A cure for most ills

When you enjoy baking as much as I do, baking for others can sometimes be more stressful than people expect. Friends and family are surprised if I stress about what cake to bake or dish to cook. "But you're a good cook," friends say. "You have heaps of recipes to choose from."



And that, in a nutshell, is the problem. Too many recipes, too much choice, too much pressure to come up with the perfect dish for the occasion. A simple slice is easy to make but will it have the 'wow' factor? Should I risk making a new cake that I haven't tried before? Biscuits are a nice treat but will they seem too small and boring?



Of course, all this pressure is self-imposed. Most people are impressed simply by the fact that someone has gone to the trouble of baking something homemade for them. The cook may bewail the fact that the corner of the cake broke when it came out of the tin, that the icing didn't set properly, or that the finished product doesn't look picture-perfect, but I guarantee that most of the recipients won't even notice.



If you want to impress people, I find that a homemade chocolate cake is always a winner. A chocolate cake can be dressed up or down, adorned with simple butter icing or a rich ganache, filled with whipped cream, or left plain. Morning tea, afternoon tea, dessert, birthdays - chocolate cake suits all occasions.



This chocolate cake, from Allan Campion and Michelle Curtis's excellent In The Kitchen, is a recent addition to my repertoire but an instant hit and one I've made several times since. I made this cake recently for the regular Friday morning tea at my work. Although I normally serve it plain at home, usually dusted with a mixture of icing sugar and cocoa, this time I dressed it up with a chocolate ganache. It is a rich fudgy cake that is guaranteed to impress - there were definitely no seconds when I served this one!

Artisan bread - Dench's Bakery

I've long wanted to visit Dench's Bakery in North Carlton, especially as my friend John continually regales me with tales of this wonderful bakery, its enticing aroma of freshly baked bread, and the wide variety of breads available.

Dench's has an impressive website, filled with some of the most stunning, evocative shots I've ever seen. Ciabatta, baguette, focaccia, schwarzbrot, panini, beer, farmhouse, spelt, brioche, raisin, potato and walnut, apricot and honey are just some of the loaves available from its store in Scotchmans St, North Fitzroy. There is also a cafe, which serves breakfast and lunch and baked treats such as pastries, cakes, tarts and biscuits, and Genovese coffee.

My friend John recently discovered that Dench's also sells bread at the Queen Victoria Market and he brought me in a loaf of grain bread as a present. Although the loaf sat in my bag under my desk for the day, every now and then I would catch a smell of fresh bread, which made my mouth water. I couldn't wait to get home and try some!

Made from wholemeal flour, the grain bread also contains sunflower kernels, linseed and sesame seeds. It is soft and chewy, with the seeds giving it body and depth. This bread elevated my simple sandwich of ham, cheese and lettuce to another level, making it truly special. I can't wait to try more loaves in the range.

Dench's Bakery, 109 Scotchmer St, North Fitzroy

The milkman returns

I didn't grow up in the city, so the milkman delivering milk early in the morning was never part of my life experience. Growing up in the country, all of my neighbours were dairy farmers, so we bought billies of fresh milk from them. It wasn't until I moved to Melbourne as an adult that I began to drink what I called "shop milk" from a carton.

Now, with two rapidly growing children, we consume a large amount of milk, as well as bread, butter, cheese and orange juice. Many times I've had to load the children in the car or pram to duck out and buy some milk and bread to replenish supplies. And supplies always seem to dwindle or run out just when we are busiest and have no time to go to the shops!

So I was thrilled when my friend Trudi told me about Aussie Farmers Direct, a free home delivery service offering fresh products that are 100 per cent Australian owned and produced. AFD has a My Milkman, My Green Grocer and My Butcher, meaning that most of your fresh produce needs can be met.

The AFD website says that it cuts out the middle man, ensuring that the produce comes directly from farmers and is delivered straight to the customer's door. Orders are taken online, making it a fast and easy service to use.

The AFD milkman delivers to my area on Mondays and Thursdays and my first order arrived this morning. Packed in a soft esky bag (provided free of charge), my milk, bread and orange juice were fresh and cold. We didn't hear the milkman but the order was on our doorstep when we checked at 7am.

I'm very excited to discover this service. Not only is it saving me time in rushing out to buy a few essentials, but I'm always happy to support Aussie farmers.

Coffee break: Coffee Hit, Doncaster

Shopped-out fashionistas will find a caffeine hit here that’s a cut above the usual shopping-centre offerings. This is a cafe that takes coffee seriously: as well as grinding and roasting its own beans, Coffee Hit sells beans, utensils and books, and the Australian Barista Champion 2009 runner-up is on staff.

Situated in a light-filled atrium near upmarket grocery stores, Coffee Hit has a classy fitout of dark timber furniture, with space for prams or shopping bags. There’s sandwiches and cakes for sale but the high-standard coffee is the main deal. A very short espresso has an intense, spicy aroma that fills the mouth but fades quickly. The initial tobacco aroma of a long black fades into a mellow, slightly earthy taste that doesn’t linger, while a latte, full of caramel and nuts, is an easy-sipping palate pleaser. Just as pleased are the outer-suburban shoppers who now have a caffeine indulgence to equal their inner-city counterparts.

