Why is technology so unkind?

Things are not well in the world of Belle’s blogging. Technology is on the blink, photos are falling short and clumsiness rules.

For a start, I had to change internet providers, and to cancel my account with the old provider was a real pain (is it ever anything else?). Luckily, the new provider is proving to be quite good.

Secondly, my lovely slim Casio Exilim camera started over-exposing all my photos, so that they turned out completely white. Apparently, it is a problem that happens sometimes with that model of camera. So I had to trawl the net looking at digital camera reviews, compare prices, visit camera stores, etc. I managed to find a new one – a Canon Ixus 980. Not as svelte as the old one, but very nice.


Finally, and most drastically, I spilt a full mug of green tea onto the desk where my laptop is, and some of the liquid seeped underneath and ruined the all number keys, as well as T, Y and Backspace. I mean, Backspace is my most used key!
And it’s not until you lose them that you realise that numbers are critical to everyday life – in passwords, calculations – and the little ‘at’ sign above the number 2 is needed for all your email addresses!
Again, I was fortunate to borrow an external keyboard from my brother. It now sits elegantly on a piece of felt on top of the laptop.

As these things only happen in threes, I have had my fill for now. The birds are singing again and all is right with the world.


To celebrate this small victory over technology, we had a ‘Yuzu no a nothing!’ from Adriano Zumbo. Looks like a pine lime Splice, tastes like a pine lime Splice. It was so tangy that I had to have a green tea chaser afterwards. Several metres away from the computer, though.

And the jar of Vegemite in the background is a reminder that just because something is salty doesn’t mean you need to tax the hell out of it (ooh, topical!).

When too much cake is never enough

So what is your new year's resolution?

Mine are:
1. Be positive and optimistic
2. Be kind to others
3. Eat more cake

This is my first cake of 2009 from Adriano Zumbo.

Cassius is so chocolatey yet salty at the same time. It is the best type of resolution because it is so easy to keep!

It’s (not) Olive Oyl

This is just a quick dissection and evaluation of Zumbo’s C(h)arlotte Full, one of the Charlotte sisters (see also ref. C. Guadaloupe, C. O’Hara, C. O’Hara (chocolate)). Don’t know why she drops her ‘H’.

This Charlotte has a lovely tang of passionfruit crème atop a chewy pink macaron base. I did find the olive oil mousse a bit cloying, however, with the olive oil flavour overwhelming the delicate passionfruit.

A Cheese Plate with a Difference

How’s this for a flavour explosion – blue cheese, green apple and feullitine. Now imagine them not just together, but in macarons from Adriano Zumbo!

The green apple macaron filling is like apple sauce, with flecks of green apple skin in it.
The feullitine is crunchy with bits of nutty caramelly flavour.
And the blue cheese – you take a bite and think ‘that reminds me of something, what is it…?’. Then you get the unmistakeable hint of blue vein and go ‘Wowza!’. This was my favourite.

And the card in the background is the one I made for LM’s birthday. Because the colours match the macarons.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall…

…who has the fairest cake of all?

In the lychee corner, we have ‘Have a chat Kai’. In the vanilla corner is ‘Charles du Jour’. Who will win this epic contest of taste, good looks and X factor?

The cake dudes at Adriano Zumbo Patissier both have a gateau named after them. Kai’s is a fabulous confection of lychees, coconut and strawberries. Charles’s is wondrous cylinder of vanilla crème and pate sucree topped with two amazing vanilla water ‘bursts’.

Kai himself was diplomatic enough to recommend ‘Charles du Jour’ as top cake. In this competition, where the deciding vote is cast by yours truly, victory goes to ‘Have a chat Kai’ by a nose, mainly because of my personal preference for lychees and overall prettiness. Onya, Kai!
PS: Charles should not be downcast, however, the vanilla water bursts are faintly scented liquor encased in a chocolate sphere; it’s very remarkable.

Not so remarkable is Tabitha cat’s response to another cake…(she was off to pick a fight with the black cat, bad, annoying Tab).

