Tilly's Table

Weekday Lemon Cake. Perfect for when cake is in order, but fuss is not.

A (very) simple melt and mix number, this is a recipe from my forthcoming book, The Plain Cake Appreciation Society, and is, my friends, the ideal Friday cake.

We made one today with fresh bergamot in place of lemon and it was heaven (even if it did stick to the tin slightly, making me rather cross!).

Happy Friday folks, hope your weekend is a goody. x

(You can order a copy of my book, released July 4, via the link in my bio.)

And just like that, we’re two weeks out from the launch of my book The Plain Cake Appreciation Society!

And I’m a bundle of anxious excitement. Stuck between extreme delight that my book will finally be out in the world, and nerves about how it will be received! As my publisher said yesterday, it is rather like sending your child off to school for the first time, and hoping they’ll be alright without you. And that is exactly how it feels.

Yesterday I spent a whirlwind of a day in the city signing books (lots!), drinking tea and eating cake with and . It was a total pleasure and totally surreal. Now for a calming cup of chamomile tea I think (although autocorrect tried to change that to champagne, which is not a bad idea…!)

Pre-orders are open now (link in bio), and if you haven’t ordered a copy already, may I be so forward to suggest you do!
Tilly x

I feel like I say this often, but gee I’m glad it’s Friday! We’re tucked up in the warm, doing our comfortingly mundane Friday evening routine. Early dinner, glass of bubbles, Paddington on the telly. Heaven. Am I showing my age…?

Happy Friday friends. Hope your weekend is a goody. x

(And if you happen to be after a very nice tea towel, I’ve got you covered - my favourite designs have now all been restocked on my website. Link in bio.)

A hot cup of tea is truly one of life’s real pleasures, isn’t it? I was reminded of this again this morning as I blearily tried to coax my brain into some semblance of coherent thought. Then I decided that coherent thought is probably overrated anyway…Especially on Friday.

Melting moments, on the other hand, are definitely not overrated. Recipe below! x

Citrus Melting Moments
(makes 18 filled biscuits)
 
Ingredients:
250g unsalted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
Zest of one orange or lemon
225g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
100g custard powder
Pinch salt
 
Buttercream:
100g unsalted butter, softened
225g icing sugar
3 tsp citrus juice
 
Method:
Preheat oven to 150°C (fan-forced) and line two baking sheets with baking paper.
 
Place butter, caster sugar and zest in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and beat until very light and fluffy.
 
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, custard powder and salt. Add dry ingredients to the butter and sugar, mixing to a soft dough.
 
Roll teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, place on lined tray and flatten slightly with the back of a fork. Cook in preheated oven for 14-16 minutes or until cooked but still pale. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before filling.
 
Whilst biscuits are cooling, make buttercream filling by placing all buttercream ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beating until light and fluffy. Fill biscuits with generous teaspoonfuls of buttercream. Allow icing to firm slightly before serving biscuits with a pot of tea or coffee.
 
Filled biscuits will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.

'The cornerstone of contentment lies in a slice of cake, a cup of tea and company to share it.'

Only one month until The Plain Cake Appreciation Society is out in the world!

In it you will find 52 simple, seasonal cake recipes that inspire you to pause throughout the year, bake something delicious, and reflect on all that's good in your world.

Find your own slice of joy in the Weekday Lemon Cake or Raspberry-studded Tea Bars at the height of a breezy summer, or the Rainy Day Chocolate Loaf and Ginger and Rose Madeleines for when the weather sets in. Uncomplicated and easy to make, these recipes will provide delicious inspiration all year round.

Available 4 July, pre-order today! x

Tea, cake & blooms.

Just leaving this one here for a little Monday cheer. x

It’s been one of those weeks where I think we’re just going to have to eat cake and call it dinner. No real hardship, but perhaps from a nutritional standpoint it’s not so sound?

But if you were to eat cake for dinner, I feel this would be a solid option - my Burnished Cheesecake - and one of my favourites from my upcoming book ‘The Plain Cake Appreciation Society.

And speaking of my book (nice segue there), we’re are now just over a month out from publication date. And I can’t wait for it to be out in the world!

