Mango & Coconut Black Sticky Rice Pudding, fragrant and tropical, plus some thoughts and photographs on Cambodia thus far.  Jump to Recipe 

Another post from high in the air: this time between the high-rise and motorbikes of Saigon and the beaches  and markets of Hoi An, Vietnam. The last week has been a blur of activity, speeding past in the way that only holidays can. Cambodia is a country I could have spent much longer in – from the sights of Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples, to the bustling energy of Phnom Penh and the friendliness of the people, who genuinely crack a smile from ear to ear on seeing us gawky tourists trying to communicate in local markets, and who would run after you if you accidentally gave the wrong payment in thousands of riel – it is a country I would recommend to anyone.

Here are a few highlights from the trip so far, along with a recipe for one of my favourite new breakfast foods – mango & coconut black sticky rice pudding.

Cambodian food tends to be milder than the fiery Thai and Vietnamese next door – more sweet, coconutty fish amok, steamed in a banana leaf bowl, and smoky chargrilled aubergine with minced pork. The Cambodians emphasise texture in food, with mouth-feel and contrasts all important. Our market breakfast bowl of coconut pork noodles included regular silky rice noodles, a thick, lattice-like noodle, flaky pork spring rolls, smaller chunks of pork mince, the crunch of roasted nuts, handfuls of fresh herbs and a fiery hit of chilli balanced by both a lime-fish sauce dressing and a hint of coconut milk. At $1 per bowl, we were back there again the next morning!

I never thought I would be a condensed milk coffee fan – but something about that cold drip coffee, sweetened and served in a plastic cup full of ice, sipped while seated on a tiny stool in a crowded market, sweat running down our cheeks and cotton sticking to our backs – has me ordering it again and again.

Waffles and doughnuts were our post-breakfast treats – but not as you know them. Incorporating more savoury components to avoid the sickly sugariness of Western versions, my favourite was a ring made of a sticky glutinous rice batter, fried and topped with a sticky, crackly palm sugar glaze – the sort that sticks and crunches between your teeth. The other was a coconut batter with a spoon of yellow bean paste piped inside and a sticky sesame glaze, all nutty, sweet and savoury at once. The waffles are still made in traditional waffle irons over coals, giving a deep, golden swirled appearance. Again unlike our versions, the waffles were made from a potato, coconut meat and sugar batter, giving a thick, more savoury pancake with heavy coconut flavour.

I finally tried a black rice pudding during a motorbike tour of Saigon two nights ago – glutinous and sticky, the rice itself was plain and topped with a scoop of coconut ice cream, melting in rivulets through the rice and finished with chunks of mango, sweeter and juicier than the winter imports in our colder climates. Though that was a version for dessert, this mango & coconut black sticky rice pudding could be eaten for breakfast, or brunch, lacking the decadence of the coconut ice cream but with cool, silky coconut cream in its place. Cooked with vanilla until tender and sticky, the purple-black rice is sweetened with coconut sugar and caramelised banana – I found that coconut or palm sugar delivered more flavour than regular white sugar could. Toppings are whatever you choose, but I kept it tropical with mango and passionfruit, and couldn’t resist the bright pop of fresh pomegranate arils.

It’s not a usual breakfast – but we eat porridge, and chia puddings, and bircher muesli – so why not rice? The Cambodian and Vietnamese people see our breakfasts of cereal and yogurt as being just as strange.

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Gluten-Free Pineapple Coconut Cake with Passionfruit Curd & Vanilla Italian Meringue Buttercream – tropical, fruity and a bit of a show-stopper.  Jump to Recipe 

I write this from somewhere between Australia and New Zealand, high above the stretch of ocean known as the Tasman Sea. It is typical cattle-class grunge: the very back row, window seat, crammed into a tight little box with the reclined seat in front pressing my laptop into my chest. Stuffy and warm, air permeated with the faint sickly smell of reheated food, a baby screaming hysterically in the seat next door and hundreds of people headphone clad, staring at rectangular screens as we hurtle through the air in a reinforced aluminium tube, 30000 ft up.

The light has gradually faded – initially glaring brightly through the window, glittering over the foamy white lines of breaking waves stretching along the west coast of New Zealand and blending into a hazy horizon, the main source of illumination now is the dimmed fluorescent cabin beams and the faint blue emanating from electronic screens. Not even the clouds remain visible in the vast darkness beneath the plane – only sporadic orange flashes of wingtip lights.

