Skip to content
LoginRegister
WhatToEat.Today
Recipes

All recipes

Vegetarian, or something you can't eat? Set your diet once and we'll hide recipes that don't fit.

21 recipes

TereréIced yerba mate

In Asunción the hottest part of the day stops for tereré: a horn or cup packed with yerba mate, topped up again and again with ice water infused with crushed herbs, and passed round the group through a metal straw. It was recognised by UNESCO as part of Paraguay's cultural heritage, and the herbs (yuyos) change with the season and the drinker's mood. Yerba mate contains caffeine, so it isn't one for small children. The common mistake is pouring water straight into loose yerba, which then clogs the straw; tilt the yerba to one side first. Chef's tip: for tereré ruso, swap the water for cold orange or grapefruit juice.

10 minParaguayanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Melting momentsLemon buttercream sandwich biscuits

Melting moments are the soft, crumbly biscuits found in Australian and New Zealand bakery jars and grandmother's tins, two rounds made with custard powder and icing sugar sandwiched with a lemon butter icing. The custard powder gives them their yellow colour and tender, short texture that melts in the mouth, hence the name. A common mistake is overbaking; they should be pale, not golden. Chef's tip: press each ball with a floured fork for the classic stripes.

40 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Passionfruit sponge

The passionfruit sponge is the star of the Australian country show cake table and every Sunday afternoon tea, made from the vines that cover back fences from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast. Two airy, fatless sponges are filled with whipped cream and topped with a tangy passionfruit icing. A common mistake is knocking the air out when folding in the flour; use a light hand and a big metal spoon. Chef's tip: beat the eggs and sugar for a full 8–10 minutes until thick enough to hold a trail.

55 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Pumpkin scones

Pumpkin scones are a Queensland country tradition, made famous by the farm-raised wife of a long-serving state premier and baked for every Country Women's Association morning tea from Toowoomba to Rockhampton. Mashed pumpkin makes them golden, soft and slightly sweet, and they are best warm from the oven with plenty of butter. A common mistake is wet pumpkin; steam or roast it and let it cool so the dough isn't sticky. Chef's tip: cut straight down without twisting the cutter, so the scones rise tall and even.

35 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Magic coffee

The magic is a Melbourne café insider's order, born in the city's Fitzroy and Collingwood coffee bars: a double ristretto (the short, intense first part of the espresso shot) topped with silky steamed milk in a 160 ml cup. It is stronger and sweeter-tasting than a flat white because there's less milk and only the richest part of the shot. A common mistake is scalding the milk; above about 65 °C it loses its natural sweetness. Chef's tip: stop the shot early, at about 30 ml for a double, to get that syrupy ristretto.

5 minAustralianDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Vanilla slice

The vanilla slice, or snot block as Aussie kids call it, is the country bakery's pride; towns like Ouyen in north-west Victoria even hold a yearly competition for the best one. A thick, wobbly vanilla custard is set between two sheets of crisp puff pastry and topped with white or passionfruit icing. It needs a few hours to set but is easy. A common mistake is a soft custard that oozes when cut; it must boil for a full minute to thicken properly. Chef's tip: prick and weigh the pastry down with a tray while baking so it stays flat and thin.

60 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Finger bunsIced coconut finger buns

Finger buns are the classic Australian school canteen and tuckshop bun, sold in every suburban bakery and supermarket from Perth to Brisbane: soft, slightly sweet long rolls, sometimes with sultanas, topped with bright pink icing and a scatter of desiccated coconut. Kids eat them split and buttered. A common mistake is icing them warm, which makes it run off; let them cool completely. Chef's tip: brush them with a sugar glaze straight from the oven for a soft, shiny crust under the icing.

45 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Kitchener bunsJam and cream doughnut buns

Kitchener buns are a South Australian bakery icon, found in every Adelaide suburb and country town bakery from the Barossa to the Fleurieu. The soft yeast buns are fried or baked, rolled in sugar, split open and filled with a stripe of raspberry jam and a generous swirl of cream; they were named after a British field marshal during the First World War. Messy and delicious with a cup of tea. A common mistake is filling them warm, which melts the cream. Chef's tip: roll them in sugar while still warm so it sticks, then fill when cold.

45 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Cocido quemadoBurnt sugar mate drink

Cocido is how Paraguay starts the day: in Asunción, in the villages of Guairá and Itapúa, and in school kitchens, a pot of burnt yerba is brewed and poured into cups with chipa, the cheesy cassava bread, or with a hard galleta. The old way is to drop a glowing piece of charcoal into a pot with yerba and sugar and stir until the sugar burns. On a home stove you caramelise them together in a dry pan instead, which is safer and gives the same smoky, toffee-like taste. The drink is clear amber-brown, with roasted, slightly bitter mate notes over burnt-sugar sweetness; with milk added it becomes cocido con leche, creamy and coffee-coloured. Yerba mate contains caffeine, so treat it like a cup of coffee. The common mistake is letting the sugar go black: it turns acrid and bitter. Pull it off the heat when the caramel is deep amber and the yerba smells toasted, not burnt. It is ready when the liquid is a clear dark amber and tastes of toffee and smoke. Chef's tip: the water will spit fiercely when it hits the hot caramel, so pour it in from the side, at arm's length.

14 minParaguayanDrinksVeganGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Postre MassiniCustard sponge with burnt sugar top

Montevideo's birthday cake of choice since the early twentieth century, the Massini is two thin layers of sponge sandwiching a thick filling of whipped cream folded with egg-yolk custard, crowned with a thin glassy crust of torched yolk and sugar. Bakeries across Uruguay sell it on Sundays. Traditional versions sometimes add a sweet fortified wine to the custard; this one is alcohol-free. The custard is cooked to a safe 71 °C. The common mistake is assembling with warm custard, which melts the cream into a puddle. Chef's tip: if you don't have a blowtorch, put the sugared top under a very hot grill for a minute and watch it closely.

