The carrot cake that almost started an angry mob

Carrot cake with pistachios and walnuts

About two weeks ago, I met an American from Michigan who moved to New Zealand and unexpectedly became a Kiwi farmer. In 2009, he started a WordPress blog called Moon Over Martinborough to chronicle their life in the farm which eventually led to a best-selling book of the same title. Carrot cake everyone wants is the most enticing story behind a recipe that I’ve ever read. It teaches you a lesson about sharing your most beloved recipes, unless you want an angry mob of pitchfork-carrying farmers at your door.

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Christine’s berry sour cream cake

Christine Hodge’s berry sour cream cake

This berry delicious cake is a masterpiece of Christine Hodge of Fig Tree Cafe in Upper Hutt, Wellington. If you are from Wellington City, it is worth driving 30km north just for a plate of Fig Tree Cafe’s berry sour cream cake, believe me! Christine finally revealed her well-kept secret recipe for the readers of FishHead magazine. She rocks!

Healthy plum and prune jam

Plum and prune jam on rye bread toast

“Sugar is the new fat.” The first time I heard this said (by someone who published a book on the matter) was at the International Food Blogger Conference held in Seattle, mid 2013. True? Look around and what do you see overweight people are eating? French fries? (we call it “chips” down here, btw) Fried chicken? Burgers? Look again. Ice cream? Muffins? Cakes? Milk chocolate? Cronuts? Yes!

Chocolate pudding with strawberry jam and poached fig

Chocolate pudding with strawberry jam and poached fig

This is a fusion of two different desserts. The chocolate pudding idea is from Whittaker’s A Passion for Chocolate. In the book, Tom Hutchinson from Capitol, one of Wellington’s most acclaimed restaurants, shared a soft-centered chocolate pudding recipe.

Date cake with ginger wine and coconut sauce

Every time I browse through Donna Hay magazines, I get awestruck. The photos are fantastic, the slow-animation effects on their iPad app are out of-this-world amazing. But what about the recipes, are they as good as they appear to be? Actually, I haven’t tried one until now.

JD’s lemon and coconut cake

Lemon and coconut cake

After a fervent search for a lemon and coconut cake recipe, I finally settled for Katie Quinn Davies’ http://www.whatkatieate.com/recipes/gluten-free-lemon-and-coconut-cake. Her cake looked SO WILD I just had to shoot something like it. So I handed over the recipe to my master baker and he took out the food processor which started whirling soon enough. He was like a boy with a new toy.

JD’s bread pudding II

Bread pudding with raisins

Making bread pudding is a great way to recycle unwanted or leftover bread that would otherwise be thrown away. I always keep stale bread in the freezer. JD used them all up when he made bread pudding the first time. I had one shot of what was left of the pudding. It went fast and furious, from the oven to our stomachs. Then he did it again! This time I had the chance to play with my camera and props before we consumed it.

JD’s bread pudding – a teaser

Bread pudding with raisins

This bread pudding is so good it deserves a rerun. The master baker is going to get busy in the kitchen tonight and his masterpiece will be good for tomorrow’s breakfast and there will be more photos to come!

Easy herbed booze bread

Easy orange ginger cider bread with kawakawa and basil

Kawakawa bread! It’s a long time coming. This super plant kawakawa has made several appearances on this blog. The peppermint after-taste makes this booze bread truly remarkable. JD scored high with this one!

Easy Brazilian cheese bread (Pao de Queijo)

JD’s version of another wonderful easy recipe from a rock star of a food photographer, my idol Katie Quinn Davies of What Katie Ate.  The main and most important ingredient is tapioca starch which you can easily find in Asian stores. If you want to make gluten-free cheese bread, you’d love Katie’s Pao de queijo recipe!