When you come home from a different land altogether, you tend to want to something different for a change. Maybe get a little more adventurous in the norm, probably it’s all the inspiration you get from the new faces and people you meet during your travels. Sometimes you get so carried away while being obsessed with something, or someone, or just about anything under the sun! For me, i’m obsessed with everything spells F-O-O-D, or B-A-K-I-N-G. What about you?

Challenging myself to make something new is not easy, I guess I procrastinate. However, when you get a fresh dose of inspiration every once in awhile, you will get things done for sure! Since I just got back from my trip Down Under, I am overwhelmed with the food and baking culture over there, so much that I am actually quite speechless on where to start and how to start a post! There’s simply so much to write, or probably I just don’t have enough time to do everything I planned out to do.  I really do wish that the weekends could be longer.

So much for that, I decided to start with something mellow – sorta like ’starting the car after leaving it for a long month’ moment! I got a stash of lovely raw macadamia nuts, and decided to roast them like I have seen in the bakeries in Melbourne – herb roasted nuts. I’ve always liked nuts+honey, so here is my take on the herbie nuts.

Herb Roasted Macadamia Nuts

500g raw macadamia nuts
30g unsalted butter
2 tsps fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 tbsp pure honey (again, i used what we bought from Oz)
1/4 tsp salt or more to your liking
1/4 tsp paprika powder (for some extra zing!) (optional)

Method:
Preheat oven at 160 Deg Celcius for 30mins.

Line a tray with baking paper and spread nuts out on tray. Pre-roast/bake nuts for 10mins, turning them in between (we just want the nuts slightly tanned, i would say…). While you are doing this, chop the rosemary leaves to fine pieces and combine together with butter in a small bake-proof bowl, and stash the bowl into the over to melt (this only takes a few minutes). Once the butter has melted, bring it out from the oven and stir in the 2 tablespoons of honey.

Take the nuts out from the oven and pour them into a medium sized mixing bowl, pour herbed-honey butter mixture over the nuts and stir to coat evenly. Sprinkle the 1/4 teaspoon salt (and paprika, if using) over the nuts and roast nuts on middle rack of the oven for 15 – 20 minutes, depending on how toasty you want your macadamia nuts to be. Mine was baked at 20 mins, I like it all caramelly-golden, hence the really dark colour you see on mine. Feel free to adjust according to your liking .

Sprinkle more salt sparingly over the nuts while it’s still hot, and let cool. Once cooled, store in an airtight container, or if you are feeling real generous, pack them into little plastic bags as munchy-gifts!  It’s a promise you will get addicted in eating them! It’s probably a healthier TV snack to Cheezels!

Here’s a second treat… Chocolate lava cake, who can ever resist one?! I took the liberty to prepare a batch 2 nights ago, experimenting on the correct baking time on my oven (non-fan assisted). I found out it takes me about 18-20 minutes at 180 Deg. Celcius to get it all nicely set on the outside, and gooey in the inside! This is a recipe I have learned few months back from a French chef, Chef Bruno, though I’ve adapted a bit by omitting the ‘ganache pebble’, cuz’ I wanted to save time yet enjoy something sinful no doubt!

I made 10 mini lava cakes from the recipe below, and the secret to a great lava cake is always to FREEZE them overnight. This ensures from the lava cake not to crack so easily and ensures an even baking between cake & butter. A little patience is definitely worthwhile for this dessert !

Chocolate Lava Cake

200g Extra bitter Belgium Callebaut chocolate callets (80% Cocoa)
4 large eggs
120g castor sugar
120g unsalted butter, room temp., softened
50g all-purpose flour (sifted)
2 tablespoons full-fat cream

10 mini ramekins/ foil cups (coated generously with soft butter, and dusted all-round with cocoa powder)

icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Method:

• Coat ramekins/foil cups generously with butter and dusted all-round with cocoa powder.
• Next, melt chocolate using the bain marie method. Once chocolate has melted, mix in the softened butter.
• In a seperate bowl, crack eggs and mix with castor sugar, whisk to combine on low speed if using mixer. Gradually increase to medium-high speed, whisk eggs mixture until pale yellow (it would have doubled in volume).
• Now add 1/4 of the egg mixture into the chocolate, fold to combine and mix this mixture back into the remaining 3/4 whisked eggs. Keep folding gently until incorporated. Sift flour over mixture all at once, fold and add the cream into the mixture. Once batter is homogenous, spoon into the 10 prepared cups evenly. Set these in the freezer overnight (at least) in a container until the time for serving.
• When ready to serve, remove cups from the freezer and bake directly in a preheated oven of 180 Deg. Celcius. Bake for 16 – 20 minutes. Do watch it closely after the 10 minute mark, ensuring not to over-bake. If the cake cracks, it is a sign that it has been overdone.
• Remove cups from oven and let rest for 2 minutes, use a knife to run along the sides of the cups, and invert on a plate. Tap the base lightly to release cake.
• Dust cake with some confectioners sugar, serve on the side with some fresh fruit like raspberries or strawberries, or even gooseberries if you prefer.

As for me, I had mine the Black Forest way, since I had left some Amarena Cherries.
Simply divine.

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