Available 4 July ( ) and pre-orders are open now! Preorder link in bio. Happy Friday. x

Autumn afternoons; spent making tea, sitting in the last of the afternoon sunshine, and wrangling two bickering small folk. Baths soon, then maybe a sneaky piece of leftover lemon slice before dinner. x

Well, it’s officially pudding-weather in the mountains (today, a balmy 7 degrees and rainy.) I spent the day hugging my cup of tea and putting on yet another pair of socks.

But now it’s Friday night, the kids are bathed and smell delicious (not always the case), and we’re about to have leftovers for dinner and watch a movie (Matilda). We’re wild like that.

If it’s chilly where you are too, may I suggest some spoonable-warmth in the form of this Sour Cherry and Chocolate Bread & Butter Pudding? It’s on our weekend menu and the recipe can be found in this month’s .
Happy Friday folks. Keep warm. x

A mid-week maintenance day, spent catching up on admin, editing photos, and baking quinces. The house smells deliciously sweet and cinnamon-y now. Quite autumnal. I’ve got grand plans for a brown butter tart with them, or maybe we’ll just eat them with vanilla ice cream.

I’ve also restocked my online store with cards and tea towels. My shop link is in my bio if you’re in need of a little botanical cheer! Happy Wednesday folks. x

Sometimes, by Friday, you’ve just got to eat a cupcake with pink icing and call it breakfast. Like I did today. Wise choice.
(What it lacks in nutritional value, it makes up for with emotional support, in spades!)

Hope you’ve all had a good week? Frankly, I’m just glad it’s Friday. Eat the cake. x

Cupcakes with Strawberry Jam Buttercream
(makes 10-12 cupcakes)

125g unsalted butter, softened
165g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
2 eggs
185g self-raising flour
125ml buttermilk (or milk)

Icing:
125g unsalted butter, softened
200g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
3 tbsp tart strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 160°C (fan-forced) and line a 12-hole cupcake tin with paper cases.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, sugar and vanilla until very light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well in between.

Add half the self-raising flour, stirring gently, before adding half the buttermilk (or milk). Once incorporated, follow with the remaining flour, then remaining milk, stirring briefly until combined.

Divide batter evenly between prepared tins, and bake for 15-18 minutes or until cakes are golden brown and cooked through. Allow to cool in tins for a few minutes before transferring cakes to a wire rack to cool completely.

When cakes are cool, make buttercream by combining all icing ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and beating until smooth and fluffy. Divide buttercream between cupcakes, smoothing and swirling the top, and decorating with sprinkles if you like (I like).

Rose Garden | New work for .

I was delighted when Villeroy & Boch got in touch to see if I’d like to shoot their new Rose Garden range. As part of their Mother’s Day campaign I mixed and matched Rose Garden with some of their other classic designs - and when paired with tea, cake, and blooms, it was hard to go wrong! I’d be very pleased indeed if my Mother’s Day table looked this delightful! x

Berry & Rose Cream Cake.

It’s never not a thrill to see my work in each month. Thank you .imeson for trusting me to bring you your monthly dose of baked-goods! It’s an absolute delight. Dream job.

Find the recipe for my Berry & Rose Cream Cake (a total doddle to make, I promise, and perfect Mother’s Day fare) in the May issue of , along with a plethora of other good things to cook, eat and read. x

Ah, Friday. Never so welcome as today. I feel like we crash-landed back into the first week of term and have been stumbling along trying to regain our balance ever since. Maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it is Friday afternoon.

Today, in an effort to regain my equilibrium, I decided it was a bake-day. Kip and I made amaretti biscuits and burnt-butter madeleines, and a big mess. Everything was a little too sweet, requiring some tweaking, but as our neighbour would say “it’ll eat”.

Now in an effort to counteract all that sugar, I’ve just put a chicken in the oven. And potatoes. Extra salt. And a big green salad. It’s all about balance, right? x

A very nice tea towel.

After a fortnight away, I spent most of today trying to wrangle my brain into some kind of coherent thought (unsuccessful). Will try again tomorrow.