A tussle between Good and Evil

"Banana balsalmic!!", they shouted, as I peered at the cake. Okey-doke, sold! Kai-dude and Charles did a good job in persuading me to get this cake, "Ed, it's twins but...". In keeping with the Ed barista theme, it is coffee-flavoured.

The banana balsalmic is in the mousse part of the 'good twin'. When it first hits the tongue, you go 'Ooh, banana...', then the coffee jelly kicks in and you get confused as to what you tasted. It's fabulous!

The dark, evil twin did not make me see angels like the good twin did.

Also got the much-lauded rice pudding eclair. It felt very hefty so I plonked it on the scales and it came in at a healthy 110 grams. Unfortunately, I had to share it. Still, 55 grams of sweet gooey eclair is not bad at all.

Something old, something new

Do not adjust your sets…

I thought I’d share this cake from Zumbo from last December (2007). Obviously, I am sharing a photo, not a cake, as it is long gone (in more ways than one). Enjoy!

And here is one of the new ones, Skip Cindy Skip. It is a hazelnut meringue success base topped with praline mousseline and covered with milk chocolate. The curly bits on top are hazelnut cake strips. Charles from the shop recommends this highly, and I have to agree with him; it is fantastic, especially if you love hazelnuts.

Rare outing of foodbloggers at Zumbo

Another weekend, another foodbloggers’ meetup at Adriano Zumbo Café Chocolat. Reemski did good to get such a great turnout (the location and purpose – to try the Zumbo Summer range – certainly helped, didn’t it?).

I’ve been there, done that, with the cakes, so I’ll focus on the fascinating behaviour of the genus Foodbloggerii Famishicus. Cue David Attenborough-like whisper...

“The Foodblogger’s usual habitat is restaurants, cafés, and any new food shop. They hunt singly, in pairs or in packs.

We are fortunate today to witness a herd of foodbloggers as they descend on a cake shop. Watch as they choose their colourful gateaux from the glass display case, causing long queues to form behind them as they painstakingly make their decision.

In a break from their usual modus operandi, they take their kills to a nearby watering hole (café), where they proudly display their prizes. Other foodbloggers that have gathered there gasp and whip out their cameras, the snap! whirr! snap! of lens shutters momentarily blocking out the sound of the hovering waitress who is there to take orders for coffee.

Gradually, eventually, the herd settles to enjoy their spoils. But wait! There is a rumble in the corner. It is the Maitre Patissier himself, and the humble foodbloggers prostrate themselves in his presence.”


Okay, the last paragraph is made up, but the rest of it is pretty accurate. Long live foodblogger get-togethers. And Zumbo.

Paris - je t'aime

If you're of a certain generation (such as my mother's), then you are usually dictated by whether something is 'good value'. You go for the bulk purchases of sponges, washing powder and tissues (20 boxes!) because it's 'good value'.

If you're gen X or gen Y, then you probably JUST HAVE TO HAVE IT (and pay it off later).

This scrumptious dessert from the Adriano Zumbo Cafe Chocolat covers all bases - it's amazingly good and it would have mum's seal of approval.

After a session with my accountant the other day, I rewarded myself with this, the Paris. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. It was heaven on a plate/carafe and made me forget all about the fact that I have no deductions (financially speaking). It comes in two parts - an eat and a drink, so even I can see the value in that!

PS: Thanks to ragingyoghurt for the tip on this winner!

a Community Service announcement

Thinking of popping into Adriano Zumbo Patissier but worried that you'll freak out when confronted with too much choice? Let me help.

Here are some of the gateaux from the summer range. Choose wisely, grasshopper, the road to weight gain is paved with amazing cakes.

And then there's this one - Craigie bam! Chocolate dacquoise and sabayon with salted caramel debris, choc caramel cremeaux and caramel mousse. Sweet!

And for lunch today, I had the lovely Quiche Charlie (potato and chorizo). I normally have the Quiche Sue (blueberries, goat cheese and spinach), but I'm going for Charlie from now on.

