Cheeky Chocolate cafe, North Strathfield

I had been looking forward to visiting Cheeky Chocolate ever since I heard that a chocolate cafe was opening up locally - and especially since it had an Adriano Zumbo menu. My first thought was "I hope they have macarons" simply as I was tired of queuing up outside Zumbo's Balmain store!

I finally got around to visiting Cheeky Chocolate, but at a time that way too early to indulge in a dine-in. Instead, I was tempted by the gorgeous array of cakes and macarons in the display cabinet for take-away.The styling of the cakes are exquisite and very much of zumbo-esque, however I was disappointed to find a very limited selection of macarons - only 5 or 6 flavours total... and none were my beloved salted caramel ones! I was also disappointed by the price of the macarons - at $3 each, and being smaller than the Lindt delices or the ones at Zumbo, it is quite expensive. Cakes were priced at $9 each (takeaway price), again quite expensive, but apparently they're worthwhile!

See - not many macarons!!

My best friend Consuela and I had a hard time deciding what it is that we wanted. In the end, I only purchased two macarons in the chocolate and hazelnut flavour, hoping that they'd taste like Nutella. Consuela, however, splurged and ordered a few cakes, a few macarons and some chocolates to take away... and she now tells me that the mud cake, sprinkled with salt, was "the most amazing mudcake ever!" - now I wish I had bought more stuff...

The cafe itself is amazing in its interior decoration - a gorgeous array of chandeliers light up the entrance, with lots of comfy looking vintage chairs scattered about. I would imagine that this place would be a fantastic place for an indulgent dessert or hot chocolate after dinner, and will definitely be coming back one night to try it's dine in menu.

I love the chandeliers!

 To check out the menu, check out Cheeky Chocolate online -

Cheeky Chocolate
11 George St, North Strathfield
www.cheekychocolate.com.au

thesuzchef x

Zenja, North Strathfield - amazing breakfasts!

I don't think I'll have any dissenters when I say that a good hearty breakfast / brunch on a weekend does wonders for the soul. It's the perfect start to a relaxing day - to have the luxury to sit down and enjoy breakfast out, newspapers and coffee, family and friends... who doesn't love it? I am a habitual Saturday brekkie date organiser. I love nothing more than to meet with one of my best friends for breakfast on a Saturday - have some yummy food, a good chat and then wander off to enjoy the rest of my weekend.

Living in the inner west, there are always plenty of options for breakfast but one of my favourites is Zenja, on George St in North Strathfield. As I walked down to the cafe, I was running through the menu in my mind - will it be the chilli eggs or the corn fritters? The big breakfast or the ricotta pancakes? When that is the most stressful decision I need to make on the weekend, I know it's going to be a great one!

Zenja is a very popular local haunt - the indoor and outdoor seating areas filling quickly with families, couples, friends. As I can never go past corn fritters on any breakfast menu, corn fritters it was again for the millionth time - two generous sized corn fritters studded with bits of red capsicum and spanish onion, two perfectly poached eggs alongside a mound of smoked salmon, with toasted sourdough and asparagus on the side.

The corn fritters were perfect - held together with just enough batter so that it didn't come across as floury at all, and the bits of capsicum and onion add texture and flavour. Washed down with a huge pot of English breakfast tea, I was a happy chappy. My only complaint would be with the toasted sourdough - cut thickly, it was dry and hard as rocks and was left largely untouched on my plate - some softer bread would have been appreciated to soak up the yolk that oozed from the poached eggs!

Ooozey yolk - perfect!

Consuela, my BFF and future bakery co-owner, ordered her usual adventurous (hehehe!) breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast, and when it came out, the mountain of eggs was enormous! Serving sizes run large at Zenja, which probably accounts for its popularity every Saturday morning! Service was prompt and efficient, the kitchen churning out eggs at an astonishing rate. I've dined at Zenja a few times now, and it is consistent in its quality, prices and size of the dishes - I'll definitely be seeing them again in a few weeks!

