with our friends the following weekend. However... the plans for the small gathering were totally scuppered when Victoria was plunged back into a five-day Circuit Breaker lockdown! Oh well, there was nothing we could do about it, so on the big day, we celebrated just the three of us at home, with some gifts and cake.

Birthday Cake

I baked Nigella's buttermilk birthday cake (from How to be a Domestic Goddess), with the mascarpone cream cheese white chocolate frosting from the Beatrix Bakes cookbook. I'd made both before (the cake for Maya's 6 month birthday; the frosting as part of Beatrix' carrot cake) and knew they'd be delicious! As for the design, I'm sure you'll indulge me and see that it's a Simpsons reference - our version of the "Happy Birthday Maggagie" cake from season 5, episode 21 "Lady Bouvier's Lover". Sandra had gotten the little plastic letters online (which we removed before slicing and eating the cake!) and they looked very effective. We also let Maya eat a slice of cake - she seemed to like it and didn't have a sugar high - woohoo! (Normally we're really strict about sugar and salt, but it was her birthday!)

We had no idea what the Circuit Breaker would mean for the party - what if the lockdown would need to be extended beyond the planned five days, or if restrictions would change significantly following the lockdown - so we just had to wait and see how the lockdown played out before deciding what to do about the party. (Going with the flow does NOT come naturally us, so this was a challenge!)

Luckily the circuit breaker ended on schedule on the Wednesday, and we were able to continue with our party-in-the-park almost exactly as planned. The only change in restrictions was that the limit on outdoor gatherings had been reduced to twenty people (and we had invited thirty-five, as permitted under the previous set of restrictions). So, we decided to split the party into two sessions (like at yum cha or at a fancy restaurant) and asked people to come to either the first half or the second half. Our friends were all super cool about this and it was definitely the easiest way to manage. (Rather than say, rescheduling, or having two parties on two different days, both of which we had considered).

So, let's talk fun party stuff! (We may have gone a bit OTT, but it was the first party we'd hosted in over a year and we wanted it to be great!) We made all the food ourselves - doing individual picnic boxes to make it a COVID-safer event. (This had already been decided pre-Circuit Breaker lockdown; we just like being cautious). We did three types of boxes - adults, kids, and babies. We also splashed out on expensive helium foil balloons from Poppies for Grace, and did individual lolly bags for everyone to take home.

In terms of preparation, we were searching for and buying supplies over the weeks leading up to the party (the boxes, lolly bags, balloons etc.); we went food shopping a couple of times the week before; and the two days before the party were a frantic blur of cooking and baking and preparation!

Let's take a look!

Balloon bouquet from Poppies for Grace

I ordered a rainbow balloon bouquet from Poppies for Grace and grossly underestimated the size they would be - they were massive and took over the lounge room! They were a big expense too, at $160, but they were massive, very pretty, and they really helped people find the party! (A bunch of balloons is the international symbol for party!) Foil balloons seem to last for ages too; two weeks later we still have four decent ones at home and Maya loves playing with them.

Chocolates for the lolly bags

All the chocolate bars for the lolly bags! (I actually don't like lollies/candy, so it was all chocolate).

Lolly bags

Two days before the party, I made a batch of chocolate crackles, which were a must have item at all of my childhood birthday parties. They don't taste quite as nice as I remember them, but they're easy to make and people liked them! (They also last in an airtight container in the fridge for a good few days, so they're good to make in advance).

Chocolate Crackles

The night before, I baked the birthday cake: Nigella's chocolate fudge cake, which I baked in a single layer for ease of sharing. On the day of the party, I iced it and covered it in pretty sprinkles!

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Sprinkles

Sandra was in charge of the babies' lunch boxes, and the night before the party she made baby-friendly banana blueberry muffins and little egg and veggie cups for them to eat. Super cute!

Baby-friendly Banana Blueberry Muffins

Baby-friendly Veggie Egg Cups

Now... the day of the party...

Fairy bread and Vegemite sandwiches

I was really keen to have fairy bread, as it was a sweet memory from my childhood! German Sandra thought the concept was weird (and if you think about it, it really is), but I just love it! Soft soft white bread, soft spreadable butter and loads of sprinkles. It really isn't a kid's birthday party without it! We also made vegemite and cheese sandwiches - not because I ate them in my childhood, but because I wanted something savoury in the boxes (to counter all the sugar) that could happily be eaten at room temperature. I did the Nigella trick of beating the butter and vegemite together to make it easier to spread! Also - I used a pizza cutter to cut the big quantities of sandwiches/fairy bread which made it super quick and easy.

Finishing off the sandwiches and assembling all the boxes was quite hectic, and the kitchen was super chaotic!

Kitchen Chaos

I must say, it was very satisfying when all the boxes were complete and ready to go.

