​​I remember seeing photos of people making these cakes and thinking, why don't you just give your kid a 'real' birthday cake. It never crossed my mind, until my son said he didn't like birthday cake, that it's because they may not like traditional birthday cakes.

Now this cake serves two purposes, it's a cake my son loves, but it also is becomes my fruit platter, once sliced.

Decorating the cake is up to you, there are so many ways to decorate this cake. I have chosen to not stick toothpicks into the berries as I didn't want kids hurting themselves with them. But you can use toothpicks, if you like to make the fruit stick to the sides of the watermelon.

The amount of watermelon you will need, depends on the size of the watermelon you can find. Here I used two round watermelons to get the cake size that I wanted. You may not need all the berries to garnish, but just serve extra berries in a bowl on the side, for your guests, or if you're in my house, my kids eat any leftover berries.

If you don't have fridge space for a tall cake, just keep the layers refrigerated separately, and assemble just before serving. It's easy to do.

This is an easy option for a birthday cake for a person that loves fruit over cake.

Recipe adapted from Silvia Colloca's cookbook 'La Dolce Vita

Serves 10-12

1-2 large whole seedless watermelon, I used 2
1 punnet raspberries
1 punnet blueberries
1 punnet blackberries
1 punnet strawberries
​mint leaves, to garnish


For the bottom layer: Place the largest, roundest watermelon on a board. You will need an 8-10cm sized disc, so mark the spots you want to cut through, and cut out your disc from the thickest section. Using a sharp knife, remove the rind to the point where the flesh turns an even red. Even out the round shape of the watermelon and place it on a serving platter.

For the middle and top layers: From my second watermelon, I cut out my next two layers. Again mark the size of the discs, same thickness as the first layer, and cut out your next two layers.

Your second layer, should be about 1/3 smaller than the bottom layer. Remove rind as you did with the bottom layer and even out the shape. Place the middle layer on your bottom layer

The top layer, 1/3 smaller than the middle layer. Remove rind as you did with the bottom layer and even out the shape. Place the top layer on your middle layer. 
​
Decorate the three layers with fresh berries and mint leaves.

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​We are a family that love trying new things to eat all the time. I am constantly on the lookout trying to find things to cook for my family. This dish I have made a few times and we love it.

It is a delicate dish, with subtle, yet beautiful flavours. After making it the first time, I added rice to the recipe as we felt it needed it and as it is quite a saucy dish, so the rice was a good addition to soak up the sauce.

Recently my husband added kimchi as a side to his bowl and we quite liked it, so if you like kimchi, you might like to do the same.

This is easy to make and something different that my family loves, hope you do to.

​Recipe adapted from the Australian Women's Weekly cookbook 'Comfort Food'
 
Serves 4 

4cm (20g) fresh ginger, peeled, grated
1 green onion, trimmed, cut into 10cm lengths
2 clove garlic, peeled, finely chopped
2 tablespoon Korean chilli paste (gochujang)
1 fresh bay leaf
1/3 cup (80ml) light soy sauce
1/4 cup (55g) firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) beef stock
1kg beef short ribs
5 fresh small red thai chillies
2 cup (500ml) water
1 medium carrot, peeled, thinly sliced
1/2 small wombok cabbage, finely shredded
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Steamed Rice, to serve, optional
Kimchi, to serve, optional


Preheat oven to 150°C/130°C Fan forced.

Combine ginger, green onion, garlic, paste, bay leaf, sauce, sugar, stock, beef and chillies in large casserole dish. Cook, covered, in oven, for 1 hour. Stir in the water; cook, covered, a further 2 hours.
​
Add carrot to dish; cook, covered, 20 minutes. Season to taste.

​Divide rice, if using, then add, wombok between four bowls. Top with beef mixture; serve sprinkled with seeds. Serve with kimchi, optional.

