We have been experiencing a lot of wet weather in Sydney this week. A recurring theme for our dwindling Summer that makes it seem as though our world has gone completely umbrellas!

So I’m stuck at home, wishing I’d invested in a good pair of gumboots because my favourite sneakers have more holes in them than the plot of a Michael Bay movie. But at least there is tea, and books, an iPod and some sweet pineapple tarts. By the way, I’m rereading Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections and subsequently rediscovering what an immense book it is.

As for the tarts, it didn’t take long after I first made them, to clue in to the fact that the amount of time required to patiently roll each tart compared to how quickly they were dispatched into willing mouths (mostly mine), was grossly disproportionate. So I stopped making them. And yet, it is these slushy, puddle filled days that are surprisingly perfect for rejecting quick-fix bakes to try something more time consuming but potentially more rewarding.

The recipe is the same one posted here several years ago. All you need to do now is wait for the rain. Then open the windows, let the smell of soggy lawns drift in, and spend an afternoon making these little tarts. Perhaps even have your favourite podcast playing in the background. Mine is currently NPR’s Fresh Air. What’s yours?

Yesterday I visited a good friend whom I hadn’t seen in awhile. Her mother wanted to know when I was going to start having children. I could almost hear my biological clock ticking while she eyeballed me.

Over Christmas, everyone wanted to know what I was planning to do for work in 2012, as though my answer of ‘being on holiday’ was not an option.

Last week I received a belated Christmas card from a relative, addressed to us as Mr. and Mrs. It reminded me of various aunts who had long ago launched themselves on a now abandoned quest to get me into a white gown and a church.

Undeniably, everyone means well, but a part of me can’t help the exasperation from bubbling up. Why in this day and age, are we still made to feel as though we’re failing in the game of life if we haven’t advanced to the next expected stage. Don’t pity me the unfulfilled potential of my child bearing hips or my barren ring fingers. I just want to make cake and be happy.

To call this a snacking cake almost gives anyone license to attack it at any given time of the day. Even breakfast. Or that curious hour just before bedtime when it seems too late to have something substantial but not that late that you can’t conceivably fit in a quick bite and one last cup of tea. As it happens, true to its name, I found myself coming back continuously to trim little slivers off this cake a day after I’d made it. If you can’t please your relatives, let them eat cake.

Brandied cherry snacking cake :
(adapted from a recipe in Flour by Joanne Chang)

170g (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g (1 1/4 cup) sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
230g (1 3/4 cup) plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon allspice
220g (1 1/2 cups) small brandied cherries (or 2 cups large pitted cherries)

Preheat the oven to 175’C (350F).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well between each addition, then the vanilla extract. Sift the dry ingredients together. Fold it into the butter mixture, followed by the brandied cherries. Spread the batter into a greased and lined 10-inch round cake pan. Bake for around 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

B and I don’t usually make a habit of taking short breaks away. I’ve never seen the point in them. By the time you’ve planned your trip, taken it and then travelled all the way back, you’re left exhausted and in need of another holiday.

But after spending a few days in the wilderness, and now feeling somewhat restored, I’m beginning to see its appeal. Even if the surprise lack of internet or phone reception was a source of initial anxiety.

We tramped through rainforest, experienced a flat tire, got sun burnt, swam in a river and then returned in the evenings to the cabin to rustle up a meal just as the sun was starting to dip. Postcard stuff.

The cabin we hired had a little barbecue stove on the verandah which was perfect for cooking for two. For dinners, we had marinated steak with plenty of fresh vegetables, homemade blue corn tortillas and warm soda farls. Afterwards, a very satisfying chocolate dessert. Two recipes I’ll definitely be taking with me the next time we go away again.

Soda Farls (that are perfect for breakfast or just the thing to chase the leftover bits of sauce on your dinner plate) :

2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/4 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 cup buttermilk (or thin yogurt)

Measure all the dry ingredients into a container or plastic bag. When you’re ready to make the farls, preheat your barbecue (or fry pan). Mix the buttermilk into the dry ingredients to form a dough. Pat the dough out into a flat disc roughly 1/2 inch thick. Cut the disc into 4 and cook the farls on low/medium heat for 6 – 7 minutes on each side. When done, split and serve with plenty of butter.

Sticky Chocolate Pudding Cake (to have spoon wars over after the dishes have been done and the sun has set) :

For the cake :
3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips
1 egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup long life milk

For the sauce :
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder

In two separate containers, measure out all the dry ingredients for the sauce and the cake. When you are ready to make the cake, tip the dry ingredients for the cake into a heatproof container (round or square disposable pie tin is perfect). Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the egg, melted butter and milk. Mix together. Sprinkle the dry ingredients for the sauce over the cake mix, then pour the boiling water on top. If you want the resulting pudding cake to be extra fudgey, only use 1 cup of the required boiling water. If you like it to have more sauce, use the recommended 1 1/2 cups. Place the dish on a preheated barbecue (the temperature gauge should read between 150’C to 180’C) and cook covered for about 20 minutes. If the barbecue seems too hot, insulate the base of the dish with a bbq flat plate or something similar.