I did, however, manage to restock my online store with a small number of new tea towels and cards (just in time for Mother’s Day). Hooray! So, if you’d like to snaffle one for your mum (or you!), hop on over now and order. I’ll wrap and write a card too if you like, just leave me a note a checkout.

Now I’m off to wrangle the kids into the bath and find something delicious, nutritious and innovative that we all want to eat for dinner. (Ha! The dream.) Happy Wednesday friends. x

Easter and the first week of the school holidays seem to have whizzed by in a blur of chocolate, cake and over-excited small people. Throw in a glorious autumn workshop with , and , and the arrival of an advanced copy of my book, and tonight you find me wonderfully exhausted!

We did, however, find time today to dye some Easter eggs and make a Kozinjak (Macedonian sweet bread) ahead of Orthodox Easter this weekend. If you fancy a loaf of light, fluffy sweet bread too, the recipe is on my website.

https://tillystable.com.au/a-second-easter-and-red-egg-bread/

Happy weekend folks. x

And here she is. The Plain Cake Appreciation Society. My book. My third baby. And full of cake. 52 of them to be precise. One recipe a week for a whole year of cake, what could be better?

It feels more personal than I expected to be on the brink of sharing this book with you all. I wrote, styled and photographed every page, and with the expert guidance of the team Murdoch Books] it has been transformed into a book even more beautiful than I could have imagined.

Thank you Murdoch Books] for understanding how strongly I feel about cake (and lots of it!), and thank you so much to all of you who have pre-ordered a copy already. Heart full.

The Plain Cake Appreciation Society will be published on the 4th July 2023. Pre-order link below. x

https://booktopia.kh4ffx.net/2rn5nG

Ah, April. Give me all your autumn fruit and cool, crisp weather. Oh, and plum tarts, definitely plum tarts. And sleep-in and tea. Is that too much to ask? Ha!

Recipe for this Nutty Plum & Frangipane Tart in my April column. Out now. x

If I don’t look like a hot cross bun by the end of the week, I shall be very much surprised.

We’re limping through the last week of term fuelled almost entirely by fruit buns and tea. Oh, and plum crumble muffins, the recipe for which will be heading out to subscribers at the end of the week. (Sign up link in bio if you’re not already on board and hot cross bun recipe on my website.)

Happy Tuesday folks, sending good vibes and plenty of buns. x

The windflowers are glorious at the moment. Our front garden a mass of quivering blooms (nicely hiding the ominous mass of weeds). It finally feels properly like Autumn too, just in the last few days. And I do like it. A lot.

This week has felt like a bit of a flap though. All anxious movement, but no real momentum. Catching up after a week of everyone being sick. But we got some things done, and the rest, I decided, can wait until after Easter.

Right now I’m off to haul the kids out of the bath and put on an early movie. Here’s to Friday, eh? x

It’s always a pleasure to talk baking, and last week I spent half and hour doing just that with Larissa from .

We talked bake fails and triumphs, my Nanna’s Rainbow Cake, cookbooks, podcasts and how I write and shoot my recipes (mostly on my kitchen floor). It was a real joy (even if listening back to my own voice is slightly off putting - does everyone feel like that?).

Anyway, hop on over and have a listen if you’re at a loose-end. x

It was time. And we all knew it. First hot cross bun bake of the season.

After a week that was completely derailed by sickness (two ear infections - is there a prize for that? - and a migraine), buns were definitely in order.

They were, happily, ready just in time for afternoon tea - so we sat out on the verandah nursing cups of hot tea and eating buns with lots of butter. A moment of calm amongst the chaos.

The recipe for these apricot and sultana hot cross buns is up on my website (link in bio), just in case your weekend needs a dose of buns too. x

BOOK. I am absolutely delighted, and a little bit nervous, to announce that my book ‘The Plain Cake Appreciation Society’ will be published on the 4th of July this year.

The lovely folk have been an absolute dream to work with and, indeed, to have a book published is an absolute dream in itself. Still pinching myself.

