Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Bittersweet

http://snstoman.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/sugar/

After a great couple of weeks back with my family in Brazil, I am finally back in Sydney!

My time there was really lovely and I had an opportunity to research a little bit about the things that I thought I missed the most (culinary wise).

There was a shop that I just knew I had to go, for me, they have the best cakes in my town, and with my creations, I'm always comparing to them and hopefully I will get my cakes to taste like theirs.

There is nothing too fancy about them. However, there is something quite special about their “essence”; it is the fact that as soon as you walk through their doors that amazing smell of fresh baked cakes fills you!!

But with their cakes, what I love about them is how super soft and moist they are, which is, for me, a perfect combination!

So the expectation was huge, all I could think about was getting my hands on one of their cakes.

As soon as I had recovered, a little bit, from the jet lag, I went to the store and bought my favourite: chocolate truffle - it has a touch of cherry that just makes the cake amazing.

It was just what I expected it would be - the soft and moist cake with a creamy chocolate and cherry filling.

After finally having what I was craving for, I went there again, just a few days before returning to Sydney, and bought a few different slices of cakes they had on display that day to sample all the different flavours.

That’s when it happened: disappointment. The cakes were extremely sweet, I took one little bite and that was it.

I didn't remember how sweet the cakes were, I was just so excited about trying their selection again that I just didn't think it trough.

Well, it is not like the cakes were bad, I wouldn't say that, but at that moment I realised that, as much as a dessert we like is meant to be sweet, we need to find a balance, something that can contrast the sweetness of it, otherwise we can get sick of it really fast.

Seems obvious, but it’s not!

I used to be crazy about sugar and all-things-sweet but as I got older and started analysing the things I ate, I started to notice how sugar overtakes the flavour of things and quite often you can see yourself trying things that just taste the same because of the lack of contrast and the overpowering sugar in them.

Now it’s time to research and experiment old and new recipes with less sugar, or simply introduce a little twist to contrast the sweetness of the dish.

I would love to know your opinion about this.

Thank you for reading.

Cheers,

Dee.

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Happy New Year!!


2013 has come to an end and I had to stop for a minute to thank everyone for their support.

It has been an amazing year! I met incredible people, had fantastic experiences, tried new things and I learnt a lot!

I am very grateful for everyone who supported me and helped me get this far, and I know this is just the beggining.

We all know that today it's just another day, but we should hold on to that feeling that everything CAN change and be better, that WE can be better this new year for as long as we can, because it is up to us, as long as we have hope, we'll have the strenght to persue our dreams.

We don't know what's going to happen next year, but give it some time, it may take a few months to get what you wished for, but as long as you try and hope, a lot can happen!

So let's get togheter with our family and friends, and just have a lovely time!

Leave all the bad experiences you had this past year behind, only take with you the lessons you've learned from them and don't forget the good memories!

I know I will!

Happy New Year everyone!!