endless summer

via mikkel vang

We have been so lucky with the weather in Perth this year, mid May and it still feels like Summer! These beautiful photographs were taken by Mikkel Vang. Based in Australia, Vang specialises in food, lifestyle and interiors, his photographs appearing in Donna Hay, Gourmet, Vogue Living and more. 

chocolate tarts

Photography & Desserts by Sasha Ewing

CHOCOLATE TARTS

Pastry:

75g cold unsalted butter

150g plain flour, sifted

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp icing sugar

1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

250g dark chocolate

100g unsalted butter

150ml double cream

4 eggs

80g caster sugar

1. To make the pastry, in a food processor combine the flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine. Add the chopped butter and process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and enough cold water until the mixture forms a ball in the processor. Flatten into a disc shap, wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate for 30 min.

2.  Preheat oven to 170 degree. Grease 8 3-inch tart cases. Flour a clean surface, roll out pastry to 3-4mm thickness. Using a cookie cutter, cut circles to fit tart shells. Carefully press pastry into shells, prick with a fork and place in fridge for 30 min. 

3. Cover pastry with foil or baking paper and baking beans and bake blind for 12 min. Remove paper and weights, brush shells with some beaten egg and bake for a further 2-3min to crisp the pastry.

4. To make the filling, place the chocolate, butter and cream in a bowl. Place the bowl over a pan of boiling water on low heat. Stir gently until the chocolate has melted. In another bowl using an electric mixer or whisk, beat the egg whites until fluffy, add the sugar and beat again until mixture is very thick. Gently pour in the chocolate mix and fold through until just combined.

5. Turn oven down to 150 degrees. Fill tarts leaving 2mm at the top of each shell. Bake for 15-20 min is just set. Allow to cool and decorate as desired.

lisa cohen photography

via lisa cohen photography

These gorgeous photographs were taken from Lisa Cohen's online photography portfolio. Lisa specialises in interiors, food, lifestyle and still life photography, shooting for magazines such as Vogue Living, Gourmet Traveller and Donna Hay.

white wall photography

via white and wander

This beautiful shoot was styled by White and Wander and photographed by the talented team at White Wall Photography. x

high tea sandwiches

Photos and Styling by Karen Mordechai via Sunday Suppers

This beautiful selection of tea sandwiches was created by Sunday Suppers to feature in Lonny's new design magazine, Trad Home. The delicious combinations included:

Pea mash with Mint, White Radish, Olive oil, and Black Sea Salt on Rye Bread

Blue Cheese, Pear, Violas on Mixed Grain

Tomato, Avocado, Salmon, on Brioche

Cucumber, Goat Cheese, Sea Beans, and Flowering Broccoli  on rustic white 

Yum!x

pastry cream profiteroles

Photography by Sasha Ewing

Recipe adapted from Annabel Langbein's choux pastry

PASTRY CREAM PROFITEROLES

Choux pastry:

1 cup water

120g butter, diced

1.5 cup plain flour, sifted

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

To fill:

2.5 cups pastry cream

To top:

200g white chocolate

2 tsp instant coffee powder

1 tbsp boiling water

2 cups icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pistachio nuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celcius (fan-forced)and line 2 oven trays with baking paper. 

2. To make the choux pastry, place water and butter in a medium saucepan and heat until boiling. Once the butter is fully melted, add the flour all at once and beat over medium heat with a wooden spoon until the mixture leaves the side of the saucepan and starts to crust a little on the base of the pan (approx. 1 minute). Remove from heat and transfer mixture to large mixing bowl. Add sugar and vanilla and beat for 20 seconds before beating in eggs one at a time. Mixture should be thick enough to drop from spoon in clumps.

3. Using a one-inch tipped piping bag, pipe two-inch diameter mounds of mixture one and a half inches apart on the lined trays. Using the back of a wet teaspoon, smooth the tops of the mounds. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden. 

4. Remove from the oven and pierce the bottom of each puff with a knife. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

5. To fill, use a 1.5cm tipped piping bag and pipe pastry cream into each puff through the piercing made in each puff. For the topping, melt the white chocolate. Dip the tops of half of the puffs into the chocolate then let them set. For the coffee sauce, place the boiling water in a bowl and add the coffee. Stir well. Mix in the icing sugar and vanilla. Dip the tops of the remaining puffs into the coffee sauce. Chop up the pistachios and sprinkle over the top of each puff.

Fill and serve these the day they are made. The unfilled profiteroles may be stored in an airtight container for one day.

mother's day rocky road

Photography and Recipe by Sasha Ewing

ROCKY ROAD HEART

250g milk chocolate

200g pink and white marshmallows

100g dry roasted almonds

225g turkish delight

100g white chocolate

Pink powdered food colouring

1. Grease and line a heart-shaped cake tin (base measuring approximately 18cm from top to bottom). Using a sharp knife, chop marshmallows and almonds in half. Slice Turkish delight into 1cm cubes.

2. To melt the chocolate, break it into small pieces and place them in a small glass bowl. Fill a small saucepan ¼ full with water and sit the bowl with the chocolate over the top of this. The water should come up to just below the bottom of the bowl. Stir over medium heat until the chocolate reaches a smooth, spreadable consistency.

3. Pour melted chocolate into a large bowl. Add the chopped marshmallows, almonds and turkish delight. Stir mixture gently until combined, ensuring all the ingredients are covered by chocolate.

4. Pour mixture into the lined tin, and place in the fridge to set (approximately 2 hours).

5. To decorate the heart, break the white chocolate into small pieces and melt it using the same process used in step 2. Remove bowl from the heat when the chocolate is smooth. Add a small pinch of pink food colouring to the chocolate, stir well.

6. Remove the heart from the tin and place on a large board covered with a sheet of baking paper. Spoon the white chocolate mixture into a piping bag with an approximately 0.2mm tip. Pipe lines back and forth over the heart moving from top to bottom and then from right to left to create a criss-cross pattern. Repeat on the diagonal. Return the heart to the fridge until set.

7. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice a thin layer off the heart on all sides. Wrap as desired. Store in an air-tight container.

lemon meringue tartlets

I made these lemon meringue and blueberry custard tartlets for a recent catering job. I have been obsessed with baking desserts for quite a while now, no doubt because it is one of the few opportunities I have to put my perfectionist tendencies to good use! x

Photography and Desserts by Sasha Ewing