As many of you will know, earlier this year Victoria was in shock with the mass devastation of the bush fires. Known as Black Saturday, none of us will forget how we felt seeing images and the horror on the news. To follow up from a previous post, I took a drive out to Marysville, one of the affected areas to see how the community was coping, a few months on.

It was a great opportunity to support the local community and get out of town for a few hours. As you can see a lot of the trees were still black, but the amount of greenery emerging was just amazing. We saw lots of houses still at ground zero level which really brought us back to earth and realising what truly went on here just a few months ago.

In the main town, a shop front is still charred, whilst the main bakery still stands. I was glad the bakery was still around, because I remember visiting it a few years ago, and having a killer sausage roll!

Business is busier than ever, being pretty much the main place to grab a bite in town, other than the temporary marque restaurant set up across the road. We had to take a number and wait amongst the huge crowd to get served. It was worth it though because everything looked so good.

These photos only show a small portion of the size of this massive bakery. We luckily got a table outside to eat as it was a gorgeous Autumn day, raining quite heavily! I got my killer sausage roll, Nerdy Rob got a steak pie and our newest entourage member, Hamish got a steak and mushroom pie. We also got some wedges to share. Nothing beats country bakery pies and sausage rolls, although this time the sausage roll wasn't as nice as I remember it, however it was still pretty good! The wedges were nice and fresh, I wish we had gotten a bigger bag to share!

We headed back to Healesville to the White Rabbit brewery;
Rob and I heard about this place at the Good Food & Wine Show only a few days earlier. Being part of the Little Creatures group, we were very interested to check it out.
The brewery has the same kind of atmosphere the Fremantle Little Creatures brewery has. Laid back, beer vats, matching food and friendly service.

The beer is still in the trialing phase, so that is probably why you can only try it in Healesville at the moment. We were quite amused by the bill, coming in a Little Golden Book. I used to read these as a kid, it was a nice quirky touch that I would expect from a place like this!

Right next door is the famous, Beechworth Bakery:

Another huge, busy bakery, probably most famous for their vanilla slices, beestings and other goodies. The boys got vanilla slices and I got a "granny smith", which was basically an apple cake. The pastry was lovely, not too thick or thin, and not too sweet.

We ended the day trip with a look in the local chocolate boutique;

Kennedy & Wilson was very fancy, with fancy names we got a couple to try. We each got 2 but we found one was pretty good, and the other was pretty average. It was a bit hit and miss, but I did like the layout of the chocolate, it was like walking into Tiffany & Co for chocolate.

If you are in Victoria, it is well worth the trip. Lots of local produce still available and a great way to support those in need.

As many of you have heard, we have been having the worst bush fires ever. The death toll is rising, hundreds of people have lost their homes and everything they have worked so hard to enjoy. It was all burnt in just a few moments and now they are left with nothing but the clothes on their own back. Some people have even lost loved ones which is the most devastating thought of all.

These are some images from The Age. Every time I hear a story on the radio, see it on the TV or read it in the newspaper I am reduced to tears. We all desperately need your help.
This tragedy is said to be worse than the Bali bombings. We wait as the death toll rises and we try to find an answer to why someone would deliberately light a fire.





Cars have been burnt to just the bare shell.

This was taken at Yerring Station, one of my favorite wineries in the Yarra Valley. Now surrounded by black, bare earth.

From the Herald Sun: Peter and Wendy Crooks used almost 40 cans of cola to put out fires in the eaves after their pump failed. They saved their Kinglake home.

To see some of the most amazing pictures of the fire storm click here.

You can donate safely and securely through the Red Cross here. Or you can donate blood, which I will be doing. Anything you can do to help we will all appreciate.
Please be aware of scams and dodgy money collections from people wanting to profit from other's misfortune.

You'll have to excuse the photography yet again! Not my best work, however this tart was just delicious!

I thought this was going be to ridiculously sweet when I licked the spoon of the marshmallow topping. However it turned out to be just perfect! The base with the almond meal, compliments the marshmallow and jam topping, and proved to be just the perfect combination. Not to mention it looks spectacular!

Marshmallow & Jam Tart
Donna Hay

1 block ready-prepared shortcrust pastry (or you can make your own like I did)
60g butter, softened
65g caster sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon plain flour
topping:
200g pink marshmallows
60g butter
2 tablespoons milk
120g white chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup strawberry jam, warmed
1 cup shredded coconut

1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 20 x 42cm rectangle 3mm thick. Line a 12 x 35cm loose-bottomed rectangular fluted tart tine with the pastry and refrigerate for 10 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 160°C. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth. Add the egg, almond meal and flour and mix well to combine. Spoon the mixture into the tart shell and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool on a wire rack.

3. To make the topping, place the marshmallows, butter and milk in a small saucepan over low heat and stir continuously until the mixture is smooth. Remover from the heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Top the tart with the mixture, spoon the jam down the centre and sprinkle over the coconut.

Serves 8

You'll have to excuse the not so great photography for this one. I was in a rush taking photos and preparing for the breast cancer party. I had this recipe in my recipe folder for sometime and finally got to make them.

They were just delightful! So light and simple to make, they were a huge hit. One of my guests said "I'm in love with your lamingtons!!" which is always a good sign. Some people said they were delicious although they would have liked some jam and cream with them.

A better picture and the recipe can be found on Taste.com.au

Pink Lamington Mountains

Taste Website

85g packet raspberry jelly crystals
2 x 22cm-24cm round unfilled sponge cakes
1 cup (90g desciccated coconut)

1. Stir crystals with 1 cup (250ml) boiling water in a large heatfproof jug with a metal spoon to dissolve. Stir in 200ml cold water, pour mixture into a shallow dish and chill for 1 hour until jelly starts to set.

2. Meanwhile, cut each sponge cake into 8 wedges, then remove the brown crust.

3. Put coconut in a shallow dish. Dip each sponge wedge into the jelly mixture, then roll in the coconut to coat.

Makes 16

Voila! Bon Appétit!

So I held my first ever "Pink Afternoon Tea" to raise money for breast cancer on the weekend and I'm pleased to say it was a huge success and I managed to raise $760!

I wanted to thank everyone who came and donated, I am still managed how much we managed to raise.

As you can see I managed to make 6 different cakes! It was a very busy weekend since I worked Saturday morning then came home to bake all day. Then up early Sunday morning to frost some cupcakes and prepare for the party, have the party then went to the Stevie Wonder concert!

The cakes I made for this special occasion were:
- Apricot Cake
- Brownies with white chocolate and raspberries
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Ice-Cream Cone Cupcakes
- Marshmallow and Jam Tart
- Pink Lamingtons

I will be posting the marshmallow & jam tart, and pink lamington recipe later this week. The other recipes can be found by following the link.

Thank you again for your support!

It's that time of year when you can host a "Pink Breakfast" to help raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

This is the first year I will be hosting such an event, I will be hosting an afternoon tea with some of my favorite women (and men) and hope to raise at least $500.

If you would like to sponsor me please head to the following link:
http://www.breastcancerfundraising.org.au/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=265949
Every little bit helps, and I appreciate any amount you can give!
Donations over $2 are tax deductible.

The first 5000 people to register also get send out a host party pack, I got mine during the week full of goodies to help with my party!