http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,,25631863-5009160,00.html

I have been enjoying my Fridays lately, helping prepare some delicious food (if I do say so myself)  at Ross Dobson’s Cafe at the Cafe at Lewers at the Lewer’s Bequest Gallery on the Nepean River in Emu Plains.

If you are asking where that is and live in Sydney, shame on you. If you are from elsewhere you are forgiven. I feel free to judge as I have lived in both the East and the West of Sydney.

The easiest way to get to the Cafe is to take the M4 from the East (I’m assuming here) and drive West (capitalised to highlight the ‘great divide’), then take the first exit after you cross the tree lined Nepean River bursting with autumnal colours at the moment. The exit is Russell street, then first left at the roundabout, continue until you reach the school, just a few hundred metres, then left after the school and then left onto River Road at the end of the street.

If you’re wondering if it’s worth the trip, consider it a nice diversion on the way up to the Blue Mountains one weekend. For those lucky enough to have fabulous coffee on their doorstep on a Saturday morning, it takes a bit of a nudge to go further than the corner cafe, but do try it. The road toll is claimable and once you’re out of the city you’ll feel the fresh mountain air on your face and wonder why you stayed away so long

Cafe at Lewers is at:

Penrith Regional Gallery & the Lewers Bequest,
86 River Road, Emu Plains
Phone: (02) 4735 1870

Last year I got given a Rancilio Silvia coffee machine for my birthday. I did a lot of research online and went shopping around for a while to find a good one but not quite something that you could trade in for a car.  The Rancilio was a compromise, not quite the glossy beast with a double boiler where you can make espresso and steam milk at the same time, cafe style, but also not your run of the mill cheap model which will die in a few years.

Now I don’t own a coffee van (although think this could be a fun job) but somehow got it into my head that we could create a little cafe at a friends house. So we had a big breakfast and I brought Silvia. There are a lot of coffee nerds out there, sorry, I mean experts, maestros. Forgive me. They call ‘her’ ‘Miss Silvia’ and the way they describe her can be rather exciting. See for yourself. Check out Coffee Snobs for some good info and a friendly place to ask those questions you think are silly.  You will get useful answers.

I do not consider myself a coffee expert, just a fan who knows what she likes and is trying to recreate this at home. May I just also add that the person who bought this machine ‘as a present’ has done very well with this proverbial ‘chicken’ as it lays golden cappucinos every morning. Hmmm…

Thomas Walter and Malini Christine Ganesan celebrated their wedding in February this year at the delicious Sardinian restaurant Pilu at Freshwater in Sydney. I was lucky enough to be asked if I could make the cake…

The layers are (from top to bottom)

Fruit Cake 6″

Chocolate Buttermilk Cake 9″

Hazelnut Raspberry Cake 12″

All layers are covered in Chocolate Ganache and have a dark chocolate collar, fresh strawberries, blueberries and cherries.

The guests ate the bottom two layers at the wedding, and they finished both layers! That was after dessert…

Hazelnut Raspberry Cake

Made again for Thomas’ 40th birthday party in June. We enjoyed it with an espresso or two, made on a machine borrowed from their good friend Peter.

*Recipe from the Australian Women’s Weekly Website.

Fruitcake

The top layer of fruit cake travelled back to Ulm in Germany and was not touched until my visit in June. What a surprise they had waited. It was perfect for eating by then.

*Recipe from Belinda Jeffery’s luscious book ‘Mix and Bake’.

There is something to be said for a good quality jam in a jam donut. Not sickly sweet, just the right amount of tartness…could eat these more often. Dangerous words. Lucky they’re in Bern.

Didn’t actually find a bad espresso in Switzerland. Also from a cafe in Bern. As you can see one can have quite a civilised morning while attempting to soak in some culture.

Even if they are too sweet, they look so good you want more.

P.s. If you don’t understand the reference from the title of the post, look it up.

It’s a gorgeous morning to be catching up with friends and a good coffee is all I want, with something tasty to eat a bonus. We are all happy to go to the usual place at the beach but one dissenter craves something new. You can’t say no to that so I look up the opening hours for Allpress and Campos- both closed on Sundays. Then my sister reminds me about Bourke St Bakery, how could I forget, we did a fantastic sourdough bread making course here last year as part of good food month. It was so popular that it was already booked out the day after Good Living had released the hands on courses for good food month. Luckily they put on an extra course for those of us a bit slow to decide which course to choose!

So to the Alexandria shop we go, on Gardeners Rd. It’s Sunday morning at about 10:30am and I’m expecting a queue, so am surprised to find half of the large wooden communal table free. Perhaps it’s the long weekend, or that it is beautiful weather and everyone’s at the beach, or maybe I’m just used to the tight squeeze at the Crown St shop, but in any case it is nice to have time for a leisurely chat and breakfast before the next lot crowd in around the counter.

Crisp buttery croissants with jam and ricotta, pan au chocolat, rhubard danish and currant studded snails… it’s too hard to choose. The ham and cheese croissants have sold out already so pain au chocolat it is. The filling is nice and moist and makes me wish I’d bought two.

Our coffees arrive and my cappucino is full flavoured but still smooth and creamy. I could have another, but instead I try a sip of my friend’s bottle of Bourke St Bakery’s homemade lemonade from the self service fridge. It is tart, refreshing and delicious. I buy a large bottle of my own along with two slices of pizza to take home: mushroom on one and pancetta, peppers, chilli and ricotta on the other. Ten minutes in the oven at home and they make a satisfying lunch.

Could still squeeze in another pain au chocolat though.

Lamb, Harissa & Almond Sausage Roll

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