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​These are traditional Croatian biscuits. Recently I decided I wanted to make a few more Croatian foods for my family. Not that I haven't been cooking Croatian food for years, but I thought I'd try a few more new things, things I hadn't made before, but that I grew up with and loved.

So I made these and my husband who doesn't have a huge sweet tooth, absolutely loved them as they are something his mum made when he was growing up.

This is a simple coffee kind of biscuit, as they keep so well, they are great when unexpected guests arrive. They are especially popular around Christmas time, as they make many and because they keep so well in an airtight container.

Now again these go by many names, I know them as kiflići, but recently I was told in Croatian they are called kiflici or roščići, Croatia is such a small country, but it has so many dialects and it seems so many ways to call a biscuit. So I say call them what you want, whatever you grew up knowing them as, the most important thing is to make these biscuits, as they are delicious.

If you like, you can also add vanilla sugar to the caster sugar you are rolling the baked biscuits in.

So if you are like me and feel like trying something new, give these a go, they are really great.

​Recipe adapted from Dennis Valcich's cookbook 'Croation Cookbook A Walk Through Croatia'

Makes about 50 biscuits (I really didn't count)

250g unsalted butter, softened
150g caster sugar
1 egg
​200g ground almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
100ml full cream milk
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
​250g plain flour

extra caster sugar, for sprinkling


Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, beat with hand held mixture for a minute or two. Add the egg, beat until just combined.

Now with a spoon, mix in the ground almonds, baking powder, milk and vanilla sugar. When combined, start adding in the flour slowly, until a dough forms.

Tip the dough onto a work surface, if your dough is too sticky, slowly knead in some extra flour, but just until your dough can be kneaded and isn't too sticky. Knead for 4-5 minutes.
​
Now there are two ways to shape these biscuits, you can either 

Method 1: Pinch a walnut sized piece of dough and roll between your palms into the shape of a small log, then bend the dough into a horseshoe shape.

Method 2: My preferred method: Divide the dough into smaller workable balls. Roll into long sausages (you get to determine how big or small you want your biscuits), if the dough is still too sticky add a little more flour, but if it is not, don't add it. Cut the log into 3-4cm pieces, then shape into the crescent size that you want.

​Place on your prepared baking sheet.

​Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. While still warm carefully roll them in extra caster sugar.

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​During my childhood I have had these biscuits so many times at parties or weddings growing up. My mother never really made them, so it was only at celebrations like birthdays or Christmas that I would have them.

Now I recently started trying to make traditional Croatian type sweets. As I was actually born in Australia, I want my kids to experience the Croatian food culture as much as they can, even though we don't live there. We've been to Croatia many times, so this is just another way to keep the Croatian tradition going.

This recipes a funny one, I grew up knowing them as kiflići, but recently I was told in Croatian they are called kiflici or roščići, Croatia is such a small country, but it has so many dialects and it seems so many ways to call a biscuit. So I say call them what you want, whatever you grew up knowing them as, the most important thing is to make these biscuits, as they are delicious.

These are so easy to make, really easy actually. I mean they take a little practice, but by no means is this hard to make. The dough is easy to make, it has no sugar in it, as you fill them with jam, which is sweet, then you roll them in sugar after they are bake, so you don't need sugar in the dough. The dough is delicious, it's light and flaky and just yum. The filling I make half with a Croatian plum jam and half with nutella. Both fillings are delicious. It is important that your jam is thick, runny jams will not work here. So I recommend finding this jam if you can. You could use other flavours of jam, I guess, I tend to stick to plum.

​Recipe adapted from Croatian Cookbook 'A Walk Through Croatia' by Dennis Valcich

Makes about 24 biscuits

250g unsalted butter, softened
300ml thickened cream
400g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Plum Jam or Nutella, to fill
Caster Sugar, for coating
​

Place butter and thick cream in a large bowl. Using electric beaters quickly beat until mixed, the butter will be lumpy still that's okay, I just do this to start the mixing process. Add the baking powder and slowly start adding in the flour, at this stage mix with a spoon, until all the flour has been added and you have a dough.

