The weather has been crazy hot in Adelaide for three days now.

Now I love hot weather but when it’s hot I want to be eating hawker noodles in Asia, swimming at the beach or lazing by a hotel pool, cocktail in hand. When I’m trying to shoot ice cream, working on a client project or doing the school run, a very hot day is rather a bore because I focus on how hot and uncomfortable I am, rather than the job at hand.

Enter this icy dessert, designed to blow all those heat-cobwebs away and leave me feeling refreshed and energised.

This Strawberry Granita is so easy to make — my 6 year old could do it without any trouble — and it’s absolutely delicious. It’s healthy, too, as I’ve used rice malt syrup as a sweetener instead of sugar.

So when I found out the theme for Sweet Adventures’ new hop was License to Chill I knew I had to make this.

For those new readers, Sweet Adventures is a group of Aussie foodbloggers – 84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Dining With a Stud, and I, The Hungry Australian, who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop.

Previously, we have hosted: Tropical Paradise (January 2013), Sweets for Santa (December 2012), Cake and Three Veg (November 2012); High Tea (October 2012); Feeling Saucy (September 2012); Berry Nice to Meet You! (August 2012); Nuts About Sweets (July 2012); Sweet as Pie (June 2012); What’s Your Cup of Tea? (May 2012); Lemons (April 2012); Layer upon Layer (March 2012); Love at First Bite (February 2012); Death by Chocolate (January 2012); Festive Favourites (December 2011); and Great Australian Pavlova (November 2011).

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Can you believe it’s only one week until Christmas?

Nope, I can’t believe it, either. This year has flo-o-o-wn by.

I love this time of year. It’s a time to remember what’s important and to spend time with those we care about. It’s a time to give thanks. It’s a time to reflect on the ups and downs of the year and to look to the future with hope and energy.

And of course it’s also a time to eat and indulge one’s sweet tooth! :D

So welcome to Sweet Adventures’ Sweets for Santa Blog Hop.

For those new readers, Sweet Adventures is a group of Aussie foodbloggers – 84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Delicieux, Dining With a Stud, and I, The Hungry Australian, who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop. You can visit the other blogs taking part in our hops via the thumbnails at the bottom of each post.

Previously, we have hosted: Cake and Three Veg (November 2012); High Tea (October 2012); Feeling Saucy (September 2012); Berry Nice to Meet You! (August 2012); Nuts About Sweets (July 2012); Sweet as Pie (June 2012); What’s Your Cup of Tea? (May 2012); Lemons (April 2012); Layer upon Layer (March 2012); Love at First Bite (February 2012); Death by Chocolate (January 2012); Festive Favourites (December 2011); and Great Australian Pavlova (November 2011).

This month, it was my turn to host again and of course I went with a festive theme.

This Fig, Raspberry & Ginger Ice Cream Cake combines some of my favourite Summer flavours. Figs are at their most luscious now, while the raspberry and ginger help create the ‘wow’ factor.

Merry Christmas everybody. May you all enjoy a day filled with love, laughter and deliciousness!

Sweet Adventures Blog Hop: Sweets for Santa

If you blog about food we’d love you to join this hop. We encourage you to be as creative as you like – the only rule is that your recipe must be something in keeping with the festive theme.

Simply follow the steps below and join the fun!

