Strawberry Shortcake

Winter has finally kick in and it's this time of the year when I always have the constant craving for dessert. The hardest challenge for me is to resist this temptation after dinner as I always feel the need to complete my meal with something sweet. Tonight, I am torturing myself by (1)not having any dessert, (2)watching & salivating over the MasterChef Australia Celebrity Chef Challenge - Egg and Soldiers by Martin Blunos, and (3)writing this long-overdue dessert entry. Why am I doing this to myself? I am so hungry (greedy to be exact) that I can easily have half of the strawberry shortcake to myself!

Enough with the complains, I have only myself to blame for. This strawberry shortcake recipe is from the Delicious Sweet Magazine that I bought a couple of months ago. So far I have only tried and tested this and the Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes, plenty more for me to indulge in!

This dessert is fairly easy to make, the biggest hurdle for me is getting the right texture/consistency of the sponge. The texture is still too hard for a sponge cake, but I absolutely love the aroma of lemon zest in it.

Serves 8

125g unsalted butter, softened

125g caster sugar

2 eggs

2/3 cup (100g) self-raising flour, sifted

2 tbs fine polenta

Grated zest of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

Filling

400g strawberries

200ml thickened cream

1-2 tbs icing sugar, plus extra to dust

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line the base of two 20cm sandwich pans. 

Using electric beaters, beat butter and sugar until thick and pale. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, then gently fold in remaining ingredients. Divide between pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool before turning out of pans.

For filling, hull and quarter berries, reserving 2 to decorate. Whip cream and icing sugar to firm peaks, then gently fold in berries. Spread over 1 cake, then top with remaining cake. Dust with icing sugar. Top with halved reserved berries.

Treat yourself to an afternoon tea (or anytime of the day) with this light and refreshing cake!

Alexanders Restaurant, Hobart

On our last night at the sleepy Hobart town, we decided to dine in at Alexanders restaurant. Alexanders is nestled within the colonial mansion Lenna, which is located at Hobart's historic and trendy area Salamanca Place. I was captivated by the beauty of the mansion that was mostly lit on one side, creating a mysterious image.

As we entered the hotel lobby, we were welcomed by a very relax and elegant old-charm interior. Its colonial style carries through with the decor, from the chandeliers hanging on the ceiling to the furniture. The restaurant itself is dimly lit, perfect for a quiet/romantic dinner.

A quiet Sunday night, we were attended by the only wait staff working that night. She immediately serves us warm bread rolls with butter after taking our order. I have to say the bread roll is one of the best we've had so far; almost crunchy on the outside, soft and warm inside. Then came our entrees: chickpea & vegetable broth and coconut crusted prawns.

Chickpea & Vegetable Broth $11

Tomato based, minestrone like soup that is rich in texture and flavour. A warm and hearty vegetable soup that is perfect for a cold winter night.

Coconut Crusted Prawns $22

The prawns are fresh and the coconut crumbs added a crunchy texture without overpowering the prawns flavour. The refreshing ginger noodles and the crispy beetroot rosti are the perfect pair for completing the dish.

For mains, I choose the Marrawah Eye Fillet and my husband decided to have the Doo Town Venison.

Thick and juicy eye fillet, cooked perfectly on a medium rare as requested. It is layered with crusted black pepper seeds and nuts, adding an intense 'pepperish' flavour and crunchy texture to the meaty dish. To go with this heavy/winter dish, the chef made a wild mushroom and brie pudding. Mild and delicate cheesy flavour, however towards the end it was too creamy for me. $39.5

A towering dish of venison, apple, asparagus and goat cheese lasagne stack on top of another. Rich and tender venison loin, roasted medium rare and seared on the outer layer. The fresh asparagus cooked perfectly, however the green apple was a bit of a distraction; having cooked not long enough to bring out any flavour. $35

Unfortunately, the dessert was a let down. We ordered the Wild Trifle to share and were expecting something that is wild or bursting with flavours. We can barely taste the mango and lychees, and the chocolate cake at the bottom has a really bland flavour. Even the orange liqueur anglaise taste like a normal cream with only a hint of alcohol.

Wild trifle: chocolate cake, mango, lychees, chocolate and chilli jelly, orange liqueur anglaise. $12

Alexanders Restaurant
Cnr Salamanca Place & Runnymede Street
Battery Point 7004
Tasmania
Tel: (03) 6232 3900

The Source Restaurant - Hobart, Tasmania

Recently my husband and I went to Hobart, Tasmania for a mini holiday. On our first night in Hobart city, we escaped the winter chill by taking on an unforgettable culinary journey at The Source restaurant.

The Source restaurant is located at Moorilla Estate Winery, 15 minutes drive from Hobart CBD. Sitting atop the Ether Building, glass-walled, the views (from the restaurant) over the Derwent river and vineyard are magnificent. Unfortunately for us, we arrived after the sun has long set and had a slight difficulty in locating the restaurant as there was barely any visible signs/directions.

However, once inside the building and making our way up the stairs (to the restaurant) I cannot help but to admire the stunning 6m long painting on the ceiling. Apparently the restaurant is named after this painting by John Olsen.

The setting of the restaurant is very simple and contemporary, with an open kitchen near the entrance. This open kitchen concept allows us to take pleasure in watching the chef and his team work effortlessly and harmoniously together. The staff are very friendly and helpful, with one of them voluntarily baby-sitting a crying baby while the parents were having their meals.

We start by having the fresh oysters as an appetizer. These succulent oysters are served in two ways, natural and with wine & ginger. I much prefer the natural oyster as I can really taste the freshness of it. However, having the oyster infused with wine and ginger certainly enhances the oyster flavour.

Moving on to the entrees: (i) Crab, crab jelly, corn custard, almond, sauce verte and (ii) Lobster, herb and zest cous cous, almond milk, perfumed tomato.

The crab dish is served in a martini glass, with only the crab meat visible from the top and the smooth corn custard at the bottom. The dish is rich in sweet crab jus with cotton-soft crab meat and creamy corn custard.

The herb and zest (probably orange zest) cous cous beautifully partnered the fresh lobster. However, I have to admit it is the perfumed tomato that brings the dish to a whole new level of dining experience. As I bite through the tomato, it is bursting with sweet cherry tomato and mild perfume flavours.

For the main course, I ordered the Turbot fish, truffled macaroni, foie gras emulsion, jus. The turbot fish was flown from Spain for the Hobart Winter Festival which was to be held the next night at The Source. Turbot is highly prized for its delicate flavour, it has a firm and lean texture. To complement the mild fish flavour, the Chef introduces the intense flavour of truffle and foie gras. For someone who prefers truffle over fish, this dish is a delightful treat for me.

My husband ordered the Roasted duck, Belgian endive, salted caramelised apple, coffee sauce. The duck is very tender and the salted caramelised apple has a texture similar to creamy mash potato. The only thing that my husband struggled to finish from the dish was the Belgian endive; it got bitter with every single bite.

To end our lovely night at The Source, we order two(2) desserts to share.

Chocolate, olive oil, salt

Dark smooth chocolate ganache, drizzle with light olive oil and sprinkle of salt. What you get out of this unique dessert is a dark bitter chocolate, a nutty olive oil flavour and a salty taste towards the end. My kind of dessert!

Brioche pain perdu, perfumed egg nog, milk ice cream

Rich and tender brioche, sitting on a cream of perfumed egg nog and topped with milk ice cream. A stark contrast to the chocolate dessert, it is very rich, sweet and creamy.

The Source Restaurant
655  Main Road Berriedale
Tasmania Australia 7011
Tel: 03 6277 9900