Remember that crazy thing I said about switching from full-time to casual work? Well, can we just forget that conversation ever happened? What was I thinking? Three weeks into my holiday, and I’m suffering from serious overbake.

No kidding, both my tiny freezer and my (not so tiny) stomach are full of treats, and I’m fast running out of willing friends I can fob excess cake off to. (I think 1 cake a week is a reasonable outgoing rate for cake-fobbing, don’t you? Anything more and I’d be killing my friends softly, with sugar).

So in mid-April, I will be starting a new job, working for a very well respected Chef, at an exciting new location. For the sake of anonymity, I won’t go into the details, except to say that this job could very well manage to achieve that elusive balance between sweet work and sweet life.

Now, did someone say cake? The base of this one, which I’ve made before, comes from Helen’s ridiculously easy recipe. You really must try it. It’s incredibly versatile, and I’m pretty sure it only took me all of five minutes (if that) to put a batch together.

The idea for the topping came via a roundabout way, thanks to a friend, who loves indulging in baking related conversation as much as I do. One day, she dropped by to borrow some cookbooks and with her, I found myself leafing through books I hadn’t touched in awhile. From a book written in two languages I don’t speak or read, some beautiful fig and raspberry tarts caught this fresh pair of eyes. Seeing as it’s fig season at the moment, how can anyone say no?

I think the original had chantilly cream and perhaps a couple of other flavours, but I’ve used marscarpone spiked with kirsch instead. As for the rest of the teacakes I baked… well, those will have to wait for another day. 🙂

So I’m sitting here, fork poised..

..wondering :

Is there life after cake?

[Flourless Chocolate ‘Fudge’ Cake : Flourless chocolate torte, brown sugar fudge dust, lavender caramel fudge squares, espresso ice-cream]

I wasn’t intending to write much about our recent trip to Bali, but I did want to mention one of the activities we had the opportunity to take part in, which I think is well worth sharing. This is for anyone who is planning a visit to Bali, and who might be looking for something to do, inbetween the many hours spent lounging on the beach and sight-seeing.

So after you’ve had your tenth watermelon cocktail, chased down with handfuls of emping or sate, you might want to consider how you are going to replicate this experience once you return to reality. Signing up for a Balinese cooking class in Nusa Dua (but preferably not on the same day as those ten cocktails) is what we opted to do, in the hope of gaining some insights into Balinese food.

While it might seem odd for a Balinese class to be run by a Swiss born chef, Heinz von Holzen (who is classically trained) has lived in Bali for many years and is well versed in Balinese cooking. In fact, he has been on a quest to accurately document all the traditional Balinese recipes that have until now been passed down from generation to generation via word of mouth. Not only can you be assured that his recipes are authentic (and incredibly delicious), but as a disciple of Harold McGee, he also takes a scientific approach to what he does in the kitchen.

During the class, he started by introducing us to ingredients typically found in a Balinese kitchen – some of which were a revelation to me. I didn’t realise for example, that fresh nutmeg could be easily sliced with a knife (as opposed to grating it), or that fresh large red chillis were as mild as a red capsicum, or that there were two different types of snakeskin fruit (salat) – one of better quality than the other.

Another revelation was the way in which he broke down the concept of cooking Balinese style, into a series of spice pastes (bumbu) which form the basis of any Balinese meal. These pastes, for seafood, poultry, beef or vegetables, can be prepared in bulk well in advance, and even frozen into portioned amounts, ready to be used when required. In essence, this means that whipping up a meal of this sort, can be easier and faster than you would expect.

Back home, I’ve been cooking spice stuffed chicken (ayam bertutu) and sweet soy braised pork (be celeng base manis). Combine these with a salad (pecelan) tossed through with an easy blend-everything-together/no-cooking-required peanut sauce and some steamed rice (nasi putih), and I’m back in Bali again, hair damp against my neck, feeling the warm wind drift between bare legs. We are walking down a road, Bluebird taxis beeping as they zip past, when one woman calls out quite improbably, “Massage? Haircut? ..Happy ending?”

(Pictured : Deep-fried bananas (pisang goreng) which we were shown how to make in class. Heinz recommends deep frying these at a low starting temperature (just the way his wife traditionally does), reasoning that this will mean a less drastic drop in temperature when items are placed in the fryer. Being able to maintain a constant temperature while deep frying, results in a product which absorbs less of the frying medium. These pisang goreng were crispy and so very delicious that we had to order them again when we visited his restaurant a few nights later. Note that it’s more traditional to enjoy pisang goreng with palm sugar syrup. The accompanying ice-cream which we requested, is just one of those Westernised habits I don’t think I’ll ever be able to relinquish.)

Bumbu Bali Restaurant and Cooking School
Jalan Pratama, Tanjung Benoa,
P.O.Box 132 Nusa Dua 80363
Bali – Indonesia