Claire Wood and her team in the Barossa Valley produce beautiful artisanal pastry to make our baking easy. The puff is made with real butter (the only commercial puff I know of that is), the shortcrust contains sour cream and Claire uses free-range eggs, real vanilla bean and locally-milled flour.
Mushroom & Cheese Pies Thanks to chef Simon Sandall who rattled off this suggestion on the spur of the moment when we were making beef Wellington together and wondering what to do with leftover mushroom duxelles and pastry off-cuts. You could always make the duxelles specifically for these pies and whip up a larger batch […]
Shortcrust Cookies I hate wasting pastry offcuts, so when I make a tart or pie I use the remaining pastry for these tasty little shortcrust cookies (see the video below for another of my favourite pastry tricks). Unlike puff pastry, shortcrust can be rerolled without ill effect, so all of it can be used. If […]
Potato, Smoked Eel & Fontina Tart This deliciously versatile potato & fontina tart can be vegetarian, but potatoes and smoked fish are such natural partners that I sometimes add smoked eel. Hot-smoked rainbow trout also works; either way use about 300g flesh if using seafood. If Fontina’s not available, use any mild washed rind cheese, […]
Tarte Tatin Tarte Tatin is one of those classics that I didn’t attempt for a long time for fear it would be too tricky. Turns out it’s super quick and easy, especially if you use a good ready-made shortcrust pastry like Carême. It’s named after the Tatin sisters, Caroline and Stéphanie, who served it at […]
Simple Party Sausage Rolls When I was a kid, Mum often had homemade sausage rolls waiting for us as an after school snack. She’d pop them in the oven when she left to pick us up from school and they’d be hot and golden brown ready for us to devour when we arrived home. This […]
Spicy Lamb Sausage Rolls The spicy lamb sausage rolls at the Uraidla Bakery in the Adelaide Hills are the best sausage rolls I’ve ever tasted and this is my attempt to recreate them. I love Carême’s wholemeal spelt pastry for this recipe, but use any good butter puff. If using Carême (which is already the […]
Bacon & Egg Pie Bacon and egg pie is perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner and, as it’s great served at room temperature, it makes ideal picnic fare. Best of all, the ingredients will be on hand in a well-stocked fridge. I was introduced to this pie by my friend Janni Kyritsis who makes his […]
Apple & Almond Pies These simple apple and almond pies looks impressive because of the plaited pastry (a trick I learnt years ago from an Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook), but are quick and easy and can be assembled up to a day ahead. Butter puff pastry makes a big difference to the flavour and mouth-feel; […]
Pecan Pie with Maple Cream As an Aussie, I’ve never been convinced by putting pumpkin, a vegetable I associate with Sunday roasts, into a sweet pie; but I do love pecan pie, another American classic. Pecans are grown widely throughout the southern USA, where pecan pie is as popular as pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving tables […]
Palmiers with Strawberries & Crème Fraîche These little French pastries are easy, versatile and delicious. The secret to palmiers is to use good butter puff pastry, not one made with margarine or other commercial fats; Carême brand is available in many delis and specialty stores and it’s handy to keep a roll or two in […]
