Rose & Pinenut Rice Krispie Cups

My American flatmate had a craving for Rice Krispie Treats, so I set about making them for him. I've made Australian style chocolate crackles plenty of times, but I wanted to make these the normal American way. So, I went to the Kellogg's site and got the original recipe. However, I could only find packets of mixed white and pink marshmallows. I couldn't be bothered buying two packets and separating out the colours, so I resigned myself to making pink Rice Krispie Treats. The colour got me thinking though, so after filling a square pan with 2/3 of the mix, I added a dash of rosewater and a handlful of pinenuts to the bowl and pressed the remaining mix into some oiled cupcake pans.

Et voila: Adult Rice Krispie Treats


They were delicious. The heady scent of the rosewater and the creaminess of the pinenuts took them from being a pleasantly sweet but basically uninteresting bar, to a really enjoyable 'treat'.

I thought my friend would be disappointed by the non-standard pink colour of the plain bars, and totally uninterested in the souped up version, but I was completely wrong. He didn't mind the colour at all, and it turns out he actually loves rose flavoured desserts and would have preferred the whole batch that way. I also much preferred them in the cupcake pans- it's so much easier and less messy than cutting bars.

Vanilla Slice

This was a request by a flatmate. I grew up eating vanilla slices and I always loved them, but I hadn't had one for years. They're not the best thing to eat in public because of the tendancy for the custard to squish all over the place when you take a bite. These ones were enjoyed in the privacy of our home, and with the assistance of forks.


This was definitely one of the best vanilla slices that I've had. The recipe is from Donna Hay in the Sunday Mazagine's ANZAC Day special. It called for custard powder, but I swapped it for cornflour, vanilla bean paste, and a few drops of yellow food colouring. The passionfruit icing isn't essential, but I highly recommend it.

Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake

This ugly brown and white lump is a slice of the Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake that I made for my flatmate's birthday recently. Believe me when I say that it tastes as good as it looks ugly! We were like animals, groaning as we ate and smushing cake around the plate in our haste to get more into our mouths.


Like Smitten Kitchen did, I substituted each of the different elements of the cheesecake for recipes that I already had: my own vegan brownie recipe, a New York Cheesecake recipe (minus the lemon) in Australian measurements, and I winged it with the ganache.

Soft Gingerbread

These unassuming brown balls are the tastiest gingerbread I've had in a long time. They are soft, spicey little balls of heaven. The recipe yields only a fairly small amount, so I recommend doubling the batch. I certainly will be next time.


This is my mum's Mother's Day present, and why I'll be making that double batch really soon. The whole lot fit into the container with no leftovers for me!

Banana and Date Cake with Lime Icing

Banana and Date Cake with Lime Icing
I used the innards of a fruit from a kaffir lime to flavour the icing. It took a bit of effort to separate the seeds from the fruit, but it had a good lime flavour, and not at all bitter, and the little pearls of the fruit popped when eaten.