The four days I spent at home disappeared far too quickly. I loved it – a much-needed pause between weeks of university and life in general, but lectures start again at 8am tomorrow and it already hardly feels like I ever left. Life is a blur sometimes, isn’t it? It doesn’t help that I tend to have superhuman expectations of what I might get done in break time, as if days on holiday just stretch out forever, when in reality they speed past at twice the rate of ordinary work weeks, and a few sleep-ins and the lack of rush mean that you really can’t do anything at all. But that doesn’t matter – the important things happened (meaning the family time, the cooking and eating and sleeping and the one assignment submission), and the lower priorities can wait.

Easter called for a celebratory cake-  and with passionfruit freely available, a lingering, unusually warm autumn, and  an aunt coming to stay with wheat intolerances, it seemed like the ideal time to try this gluten-free pineapple coconut cake with passionfruit curd & vanilla buttercream. Tropical and fruity, the cake itself is intensified with roasted pineapple puree and coconut flour as well as desiccated coconut, for texture, and is filled with thick layers of rich, tangy passionfruit curd. A vanilla italian meringue coats the top and sides – it doesn’t need much, and I thought adding it between the layers might be overkill. The passionfruit and coconut are the stars here. Inspired and adapted from Megan at Hint of Vanilla.

I don’t often make gluten free cakes, seeing gluten-free flour composites as a poor substitute – my gluten-free baking occurs tends to occur in the form of flourless chocolate cakes and almond meal based friands. I did buy a box of rice flour once, intent on using it in a brownie recipe, but somehow got waylaid and it remains unopened in the pantry, 2 years on. If I was coeliac myself, or had a family member/friend who was, I’m sure I would become a pro pretty quickly! In the meantime, this cake is the sort where you would never question its gluten content based on an odd texture or flavour – the coconut flour simply lends an intense, meaty coconut vibe. However, do be careful as it does absorb significantly more moisture, so over-baking the cake can send it into dry territory fairly quickly. Err on the side of less time.

Baker’s notes:

• For the cake tin size: this cake makes enough for 3 layers. I own 1 x 15cm cake tin, so I baked 1/3 of the mixture, and then the other 2/3  subsequently in the same tin. I then cut the large 2/3 in half to give 3 layers. If you have one tin, I would try this, otherwise you could:
  • If you own 1 x 15cm tin: either do as I did above, or bake it all in the one tin and divide it into 3 layers. You will need a tall 15cm tin for this, however, and it will take longer to bake.
  • If you own 2 x 15cm tins: you can bake them as 2/3 and 1/3 at the same time.
  • If you own 3 x 15cm tins, evenly divide the batter between the tins and bake simultaneously. This will have the shortest baking time.
• Make sure to bring the cake to room temperature before serving to allow the buttercream to soften.
• I wouldn’t advise trying a direct swap of coconut flour for regular flour – coconut flour is very absorbent, and so the cake batter would be much more liquid.
• To make the pineapple puree: either buy pineapple puree if it is available, or make your own (instructions below). You will need to oven roast pineapple for around 45 minutes before pureeing it in a food processor or smoothie blender.
• To make the pineapple flowers (optional): see this video here. I would recommend making these the day before you plan to assemble the cake.

You might have realised by now that I LOVE passionfruit, and if you are as big a fan as I am you might like these recipes too:
– Homemade Crumpets with Passionfruit Curd & Hazelnut Crumble
– Passionfruit Coconut Meringue Bars
– Individual Passionfruit Pavlovas
– No-Churn Passionfruit & Raspberry Pavlova Ice Cream

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Creamy coconut chia pudding, lightly flavoured with vanilla, maple & lemon, topped with mango, passionfruit, strawberries, pomegranate and macadamias.  Jump to Recipe 

Weeow, we made it to 2016! Sounds so far into the 21st century, doesn’t it? Scary!

I wish I could tell you I had an epic New Years Eve last night, saw fireworks at a music festival or made a huge celebratory dinner and these salted caramel brownies to see out the last of 2015… but I didn’t. My New Years was as boring as they come.

