Wentworth High Tea at Sofitel Sydney

A couple of Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of heading to Sydney city for a lovely high tea with some girls... High tea is pretty expensive wherever you go, so it's a rare treat for me. Needless to say, when an occasion such as this rolls around, I get pretty excited about it!

Upon arrival at the hotel, I was blown away by the decadent interior of the foyer... Very glamorous and inviting. Then, once seated in the Sofitel Lounge we ordered our tea. There was a good range of black, herbal and white teas on offer.

I also remarked that on the bowl of sugar cubes on the table - brown and white sugar cubes! (forgive my excitement, but it was the first time I've seen brown sugar cubes in Australia...)

Once we had settled in and started on our tea the afternoon tea stands arrived... 3 levels of cakes, tarts and savouries... Macarons, scones, finger sanwiches, mini baguettes, eclairs, cheesecake and more!

I was very tempted to start with the top plate of sweets - they looked too good to resist...

However, being the good girl that I am, I did the right thing and had savoury first. My absolute favourite savoury item was the profiterole filled with goat's cheese and mushroom - it was so delicious :)

Now we all know that the litmus test in measuring the quality of an afternoon tea is the scones. I can confirm that they were very good - warm, soft and fluffy.. And they weren't covered in flour either, which was a relief for me. My pet hate is when you're wearing lip gloss and you bite into a floury scone.. all the flour gets stuck on your lips and it looks (and feels) awful!  Anyway, I do digress... I must mention the jam! We couldn't get enough of the strawberry jam... it was so good. Quite possibly the best strawberry jam I've ever had (a big call, I know!)

At this point we were all in need of a glass of water, and hence my only real criticism of the high tea at Sofitel was the service.. The staff were pleasant when we dealt with them, but I felt the lounge was quite understaffed on the day as it was very difficult to get their attention. My table asked multiple times for water before we actually received it.. I consider myself quite a patient patron but at one point I was so parched I contemplated going and getting my own from the bar!

For me there were two fantastic sweet items. First, the Peach Meringue Tart - tarlets filled with white peach curd and topped with scroched meringue.

However, for me the clear winner was the Raspberry Opera Slice- a layered sponge with raspberries and dark chocolate... We all swooned a little when we tried this little cake.. Doesn't it look beautiful?

Oh what a sweet ending to a lovely afternoon tea with the ladies... I can taste the opera slice now... Oh how dreamy!

I recommend giving the Wentworth Afternoon Tea a try if you're visiting Sydney some time. It's vegetarian friendly and there is also a gluten-free menu available. Check out their website for more details on the full afternoon tea menu.

Wentworth Afternoon Tea

Sofitel Sydney
61-101 Phillip St
Sydney NSW 2000
2 to 5 pm daily, including weekends
$49 per person, $59 per person with a glass of champagne
http://www.sofitelsydney.com.au/afternoon-tea.html

Bastille Day Cookies

Alas this post is a day late (sigh)... I seem a bit out of sorts with my food blogging at the moment.. Leaving my camera at home when I go out, laptop out of action, kitchen disasters... mon dieu! It's been a funny week, but at last I bring you my Bastille Day cookies!

Cookies for such an important day in the French calendar would not be suitable unless they themselves were a little French. I had been hanging onto a french butter biscuit recipe for months, scribbled down on a post-it note floating around my handbag.. crying out for some love and attention! Regrettably, I do not have the source for this recipe, so do forgive me. Oh, and a brief disclaimer.. if you are the French baking police I do not purport to be an expert on anything French, let alone French baking :)

These butter cookies are known as Sables. 'Sables' is French for 'sand' and refers to the sandy texture of this delicate, shortbread like cookie. Sables are said to originate from Normandy, France.

Like many sweet French recipes, the quality of your final result depends on the quality of your ingredients. So it seemed only appropriate to use two of my absolute favourite ingredients for baking... Lurpak unsalted butter and vanilla bean paste.

Here is the recipe to this simple (but a bit 'ooh la la') cookie recipe.

Sables

140g unsalted butter, at room temperature

100g caster sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

260g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

scant 1/4 tsp salt

1. With an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg and combine well.
2. In a separate bowl combined the dry ingredients and whisk together briefly to remove lumps.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until just incorporated. Take care not to overbeat.
4. Divide the dough in half and wrap in cling film and refrigerate until firm. A couple of hours is best.
5. On a lightly floured surface, bring the dough together and roll out to around a half centimetre thickness.
6. Cut out desired shapes and transfer onto baking trays lined with baking paper.

7. Place the baking tray in the fridge for about 20 minutes to chill and firm up the dough and preheat the oven to 175 degrees celsius (350 degrees F).
8. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden at the edges. Cool briefly on trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cool I rolled out thin strips of blue, white and red fondant. To stick the fondant to the cookies, I dabbed a tiny amount of water here and there on the reverse side of the fondant. And voila - miniature, edible French flags!

Viva la France!

Ladybird x

Carrot Kheer

"Carrots and milk? Anna, that sounds gross..." Mr Ladybird warned - and so I threw down the gauntlet (in this case, an oven mitt)  and declared, "Game on!" Mr Ladybird is always rather frank is his opinions on food... so I do enjoy the challenge at times. At other times it can be a bit, well, pesky! But I could understand Mr Ladybird's hesitation. He has become somewhat of a kheer snob. There, I said it! Since I started making chaval kheer (a creamy indian rice pudding), he shuns others' versions (which is really rather sweet in a stubborn kind of way).

This recipe comes from British-Indian chef and author, Anjum Anand. I have had mixed success with her recipes in the past, but I was convinced the flavour combination would work a bit like carrot cake - sounds odd yet, somehow, it works.

Carrot Kheer
1L full cream milk
250g carrots, grated
1/2 tsp green cardamom seeds, finely ground
pinch saffron
3 - 4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp chopped pistachios to garnish
2 tbsp flaked almonds (optional)

1. Heat the milk in a wide, heavy-based saucepan, stirring and scraping the base with the spoon frequently to make sure the milk does not catch and burn. Keep cooking until it reduces by about one third - this takes about 25 minutes.
2. Add the carrots and continue cooking for another 15-25 minutes or until they are soft and the milk is as thick as you like it. (I like it at a just drinkable consistency) It will also thicken up slightly once chilled.
3. Stir in the sugar, saffron and cardamom powder, cook for another 2 minutes and taste for sweetness. Bear in mind chilling dulls the sweetness of food, so add a little more than you think you will need.
4. Cool and then place in the fridge for several hours, covered with clingfilm as milk absorbs flavours from other food in the fridge. Overnight is best to allow the flavours to infuse. When ready to eat, serve in bowls sprinkled with the nuts.

The result? Delicious, slightly carroty and beautifully scented kheer without the starchiness of its rice equivalent.

Oh.. and you'll never guess who came back for seconds ;)


Ladybird x