1. Publish your Sweets for Santa post on your blog sometime between Monday 17 December 2012 – Australian Eastern Standard Time [AEST: Sydney] and will 1:59pm Monday 24 December 2012 AEST. Entries are linked in order of submission and only new festive recipe posts are eligible.
2. Click here for the Link Code. Copy the code and add it to the bottom of your Sweets for Santa post (you will need to do this in HTML view). Adding the code will create the thumbnail gallery of all the other entries and let visitors hop from other blogs to your blog and vice versa. If you are on wordpress.com (i.e. not self hosted) the list will not show on your blog so please create a text link back to this post instead.
3. Grab the Sweets for Santa badge from here and add it to your post. Just right click on the image, ‘save as’, upload to your site and add it to your post. Link the badge or a line of text to this page so that others can view the instructions on how to join.
4. Click here to Enter the Hop. This is really important! The badge and thumbnail list are on your post so make sure to enter the hop so that you appear in the list. For question 1: add the URL of your Sweets for Santa post, not your homepage. For question 2: for caption/title add the name of your dessert. For question 3: for ‘your name’ please enter your blog name. For question 4: your entry is automatically submitted when you click ‘crop’.
5. Your linked post WILL NOT appear straight away in the blog hop thumbnail list as this is a moderated hop. Your post will be visible in the list after approval.
6. Hop around to all the other entries in the blog hop, sharing the comment love.
7. If you are on Twitter use the #SABH to tell the world about your Sweets for Santa post. Follow us @SweetAdvBlogHop or like us on Facebook for new hop announcements and general deliciousness.

If you aren’t sure how to do something please leave a comment or get in touch.

Spring is here! Hurrah!

*Happy dance*

Spring has arrived not a moment too soon in Australia. I love the possibilities of this season, the all-day feeling that something good is just around the corner.

What am I saying? All sorts of good stuff is happening right now! Here’s my list of what’s making me happy at the moment.

1) Sweet Adventures feeling saucy bloghop

I love our monthly, Sweet Adventures’ dessert-themed bloghops. They’re a wonderful way to meet new food bloggers and collect all sorts of interesting new recipes. So if you blog and cook, you really should join us for September’s hop, Feeling Saucy. You could make a self-saucing pudding, a sticky date pudding with caramel sauce, a chocolate sauce to accompany vanilla ice cream or a berry pudding with berry sauce – we encourage you to be as creative as possible! Check out all the details over at The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, our hostess for this month.

2) Guest posting for JJ at 84th & 3rd

Isn’t it amazing that I can be in two places at once? Right now I’m here but I’m also guest posting for the lovely JJ at 84th & 3rd. Spooky, huh?  So head on over to JJ’s fabulous blog and check out my Delicious Power Crackles recipe (pictured above). JJ’s having the adventure of a lifetime around America at the moment but I’m sure she’d love to hear from you, too.

3) Goodies from the Adelaide Beauty Conference

On Saturday 1st September I was honoured to be part of a panel discussion on blogging at the Adelaide Beauty Conference. I had a great time comparing notes with the other panellists, Celeste and Melissa, and meeting a great bunch of local beauty bloggers. At the end of the day I left with four (!) goody bags containing over 30 products to try from some savvy Australian beauty companies. I’m currently using the awesome Instant Length Transplant Lengthening Kit from Mirenesse and it is indeed so much more than a mascara. I’m also loving A’kins’ Cellular Radiance Serum, Natio’s Colour Creme Gloss in Happy (how appropriate!), Sukin’s antioxidant eye cream and Kuu Konjac’s Pure Sponge.

4) Amazing almonds

I usually blog about my work projects on my portfolio site but I just had to share this one with you here. After all, it was The Hungry Australian that led directly to my new gig with the Australian Almond Board. I’m happy to let you know that I’ve been contracted by them to create a new recipe site showcasing almonds. It’s a tremendous opportunity and I’m excited to be working with them over the next 10 months on this project.

5) Opportunity International’s Food for Thought campaign in October

I’ve blogged before about the Food for Thought SA dinner happening soon at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre to raise funds for Opportunity International. What I didn’t know was that in October you can also hold your own event to raise funds and awareness for people living in poverty. Check out the details here.

6) The return of Almost Bourdain

Almost Bourdain, an incredible Sydney food blog authored by the talented Ellie is back! I was a big fan of Almost Bourdain when I started blogging and was sad and puzzled when she stopped blogging a year ago without an explanation. So I was delighted to learn today that Ellie is now back and sharing her recipes again. If you don’t know her blog go check it out right now.

