Botannix Studio Café, Botany

Botany and its surrounding suburbs is a growing area in south-eastern Sydney, with more and more people attracted to its green surroundings and more relaxed pace. And where there are people, there are places to eat. Cafés, restaurants and bakeries are growing in number in the area. Some have been around for a while, such as Brasserie Bread in Banksmeadow. Last Sunday I headed to Botany to Botannix Studio Café with my friend *Ranger Stacey* (my new nickname for her - she's good with animals!) for a leisurely breakfast after a big night with the girls the day before.

Much needed morning caffeine

Botannix is different kind of café because it isn't only a café - it also has an adjoining yoga studio, sun-drenched courtyard and its very own organic vegetable garden.

Street front

Courtyard

Antique bottles

The menu is quite extensive, with lots of options, including vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. Meals are around the $15 mark, and coffees are of a standard price.

The food and coffee was ok, but my favourite aspect of this café was the ambiance and decor. It reminded me and Ranger Stacey so much of Byron Bay. Everything from the yoga studio at the back, to the veggie garden, to the beautiful photographs  adorning the walls, homely wooden furnishings and thoughtful finishing touches.

The service was friendly and attentive and I would definitely like to head back to Botannix to try some of their baked goods including fresh muffins, breads and slices. They all looked good but unfortunately I was a little full to sample them after my hearty breakfast!


Botannix
25 Swinbourne St, Botany
Ph: (02) 9666 7315
http://www.botannix.com/

Pistachio and Orange Blossom Macarons

For me, orange blossom water and pistachios evoke the exotic colours, scents and flavours of Middle Eastern cuisine. But what is orange blossom water? It is the distilled water that contains the essential oils of the orange blossom. It is used in savoury and sweet dishes alike, and a little goes a long way. You can pick orange blossom water at middle eastern grocery stores, as well as gourmet food stores. I picked mine up at a health food store here in Sydney.

Here is a simple, beautiful recipe to make these macarons with a slight middle eastern twist :) I have adapted this recipe from The AWW: Macaroons & Biscuits book.

Ingredients
1/3 c unsalted roasted pistachios
3 aged eggwhites (I left mine out in a bowl covered with clingfilm overnight)
1/4 c (55g) caster sugar
green food colouring
1 1/4 (200g) icing sugar
3/4 c (90g) ground almonds
1 tbsp icing sugar, extra
1/4 c pouring (pure) cream
150g white chocolate, finely chopped
1 tsp orange blossom water*

* The original recipe calls for 4 tsp, however I used 2 tsp and felt the flavour was still slightly too floral. Next time I will half it to 1 tsp for a more subtle flavour. You could always add a little more if you wanted the orange blossom flavour to be stronger.

Method
1. Lightly grease heavy oven trays and line with baking paper. Combine the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and pulse briefly, then sieve twice and set aside in a bowl.
2. Process pistachios until finely ground. Sift and discard any remaining course bits, then set aside.
3. Beat eggwhites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add caster sugar a teaspoon at a time along with a few drops of the colouring. Beat until the sugar dissolves and the eggwhites are thick and glossy.
4. Fold in 1/4 c of the ground pistachios and then the icing sugar and ground almonds in 2 batches. The mixture should 'flow like magma', which means it should slide slowly down the side of the bowl when you tip it.
5. Spoon mixture into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm plain nozzle. Pipe 4cm rounds about 2cm apart onto trays. Tap trays on bench so macarons spread lightly.
6. Dust macarons with extra sifted icing sugar and sprinkle with a little of the remaining grounds pistachios (as much or as little as you like). Stand 30 minutes, or until you can touch them lightly without any batter sticking to your finger. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150 degrees celsius.

7. Bake around 12-15 minutes. Keep an eye on the macarons and remove them before they start developing any golden colour on the edges. Cool on trays.
8. To make the filling heat the cream in a small saucepan, removing it from the heat just before it reaches boiling point. Pour the cream over the white chocolate in a small, heatproof bowl. Sit for about a minute and then stir until smooth. Sit until the ganache thickens to spreadble butter-like consistency then stir in the orange blossom water.
9. Sandwich the macarons with the filling, and enjoy!

So there you have it - a little bit of luxury mid-week! :)


Ladybird x

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The red velvet cake was said to be a signature dish at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York during the 1920s. According to urban legend, a woman once visitng the hotel asked for the recipe in the 1960s and upon request for bill realised she had been charged a hefty fee for the recipe! Her revenge? Spreading the recipe across the country in a chain letter. Nice.

Who knows whether or not the story is true, but it remains clear that it is a very popular cake flavour in the US. It is characterised by its red-brown colour. Where does the colour come from? Well, the key ingredients in a red velvet cake are: buttermilk, cocoa and (some say) traditionally, beetroot. Nowadays, however, red food colouring is usually used to enhance the colour.
 
Red velvet cake is not a common flavour in Australia, and so I wanted to try its *supposed* original form with the beetroot. The result was a light and moist cake, much like carrot cake but the beetroot was hardly distinguishable. If you wanted to intensify the red colour you could add a couple of drops of red food colouring to the batter.
 

 
Red Velvet Cupcakes (from '200 Cupcakes' by Hamlyn)
Makes 12 small cupcakes
 
150g self raising flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100ml buttermilk
1 tsp vingear
50g lightly salted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
1 egg
50g raw betroot, peeled and finely grated
 
Icing
200g cream cheese (Philadelphia)
2 tsp vanilla extract
300g icing sugar
12 fresh cherries (to decorate)
 
1. Prehet the oven to 180 degrees celsuis. Line a muffin tray with paper cases. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate soda in a bowl and set aside. Mix together the buttermilk and vinegar in a jug.
2. Beat together the butter and caster sugar in a separate bowl until pale and creamy, then beat in the egg and the beetroot.
 

3. Add half the flour mixture and mix gently with a large metal spoon. Stir in half the buttermilk mixture. Combine the remaining flour mixture, then the remaining liquid.

4. Divide the mixture between the paper cases and bake for around 20 minutes or until risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5. To make the icing, beat the cream cheese, vanilla extract and sifted icing sugar until smooth and creamy.
6. Swirl the icing over the cooled cupcakes and top with a cherry on each.
 

Ladybird x