Completed lunch boxes

Lunch box for adults - crisps, chocolate crackle, fairy bread, vegemite & cheese sandwiches, slice of birthday cake, juice

Gluten-free grown up lunch box - GF fairy bread, GF cheese and vegemite sandwich, crisps, PB & cacao balls, juice

Lunch box for kids - fairy bread, chocolate crackle, vegemite and cheese sandwich, crisps, birthday cake, water bottle, Peppa Pig yogurt-covered raisins

Baby lunch box - strawberries, banana blueberry muffins, egg and veggie cups, organic animal biscuits

So, Sandra drove down to the park with all the food, and I walked there with Maya in the pram and the massive balloons trailing behind us. The party was really really fun, and everyone seemed to like the lunch boxes! And with everything prepared in advance, hosting the party itself was pretty chill. Or as chill as hosting a party can be - having been in lockdown for much of last year, and only socialising in small groups since, I forgot how much energy it takes to go around talking to everyone, making sure everything's running smoothly and that everyone gets their food - it was so fun but we were absolutely knackered afterwards!

What's most important is that the guest of honour enjoyed the party - she loved crawling around on the picnic blankets, seeing all the people and playing with the other babies, and she really enjoyed eating from her picnic box! (And occasionally eating from the floor, whoops).

Baby snack box in action

Happy happy first birthday, Maya!!

Cake

Squacquerone Cheesecake

1/29/2021 08:19:00 PM

Squacquerone Cheesecake! A sweet and simple European-style cheesecake, made with delicious squacquerone cheese.

Squacquerone Cheesecake

Jump to Recipe

Hello hello! Happy new year everybody! I hope everybody had a nice Christmas and New Years, wherever you are in the world, and I hope you are keeping safe and well.

I'm starting off this year's posts with a sweet little cheesecake recipe! I made this cheesecake with a new (to me) cheese: squacquerone. Late last year That's Amore Cheese contacted me, asking if I wanted to try some squacquerone and potentially try making a cheesecake with it. (Clearly, my love for cheesecake is a very strong part of my brand). The answer was, obviously, yes.

Squacquerone

So, squacquerone. I've learned that it is a fresh cheese from the Emilia Romagna region in Italy, which is ultra soft and wobbly, with a mild tangy taste. It's kinda like a mix between cream cheese, mascarpone and ricotta. In other words, delicious! I believe the traditional way to eat it in Emilia Romagna is in a piadina with rocket and prosciutto (YUM), but it's also nice spread on crusty bread, or (duh) in cheesecake!

I baked a simple cheesecake with the squacquerone, making a scaled down, small-batch, version of my favourite German cheesecake (which is traditionally made with quark). The squacquerone worked really well, making a light textured, tangy cheesecake. If you can get your hands on some squacquerone, definitely give it a go! It's the type of simple and delicious cake that would be equally welcome as dessert, afternoon tea, a snack, or even breakfast with a nice strong coffee.

Here are some other things I made and ate with the rest of the squacquerone:

Spread on crusty bread for breakfast. (Especially delicious with excellent fruit toast).

Squacquerone and Toast

This was part of a more generous weekend breakfast spread where we had cheesecake, fresh fruit and coffee.

Squacquerone Breakfast

I also made a couple of pizzas with it! The cheese melts really well and goes lovely and brown in the oven. (I used the Nigella recipe for pizza cassereccia from How to be a Domestic Goddess for the base). I did one with loads of toppings - tomato ragu, mushrooms, prosciutto, salami and squacquerone...

Squacquerone and Prosciutto Salami Mushroom Pizza

...and a simpler one with garlic butter, parsley and the squacquerone. Zomg, delicious!

Garlic Squacquerone Pizza

So garlicky. So cheesy. I'm in love!

Garlic Squacquerone Pizza

I served the garlic bread with cold cuts, rocket and more fresh squacquerone. (Inspired by to the traditional rocket-proscuitto-squacquerone flavour combo). Love this idea for a relaxed weekend lunch with drinks!

Squacquerone Garlic Pizza and Cold Cuts

But back to the original point of the post - the cheesecake! It's a very easy affair, using the all-in-one method, and no water bath required. The only thing I would caution is to place a tray under the springform if yours isn't watertight, to catch any drips that might come from the pan. Otherwise, have fun!

Squacquerone Cheesecake

Enjoy!

Squacquerone Cheesecake
A recipe by Sarah Cooks

Ingredients
50 grams flour
125 grams caster sugar
100 grams softened butter
3 eggs
Zest and juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
500 grams squacquerone cheese, at room temperature
A few tablespoons breadcrumbs and extra butter, to prepare the tin

Method
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Place all ingredients (apart from the breadcrumbs and extra butter) in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until combined.
Butter the base and sides a 20cm springform tin and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, turning the pan to coat the base and sides with a thin layer of breadcrumbs. Discard any excess.
Scrape the cheesecake mixture into the tin and level the top with a spatula or palette knife.
Place the springform tin onto a baking tray (to catch any drips or leaks) and put in the oven.
Bake for 30-45 minutes or until just set. You may need to cover with foil halfway through to prevent it from burning.
Allow to cool completely before gently springing from the tin.
Makes 1 x 20cm cheesecake

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

Sarah received complimentary squacquerone from That's Amore Cheese but was not compensated nor obliged to blog or post about it.

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