Australian Gourmet Traveller - (12)December 2019 (1)

Sweet deal

HI SPIRITS

Whatwasthecraziestthingyou’vehad

tomakefora party?Onenight,I hadto

bake 40 miniversionsofthreedifferent

typesofcake,so 120 intotal.I startedat

7.30pmandfinallywenttobedat 5.30am

fora quick30-minutenapbeforerising

toice,decorateanddeliverthemall.

Hasthishappeneda lot?Moresleepless

nightsthanI canpossiblycounthave

beenspentbaking.Themostridiculous

partis thatI’mrentingandhaveone

crappy(butsurprisinglyeffective)oven.

Whatareyourtipsforavoidinga baking

disasterwhenmakingcakesfora party?

I havea fewnon-negotiableswhenit comes

tobaking:readthrougha recipeinitsentirety

beforeyoubegin;rememberthatnotwoovens

arethesameandyouneedtotrustyourgut

whenyoubake;graba setofelectrickitchen

scalesastheyaresomuchmoreaccurate;bake

withyouringredientsat roomtemperature

andgetintothehabitofbreakingyoureggs

intoa smallbowlbeforeaddingtoyourbatter

toavoideggshellsoronerotteneggruining

yourday;andcheckonwhatyou’rebaking

10-15minutesbeforethestatedfinishtime.

Whatinspiredyour“Friendsmas”tradition?

I ama feeder.It is myfavouritethingtodo:

feedthepeoplethatI love.Sowhatbetterway

tocelebrateChristmasthaninvitingaround

15 or 20 ofmynearestanddearest,feeding

themhomemadefocaccia,spinachpie,meat,

vegetables,copiousamountsofcakeand

pavlova,andcallingit Friendsmas?Allthey

havetobringis themselves!It is oneofthe

mostdivinewaystogeteveryoneintheone

placeandtocelebratetheyearthatwas,and

tocelebrateeachother.I highlyrecommend

youtryit,orif not,cometomine!

Doyouhaveanysuggestionsforquickly

turningarounda bakingfailwhenyou’re

hostinganend-of-yearparty?Alwayskeep

a tubofvanillaice-creaminyourfreezer

anda tinofcannedpeachesinyourcupboard.

Sometimesthesimplestofdessertscanbe

themostdelicious.

JustDessertsbyCharlotteRee(Plum,$29.99,

hbk)is outnow.

Charlotte Ree, author of Just Desserts, talks about baking all

night,avoidingbakingdisasters,andcelebratingFriendsmas.

Empirical Spirits might be based in

Copenhagen, but its range is flavoured

with ideas from around the world. Its

Fallen Pony blend sends drinkers to

Japan via its use of koji (typically used

in sake) and detours back to Europe,

thanks to the inclusion of Belgian

Saison yeast. The toasty note in its

Charlene McGee juniper spirit comes

from Scandinavian smoking traditions,

while its Fuck Trump bottles celebrate

Mexico via fiery habanero chillies. This

border-crossing approach is worth your

attention, as is the CV of Empirical

Spirits’ co-founders: Lars Williams was

head of research and development at

Copenhagen’s Noma and Mark Emil

Hermansen was head of development

at Mad, the food symposium led

by Noma’s René Redzepi.

Both institutions have a worldly

outlook while embracing local cultures

• as does Empirical Spirits. Its Ayuuk
  spiritdrawsonPasillaMixe,a chilli
  WilliamsfirstsawinMexicoat Oaxaca
  City’scentralmarket.“Themarket
  wasteemingwithspices,chocolates,
  vegetablesandfruits,yettherewas
  onechillivendorwhostuckoutin
  particular,”hesays.“I wastakenby
  thedepthofflavourofthisonechilli,
  clearedouthisentire20kgofstock
  onthespot,broughtit backto
  Copenhagenanddistilledthefirst
  PasillaMixespirit.”Thesmoke-dried
  chilliis grownat 2700metresabovesea
  levelbytheMixepeople(knownin
  theirnativetongueas Ayuuk)and,
  althoughitsrugged,fruityflavouris
  highlyappealing,thechilliis labour-
  intensivetocultivate.“Asa result,
  productionhasdiminishedoverthe
  years,”hesays.“Now,we’recommitted
  toworkingdirectlywiththefarmers
  oftheSierraNortetocontinuethis
  beautifultradition.”That’ssomething
  weall(besidesTrump)candrinkto.
  EmpiricalSpiritsis availablein Australia
  fromHighHopes,highhopeswine.co

Left: Charlotte Ree and her

lemon cake with raspberry

buttercream from Just

Desserts. Above: Ree’s

chocolate ganache and

blackberry bundt cake

from her cookbook.

PHOTOGRAPHY LUISA BRIMBLE €FROM

JUST DESSERTS

BY CHARLOTTE REE, PLUM, $29.99, HBK†.

22 GOURMET TRAVELLER