Coffee Hit
Shop G217, Westfield Shoppingtown
619 Doncaster Road, Doncaster

Rich iced birthday cake

I'm an absolute sucker for magazines that feature Christmas feasts. It doesn't matter how many recipe features I have with Christmas dishes (and I already have my own extensive collection of family favourites that I usually make each year), if I see a new magazine with an enticing spread, I buy it.

I admit that the December issue of Notebook magazine was one such purchase. I am a big fan of Notebook magazine, which seems to be one of the few women's magazines that addresses women who might want to read something more substantial than celebrity gossip and sealed sex sections. There's always lots of inspirational reading, with articles on finance, personal improvement, spiritual wellbeing and work-life balance interspersed with fashion and cooking spreads.

One of the dishes that caught my eye in the December issue was the rich iced mud cake with boozy berries. I didn't have time to make it at Christmas (nor did we really need extra cakes!) but I bookmarked it and decided it was the perfect cake to make for Adam's birthday.

It's always a risk to make a new cake for a special occasion, in case it doesn't work, but the method was easy and the combination of chocolate, coffee, Marsala and mascarpone was tempting. It's a big cake, suitable to serve at least 12 people, so it's an excellent occasion cake. The original method called for the cake to be made in two loaf tins but I made it in one big square cake tin and just had to adjust the cooking time accordingly.

The end result was enthusiastically received by both the birthday boy and the family members who attended the birthday feast. The cake is moist and dense, with the subtle coffee and Marsala flavours blending harmoniously with the chocolate. A mixture of mascarpone, whipped cream, Marsala and icing sugar sandwiches the cake together. The alcohol softens the rich mascarpone and ensures that this cake, while rich, is not overpowering and will not leave you feeling like you've overindulged.

We made it - paella

Paella is one of my favourite dishes. It is a very traditional dish and there are many versions. Frank Camorra from Movida says that a paella is an outdoor dish, cooked over a bed of coals, and it is customary in Spain for men, rather than women, to make paella. His version, in his superb Movida cookbook, includes white rabbit, mussels, king prawns, periwinkles, squid and firm-fleshed fish. It is a reasonably complicated and time-consuming dish.

But there is also a place for an easier version of paella. Although purists may scoff, and argue that this is not a traditional paella but more of a tomato and rice-based dish, it is still a way to enjoy the flavours of paella on a busy weeknight. And so it was that the first dish I made from this month's Donna Hay Magazine in the We Made It challenge was the chicken, prawn and tomato paella dish.

It was extremely easy to make and absolutely delicious. Next time I would add some chorizo for some extra flavour and spice. I'm sure this moves the dish even further away from traditional paella. But, call it what you will, I urge you to make this dish: it is wonderful!

Chicken, prawn and tomato paella
Recipe from Donna Hay magazine, issue 49, Feb/Mar 2010

1 1/2 Tb olive oil
1 x 200g chicken breast fillet, trimmed and chopped
200g green (raw) prawns, peeled, tails intact
1 small brown onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 cup (150g) medium-grain rice
1 x 400g can diced tomatoes
1 1/4 cups (310ml) chicken stock
flat-leaf parsley leaves and lemon wedges, to serve

Heat 1 Tb of the oil in a medium non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the chicken and prawns and cook for 4-5 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Set aside and keep warm.

Add the remaining oil to the pan with the onion, garlic, chilli and paprika and cook for 2 minutes or until softened. Add the rice, tomato and stock, reduce heat to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cooked. Stir through the chicken and prawns and cook for a further 1 minute. Top with parsley and serve with lemon wedges. Serves 2.

We made it - Donna Hay magazine under the spotlight

Donna Hay is one of my original cooking inspirations. I loved her stylish and simple cooking that first appeared in Marie Claire magazine in the 1990s. Easy-to-obtain ingredients, simple techniques and delicious food stylishly presented on white plates - it all added up to restaurant-style food that could be cooked and presented by home cooks.

I have all Donna's early cookbooks - Dining, Cooking, Food Fast, Flavours - and I was one of the first 50 subscribers when she launched her magazine (I know this because I received an Alessi cheese grater, which was offered to the first 50 people to subscribe). I've never missed an issue and regularly refer back to the old issues to make tried-and-tested favourites, or to get new inspiration. The photography is excellent: not only are the dishes beautifully presented and photographed but many of the features tell a story - perhaps an autumn picnic in the country or a summer beach holiday - and this adds to the overall charm - you can just imagine yourself undertaking such glamourous holidays and effortlessly producing culinary masterpieces to wow your family and friends.

The latest issue - Feb/March 2010, issue 49 "summer" - is the choice for this month's "We Made It" challenge, where Suzie from Munch+Nibble and I select a food magazine and try to cook from it as much as we can. There is lots of inspiration this month - salads, fruit desserts, tomato dishes, a Fast 50 feature with speedy dinner ideas for weeknights and a lovely tropical island feast photographed in the Cook Islands. I'm looking forward to trying out many of the dishes!