Lantana Crack Cake

My very last afternoon in London, some of my friends and I planned to meet up to get coffee and say our goodbyes. I was the second of our group to arrive at Lantana, an Australian cafe in Fitzrovia, only to find that it was closing. My friend Jeannie and I had just enough time to make last minute orders – mine was an Americano and a Lantana “crack cake.” With a name like that? I had to.

I can’t be sure what exactly was in them; my memory’s hazy and I can’t find a description online (most of what people write about crack cake online are warnings: the Lantana website calls it “infamous”).  I know there was banana and coconut going on... maybe some pineapple? Cream cheese frosting, definitely. I remember it being extremely good.

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London: Ottolenghi cookbook

I love reading about food almost as much as I love making or eating it, which is why I thought I would feature some of the cookbooks I’ve collected over the past couple years. This is one of my favourites: Ottolenghi, the official recipe book of the much-loved group of London restaurants.

The Ottolenghi shops are probably best known for their salads and sweets, but there’s a bit of everything in this book – sweet potato and puff pastry galettes, cauliflower fritters, turkey sweetcorn meatballs... all photographed in lusciously vibrant detail.

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Tarte au Sirop d'Érable (Maple Syrup Pie)

Having an end-of-November birthday is kind of depressing when you’re a university student – everyone is too busy with final projects and papers to spare a couple hours to celebrate with you. Or they’re watching the Grey Cup.

Anyway, in 2009 I was going to school in Montreal, and when my birthday rolled around I decided to book a hotel, get on a train, and have a holiday in Quebec City by myself.


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Apple, Ginger and Fig Tofu

Last summer I was trying really hard to be a full-time vegetarian (I think I must have watched Babe again and my inner child decided it was evil to eat farm animals). It turned out to be incredibly easy - London has hundreds of restaurants, cafes, and grocery stores that cater to veggies (and wannabe veggies). My favourite of these, hands down, is Tibits. Tucked away just off Regent Street, Tibits is a kind of cafe/bar/hangout with a massive vegetarian buffet - salads, samosas, desserts - all priced by weight. The first time my friend Christina and I went there, we sat on the patio and slowly made our way through the 20-or-so different things on our plates. I took a picture. Variety makes me giddy.



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Ode to a Hometown

For my very first post, I thought it would be fitting to make something in tribute to my first home: Red Deer, Alberta. Not really the type of place that inspires confectionary creativity; our official cookie was chosen in a mid-nineties attempt to contrive some kind of "Red Deerian" culture. New Yorkers have their black-and-white cookies, Paris has its macarons... and we have the Caramel Surprise. I know. It needs a new name.

I'm not really sure how they represent Red Deer, but they're delicious (which is all that really matters, right?): a soft, chewy chocolate cookie filled with caramel and topped with chopped pecans. Yum.


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