Hat tricks

Spring racing has hit the racetrack—and for many of us it's more about the fashion than the fillies. A fabulous hat is the finishing touch to every race-day outfit. I particularly love vintage styles, as seen in fashion photography from the 1950s and Old Hollywood films. A small hat can be easy to wear, and won't overwhelm a beautiful dress. Marlene Dietrich wore hats particularly well, such as chic hats with veils that covered the eyes and even sailor styles. At the opposite end of the style spectrum, huge-brimmed hats are spectacular (and are also good for keeping the sun off). Take a lead from the '50s, when sweeping skirts were balanced by hats that curved gently from crown to brim. And whether you go small or large, floral trimmings are especially beautiful—you'll be perfectly placed in the trackside gardens.
Check out our favourite milliners:
Neil Grigg: http://www.neilgriggmillinery.com/
Sandie Bizys: http://hatsandhair.com.au/

Pie in the sky

Banoffee Pie is one of the great dessert indulgences. Not one for the dairy intolerant, but if you like all things banana, caramel and cream, you'll love it. This recipe comes from Café Sopra (another one of my favourite places to eat out), it's truly delicious and is as easy as it looks. I made it for the first time recently to take to a friends house for lunch and it got the big thumbs-up from everyone. It's worth a go—just beware, you may become addicted...

 

Café Sopra's Banoffee Pie

Ingredients 2 x 400g cans of sweetened condensed milk 180g unsalted butter, chopped 375g digestive biscuits, halved 60ml thickened cream Scraped seeds of 2 vanilla beans 75g icing sugar, sifted 4 bananas 30g dark chocolate, finely grated

Method Serves 12 Start this recipe a day ahead. Place the cans of condensed milk in a large saucepan of water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours adding water if necessary to ensure cans remain covered, remove cans and cool in the fridge for a couple of hours. Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan, and then cool slightly. Using a food processor crush biscuits to fine crumbs, add the butter and process briefly to combine. Press crumb mixture over the base of a greased 28cm loose based tin then refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the base. Open cooled cans of condensed milk and spoon caramel evenly over the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight to firm. To assemble pie - using an electric mixer whisk cream, vanilla bean seeds and sugar to stiff peaks. Cut bananas into thin slices. Remove pie from tin and loosen base and place on a plate. Spoon or pipe half the whipped cream over the caramel filling, then place the bananas in an overlapping circle working from the outside in. Top with the remaining cream and sprinkle with grated chocolate. Cut into slices with a hot dry knife and serve immediately.

By: Café Sopra

Afrocubism

This is currently one of my favourite albums, featuring one of the original members of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club with incredible musicians from Mali. It’s such an upbeat album with amazing rhythms and it exudes a really infectious joy. With summer nearly here, I’m really looking forward to this becoming the soundtrack to some sunset cocktail parties on the back deck with friends. I know it will put a smile on their faces, too.

Track – Para Los Pinares Se Va Monotro:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_jyECG25uQ

Woven wonders

Here’s a beautiful (and exclusive) addition to our stores for summer—mochila bags from South America. These colourful hand-woven bags are made by the women of the Wayuu group that lives on the border of Venezuela and Colombia, on the La Guajira Peninsula. Weaving is something that the Wayuu have done for centuries, passed down from generation to generation, and is something in which they take great pride. Traditionally they would be worn two at a time, across the body, to carry heavy items. I love that no two bags are alike, each being unique to the woman that created it. But also, the colours and patterns are so vibrant and uplifting, these will be the perfect beach bag this summer.

We Love Coffee Cartman

I have to share with you my favourite place to grab my morning coffee - Central coffee cart, or ‘Cartman’ as we like to call him, is located just outside Central Station and right by my studio. Cartman does the  best coffee and homemade cakes in Surry Hills, so it’s not at all surprising that he has a loyal following from all of the Fleur Wood girls in my office.  Next time you’re in the area be sure to stop by and grab a coffee and a piece of delicious apple and date cake…yum!

A Slice of Heaven

I have to confess a weakness for a good chocolate cake. There is nothing as satisfying or sinfully delicious as a slice of rich, dark baked chocolate goodness. This particular recipe is from the River Café in London, and it’s one of my favourite desserts to bake—and is also my friends’ favourite. It’s rather aptly named the Chocolate Nemesis Cake, which pretty much says it all—it’s certainly the nemesis of any waistline. I made it last weekend for a dinner party and everyone loved it, so I thought I’d share it with you, too. It doesn’t really need any embellishment, but a dollop of cream and some fresh berries never hurt. Oh, and when you’re making it, always leave that little bit extra for licking the bowl…

Chocolate Nemesis Cake Recipe

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 340g Dark Chocolate - broken into small pieces.

• 5 whole Eggs.

• 290g Caster Sugar.

• 225g Unsalted Butter - softened

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 C

2. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. (Don't use a springform tin)

3. Beat the eggs with a third of the sugar until the volume quadruples - this will take at least 10 mins with a hand held mixer or about 4 mns with a freestanding.

4. Heat the remaining sugar in a small pan with 125ml water until the sugar has completely dissolved to a syrup.

5. Place the chocolate and butter in the hot syrup and stir to combine.

6. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

7. Add the warm syrup to the eggs and continue to beat more gently until completely combined - about 20 seconds and no more!

8. Pour into the cake tin and put that into a bigger cake tin or roasting pan.

9. Fill the second tin with water so it acts like a bain-marie.

10. Bake in the oven for 30 mins or til set.

11. Leave to cool in the tin before turning out.

Recipe by Rose Gray & Ruth Rogers

London Girl

As I’m always on the lookout for inspiring images and ideas, one of my favourite magazines in which to find them is London’s Lula. I love its photography and gentle, whimsical sensibilities—coupled with a little dose of indie attitude. The girls always have a naivety that’s underpinned by sense of smarts, and sometimes something a little bit grittier. These photographs should give you some idea of what I mean, and show you why I adore this magazine. But she’s a rare bird, Lula, with only two issues a year. This one is hot off the press, so hurry out and get a copy while you can.