Also picked up some of the new macaron flavours:

I mentioned to the cake dude about the descension of foodbloggers on Sunday, to which he replied, "Uh. Cool".

Eat, my Pretties..., eat!

Today’s Zumbo cake is brought to you by bf (or, more accurately, bought for me by bf). It is not the type of cake that I would go for at first glance because it reminds me of … a witch (surrounded by warts of coconut macaroon). Or if you are less easily scared, then it looks like a witch’s hat.

And for those kind friends who’ve tagged me in the past, I might not have responded because there’s not much that’s interesting about me. EXCEPT that I am frightened of green witches. And this cake is a dead-ringer for Witchie Poo or the Wicked Witch of the West **ooh, shivers!**.

Which is all moot, because its real name is ‘Dr Apple’. Maybe Dr Apple’s mother was a witch?

But when I peeled off the green skin, what revealed itself but a heart of pure Pointy, apple cider hat and all!

So maybe its not so bad. After all, some witches (blond ones, like Sabrina or Samantha Stevens) are good witches.

my dreams are slowly coming true...

When bf walked through the door today, I nearly swooned. Because he was holding a Zumbo box containing the following cake. My favorite flavour is lychee, so this creation is heaven on a plate. The name is a mystery though ('Have a chat Kai'?? what the?). Can anyone enlighten?

This is a very light cake, but no less delicious. Just makes you want another one. Immediately.

Even Tabitha cat was impressed:

There is also another new white chocolate-looking cake that I am going to gaze at tomorrow. Till then, byeee!

I wish I was on the lounge, too...

Here's today's ration of cake from the Adriano Zumbo collection. The nice cake boy at the shop had the description of this down pat, but I was too excited by the words 'licorice', 'mango' and 'raspberry' to remember what it was.
The discs of licorice around the cake are a soft jelly, with an intense aniseed flavour - bliss if you like licorice.

The name of the cake is 'on the lounge with Zumbo' - a reference to AZ's obsession with eating licorice over mango sorbet while sitting on the couch (as described in November's Gourmet Traveller blurb on Zumbo).

New Zumbo cakes - go for it!

Yes, the new Adriano Zumbo cake range is out, and it’s full of the summer hues of oranges, reds and browns. I need to pace myself, so I’m limiting my cake intake to one per day, max.

There are no name tags as yet, so I’ll call the first one Pointy[1]. It has a pistachio dacquoise base on which sits a wobbly mountain of creamy vanilla bavarois topped with an apple cider jelly summit. The jelly is studded with green apple pieces, and it’s quite alcoholic!

[1] O pointy birds, o pointy pointy,
Anoint my head, anointy-nointy

From The Man with 2 Brains


There are also some new macaron flavours – again, due to the self imposed limit, they will have to wait (although I think Raging Yoghurt has had a go).

PS: Calling all fans - see you at Zumbo next weekend!

T minus 4 days and counting…

It seems like only yesterday that I was filled with excitement at the launch of the winter Adriano Zumbo range. Well, doesn’t time fly when you’re having fun? The new range is due out this Saturday, according to the cake boy at the shop, so get in while you can for the wonderful Storm Cloud and co.

Today, I just got some ‘regular’ stuff. I’ve had the dulce de leche éclair before (omg, salted caramel chips on top!), though the Nutty Professor was a first for me. Paté sable, with hazelnuts and pistachios embedded in oozing vanilla caramel…bliss.

Tabitha cat just wishes yours truly would get over it already…

The Perfect Weekend

Craft, cards and chocolate – that’s my idea of the perfect weekend.

The chocolate part came courtesy of a foodblogger meetup at the new Zumbo café, which has now been open for 3 days. Time for another visit, naturally. This time, chocolatesuze, Lorraine, Christina and Tim, and Richard gathered in the lounge area of the café to try the goods.

