This is a perfect winter cake: the fruitiness of the oil, the freshness of the citrus, and the herbal tones of the rosemary. Serves 1 bundt cake, enough for 2-14 slices WHAT YOU NEED For the cake 2 blood oranges (or navel oranges) 450g plain (all-purpose) flour, plus extra for dusting 2 tablespoons baking powder 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary 60g almond meal 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 320g white (granulated) sugar 8 eggs 320ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing 1 teaspoon vanilla extract For the citrus compote 3 blood oranges (or navel oranges) 110g white (granulated) sugar 2 ..read more

A Sydney bakery have thought up a strange flavour combo that may be pushing the boundaries of the sweet and salty flavour combo. The Vegemite and caramel bun—approved by Gordon Ramsay—was cooked up by Sydney bakery Miss Sina, whose owner Sina Klug was a contender on Channel 9’s reality show, Food Stars. The competitors were challenged to make a vegemite dessert and Sina came up with the caramel and vegemite buns. She created a twist on the cinnamon bun, adding Vegemite-candied pecans, chantilly cream, and a glossy Vegemite caramel. When speaking to Time Out Australia Sina said, “Gordon called ..read more

Dear gentle readers, prepare for the ultimate Bridgerton experience in a New South Wales Southern Highlands town. Ahead of Season three of the popular TV series dropping on Netflix in May, Bowral in the Southern Highlands is getting a complete regency-era makeover for a week until April 23. Most notably, The Press Shop café, Bespoke Press and Gumnut Patisserie are hopping on the theme bandwagon with a number of offerings. Gumnut Patisserie will be bringing some sweet treats to the festivities to add to the floral, bunting and ballgown style takeover. Gumnut Patisserie is an award-winning patis ..read more

With just a few weeks to go until the LA Judge Award for Baking Apprentice of the Year competition takes place, the judges for the event have begun to be announced. Included among the ranks are: Nathan Roberts (Bakels). With more than 21 years in the industry under his belt, Nathan’s career has taken him from management to process improvement, product development and technical baking. He’s also the holder of three national baking titles. John Kruik (Mauri). A former LA Judge winner himself, John began his baking career in a hot bread shop in Sydney. After taking home the LA Judge trophy in 19 ..read more

The head of Sunday Kitchen, a cooking school specialising in Lebanese dishes, Karima Hazim launched a drive called Bake for Gaza. The drive invites people to help bake and sell boxes of ma’moul, which is a Levantine biscuit baked for special occasions such as for Eid or Lent. Sunday Kitchen is one of the many community outreach projects hoping to support refugees from Gaza fleeing to Australia. Hazim said that when she started the initiative she hadn’t expected it to take off the way it did. “I thought I’d be baking 20 to 30 boxes,” she said speaking to The Guardian. “The first night I put it ..read more

It’s the end of an era, as after 26 years Landsborough-based bakery Bucks Bakery is set to change hands and come under the CJ’s Pastries banner. According to Glasshouse & Maleny Country News, the current owners are heading into retirement. CJ’s Pastries owner Darrin Wells told the publication the opportunity to purchase Bucks Bakery was a great opportunity, and although operations will remain the same for the time being the long term goal is to bring Buck’s into the CJ’s fold. “Buck’s will become one of our CJ’s bakeries,” he said. “The name will probably be changed in time, but not immedi ..read more

Entries are now open for the Queensland round of 2024 WorldSkills’ Regional Competition. Set to be held at TAFE Southbank on June 11, from 8am to 4pm, the competition will showcase talent across two categories: Retail Baking Bread, and Retail Baking Pastry and Patisserie. All aspiring bakers are being encouraged to enter and demonstrate their skills and passion for the craft. This is a fantastic opportunity to learn, compete, and network with peers and industry professionals. You can register now for Patisserie and Baking. The 2024 WorldSkills competition rounds are being run across the countr ..read more

Gender equality movement Fck The Cupcakes (FTC) hosted an event last week to engage men in the topic of gender equality. Yeah The Pies was hosted in Sydney to help start and continue the conversation in male groups around gender equality. Fck The Cupcakes’ motto is ‘Less icing. More action’ and aims to tackle the classic corporate International Women’s Day cupcakes that aren’t accompanied by the necessary conversations for gender equality. FTC partnered with Paramount, Infinity Bakery and Bloke Coaching for the event which was hosted by MasterChef winner and mental health advocate Brent Draper ..read more

The saying ‘cash is king’ rings loud and true for NSW bakery Smoky Cape Supabake who are a cash-only bakery. Having been open for just over 12 years the bakery has been cash-only throughout all their years of operation. For most other small businesses moving to a cashless model has become the norm and has grown significantly in recent years—Australia now overtaking the UK and US to be one of the worlds largest users of cashless payments. Owner of the bakery, Letitia Thomas says that the cash-only system eliminates a number of added costs and issues for the bakery. “We don’t have those extra fe ..read more

The nation’s best small business owners gathered in Sydney on April 13 for the 2024 Small Business Champion Awards. Building on the success of the 25th anniversary of the awards in 2023, the awards acknowledge the vision and commitment small businesses across the country display. Awards founder and Precedent Productions managing director Steve Loe said he was in awe of what small business can achieve and know how important it is to highlight the significant contribution they make to the Australian economy. “We continue to see an array of successful businesses enter the awards,” he said. 2023 S ..read more