Soon I’ll be able to share with you the final cover, as well as preorder details, should you want to order a copy (please do!). In the meantime, wishing you all a very happy weekend - I hope it involves a cake or two.
Tilly x

A tea and bun kind of day.

It’s cool and drippy in the mountains today. Excellent weather for tea on repeat and cinnamon buns (always). Especially as half the house is feeling poorly. We’re saddling up for fish fingers and oven-chips for early dinner I think (hooray for frozen delights), then plum crumble for dessert. x

Friday. A trip to the healthfood shop (which as Kip commented, has so many sweets he’s not sure why it’s called that), tea and pastries , school assembly, then home for recipe testing on repeat. Also plans to make these sour cherry brownies on the weekend (sour cherries being the reason for our visit to the healthfood store). Wishing you a lovely weekend folks, I can feel Autumn in the air up here and it is glorious. x

Sour Cherry & Shiraz brownies:
150g dried sour cherries
125ml fortified Shiraz (or any fortified wine you like)
360g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
375g unsalted butter, diced
1 tbsp vanilla paste
5 eggs
440g caster sugar
200g plain flour
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp Dutch cocoa
180g milk chocolate, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 160°C fan and line a 22 x 30cm deep baking tray with baking paper.
Place dried sour cherries and fortified wine in a small saucepan and heat to just below a simmer. Remove from heat and allow to cool in saucepan with the lid on.

Whilst cherries are cooling, place dark chocolate and butter in a medium saucepan over very low heat, stirring regularly until chocolate and butter have melted and formed a lovely smooth chocolate puddle. Remove pan from heat and allow chocolate to cool to room temperature.

In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, caster sugar and vanilla, whisking until mixture is frothy and well combined. Pour in cooled chocolate mixture and whisk again until smooth.

Place flour, salt and cocoa in a small mixing bowl, whisking lightly to combine before sifting into the bowl with the chocolate mixture. Stir until just combined before adding sour cherries and wine and finally milk chocolate chunks. Mix again to gently incorporate before pouring batter into lined baking tin.

Bake in preheated oven for 40 – 45 minutes until slightly risen and crackled, but still a bit gooey inside. Cool brownie completely in tin before lifting out and slicing. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm with double cream.

Brownies will keep happily in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days, or in the fridge if the weather is warm.

Ah, Wednesday, when all I really want is to face plant into one of these.

I hate drop-offs. Preschool ones the most. That almost physical pain of being separated from someone who once lived inside your own body. My heart is not made for this stuff. And neither, it seems, is his. But I love my work. And that work requires a little space and quiet away from the constant chattering and snack making that comes with small folk. Ah, it’s a catch-22. And something that I can’t seem to navigate with any kind of grace. Perhaps that comes with time. Or perhaps it will always be an emotional tug of war.

I’ve been wrestling with recipe videos today - another thing I cannot seem to master. I’m not sure the video is any good, but at least we have chocolate cake for afternoon tea. A happy byproduct indeed.

And with that, I’m off to pick up the wee ones. And hug them too tight. x

Friday, finally! I’ve been a day ahead of myself all week. You’d think this would have made me a little more organised, but alas, not. Nevertheless, we have made it to Friday and that feels really good. Extra good as we made ricotta pikelets for afternoon tea (delicious, why have I not made them before?), we’re having takeaway for tea and there’s a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge. Really good things.

Our weekend plans also include good things like plain cake (this pound cake recipe which you will find in this month’s ), a trip to the park, a spot of gardening and eating leftover custard tart. Not bad. Not bad at all. Happy Friday friends. x

March; a love letter.

The first day of Autumn and the beginning my favourite season. I've felt her sneaking in the last couple of weeks. Nothing overt, but a glimpse. A cool morning, a slight crispness in the air, all when she thought we weren't looking.

This morning was misty and cool though, and we said hello properly. I told her about my plans for plums and custard tarts, my untidy house, and how the dahlias have been spectacular.

My March Cook.Eat.Share newsletter is heading out at the end of the week, with a fruity custard tart recipe, as well as some other good Autumnal things to cook, eat and share. Sign up via link in bio if you'd like it to wing its way to you too. x