Lemon Yoghurt CakeWhat to do when you’re laid low and can’t eat a thing? Make a cake. A couple of weeks ago I fell victim to a passing Canberra bug and was forced to remain in isolation, foodless and friendless. The nadir of illness, to me, is that moment in the middle of the night when you can no longer sleep it off and can only lie there, aching and woolly-headed, wishing you were dead. But the next worst thing is the hunger and thirst. Not the hunger that means a slow reawakening of health – ooh, I could totally eat a whole bowl of soup and golden buttery bread. Just the crappy one where you desperately want cool lemonade, or fried chicken, or 37 rum balls but can’t swallow anything. I had that hunger. A cake I couldn't eat seemed a happy medium.  TK had made a big tub of butter chicken for us just as I fell ill (and heroically managed to eat all of it over the course of a week). To make the marinade for the chicken, he’d bought a bucket of yoghurt the size of my head. The yoghurt needed using up and Ina Garten came to the rescue with a Youtube video.Perhaps it was as much Garten’s soothing, motherly style as her soft lemon yoghurt cake. The recipe was easy enough even for me to follow – whisk the wet ingredients with sugar, grate the soul of a lemon in tiny curls into the bowl, whirl in the sifted flours and powders. The only odd moment was that you add half a cup of vegetable oil into the mix dead last. There were a couple of minutes when the cake refused to dry out in the oven but it just meant a rustic deep brown edge to each slice. It’s a moist cake, sunny but softened by yoghurt. Garten adds a lemon and sugar glaze over the top but I preferred it plain. The leftover batter was delightful, but it killed me like a velvety, lemon assassin. Barefoot Contessa: Lemon Yogurt Cake
Cupcakes With a Twist I needed something to take to work for afternoon tea. So TK decided to do experimental baking - and after consulting The Cupcake Project he came up with these amazing Red Wine, Camembert and Chocolate Cupcakes. The idea sounds completely crazy. But with Valhrona chocolate and walnuts it becomes a lovely, chocolatey cupcake with a sort of alcoholic berry haze from the wine and a slightly savoury note from the cheese. I was a bit apprehensive about the red wine ganache. Tristan and his friends really enjoyed it but to my unsophisticated palate it tasted sour and winey. So he made me a toned-down version of the ganache by folding in an extra serve of dark chocolate. Next time I think we'll try the recipe with a King Island double brie and with a less rich chocolate, which might allow the wine and brie to show through much more.
Sage Restaurant
I've been on holidays and have been using the long, lazy days to catch up with some restaurants. So I had lunch at Sage at Gorman House this week.
The restaurant always gets approval from our friends and I was pretty keen to finally check it out. It's a small but very charming restaurant that sits just on the side of Gorman House in Braddon. The dining room is white and minimalist with plush seating and soft, first-date lighting, though this is all going to change in an upcoming refurbishment. The Canberra Times Food & Wine magazine reports owner Pete Harrington is going to go for a sunnier look with bright colours, which would be lovely for summer. Sage offers an $18 Express Lunch menu as well as its a la carte menu of $18 entrees and $32 mains. I ordered a caramelised pork belly with yellowfin tuna sashimi from the express menu. It was a pleasant spring day, great for sitting outside in the courtyard. The squares of pork belly were glassy and caramelised on top and mostly tender beneath (I did get one leathery dud square). The tuna sashimi was clean and strong with a sprinkle of rock salt or sugar on top. It all went beautifully with a pile of basil and a puddle of raspberry caramel that had more in common with pekat soy sauce. Because I'd had the cheapo main dish, I splurged on dessert. There's a short but sharp dessert menu (all $14) with interesting-sounding dishes such as a jasmine tea creme brulee and a chocolate fondant with malt ice cream. I got two fat brandy snaps filled to bursting with fig and whiskey cream, served with a scoop of olive oil ice cream and a citrus scone.  It was a very healthy serve - the dessert took as long to eat as the main. Not that I was complaining - fig and whiskey cream was divine once you broke it free of its brandy snap cage. The scone was a little dry but all the better for mopping up the olive oil ice cream with its hint of grass. Extra marks also for great service. Despite having a table of public servants on a long lunch and a scattering of other couples indoors, the lone waitress managed to be prompt and attentive to the annoying person outdoors in the courtyard. I never waited more than a few minutes after finishing each course before she headed outside to clear away or bring me the dessert menu or cheque. A meal that was perfect for a holiday lunch. Gorman House Batman St, Braddon (02) 6249 6050
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