7) Hanging with bloggers

Next month I’ll be heading to Melbourne for the ProBlogger Conference – if you’re going be sure to say hi. I’m excited about spending two days hearing from some fantastic speakers and getting to know bloggers from all over Australia.

8) The Hungry Australian takes a trip

I love, love, love to travel and it looks like I might be heading overseas next month on a food/art/fashion famil. It’s an incredibly exciting destination and somewhere I’ve never been before – I’ll let you know more as arrangements are confirmed.

Have a great September!

Christina xx

Hello! I’m back!

I’m still not 100% but at least the tastebud-destroying throat lozenges and heart rate-accelerating cold tablets are finito. Thank goodness for that because there has been so many nice things happening that I’ve wanted to share with you.

First up, I’m excited to let you know that it’s time for another Sweet Adventures Blog Hop!

For those new readers, Sweet Adventures is a group of Aussie foodbloggers – 84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Delicieux, Dining With a Stud, and I, The Hungry Australian, who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop.

Previously, we have hosted:

• Nuts About Sweets (July 2012)
• Sweet as Pie (June 2012)
• Tea (May 2012)
• Lemons (April 2012)
• Layer upon Layer (March 2012)
• Love at First Bite (February 2012)
• Death by Chocolate (January 2012)
• Festive Favourites (December 2011)
• Australian Pavlova (November 2011)

This month it was my turn to host again and I opted for beautiful berries.

So if you blog, and like to experiment in the kitchen, we invite you join us for the Berry Nice to Meet You blog hop kicking off on Monday 20th August.

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I adore nuts but they don’t always like me back. Specifically, I’m mildly allergic to almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts. This is rather a bore but at least I can still eat peanuts and pistachios, which are my favourites in any case. I can eat roasted and salted pistachios every day, and often do.

So pistachios were an obvious choice for this month’s Sweet Adventures‘ bloghop, Nuts about Sweets, hosted by the lovely Nic at Dining with a Stud.

I’ve made a number of sweet treats with pistachios on this blog before – namely, Mini Berry Puddings for Busy People, Rosewater, Cardamon and Pistachio Lassi, and Mini Apricot Trifles – but I felt like baking something for this hop.

I toyed with the idea of making pistachio macarons, pistachio biscuits or a pistachio cake but in the end went for this fabulous tart. This Berry Coconut Pistachio Tart is heavily inspired by Heidi Swanson’s Macaroon Tart from her Super Natural Ever Day cookbook.

I made her recipe first, then I mucked around with the ingredients, quantities and method until I came up with this version. It’s an easy recipe to make and extremely delicious.

For those new readers, Sweet Adventures is a group of Aussie foodbloggers – 84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Delicieux, Dining With a Stud, and I, The Hungry Australian, who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop. Previously, we have hosted:

• Pie (June 2012)
• Tea (May 2012)
• Lemons (April 2012)
• Layer upon Layer (March 2012)
• Love at First Bite (February 2012)
• Death by Chocolate (January 2012)
• Festive Favourites (December 2011)
• Australian Pavlova (November 2011)

To take part in this month’s hop head over to Dining with a Stud where you can find out all about how to link up your own nut (or seed) recipe. And don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post to check out all the other nut recipes.

Berry Coconut Pistachio Tart

 

Author: Christina Soong-Kroeger

Print

A lovely berry and coconut tart sprinkled with pistachios.