Zenja, 5 George Street, North Strathfield
Open from 8am on weekends for an all day breakfast

Till next time!
thesuzchef x

Apple Cinnamon cake - Magnolia Bakery recipe

If I bake on a Sunday morning, that could only mean one thing = parents. That one word narrows the field in terms of possible outcomes - no chocolate, no caramel, no buttercream icing preferably. My parents aren't impressed by cute little cupcakes, gooey caramel, decadent chocolate ganache and the like. They want something with light, not too sweet and preferably featuring fruit.

I confess that I was fast running out of ideas as to what to make that fit this criteria. I turned to my baking bible - The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook - and fast identified a suitable recipe: apple cake with cinnamon sugar topping. Already sounds like a hit with the oldies!

Ingredients

2 cups plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups canola oil
1 cup caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk (I always use skim)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 x 350g tin sliced apples - or you can stew your own apples, probably about 3 or 4
Cinnamon sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease and lightly flour a round cake tin, or a bundt cake pan if you have one (the type of pan changes the cooking time - see below).
3. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
4. In a mixing bowl, on medium speed, beat together the oil, eggs and sugar until light and thick - about 3 minutes.
5. Adding half of the sifted flour mixture, beat until well mixed, and then add the milk and vanilla essence, beating before adding the rest of the flour and continuing until mixture is smooth.
6. In a separate bowl, toss half the apples with a 2 or 3 tablespoons of cinnamon sugar. Mix it into the batter.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared tin, smoothing the top.
8. Drop the remaining apples onto the top of the batter, and sprinkle 2 more tablespoons of cinnamon sugar on top over the cake.
9. Bake for 60 minutes if in a bundt or tube cake tin, but for 75 minutes if in a normal round cake tin. Check the cake minutes before the end of cooking time - if skewer comes out clean and dry, then the cake is done.
10. Remove from oven, let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour and then remove and let cool completely in a wire rack.

This cake is lovely with a cup of tea or coffee. It is light, slightly spiced with the cinnamon and a perfect dessert for those without a raging sweet tooth! This is another success from my favourite baking cook book!

The parents loved it - it wasn't too sweet, and it had fruit, so it ticked all the boxes for them. The surprising thing though was that even my younger brothers loved it - boys who want to consume nothing but junk food all day long! I may convert their dining choices before long...
thesuzchef x

Choc Chip Banana Loaf

I am told that bananas are ridiculously expensive at the moment. I'm afraid that I'm one of those people that don't really know the price of fresh fruit and vegies - not that I don't look, just that I don't actually buy them. Rest assured, I do eat fruit and vegetables, it's just that I'm lucky enough to get my weekly intake from my parents who send me home on Sunday evenings with a box full of fresh goods. Of late, the boxes have included bunches of bananas - so many that I've had to bake with them as I've not consumed them fast enough!

I'm getting a bit sick of baking with bananas now, truth be told. I've made loaves of banana bread and banana and coconut muffins (see previous post) have also been on high rotation. I'm hoping that this will be the last banana related post in awhile - this one is also the best, as it includes chocolate and is a Magnolia Bakery recipe!

Ingredients

1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas - this was 5 lady finger bananas for me
1/3 cup milk (I used skim)
2 cups sifted self raising flour
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Optional - 1/2 cup finely chopped, unsalted peanuts

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
3. In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy - about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the mashed bananas and milk, mixing well.
6. Add the sifted flour, mix until well combined.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips and peanuts (if you wish to add them) and pour the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
9. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

 

This is probably one of the easiest baking recipes I have ever seen - it was just a case of mixing everything together and popping it into the oven. As far as banana breads go - this is more a cake texture than a bread texture... and the chocolate chips definitely elevate it to something more indulgent. Another no fail recipe from my baking bible - thanks Magnolia!

thesuzchef x

Elio, Leichhardt - Scoopon deal

I'm one of those people that trawl all the group deal sites everyday looking for bargains. However, I am a very discerning group deal buyer - I'm usually only after food deals, and only at restaurants that I've heard of, eaten at before, or have some kind of confidence in its quality.

