William Meppem
Whatever you do this Easter, don’t offer Nadine Ingram a chocolate egg. The Sydney baker and the talent behind one of the city’s favourite bakeries, Flour and Stone, was brought up with standard Easter traditions – egg hunts, chocolate, more chocolate – but these days, she prefers her treats straight from the oven. “Chocolate?” she says. “You can have that any time of year.”
Easter is a busy time for Ingram. The bakery goes into a hot cross bun production frenzy and this year she’s bringing brioche into the picture, too. (Whack it in the toaster for a few minutes on Easter morning, she says – “wow”). Work duties aside, come the Easter long weekend it’s all about spending time with family. And baked goods – lots of baked goods.
“Now, for Easter, we borrow from Europe more than Australia,” Ingram says. “We steer away from chocolate and try to find out more about what the Europeans eat. I think it’s far more interesting.”
One of her favourite Easter recipes is derived from the Italian myth of Parthenope, a mermaid from the coast of Naples who would rise from the watery depths to serenade the city. The people of Naples repaid her with ricotta, orange blossoms, flour and spices, which the sea gods then crafted into the Easter tart known as pastiera. “It’s just the most amazing story,” Ingram says. “I’m much more into myths than the Easter bunny.”
It’s recipes like this – warm, homey and laden with tradition – that take centre stage in Ingram’s Easter spread. She shares some of her greatest hits, sweet enough to convert even the most committed egg-lover. And no, she won’t advise leaving space for store-bought chocolate afterwards. “A well-baked cake trumps it any day,” she says. “Or ice-cream. That’s my vice.”
Blackberry and chocolate meringue roulade
Walnut, maple and milk chocolate fudge
Walnut, maple and milk chocolate fudge
“Anyone who works in my kitchen at Flour and Stone will tell you that my track record with fudge is disastrous,” says Ingram. “I have tried over and over again to make it the same as they do at the fudge shop in my husband’s home town of York, with varying levels of failure. I was determined not to be beaten and refuse to make fudge using condensed milk, since there is always that niggling feeling that I’m cheating.”
Saffron and sour-cherry brioche
Saffron and sour-cherry brioche
“Saffron makes the perfect partner to piquant sour cherries in this brioche,” says Ingram. “There’s nothing quite like brioche straight from the oven, and that’s largely thanks to the butter. However, there aren’t a lot of French pastries that can be popped back into the toaster to achieve better results than the original offering. This is one and that’s exactly what I suggest you do.”
Paris Brest
“I think Paris Brest is just about the most impressive dessert you can make with choux pastry,” says Ingram. “I’ve made these small, but you can pipe a large round to make a centrepiece Paris Brest. Like many French pastries, Paris Brest is steeped in history, having been created in 1910 to honour the famous bicycle race. Its circular shape represents a wheel and was first eaten by riders from the race before becoming popular all over France.”
Italian Easter tart
“This is a traditional tart eaten in Naples at Easter,” says Ingram. “The legend goes that a mermaid called Parthenope in the Gulf of Napoli would sing to celebrate the arrival of spring each year. One year, to say thank you, the Neapolitans offered her gifts of ricotta, flour, eggs, wheat, perfumed orange flowers and spices. She took them to her kingdom under the sea, where the gods made them into a cake. I love to add nibs of chocolate to Parthenope cake because I think it marries nicely with the candied orange and sultanas, but, really, do you need an excuse to add chocolate to anything?”
Lemon dream
“This cake is the new religion at Flour and Stone, and never fails to send those worshipping it into a dream
of billowy clouds,” says Ingram. “It has come to many parties, including one where its name was changed
to reflect the euphoric place it transports you to.”
Baci
“I found this recipe with no title, scratched down on a random page in the back of my recipe book,” says Ingram. “So few ingredients could only be those little kisses of goodness, which instantly evoke memories of my time spent in an exceptional Italian kitchen.”
Chocolate Manjari cake
“This is my signature chocolate cake that I have baked for just about everyone I love over the years,” says Ingram. “It has been a cake for life, a cake for joy and even a cake for sorrow, proving that the healing power of cake should never be underestimated. I’ve recently started using Valrhona Manjari chocolate from Madagascar to make this cake; however, I have even used bars of Dairy Milk with equally soulful results.”