Ingredients

Base

• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• ⅓ cup shredded dried coconut
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 100 grams butter

Filling

• 4 egg whites (large)
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1.5 cups frozen berries, thawed
• ⅔ cup shredded dried coconut

Topping

• 80 grams roasted pistachios, shelled and crushed

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Make base by mixing flour, brown sugar, butter and coconut in a large bowl.
3. Stir thoroughly, breaking up any lumps of brown sugar.
4. Press into a tart tin, using your fingers to press it into place.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and then remove to a chopping board. Keep oven on.
6. Meanwhile, make meringue by beating egg whites with a stand or hand mixer until peaks form.
7. Add sugar, a little at a time, and then continue to beat until meringue is thick and glossy.
8. Spoon ⅔rds of the berries over the tart base, spreading them evenly over the tart.
9. Sprinkle half of the coconut over them and then fold the other half into the egg whites, being careful not to bash the air out of it.
10. Using a spatula, spoon meringue on top of berries, smoothing down to the edges.
11. Dot remaining ⅓ of berries on top.
12. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until nicely brown.
13. Remove to chopping board and let sit for 15 minutes before garnishing with chopped pistachios.

3.1.09

Ever since I started cooking with quinces a few weeks ago I’ve been dreaming up ways to enjoy this magnificent fruit.

So when Sweet Adventures‘ Sweet As Pie bloghop rolled around, I decided quinces had to be the star ingredient. But what type of pie would I make?

After a couple of false starts I settled on this Quince Meringue Pie, a kind of mish-mash of my Free-Form Apple Tart and my Mini Lemon Meringue Pies, using slow-roasted quinces.

Yes, roasting the quinces takes some hours. I’m not going to lie; this is not a dessert that can be made on the spur of the moment. But good things come to those who wait so think of this pie as the culinary equivalent of your perfect partner – chances are, it won’t be the first person you fall for.

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Although I’ve flirted with coffee over the years I am, at heart, a tea drinker.

I like English Breakfast or Japanese green tea in the morning, Earl Grey or Lady Grey in the afternoon and Rooiboos (African bush tea) or peppermint tea after dinner. Not to mention the endless cups of Gook Bo – a heady mixture of whole chrysanthemum flowers and pu-erh tea – I consume when enjoying yum cha (literal translation: ‘drink tea’).

So I was quietly thrilled when we decided to go with a tea theme for this month’s Sweet Adventures‘ dessert-themed blog hop hosted by the lovely JJ from 84th & 3rd. Check out JJ’s post for all the details of how to join in the fun. We also have a special give-away this month courtesy of Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea – scroll to the bottom of this post for all the details.

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I’m a Virgo – as if you couldn’t tell – so I love making lists. Here’s my (inaugural) monthly list of things, foods, events and experiences that I’m loving this month.

1) Tasting Australia

The recent Tasting Australia 2012 drew some 50,000 international and Australian chefs, food media, food producers and food lovers to Adelaide, South Australia, for an 8-day festival featuring 80+ events. I’ve already posted a recipe – Red Quinces, Haloumi & Rye – inspired by my Tasting Australia media trip and will be posting many other write-ups over the next few weeks.

2) Cooking with inspirational pros

I’ll never forget chopping pears for a pear tart with bubbly Australian food legend Maggie Beer – see photo above – and learning how to bake bread with the charming Mark McNamara, outgoing Head Chef of Appellation at The Louise. Two extraordinary and inspiring food lovers, they’re also two of the most professional and hard-working people you’ll ever meet.

3) My new gig as Australian and New Zealand Food Expert at About.com

My Australian & New Zealand Food site on About.com went live last week. Check out some of my articles and recipes including 72 Hours in Adelaide for Foodies, 8 Edible Souvenirs, Grilled Seafood Salad with Persimmons and Mini Pavlovas with Pomegranates.

4) What’s Your Cup of Tea? blog hop

Sweet Adventures’ What’s your Cup of Tea? blog hop has just been announced by the lovely JJ from 84th and 3rd, hostess of this month’s dessert blog hop. So pull on your thinking cap, get cooking with tea and join in the fun. What’s Your Cup of Tea? kicks off on May 21st and entries can be linked up all week. This blog hop is open to all food bloggers – check out details at 84th and 3rd.

5) Skinny jeans

My love affair with all jeans skinny continues with my new J Brand jeans and Ksubi jeans bought on sale at David Jones. Guys, I’ve been waiting for you my whole life.

