Table of Contents
Foreword Melissa Leong 9
Introduction 11
Things to Know Before You Start 13
1 Basic Bakes 17
Go-To Sweet Pastry Crust 18
Almond Pastry Crust 22
Chocolate Pastry Crust 25
Rough Puff Pastry 26
Basic Berry Jam 30
Basic Buttercream 33
Swiss Meringue Buttercream 34
Pastry Cream (Crème Pâtissière) 37
2 Classic Cakes 39
Banana and Coconut Cake with Caramelized Condensed Milk Icing 41
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Icing 42
Cakeboi Birthday Cake 45
The Humble Carrot Cake 46
Devil's Food Cake aka Chocolate Lover's Heaven 49
Basque Cheesecake 50
Classic Ricotta Cheesecake 53
The Boozy-Misu 54
Coffee, Cardamom and Walnut Cake 57
Neapolitan Marble Cake 58
3 Superior Sponge Cokes 61
Versatile Vanilla Sponge Cake 63
Strawberry and Rose Sponge Cake 64
Raspberry Jam Swiss Roll with Vanilla Mascarpone Cream 67
Raspberry Jam Lamingtons 68
Nan's Passionfruit Custard Sponge Cake 71
Elva's Blow-Away Chocolate Sponge with Whipped Cream, Ganache and Raspberry Jam 73
Ginger Fluff Sponge with Caramelized Condensed Milk Chantilly Cream 77
Orange Sponge with Vanilla Diplomat Cream 78
Chiffon Sponge Cake 81
Powder Puffs with Mascarpone and White Chocolate 83
4 Premier Pastries 87
Raspberry and Vanilla Cream Puffs 88
Raspberry Almond Frangipane Tart 91
Chocolate Custard Tart with Caramelized Condensed Milk 92
Toasty Caramel Meringue Tart 94
My Signature Lemon Tart 97
Golden Brown Butter Tart with Honey-Roasted Figs 98
Peach and Rosé Tart 101
Smoky Bourbon and Vanilla Pecan Pie 102
5 Sensational Scones, Biscuits and Slices 105
Fluffy Lemonade Scones 107
Nan's Pumpkin Scones with Whipped Maple Butter 108
Extra Chewy ANZAC Biscuits (Bikkies) 111
Passionfruit Custard Slice 112
Lemon Zest and Passionfruit Melting Moments 114
The Classic Monte Carlo Biscuit 117
Jam Drops 118
Cherry Ripe Slice 121
Caramel, Peanut and Chocolate Slice 122
Nan's Cornflake Biscuits 125
Milo and Caramel Brownie 126
Classic Pumpkin Loaf 129
6 Yeast Bakes 131
Spiced Rum Baba 133
Bee Sting with Vanilla Pastry Cream 134
Baked Rhubarb, Tonka Bean and Brioche Tartlets 137
Simple Donuts 138
Nostalgic Finger Buns 141
Lucy's Loukoumades (Cypriot Donuts) 142
7 Inclusive Bakes 145
Vegan Coconut and Raspberry Cake 147
Gluten-Free Almond, Blueberry and Coconut Tea Cake 148
Flourless Chocolate Cake 151
Vegan 5alted Chocolate and Miso Cookies 152
Gluten-Free Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Cake 155
Genene's Gluten-Free Friands 156
Persian Love Cake 159
Acknowledgments 160
About the Author 161
Index 162