I don’t want to drool on the keyboard as I’m writing this, so I’ll give a brief writeup of the afternoon (and I’m sure my fellow chocolate lovers will also provide their views):

1. We made ourselves comfy under the stunning red chandelier. Thanks to Lorraine and Suze for getting there early to bags the best area.
2. The hot cherry ripe chocolate was soooo rich and delicious, just like a melted cherry ripe.
3. The waitstaff are really charming and efficient.
4. There were some savoury rolls available, but we were there for the sweets
5. The deconstructed Miss Marple was like the original from the cake shop, and came with balls of tangy orange jelly and strawberries (and a hair). We ate around it (the hair) and gave it a thumbs up, especially the Grand Marnier-scented filling.
6. ‘I am not a hamburger’ is the name given to a macaron-topped dessert that is the complete opposite of a Big Mac (in a good way)
7. The special was a fondant and peanut butter ice cream creation that is injected with a syringe of raspberry crème. It is served in a kidney-shaped bowl. Hello, Nurse, indeed!
8. Apparently syringes can be purchased from medical supply or possibly cake supply stores. It also helps if you have a relative who is a doctor.
9. The red wine chocolate that I tried (and enjoyed) on my first visit has a quite alarming name that I won’t repeat here. It caused some degree of mirth/amazement, however, when its name was confirmed.
10. We all agreed that there should be more places like this, where you can enjoy dessert after a meal. Bring it on.

Gosh, that was a bit longer than I’d planned. But we had a great time. Thanks, guys, for being so entertaining! Hope we can meet up for some more sweetness and light soon.

Oh, and where do the craft and cards, come into it? That will have to wait till the next post…

A mythical Macaron update

Here are some more Zumbo macarons while we wait for the chocolate cafe to open.

The fave raspberry and lychee, and passionfruit are still magnificent, while the hitherto untried citron and peach and apricot are sweetly fragrant.

There has been some debate about how ‘real’ the raspberry and lychee macarons are, ie. do they actually exist? Well, if they don’t, what have I been eating? Granted, just because the counterstaff at Zumbo tell you they’re raspberry and lychee doesn’t necessarily mean that they are, does it? But I do think that they are raspberry rather than rose because they are a deeper pink than the rose ones. ***End of in-depth analysis ***


Tabitha is sunning herself in the backyard, oblivious to the anguish of her mistress who is waiting for the cafe to open so she can get more mythical macarons.

Zumbo chocolate cafe update!

The signage is up at the cafe site, but it doesn't look ready yet. Still some fittings, mirrors, etc. in packaging on the floor. Fingers crossed for a weekend visit...

Of macarons and possessed cats...

To celebrate the birth of the goddess of hard work (ie. 'Labour day' in NSW), I got some Adriano Zumbo macarons.
Some unusual flavours here, with my favourite being the raspberry and lychee, as the filling has bits of real lychee! Amazing.

The chocolate one was a bit heavy, sort of like a brownie, so no brownie points for it. The filling of the banana and caramel was extremely rich, like mashed up banana. Not too keen on it either, unfortunately.

The Milo macaron was a winner, though, not too chocolatey but tasting of Milo. Maybe have one next time with a glass of milk to dunk?


Tried to get Tabitha interested, but again, no luck. That second pic of her looks like something out of Supernatural (which is back on TV, yay!).

a Reality Check and some more cake...!

Time for a quick cake tally. Since the new Adriano Zumbo range arrived (5th July 2008), I have had:

4 Cherry Cherry
1 Tuk Tuk Nothing
1 Open Sesame
2 Lime and Strawberry Millefeuille
2 Cinque Terre
3 Ed Knocked Me Up
3 Homie (aka You Name It)
3 Marge (aka Storm Cloud)
1 Erice
4 Charlotte Guadaloupe
1 Boom!
Innumerable*** macarons and countless passionfruit tarts

(***this doesn't seem nearly enough. I'm sure I've forgotten some).

Also time for a reality check, don’t you think? So while I mull it over, I’ll have a little bit of cake:

Add to tally:
1 Tanzanie