6) MAC ladybug lipstick

If there is a more genius red lipstick than MAC’s Ladybug lipstick on the market I’ve yet to meet it.

7) Coffee

After a week of drinking coffee twice a day on the Tasting Australia media trip I am now addicted to the little brown bean again. The jury is still out on whether this is a good thing or not…

7+1) New foodie friends

I’ve made so many new food-loving friends this month via Tasting Australia, this blog, the Adelaide Food Bloggers Group and my new About.com gig. A shared love of food is such a great way to start a friendship, don’t you think?

So what are you loving this month? Hit me with your tips and suggestions!

Photo credits: Duck Two Ways at Appellation at The Louise, Kay and I making cheese at Producers (thanks to Billy from A Table for Two), salt and pepper squid by the Star of Greece,  fruit and nut porridge at Rockford, Maggie and I cooking at the Pheasant Farm, tea (thanks to JJ from 84th and 3rd), pomegranates at Willunga Farmers Market, making bread at Appellation at The Louise and Thai Lamb Salad at No 58 Cellar Door and Gallery. All photos (c) Christina Soong-Kroeger except where indicated.

There’s something about a layered dessert that speaks of thoughtfulness. It’s an indication that someone’s made an effort to make you feel special.

There are so many different layered desserts, too, such as trifle (check out the Mini Apricot Trifles with Cardamon and Pistachios above), baklava, cheesecake, ice cream or yoghurt sundae, layered Asian jelly, multi-layered cake or a layered ice cream dessert.

So I am chuffed that this month’s Sweet Adventures dessert-themed bloghop, is Layer Upon Layer, hosted by the lovely KC from The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader.

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Sometimes one bite is all it takes for you to fall in love.

I should know. I fell head over heels the first time I tasted Floating Islands or île flottante.

I first experienced the delectable French dessert while holidaying in Paris with my dad in the early 2000s. I was working in London at the time and my dad had come to visit me. We spent 10 days travelling around the UK before taking the Eurostar to Paris.

It was my second visit to the eternal city and my dad’s first so we did all the usual tourist activities: we visited the Musée du Louvre, La Tour Eiffel, Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris, the Arc de Triomphe, the Place Vendôme and Fauchon. We shopped and we strolled happily around the streets, loving being in such a picturesque city.

But mostly, we ate.

We ate croissants, confit de canard (duck confit), soupe de fraises (strawberry soup), foie gras, plateau de fruits de mer (seafood platter), pommes frites (French fries), bouillabaisse (fish stew), macarons, mousse au chocolat, crème brûlée, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon, cassoulet and Niçoise salad.

One day we were sitting in a bistro, having finished yet another wonderful dish when I spotted île flottante on the dessert menu.

Île flottante. Floating island?

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There are times when a little restraint is called for. After all, too much of a good thing can get you into all kinds of trouble.

Happily, this is not one of those times. For too much of a very good thing – in this case, chocolate – is what this Sweet Adventures Death by Chocolate bloghop is all about.

Sweet Adventures is a group of Australian food bloggers – myself,  84th & 3rd, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader, Delicieux, and Dining With a Stud – who host a monthly, dessert-themed blog hop.

Our inaugural event, The Great Australian Pavlova Blog Hop, attracted 34 entries in November 2011, while our second event, the Festive Favourites Blog Hop, attracted 38 entries last month. Click on the above links to drool over all the entries.

It was my turn to host this month and as I scanned our lengthy list of theme ideas I realised there was one glaring omission: Death by Chocolate.

Why Death by Chocolate? Well, if you’re going to indulge in chocolate you might as well go all out, right? There’s no point in the single square of chocolate, the lone chocolate truffle, the tiny chocolate brownie, the mini chocolate biscuit or the slender piece of chocolate cake. Worst still, are diet versions: I’d rather go without than eat some kind of ‘lite’ chocolate abomination.

