Coconut-lime sheet cake
Can’t get enough of coconut? Same here. We love it in this cake which has slightly retro vibes, and where coconut is represented in creamy, desiccated and extract form. With an amazingly fluffy texture and a ridiculously rich, lime-spiked, creamy frosting, it’s special enough to bring out for an occasion, but without the fuss of a layer cake...
Leeks, lentils and mussels
Are leeks underrated? We think so. They don’t have the sexy wow-factor of, say, asparagus or sugar snaps or watermelon radish. But they can be incredible, especially when you braise them and make them the hero of a dish – as we have here. Braising really brings out their gentler, sweeter side, and their texture becomes meltingly tender too. The key to these leeks is in the preparation...
Big beefy borscht
A real meal-in-a-bowl, you can easy scale this recipe up, increasing everything by a half or even doubling it. As the soup freezes well, you can then have plenty to pull out for an easy meal when time runs short to cook dinner. We like roasting our beets separately, adding them to the soup near the end of cooking...
Apple sour cream pie
If you’ve been playing along with the LSC so far, you’ll be bracing yourself for the expected “this isn’t a hard recipe” and true to form, we’re saying “this recipe isn’t hard.” Cooking is all about timing and keeping a tidy bench most of the time, and this recipe has a third factor - breaking things down into manageable sub-tasks...
Loaded cheesy potatoes
We’re still banging on about Father’s Day with these. We were thinking about the ultimate dinner feast to whip up for a deserving dad, and as cliche as it sounds we kept coming back to steak. But a really great steak, crusty and seared, dripping in basting butter and served simply with sea salt and fresh grinds of the pepper mill...
Rum syrup cake
When life gives you rum, you make a cake, no? Well, we do. We don’t touch rum ordinarily as it conjures unfortunate memories of scooping Dark ’n’ Stormies from a plastic bucketful (true story) in our Uni days. Which was not an occasion that crowned anyone with glory, and it’s a miracle we can still face anything flavoured ginger…
White chicken chilli
Many parts of the States cook versions of chilli, which is spelled with one ‘l’ but our autocorrect can’t cope and we’ve let it have its way. Sometimes, ya can’t fight the machine. Chilli con carne is the classic chilli dish you might know the best. Although many chilli dishes are deep red from tomato, chipotle, kidney beans and whatnot…
Hot smoked salmon platter with potatoes and olive brine dressing
When you want to bring those plattered-up, generous, help-yourself vibes to the table, think smoked salmon and potatoes. It may not be a revolutionary combo but honestly. You can not go wrong with a dish like this when you need to…
Cheesecake cake - not a mistake
Is it a cake? Is it a cheesecake? It’s both! Because, why not? Lemony, rich and creamy on top, and all buttery-cakeyness in the nether regions, this is where you get to have your cake and eat your cheesecake too. Delicious. And it’s pretty straightforward to make as well…
Smoked salmon and blood orange salad
We were looking for a way to not just feature delicious hot smoked salmon, but blood oranges too, so a salad seemed logical. Throwing in a few beetroot, roasted to fully accentuate their sweet earthy notes, made sense, as did using some some avo because well, why not…
Smoked salmon, cabbage fritter and sour cream
It had to happen sooner or later; cabbage has officially entered the zeitgeist. Remember when cauliflower was suddenly a thing? Then Brussel’s sprouts? No? Well they were and now it’s cabbage’s turn to have a little moment. Cabbage is suddenly all the rage..
Beef tacos with pickled cabbage and creamy avo
Got a crowd to feed? Here’s your gig. We figure it’s not worth cooking up this style of a long-braised beefy storm for the average nuclear family but if 2.7 diners is all you’re mustering, just halve everything and be prepared for leftovers. No biggie. The cooked meat will freeze…
Chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting
What’s cuter than a cupcake? A cupcake with a great gob of frosting piped on the top, that’s what. Anything with piping looks bougie, don’t you think? We love letting loose with a piping bag; it’s our happy place. And it’s arguably the most extra thing you can do because…
Is it spring yet strawberry cake
We don’t much go for those multi-layered, super-rich, cake extravaganzas. They have their place but we prefer more wholesome, humble cakes; the sort that may not look like much, but have that delicious, straightforward, home-baked flavour that knocks you off your perch…
Orange-chocolate syrup cake
Love jaffa vibes? Then get on this cake. It’s seriously delicious, with sour cream adding to the overall choc-orange-butter-eggs richness. And, as if 275g of sugar in the batter wasn’t enough, there’s a whole heap more lurking in the syrup plus in the glazed orange situation…