Tip the dough out onto your kitchen bench and knead for about 5-6 minutes. this is where your butter will become lump free. If the dough is too sticky, add a little flour, but only if needed.

Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Divide the dough into four even pieces. Now I like to roll the dough between two sheets of baking paper. So with your first dough ball, place the dough between the two sheets of baking paper, and roll out to a large thin circle. While rolling the dough, I flip the dough over a few times and remove both pieces of the baking paper with each flip, then put them back on immediately as by doing this I find the dough rolls out better, the dough doesn't stick to the paper. Once your dough is thin, remove the top side of the baking paper, put it back on, flip do the same with the baking paper. This will ensure your dough isn't stuck to the baking paper.

Take a pizza cutter or a sharp knife (pizza cutter works better, my knife dragged the dough a little, but it isn't a big deal, as you can easily fix that) and cut the circle into 8 even sized triangles.

​Take one triangle and gently stretch it to about 15cm long, and stretch it width ways to, just be gentle. You want the dough to be thin. If you managed to roll it to that size, no need to stretch the dough.

​Place one teaspoon of your chosen filling at the wide edge of the triangles.

​Roll up from the wide end, enclosing the filling, bend the edges in a little to form a u shape. Place on your prepared baking tray.

​Bake for about 18-20 minutes until golden and cooked through.

​While still warm, roll them in caster sugar, to coat.

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​I have watched a lot of cooking shows in my lifetime and quite often I will see people making confit salmon and I have always thought 'why cook it that way, what a waste of oil'. But then one day my husband bought home Ocean Trout, which is like salmon, but better in my opinion and I thought I would give it a go.

Well, I am now a true lover of confit salmon and confit ocean trout (as I have made it with both), the fish is amazing this way, soft, moist, delicious and put simply, beautiful. And the skin, when you bake it this way it is super crisp, like a chip and it is so Moorish you just want more and more.

So for those of you out there who are like me and doubt the need to confit salmon, I say give it a go, it truly is an amazing way to prepare this delicious piece of fish.

Recipe adapted from www.cuisine.co.nz and www.tenplay.com.au

Serves 4

1/2-1 tablespoon flake salt
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lime
1 side of salmon or ocean trout
600ml non scented oil (such as rice bran or sunflower)
400ml olive oil

Mayonnaise:
1/4 cup Thomy mayonnaise
1 lemon, juiced


With the salmon, you need to carefully remove the skin. Set skin aside on a plate, covered with cling film in the refrigerator, until needed, then proceed to remove and discard any bones and the blood line from the salmon.

Place the flake salt and citrus zests in a bowl. Mix it together well.
​
Cut the salmon into 4 even portions then rub the salt mix over both sides of the salmon. Cover then refrigerate and allow to marinate for 3 hours.
​
Remove the skin and the salmon from the fridge. Wipe off the excess salt from the salmon.

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Line a baking tray with baking paper. 
​
Cut the skin into 4 equal pieces and place on your prepared baking tray and season well with salt. Cover the skin with another piece of baking paper, then place another flat tray on top. Roast in the oven for 30-35 minutes or until the skin is very crisp.
​
Combine the oils in a large saucepan and place over a low heat, heat to 45C, use a thermometer, you need to be accurate. Submerge the salmon and cook gently for 15-20 minutes or until cooked. (If the oil heats up past 45C whilst the salmon is cooking, just remove from heat until it lowers to 45C again, then place back on the heat, you do need to pay attention for these 20 minutes to keep the oil at 45C).
​
To make the mayonnaise, just combine the mayonnaise with lemon juice and stir well to combine. Set aside until needed.
​
To serve, place the salmon on your serving plates (or on a large platter) with some crispy skin, a dollop of mayonnaise. I like to serve it with broccolini or a green salad.

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​My friend asked me recently if I would make her daughter some pumpkin soup. I said yes, even though I myself have never made pumpkin soup.