It started with a freezer scare. I was home alone for a few days before joining the rest of my family on holiday, and got back from work on the 30th to an odd smell in the pantry – on investigation, my stomach dropped when I realised the freezer door had been left slightly ajar – by myself, nearly 24 hours earlier. Although most of the meat seemed to still be frozen, all the ice cream was liquid, and I didn’t want to leave the door any open longer to check out all the drawers. That evening it didn’t seem to have gotten any colder, the smell was stronger, and growing more and more concerned (a solo clean out of a defrosting freezer being NOT how I had pictured New Years Eve, as well as the utter embarrasment of having destroyed a freezer full of food) I added a little 1cm full plastic cup of water to the top shelf as a quick check to see if it would freeze.

Skip to 430am on New Years Eve: the meaty, off smell filling the pantry was stronger than ever, the cup of water was still liquid, and sticking around to try and salvage things would result in being late for work. While I spent the morning at work kicking myself and dreading the clean-up, Mum organised a repairman to visit in the afternoon, and neighbours came past to check it out.

IT WAS THE ONIONS. The smell, I mean. The freezer was working again (my cup having iced over – it had just struggled to cool down the overly full contents), all the meat was frozen, and it was a bag of rotting onions a couple of metres away that had caused the decaying meat scent that had begun wafting through the kitchen. Relieved was an understatement.

I landed in Gisborne at 9pm hungry, tired, cold and over life in general – that stage where you feel like just about anything could bring on tears, your eyes start drifting shut every few minutes and you keep desperately trying to shake yourself awake. Vague thoughts of heading to Rhythm and Vines (one of the main New Years music festivals in NZ) were completely out the window, needless to say.

So New Years was a non-event – I hope yours was much better!! And if I have one word of advice – ALWAYS MAKE SURE THE FREEZER DOOR IS COMPLETELY SHUT.

But for a much more satisfying New Years Day, and a healthier start to 2016 than many of the other recipes around here, this is my favourite coconut chia pudding recipe. Lightly flavoured with lemon, maple and vanilla, just stir it together the night before you want it, then top the creamy, coconutty chia with anything you like – I love the tropical combination of mango, passionfruit, berries, roasted macadamias and pomegranate. Chia seeds are packed with nutrients (full of protein, omega-3 fatty acids and lots more- google it for your choice of hundreds of articles proclaiming their benefits!), are really filling and the texture isn’t actually that strange. Once they have been soaked over night they don’t get stuck in your teeth either.

I am far from a health-nut who espouses coconut oil in baking, or unprocessed sugars and spelt flour (though it probably wouldn’t hurt!), but chia pudding does NOT sacrifice taste. Paired with mango, tangy passionfruit syrup and those bright pops of pomegranate, it feeds my sweet tooth without adding to the cups of processed sugar consumed over Christmas time. Try it for a 10-minute, fuss-free 2016 holiday brunch, or a breakfast on the go if you are still working!

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No-churn passionfruit raspberry pavlova ice cream – creamy vanilla ice cream layered with tangy raspberry coulis, passionfruit swirls & meringue shards.  Jump to Recipe 

Life changing.

I cannot believe I have never tried no-churn ice cream before. I had been a little ‘above’ it, assuming churned gelato was obviously superior, that pasteurising and aging and specific temperatures were all aspects worth consideration – and consequently never made it. The prohibitive time and effort meant a trip to Gelato Messina was far easier!

I think it was the sweetened condensed milk involved that put me off for a while longer – like, how could something with sweetened condensed milk be a real ice cream?

My new answer is IT CAN. IT SO SO SO CAN.

Because this passionfruit raspberry pavlova ice cream is one of the best I have ever tasted. Creamy, sweet vanilla ice cream base is layered with tangy raspberry coulis, passionfruit swirls and crispy edged-fluffy inner crushed meringue shards. It takes all of 10 minutes to make once the meringue and raspberry coulis are done, and then 6 hours freezing time later, you have a batch of ice cream that rivals anything storebought. The meringue and coulis recipe actually make enough for 2-3 batches of ice cream, so you will have leftovers to use in something else (meringue, berries and cream jars?) or just to make more ice cream with.

The possible flavour combinations that could be used with this ice cream base are endless- I’m thinking espresso chocolate with brownie chunks, roasted pear and rhubarb, apple crumble, lemon curd and blueberry swirls, caramel with sticky date pudding chunks…

AND Christmas is only ONE week away now. If your city/town/area is anything like Auckland right now, everyone (and everything) is going insane. The traffic is awful, the shops are packed, the stress is practically palpable, the radio is crammed with Christmas advertising, work is crazy busy (like, why does everyone suddenly want doughnuts the week before Christmas?) and most of the joy and family focus of Christmas seems swamped with a tide of commercialism.