So for my Death by Chocolate entry, I wanted complete chocolate decadence. I wanted creamy pillows of velvety chocolate-ness. I wanted a dessert that would have me swooning over its richness.

I trialled a multi-layered chocolate cake, which fell well short of expectations, before deciding to make a classic chocolate mousse instead.

I’ve always been a pushover for chocolate mousse made with top quality chocolate. I love its intense chocolate flavour, silky texture and the way it melts away into sublime nothingness in your mouth. It’s an incredibly sexy dessert and perfect for a romantic supper but you could also serve it in shot glasses for a cocktail party or hen’s night.

This chocolate mousse is made with standard pantry ingredients, and in under 20 minutes, but tastes like a dessert that you’d enjoy in a fine dining establishment (with the addition of a few ‘dirt’ crumbs and flowers sprinkled artistically around the plate, natch).

Is chocolate mousse a dessert to die for? No, it’s better than that: it’s a dessert to live for.

INGREDIENTS

350 grams top quality chocolate (I used a mixture of dark and white this time but would ordinarily use only dark)
175 grams unsalted butter
7 large, room-temperature, free-range eggs, separated
100 grams raw caster sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
Pinch of salt

METHOD

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler and then let it cool down off the stove.

In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until thick and creamy, like home-made mayonnaise. Stir in the vanilla and salt and then the cooled chocolate mixture.

Beat the egg whites in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Add one spoonful of egg whites to the chocolate mixture and briskly stir it in – this lightens it – before gently folding the rest of the egg whites in. Try not to bash all the air out of the egg whites.

Use a ladle to pour the mixture into glasses and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours or until required.

Remove from the fridge 10 minutes before serving and decorate with raspberries – their beautiful red tones are the perfect visual contrast while their tartness cuts through the richness of the mousse.

Makes 10 glasses.

Don’t forget to scroll to the end of this post to check out all the delicious
Death by Chocolate entries

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Sweet Adventures Blog Hop: Death by Chocolate

If you blog about food we’d love you to join this hop. Simply follow the steps below and join the fun!

1. Publish your Death by Chocolate post on your blog sometime between 16th January 2012 (9am Sydney time [AEST]) and 23rd January ( 11:59pm Sydney time [AEST]). Entries are linked in order of submission so try to get your entry in on or as close to the 16th as possible. Only new posts featuring chocolate are eligible.
2. Click here for the Link Code. Copy the code and add it to the bottom of your Death by Chocolate post (you will need to do this in HTML view). Adding the code will create the thumbnail gallery of all the other entries and let visitors hop from other blogs to your blog and vice versa. If you are on wordpress.com (i.e. not self hosted) the list will not show on your blog so please create a text link back to this post instead.
3. Grab the SABH Death by Chocolate badge and add it to your post. Just right click on the image, ‘save as’, upload to your site and add it to your Death by Chocolate post. Link the badge or a line of text to this page so that others can view the instructions on how to join.
4. Click here to Enter the Hop. This is the really important bit! The badge and thumbnail list are on your post so make sure to enter the hop so that you appear in the list. For question 1: add the URL of your Death by Chocolate Post, not your homepage. For question 2: for caption/title add the name of your dessert. For question 3: for ‘your name’ please enter your blog name. For question 4: your entry is automatically submitted when you click ‘crop’.
5. Your linked post WILL NOT appear straight away in the blog hop thumbnail list. To combat spam this is a moderated hop. Your post will be visible in the list after approval.
6. Hop around to all the other entries in the blog hop, sharing the comment love.
7. If you are on Twitter use the #SABH to tell the world about your Death by Chocolate post. Follow us @SweetAdvBlogHop for new hop announcements and general deliciousness.

If you aren’t sure how to do something please leave a comment or get in touch.

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One of the wonderful things I love about food blogging is that you meet all kinds of people who are mad about food: chefs, producers, restauranteurs, home cooks, people who love to eat out, people who love to entertain, and, of course, other food bloggers.