A few months ago I saw a deal for Elio, a restaurant in Leichhardt, on Scoopon. It was $49 for $140 worth of food and wine from the menu, and I thought it was a great deal - especially as I had eaten at Elio a year or so ago and thought it was pretty good. I happily snapped up the deal and tried to make a reservation about 4 weeks in advance for a Friday night dinner with the hubby. 

First impressions was that their reservation management was woeful - the restaurant doesn't ever seem to answer their phone. I called three times before leaving a message to book a table, and didn't hear back from them. On the week leading up to the booking the hubby tried calling to confirm and again, no one answers the phone. Finally, we sent an email to which we received a confirmation of the booking.

My second impression upon turning up to the restaurant was that I think they had changed owners since the last time I had visited. The menu was fairly unoriginal and there were no specials. What surprised me the most though was the lack of value: the price of the dishes in comparison to the size of the dish - I'm not sure if the restaurant did this as I had the Scoopon voucher, or whether this was standard serving sizes. I'm glad that the hubby and I had $140 between the two of us on the voucher, because at $18 for two single scallops, we would've been left very hungry!

The dishes at Elio are simply cooked - they were tasty, solid in its quality. The hubby and I ordered the entree of proscuitto wrapped asparagus and the seared scallops. Mains consisted of gnocchi with mussels and clams, and a scotch fillet steak. When we saw the sizes of the dishes, we quickly added in orders for sides of sauteed spinach and another of green beans.

Proscuitto wrapped asparagus, taleggio cream ($10)

Scallops wrapped in ocean trout ($18)

The stand out dish of the evening was the gnocchi - wonderfully light, the gnocchi was perfectly paired with the clams, mussels and cherry tomatoes. All it needed was some freshly ground pepper over the top, and the hubby and I ate it all up with relish. The hubby enjoyed his scotch fillet, but rated it as average - it was, however, perfectly cooked to his requirements.

Scotch fillet with potato puree & fried artichoke ($29)

Gnocchi with baby clams & mussels ($24)

The hubby and I didn't stay for dessert despite having about $40 value left on our Scoopon voucher - we went next door to Bar Italia for toberlone and tiramisu gelato!

With all these group buying deals, there are always hit and misses. This was unfortunately a miss for us - it was still great value, but would we dine here without the benefit of a deal? Probably not. For the prices that the restaurant are charging, better value and quality can be found elsewhere.

Elio restaurant, 159 Norton St, Leichhardt

thesuzchef x

Banana + Coconut muffins

Sunday is usually my bake day... I love nothing better than waking up late, having a lovely brunch with the hubby and then settling in the day by whipping up a cake, cookies, muffins, cupcakes or a slice. Today was no different as I surveyed the contents of my kitchen and laid my eyes on some over ripe lady finger bananas that was otherwise designated for the rubbish bin. I also love the addition of coconut into muffins, breads or cakes. It adds a lovely flavour and texture, and assists in keeping it from drying out... so with that in mind, banana and coconut muffins it would be!

Ingredients - makes 12

2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup dessicated coconut
125g butter, melted
1/2 cup skim milk
2 eggs, lightly whisked
3 lady finger bananas, mashed - you can substitute with blueberries, strawberries, cherries, etc.

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a muffin tray with muffin cases or squares of baking paper.
2. Mix together the self raising flour, caster sugar and dessicated coconut in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the milk, melted butter and eggs into the dry ingredients and combine thoroughly.
4. Add the fruit of choice, in my case the banana, and mix.
5. Spoon two heaped tablespoons of mixture into each muffin case and put into the oven.
6. Bake for 25 minutes until lightly golden on top. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan.

The muffins come out wonderfully light and soft, and not at all that sweet. Should your tastes run more towards the sweet, then increase the caster sugar from 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup - the choice is entirely up to you!

Fresh from the oven

I look forward to eating this for morning tea tomorrow at work!

thesuzchef x