Foodies go crackers for Aussie nostalgia recipes
It’s the chew of an Anzac biscuit and the scent of hot beef pies at the footy. Here’s why Aussies are turning to traditional recipes for the ultimate comfort food.
SmartDaily
Don't miss out on the headlines from SmartDaily. Followed categories will be added to My News.
It’s the chew of an Anzac biscuit, the salty smack-in-the-face of Vegemite and the scent of hot beef pies at the footy.
Aussies are a patriotic bunch and nothing pulls us together — physically or virtually — more than food that reminds us of home.
Perhaps it’s why all things Australiana are trending so highly on leading recipe search sites, Taste and Australia’s Best Recipes. At Taste, the search for “Anzac”-inspired recipes was up 61 per cent in the months of March to July, compared to the same time last year. Think choc caramel Anzac biscuit slice, and golden syrup Anzac cheesecake.
In fact, desserts made with any quintessential Aussie biscuit seem to do well, and “the hackier they are, the better”, says taste.com.au editor-in-chief, Brodee Myers-Cooke.
Choc ripple biscuits are being transformed into pudding, and lemon crisp biscuits are being used for slices.
It all fits in with Australia’s renewed love of baking, reignited after being forced into lockdown during the pandemic. Remember when everyone was making banana bread?
Over at Australia’s Best Recipes, the popularity of baking has skyrocketed, going up by more than 5000 per cent.
Another big winner across the sites is condensed milk — searches for condensed milk recipes at Taste were up 181 per cent in June, while ABR’s collection of ‘best condensed milk recipes’ garnered more than two million views in July.
ABR senior editor Lindy Lawler says the uncertain times have influenced our baking habits, encouraging us to return to “what we know”.
“Memory, nostalgia, tradition and classic recipes seem to remedy situations in times of uncertainty, even if only briefly,” Lawler says.
“The second perspective is that because of the current restrictions, we have time to return to the classics.”
Chefs are following suit. At Melbourne’s popular Attica restaurant, they’ve introduced the “pavington” — a cross between a pavlova and a lamington — while Barossa Valley’s Hentley Farm restaurant is serving up macadamia choc chip cookies.
And it’s not just sweets that are attracting eyeballs.
We’re also dabbling with damper and have adopted the cob loaf as our own. Taste’s ‘50 cob loaf recipes that only Aussies understand’ gallery was one of the site’s top social galleries in June.
“What we are seeing is the cobification of the nation,” Myers-Cooke says. “In fact, it’s fair to say the cob is almost vying for national dish status, alongside damper.”
The cob is all about removing the bread from inside a round loaf and refilling it with anything from dip to curries sausages, “or even something sweet”. “The fairy bread cob is one of our most successful recipes, of all time,” Myers-Cooke says.
Keen home baker Louise Rismondo, 33, says she enjoys creating Australian-themed desserts because of the nostalgia it brings.
She draws inspiration from old magazines and cookbooks, as well as social media. “I put Anzac biscuits in a cheesecake because I like the flavour it brings,” she says. “Cheesymite pull-a-parts are always a winner, and our friends love a good cob … the trick is a packet of Continental Creamy Chicken or Creamy Chicken Soup!”
Her latest masterpiece is a cross between two family favourites – the Viennetta and the lamington. She layers hot milk sponge with fresh raspberry jelly, ice cream and thin, crisp chocolate, then tops it with flaked chocolate and coconut, of course.
Rismondo says she has been cooking more through COVID-19 because it “brings comfort”. “If you can’t be around family and friends, then baking is the next best thing … it can evoke a sense of family from the memories around those dishes.”
VEGEMITE AND CHEESE PULL-APART LOAF
● 2 tsp caster sugar
● ½ tsp sea salt
● 1 cup milk
● 1 tbs Vegemite
● 3 cups plain bread flour
● 7g sachet dry yeast
● 1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
● 1 cup grated cheddar
1. Whisk sugar, salt, milk and Vegemite in a small saucepan until combined. Place over medium heat. Heat, stirring, for 1 minute or until lukewarm (do not simmer or boil).
2. Place flour in a large bowl. Stir in yeast. Stir in milk mixture and oil. Mix to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough for 10 to 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in a large, lightly greased bowl. Cover. Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
3. Using your fist, punch dough down. Add half the cheddar. Knead again until smooth. Divide dough into 16 portions. Roll portions into balls.
4. Lightly grease a 23cm (base) springform cake pan. Arrange balls in pan. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until dough has almost doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Sprinkle remaining cheddar over loaf. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden and hollow-sounding when tapped in the centre. Serve loaf warm or at room temperature with butter.