I found three versions I wanted to try, two had spices added to them, and this one was a basic one. I myself loved the ones with spice added to them, but my friends daughter loved this version for it's pure pumpkin soup flavour.

So I post this for those that love a simple pumpkin soup. It is lovely, sweet and the flavour of pumpkin shines. The pumpkin is baked to give it a richer flavour. And the key to this soup is blitz it well, you want it to creamy and smooth.

​Recipe adapted from www.juliegoodwin.com.au

Serves 4-6

20g butter, melted
1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into 4cm cubes
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 4cm lengths
800ml chicken or vegetable stock
Salt and white pepper, to taste
1/3 cup cream


Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan forced.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Toss the pumpkin and carrot in the butter on your baking tray, and bake for 45-60 minutes or until golden and soft.

Place the pumpkin in a large saucepan. Add the stock, season with a little salt and pepper, bring to the boil, simmer 5 minutes. Turn off the heat.

With a hand held blender, blitz the soup until smooth.

Add the cream, season with a little more salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve with crusty bread.

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​I love mushrooms, so when I cam across this mushroom soup I had to try it.

It took me three goes to get it the way I like it.

I think of Goldilocks and The Three Bears when I think about this soup, the first time I cooked it, it was too thin, the second time, it was too thick, the third time, it was just right. 

Now we like to have the soup a little chunky, not super smooth, so I just use a stick blender to blitz the soup up. If you prefer it super smooth blend it in a blender. That is up to you.

I also added thick cream to the recipe, but you can omit that, and just add a dollop of soup cream to your bowl when serving instead, or do both.

You can use different mushrooms, they will vary the flavour of the soup, darker ones will give a richer flavour, lighter ones a more delicate flavour. You can probably mix it up also, I haven't tried to, but I will.

This is a really easy recipe and a really tasty recipe. give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

​Recipe adapted from Bill Granger's cookbook 'Bills Food'

Serves 4

350g button mushrooms
250g potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
25g butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
125ml dry white wine
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1 litre chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon vegeta
1/2 cup thickened cream

To serve:
4 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
​
Using a food processor, and the pulse action, finely chop the mushrooms. Remove the mushrooms and repeat the process with the potatoes. If you don't have a food processor, just chop the mushroom and potatoes with a knife, as fine as possible.

Heat the butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and garlic, season with a little salt and pepper, cook, stirring, for 10 minutes.

Add the potatoes, wine, oregano, stock and vegeta. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, simmer for 25 minutes.

If you are going to blitz it in a blender, let the soup cool slightly, then transfer 375ml to a blender, blitz until smooth (or to your liking), remove and repeat with the remaining soup. If using a stick blender I do it straight away in the saucepan, but be careful as it can splatter, blitz until it is the consistency that you like.

Add the cream to the soup and stir well.

Ladle into serving bowls, top with a dollop of sour cream, if you like.

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This is a truly indulgent chocolate cake. It is rich to eat, but it is light in the mouth, it doesn't feel like a heavy cake. Small slices are what is needed, a little really does go a long way. My family for the most part are not really big on chocolate cakes, but this one is one they do love.

​You can use only dark chocolate only for the ganache, if you prefer.

When the ganache is cooling, stir it every now and then so it sets evenly. Spread onto your cake as soon as it is the consistency you like, do not let it set too hard.

I keep leftover cake in the refrigerator, so it keeps longer. My kids love to microwave the cake for 30 seconds and eat it warm with ice cream. It melts in your mouth this way, the cake is fudgy and the ganache is molten chocolate.

The cakes when cooling can shrink a little. When slicing, alternate the slices so a smaller round is topped by a larger one etc, just place the biggest rounds at the bottom and the top. that way when you are icing the cake it will look perfect.

