Our Adaptation: Paris-Brest Cake

Ok.. the name does sound a bit odd.  Paris-Brest Cake, a bicycle wheel-shaped pate a choux cake filled with hazelnut praline cream, was invented in honor of the 1200-kilometer bicycle race from Paris to Brest and back again.  Not quite a normal cake, the base of the cake is made of choux pastry.   Still curious?  Just do a search on this dessert.


Instead of making a whole ring, I made ours into little profiteroles, filled it with a hazelnut custard cream and topped with crushed hazelnut praline.


It's extremely addictive, very morish and you want to lick every trace of custard off your fingers as it's really really delicious! What better dessert to bring for a Christmas in July party.

Hazelnut Profiteroles 

Eat Me!

Walnut Chocolate Butter Cake

What do feed your children for snack time aka play lunch aka recess?
The easiest way for me is really to send them with a pack of teddies or biscuits and a fruit.  However the "healthier" side of me is a little against it, also, it does get a bit expensive overtime with these pre-package products.

Butter cakes are great alternative, they travel and stores well, usually keeps up to 3-4 days (if it's not all eaten by the 2nd day), best of all they do not need any icing or frosting for it to taste good.   With some leftover walnuts, I made this Walnut Chocolate Butter Cake using a base butter cake.

Use use a standard tea, butter or even marble cake recipe, divide your batter into half, add 1/8 cup sifted cocoa powder + 1 tbsp milk into the less batch of batter, add crushed walnuts (about 100g) into the other batch. Scoop the batter into the pan like making marble cake.  And bake per recipe instructions.

.:: Granola ::. Product Testing

We are looking for 10 product testers for our Granola.  Our aim is to develop a healthier, more substantial morning tea, 3'OClock, and TV snack.  Having been TV snack victims ourselves, we know how much the crisps and chocolate-y snacks can do to our body.

If you have tried our Granola, please enter your feedback on this address http://peetspatisserie.wufoo.com/forms/-granola-product-testing/

The raw mix!

Ready to be Devoured

We are now Ready!

The wait is finally over, our paperwork is now complete, today Mr Postman delivered our Certificate of Registration. It's a fantastic feeling, so exciting yet daunting.

Best of all, last Friday, our BFFLs from the Sunny Island surprised us a Congratulatory Bunting parcel in the mail, it's says PEETS PATISSERIE!  We Love it!

We are now ready to bake for real, where do we begin?

Let's start thinking.

A New Cake

Claire borrowed a chocolate book from the local library 2 months ago, a recipe caught my eye, it needed 14 eggs and a pound of chocolate, no flour, no rising agent, no nuts, how interesting!

On Monday, I was meant to meet 2 friends for morning tea (of them one became wheat intolerant recently),  what a great excuse for me to use 14 eggs!

The results are truly amazing, rich chocolatey yet not excessively sweet.  It's a special occasion cake, one recipe you can serve up to 16 people (assuming 1 slice per person)

Aretha has already requested this cake for her birthday.  But I think I need to find an excuse to make it again... Oh yes, I need a photo moment for it.

We are in the Game!

Yes!  We have our approval from the Council, personally we are very thankful for the support provided by our Health Officer.  Thank you TM!  (You know who you are)

We are now awaiting Peets Patisserie registration papers to come through... Just 1 more week.

More About Us

I have worked in high tech firms most of my working life, lived in a concrete jungle all my life.  We've never encountered livestock, except when we when there's an excursion to the Zoo.

8 years ago, we moved to Melbourne, I have a new job title:  Housewife.   The 1st 12 months was daunting and difficult;  new country, new town, minimal friends, so much grass..  We miss my family so dearly back home.

Slowly, I started getting better at my new job, mainly, housework, cooking and baking, attesting to the  Gladwell "10,000 Hour-Rule" Practice, Practice, Practice.

I baked heaps, almost a different dessert everyday.  I had lots of willing testers as well, there is always hubby's work colleagues, school parties, school fetes, bring-a-plate parties, neighbours, friends and of course my own family.  Thank you to all of you for being my testers!

We were on a serious calorie gaining mission, we worked on our chocolate cake, the oatmeal cookies, butter cookies, chiffon cakes, butter cakes, pancakes, bread... Then one day we stumbled upon a documentary about the Country Women Association, the Country Shows and their committment to keeping the association and country shows alive.

So in 2009 armed with our very own family recipes, the girls to entered the Dandenong Agricultural and Pastoral Show in the primary cookery section for Decorated Patty Cake, Simply Iced Chocolate Cake and Pikelets.  1st Prize! for all entries and an overall Reserve Champion.  Imagine how happy and proud parents we were!

Boldly in 2010,  more entries were entered, this time, they entered uniced biscuits (Giant Oatmeal Cookies), a Confectionery (fudge), cupcake (Claire's vanilla cupcakes) and was awarded 1st prize.  This time they have also won the title of overall Primary School Champion.

So, there we are, we want to share with you our journey from transitioning from a city life to a country (somewhat) life.