SERVES 16. PREP 2 HRS 40 MINS. COOK 40 MINS
MEAT PIE IN A COB
● 1 tbs olive oil
● 20g butter
● 1 large brown onion, coarsely grated
● 1kg beef mince
● 40g (1/3 cup) gravy powder
● 125ml (½ cup) tomato sauce, plus extra to serve
● 2 tbs Worcestershire sauce
● ½ tsp ground black pepper
● 1/3 cup chopped continental parsley
● 1 bread cob
● 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, just thawed
● 1 egg, lightly whisked
1. Heat oil and butter in large non-stick frying pan over high heat until butter is foaming. Add onion and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is soft but not coloured. Increase heat to high. Add mince and cook, breaking up with wooden spoon, for 8 minutes or until meat is browned.
2. Sprinkle mince with gravy powder and stir to coat. Add 500ml (2 cups) water and stir to dissolve gravy powder. Add tomato and Worcestershire sauces. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes or until mixture is thick. Season with salt and ground black pepper and stir through the parsley. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Preheat oven to 180C /160C fan forced. Line baking tray with baking paper. Use serrated knife to slice about 5cm from the top of cob. Scoop out bread inside (see note), leaving a 1.5cm-thick shell. Spray bread with oil and bake for 8 minutes or until slightly crisp.
4. Meanwhile, trim puff pastry into an approximate 20cm round.
5. Place cob on the prepared tray. Spoon the beef mixture into the cob, packing it well into the sides. Top with the pastry, pressing down well to seal. Brush pastry with egg. Bake pie for 20 minutes or until pastry is golden. Serve with tomato sauce. Note: Use bread from the inside of the cob to make breadcrumbs. Store in the freezer until required
SERVES A CROWD. PREP 10 MINS. COOK 45 MINS
FAIRY BREAD MELTING MOMENTS
● 250g butter, chopped, at room temperature
● 60g (1/3 cup) icing sugar mixture
● 1 tsp vanilla extract
● 225g (1 ½ cups) plain flour
● 70g (½ cup) custard powder, plus extra, to dust
● 120g (½ cup) hundreds and thousands, plus extra, to decorate
FILLING
● 100g butter, chopped, at room temperature
● 1 tsp vanilla extract
● 125g (¾ cup) icing sugar mixture
1. Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan forced. Line two large baking trays with baking paper. Use electric beaters to beat the butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl until pale and creamy.
2. Sift over the flour and custard powder. Use a flat-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until a soft dough forms. Add the hundreds and thousands and mix until well combined. Roll level tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place on prepared trays, leaving room for spreading. Use a fork dipped in extra custard powder to press the balls into 4cm rounds (they should be about 1.5cm thick)
3. Bake, swapping trays halfway through cooking, for 18 minutes. Set aside on trays for 5 minutes to cool slightly then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. To make the filling, use electric beaters to beat the butter and vanilla in a bowl until pale and creamy. Gradually add the icing sugar, beating constantly, until well combined.
5. Spoon the filling into a piping bag fitted with a 2cm plain nozzle. Pipe onto the flat side of half the biscuits (if you don’t have a piping bag you can spread it instead). Top with the remaining biscuits, flat-side down, to sandwich. Place the extra hundreds and thousands in a bowl and press the side of each biscuit to coat the edge of the filling.
SERVES 15. PREP 20 MINS. COOK 30 MINS
CARAMILK LAMINGTONS
3 cups shredded coconut
300g Cadbury Caramilk chocolate, coarsely chopped
2/3 cup pouring cream
2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/4 cups icing sugar mixture
450g rectangular unfilled sponge cake
Step 1
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced. Spread the coconut over a baking tray. Bake for 5-8 minutes or until toasted. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool.
Step 2
Meanwhile, place chocolate, cream, milk and coconut oil in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn’t touch the water). Use a metal spoon to stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth.
Step 3
Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in the chocolate mixture and stir until smooth.
Step 4
Place 1 sponge cake layer on a baking tray and spread with enough chocolate mixture to make a 5mm-thick layer, reserving remaining chocolate mixture. Sandwich sponge with remaining sponge cake layer. Place in fridge for 15 minutes or until set.
Step 5
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the coconut in a shallow bowl. Use a large serrated knife in a sawing action to cut sponge sandwich into 15 pieces.
Step 6
Use a fork to gently pierce and pick up 1 sponge piece. Hold over bowl of reserved chocolate mixture and spoon evenly over sponge piece to coat, allowing excess mixture to drip into bowl. (Mixture should be runny enough to coat sponge. If not, set aside to cool further.) Hold sponge piece over bowl of coconut and sprinkle with coconut to coat, pressing gently to coat. Transfer to prepared tray. Repeat with remaining sponge pieces, chocolate and coconut.
Step 7
Set lamingtons aside for 2 hours or until set then serve.
SERVES 15. PREP 3 HRS 15 MINS. COOK 15 MINS