This takes a little time to make, but it is not difficult. ​

​Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Food Magazine

Serves 16-20

350 grams butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups (660g) caster sugar
8 eggs, separated
1½ cups (225g) self-raising flour
½ cup (50g) cocoa powder
1½ cups (375ml) buttermilk

Chocolate icing300 grams dark chocolate (70% cocoa), melted
300g milk chocolate (33%) cocoa, melted
375 grams butter, melted
¾ cup (120g) icing sugar

Fresh Strawberries or Raspberries, to decorate
Vanilla Ice Cream, to serve


Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C. Grease two deep 20cm round cake pans; line bases with baking paper.

Beat egg whites in a clean large bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form, set aside.

Beat butter, extract and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, until just combined. Stir in sifted flour, cocoa and buttermilk.

Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture, in two batches. Divide mixture evenly into pans.

Bake cakes 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans.

Make chocolate icing; Whisk melted chocolates and melted butter together in a medium bowl; whisk in sifted icing sugar. Cool icing to room temperature; whisk until thickened and spreadable.

Reserve half the icing to cover the top and side of cake.

Split cakes into three layers; place one layer on a plate, spread with one-fifth of the icing. Repeat layering with cake and icing, finishing with a cake layer. Spread reserved icing over top and side, using an offset spatula.

​Decorate with fresh strawberries or raspberries. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

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​Recipe adapted from www.delicious.com.au/

Serves 4

200g speck, rind removed, cut into 5mm-thick pieces
1 red onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes (optional)
2 x 400g cans whole cherry tomatoes
1⁄2 bunch basil, leaves picked, stalks tied
400g penne or other short pasta
Grated pecorino or parmesan to serve
​

Put the speck in a cold, deep frypan then place over medium heat. When the speck begins to sizzle, cook for 2-3 minutes, tossing, until the fat has rendered.

Add the onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until softened then add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further 1-2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the tomatoes, basil stalks and half the leaves and 1 cup (250ml) water, and cook for 6-8 minutes until reduced.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain, reserving 1/3 cup (80ml) cooking liquid. Discard the basil stalks then add the pasta to the sauce with the reserved water and toss to combine.

​Serve topped with pecorino and remaining basil leaves.

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​Sometimes when I make tacos there is a lot going on with flavours, these prawn tacos are absolutely delicious because of the simple, fresh flavours of the coleslaw, pico de gallo and prawns. 

With the Jalapenos, the original recipe uses 4 whole jalapenos, I chose to remove the seeds from 2 of them, and left two whole. But if you like extra spice add 4 whole jalapenos, if you don't like a lot of spice, remove the seeds from all the jalapenos. It does need some heat though.

In Mexico, queso fresco, fresh cheese, is commonly crumbled over dishes like this. It's difficult to find in Australia, but feta makes a good substitute. I don't add it, but it is in the original recipe, so try it, if you like.

​This is a simple, but delicious dinner, lunch or party idea, something we love hope you do to.

​Recipe adapted from www.gourmettraveller.com.au/ 

Serves 10

Coleslaw:
½ cabbage, shredded
2-4 tablespoons thomy mayonnaise, to taste

1kg (36 medium) frozen uncooked prawns, remove tails
2 tablespoons olive oil

Pico de gallo:
4 vine-ripened tomatoes, diced
1 small white onion, diced
½ cup coarsely chopped coriander
Juice of 2 limes
2 jalapeño chillies, finely chopped
2 jalapeño chillies, seeded, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, crushed

Lime wedges, to serve
Corn Tortillas, heated, to serve
Flour Tortillas, to serve
​
Make the pico de gallo:  combine all ingredients in a bowl and set aside for flavours to develop.
Make the coleslaw: Combine cabbage and mayonnaise in a bowl, season to taste and set aside.

Preheat a char-grill or frying pan over high heat. Cut the prawns in half, I like to make them bite sized. Brush prawns with oil, season to taste and cook, turning occasionally, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes.

Top tortillas with prawns, cabbage mixture and pico de gallo, roll to enclose and serve.

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