Old Fashioned Desserts II - Passionfruit Delight

Back with another old favourite this week, but with a twist - this is a variation on a lovely, simple dessert, the Lemon Delight. I've always been a huge fan of passionfruit, and so I am beyond thrilled that our passionfruit vine is, in a word, THRIVING. We have been treated to an inflorescence of glorious, white and purple passionfruit flowers which last a day or so, then transform into almost perfectly spherical globes of light green fruit. Under the hot Colombo sun, they have been growing slowly but surely, changing from jade to chartreuse and finally to golden yellow, and a few days ago, we picked the first few fruit. Such a thrill! It seemed only fitting to use them to up the ante on one of my favourite desserts.

Old Fashioned Desserts I - Chocolate Meringue Gateau

I've wanted to do a series of posts on old fashioned desserts for a long time. These are the desserts of my childhood, the sweet dishes I grew up with, the puddings that firmly established my sweet tooth (or, more accurately, teeth). These are the recipes turned out by my grandmother - a consummate cook and formidable hostess, she was the first person to introduce me to really great food and to the art of cooking. I would spend hours cooking with her while her ancient Kenwood mixer churned some concoction, its sound thundering in my ears and reverberating through the kitchen. She taught me the difference between beating and folding, how to separate eggs, how to weigh out ingredients accurately using those old fashioned scales which require one to balance ingredients with weights and the importance of patience in the kitchen.

Lemon Curd Ice Cream

Another unforgivably long pause between posts on the blog. Again, no particular reason other than life, which is full to overflowing these days. Juggling work, spending quality time with the children, fitting in a daily work out, recovering from sinus problems and two chronic injuries, seeing our friends – I have so many balls in the air, I suppose it was inevitable that I would have to drop one or two. I’ve been cooking of course, but it has taken this drastic change to our way of life, brought on by a global pandemic, to allow me to slow down, to experiment, to create again in the kitchen.

Tomato Chutney

It has been so long since my last post, it is nothing short of ridiculous. I've been feeling terribly lost without my familiar, weekly routine of mulling over what to cook, poring over cookbooks and experimenting in the kitchen, then sitting down to write about the whole experience. I don’t have much to show for the hiatus other than some late nights due to work assignments falling due at the same time plus the general chaos of life with two littles.

Thank You!

Dear all

A belated note to say a heartfelt thank you for visiting our pop-up stall at the Ladies’ College Route 66 Carnival last Saturday.

We have sold out of all but one or two items!! We are simply blown away by the interest in our products.  Thank you so much for your support!

We are working on additions to our product list and look forward to sharing it with you all in the coming weeks, in readiness for orders in late October. Please do drop us a line at: roastsimmerandbake@gmail.com if you would be interested in hearing from us when we produce new batches of delicious, home-made goodies.

TODAY at the Pop Up - the LC Mess!

It's finally time to reveal our surprise dessert action station...  THE LC MESS!

A new twist on a classic, this beautiful dessert features a muddle of crispy, crumbled meringue which gives way to a perfect marshmallowy centre, melding into softly whipped cream. Punctuated with the tart, sweetness of fresh strawberries and drizzled with a lovely raspberry purée, this is heaven in a bowl. With just the right amount of sweetness, playing against the sharpness of the fruit elements, we can't think of anything more refreshing on a hot and sunny afternoon.

Granola Two Ways

Look what we made yesterday!

Our gorgeous golden cranberry and almond granola and decadent dark chocolate orange granola are packed and ready to go!

We are firing on all cylinders, preparing for our pop-up stall this Saturday. Our kitchens are a mess,  and we are covered in sugar, honey and chocolate but we couldn’t be happier or more excited!!!