For my part, I am incredibly unprepared thanks to those 9-12 hour doughnut shifts – Christmas dessert for 25 people is on me (!) and planning and Christmas shopping have yet to happen. If this is you as well, this ice cream is perfect. Make it a couple of days ahead (a couple of batches if you are feeding lots of people), and scoop it in the sun after Christmas dinner. Pavlova is an iconic dessert here in the Australia and NZ, but can be challenging in humid weather when you are trying to use the oven for 1000x other things in the days before Christmas. This way you can incorporate an easier meringue (made ahead, or even store-bought), into an easy but impressive ice cream to relieve dessert pressure on the day.

It could also be a worthwhile addition if your main dessert is something like Christmas pudding or trifle, which can be a little divisive (especially among the under-20s!) – have it on hand for those who aren’t fans of the traditional brandy-soaked puds. Even if you aren’t as disorganised as I am, you could still serve it at a relaxed dinner on Boxing Day, or around New Years celebrations – summer is all about beaches and barbecues, right?

If you are one of those Northern hemisphere people enjoying a white Christmas, feel free to experiment with more wintery flavours – chocolate, caramel, roast apples & pears, sticky date….

This recipe is part of a virtual Christmas lunch party with other Australian (and NZ) food bloggers, all serving up amazing recipes that you could use on the day. A big thank you to Bec at Dancing Through Sunday for organising it! Check out the other dishes here:

• Dancing Through Sunday – Vegetarian Stuffing Balls
• Champagne and Chips – Ice Cream Terrine
• The Alimental Sage – Festive Summer Salad 
• 84th and 3rd – Nectarine Almond Streusel French Toast 
• Whats for Eats – Sugar Crunch Cookies

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Passionfruit pavlovas: slightly crunchy exterior and marshmallowy soft inner, paired with smooth, tangy but sweet passionfruit curd and whipped cream.  Jump to Recipe 

IT’S OVER!!!

Yesterday’s mid-semester exam is what I am referring to here. Minimal study (and lots of baking) over the Easter break resulted in a final mad 4-day cram – stressful, boring, and not conducive to blog-posting, unfortunately. The feeling of freedom and relief walking out of that exam room was priceless – until we have to do it all again in 6 weeks time, that is.


Of course, I always tell myself afterwards that next time I will be more onto it, better prepared, know more of the detail, etc etc. You get the picture. In reality, I find that life catches up with me: I spend more than enough time just trying to keep on top of lecture summaries, and would far rather spend my Sunday out brunching and writing a blog post than at my desk revising. I can always hope, I suppose!

Back to why you are here in the first place: individual passionfruit pavlovas. It is all about texture. The slightly crunchy outer and soft, marshmallow-like inside of the meringue, paired with lusciously smooth, tangy but sweet passionfruit curd, whipped cream, and extra passionfruit and finally dusted with icing sugar is an absolute dream. All credit goes to The Engine Room (phenomenal restaurant in Auckland, please visit) for the recipe.

Passionfruit has got to be one of my favourite fruits, and this passionfruit curd is to-die-for – any left over will be gone very quickly: think spooned over ice cream, slathered on toast, heck, by the spoonful!

This is one of my go-to autumn desserts to wow family and friends (and what I would love to be eating to celebrate tonight!). It can be completely made ahead so is also perfect for a dinner party, just needing assembly on the night. Don’t be scared by the pavlova component – making individual ones is much easier (plus it looks amazing) and this recipe is pretty foolproof. You will need to make them the night before, turn off the oven and leave them inside to cool down slowly overnight. The curd is also straightforward as long as you  keep a close eye on it and stirring continuously once you have it thickening on the heat – you do not want a moments distraction to result in a clumpy curdled mixture.

ALSO big news: I have two weeks (mostly) off uni starting from next week (!!). SO excited – even the couple of assignments I have to get done can’t dampen it. Very much looking forward to doing a bit of shopping, some more Melbourne exploring, and a whole lot of eating. Dad is also coming over to visit in the last weekend. Cannot. Wait. Although I have a bit of a list going, please let me know any particular must-visit places to go – love a bit of inside knowledge!

For the moment, make these pavlovas while passionfruit is still around – enjoy.

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