80 minParaguayanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

LamingtonsChocolate coconut sponge squares

Lamingtons are said to be named after Lord Lamington, Governor of Queensland at the turn of the twentieth century, and they're the cake of Australian school fundraisers, Country Women's Association stalls and morning tea at work; there's even a National Lamington Day on 21 July. Cubes of light butter sponge are dunked in a thin, glossy chocolate icing and rolled in desiccated coconut, so each one has a soft, chocolate-soaked outside and a fluffy middle. Some bakeries split them and fill them with jam and cream. Chef's tip: bake the sponge a day ahead, or freeze the cut squares for an hour; fresh sponge crumbles in the icing, firm sponge dips cleanly.

75 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Afghan biscuitsChocolate cornflake biscuits

Afghans are a New Zealand classic, found in the old home baking books passed down in Kiwi kitchens and in the glass cabinets of cafés and bakeries from Christchurch to Whangārei. Nobody is quite sure where the name came from. The dough is rich with butter and cocoa, and lightly crushed cornflakes give each biscuit a crunchy, slightly rugged texture. A swirl of soft chocolate icing and a walnut half finish them off. They're not too sweet underneath, which is why the icing works so well. Chef's tip: crush the cornflakes only lightly with your hand; fine crumbs disappear, but big flakes give the crunch an afghan is known for.

35 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Aussie meat pie

Half-time at the MCG, a country-town bakery at 7 am, a servo on a long drive: the meat pie is Australia's everyday hand-held meal, eaten straight from its paper bag with a squirt of tomato sauce. A sturdy shortcrust base holds minced beef in thick, peppery gravy, and a flaky puff pastry lid shatters on the first bite. Making them at home takes a little time, but the filling can be cooked a day ahead. The mistake behind a soggy base is filling the pastry with hot mince; let the filling cool completely in the fridge first. Chef's tip: cook the filling until it is thicker than you think it needs to be; a loose gravy boils over and leaks through the base.

120 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Anzac biscuitsOat and coconut biscuits

Anzac biscuits are baked in kitchens all over Australia and New Zealand in the days before 25 April, Anzac Day, when both countries remember the soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who landed at Gallipoli in 1915. Recipes appeared in fundraising cookbooks soon after the war, and they keep well because they contain no eggs: just oats, flour, coconut, sugar, butter and golden syrup, raised with bicarbonate of soda. Bake them short for chewy, longer for crunchy; every family has its side. Chef's tip: add the bicarbonate to the hot butter and syrup and wait for it to foam up before mixing; that froth is what makes them light and lacy.

25 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

ChajáSponge, peach and cream cake

Chajá was created in 1927 at a bakery in Paysandú, a city on the Uruguay River, and named after a local bird whose feathers look as fluffy as its crumbly meringue coat. Today it's Uruguay's birthday and celebration cake: layers of light sponge soaked in peach syrup, filled with whipped cream, peaches and dulce de leche, then covered in crushed meringue. It's sweet, soft and crunchy at once, best on the day it's assembled. Chef's tip: soak the sponge but not too much; it should feel moist, not wet, or the layers slide.

90 minParaguayanBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Neenish tartsJam and cream tarts

Neenish tarts have sat in the windows of Australian country bakeries for more than a century, and they're also found across the Tasman in New Zealand. Where the name comes from is still argued over, with one story placing it in the small town of Grong Grong in New South Wales. A crisp sweet pastry case holds a thin layer of raspberry jam and a fluffy mock cream, a beaten mixture of butter, sugar and milk, and the top is iced in two halves: one white, one chocolate. Many bakery mock creams use gelatine; this one doesn't. Chef's tip: beat the mock cream for a long time, a full 8–10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and it is white and fluffy, not gritty.

80 minAustralianBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Flat white

Sydney and Wellington both claim the flat white, first poured in their cafés in the mid-1980s, and today it's the everyday coffee across Australia and New Zealand, from Melbourne's laneway cafés to a beach kiosk in Raglan. It's smaller and stronger than a latte: a double shot of espresso topped with milk steamed to a smooth, glossy microfoam with only a thin layer of froth on top, so the coffee stays at the front. It's velvety, rich and sweet-tasting without sugar. For a vegan version, use a barista-style oat milk. Chef's tip: stretch the milk only for the first few seconds, then sink the wand and let it spin; you want paint-like milk, not a hat of stiff foam.

5 minAustralianDrinksGluten free
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Arabian date pinwheels

Crumbly, buttery biscuit dough is rolled out, spread with a soft date filling flavoured with cinnamon and lemon, rolled into logs, sliced and baked into pretty pinwheels. They make a big batch of 50 and keep well in an airtight tin. Serve with tea, or with ice cream as a dessert.

60 minMiddle EasternBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Lebanese date cake

A soft, moist cake made without eggs: self-raising flour and brown sugar are rubbed with butter, then mixed with milk and sour cream and studded with chopped dates, raisins and pistachios, with a warm hint of nutmeg and vanilla. Lovely with tea or served warm with cream.

70 minMiddle EasternBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views

Ma'amoulDate and walnut butter pastries

Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.

80 minMiddle EasternBaking
by KrazyBadal 1 views

Semolina cake

A moist eggless cake made with semolina, coconut and yogurt, baked with slivered almonds on the bottom and top and moistened with orange juice. Serve with coconut ice cream or custard sauce.

45 minMiddle EasternBaking
by KrazyBadal 0 views