A soft almond butter slab cake packed with fresh blueberries and finished with lemon icing makes a crowd-pleasing treat. Baked in a single lamington pan, it cuts into 16 pieces, suiting morning teas and school fetes. The recipe calls for butter, caster and brown sugar, self-raising flour, almond meal, milk and two punnets of blueberries. Toasted flaked almonds and extra berries finish the cake. The icing is made from icing sugar and lemon juice, and the cake is left to set for two hours before serving.
A cake competition called Cakemantle, held during Fremantle Design Week, invited people to bake dessert creations inspired by the port city. Sixteen entrants took part, ranging from professional designers to locals. Erin Coates won first place with a cake based on the former limestone rock bar at the river mouth, which judges praised for its taste. Scolaro Terrazzo came second for its design, and the Fremantle Doctor took third. Organisers hope to hold the event again next year after tickets sold out quickly.
Pastry chef Natalie Paull has shared a make-ahead cheesecake that needs almost no baking. The dessert uses a cardamom crust and a filling flavoured with lemon juice. Paull says it works well with summer berries and mango, and it can be made in a foil container as a gift. The cheesecake needs at least three hours to set, and overnight chilling is best. If it fails to set, Paull suggests a gelatine fix. The recipe is taken from her book Sweet Heart.
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A new recipe takes the classic chocolate Bavarian further by adding Tim Tam biscuits and a salted caramel layer. The dessert has a crunchy biscuit base, a salted caramel filling and a chocolate mousse. Grated frozen Tim Tams finish the whipped cream topping. The slice needs to chill overnight so the mousse can set. Recipe developer Kim Coverdale created the dish.
Chef Clarissa Feildel says sweet potato can make a moist, sweet cake that works well as an after-dinner treat. The recipe uses maple syrup, almond flour and olive oil. Readers who avoid gluten or wheat can swap in gluten-free flour. The roasted sweet potato is mashed and mixed into the batter, then baked until a skewer comes out clean. The cake is served with vanilla ice cream and an almond caramel sauce made from butter or coconut oil, maple syrup and almond butter.
