Sticky apricot, rosemary & almond cake

December 10-11, 2025

   

Long time readers will be well aware that Cindy is really the baker in this household. My attempts at sweet treats are occasional and perilous, usually limited to a work morning tea or, classically, Cindy's birthday. In the months before the big day this year, one of my more talented baking pals started raving about this cake, an apricot, rosemary and polenta situation from the Kitchen Projects substack. December is stone fruit season, so it seemed like a perfect solution to my annual baking challenge.

It's entirely gluten free, but heavy on the dairy and eggs. The most surprising step in the recipe is the use of cooked polenta, which is blended up with eggs as kind of the core of the cake batter - it's a bit of a faff, but the smooth, dense texture is worth it. I could have pressed the apricots in a bit deeper and baked the whole thing for a bit longer, but this was still a delicious outcome - the sweet, sticky apricots go nicely with the rosemary. Definitely a winner for the coeliacs in your life, and probably a hit with everyone who likes sweet treats.

   

Sticky apricot, rosemary & almond cake

(from this recipe on the Kitchen Projects substack)

115g butter

110g sugar

2 eggs

40g dried polenta

140 almond meal

3g baking powder

3g salt

cooked polenta

20g polenta

100g milk

topping

4 apricots, halved

30g butter

30g sugar

a couple of teaspoons of chopped rosemary and some small little bushels

Cook your polenta first, by heating the milk up to a gentle simmer and whisking in the polenta - keep whisking until it's creamy and smooth and then kill the heat and leave to cool.

Once it has cooled down blend the cooked polenta with your 2 eggs and set aside.

Now cook your apricots. Melt the butter in a decent sized frying pan. Add the sugar and, once it's bubbling, add the finely chopped rosemary and pop the apricots in, cut side down. Sprinkle the rosemary bushels in and cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes, until they've got a little bit of colour on them.

Now pre-heat your oven to 170°C and line a round 20 cm cake tin. Time to put your cake together. Cream the butter and sugar in a big bowl and then beat through the blended polenta/egg mix. 

Combine all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl (almond meal, dried polenta, baking powder and salt) and then stir the dry mix into the main batter bowl. Pour the mix into your cake tin and then press the apricots into the batter, before pouring over the rosemary/butter/sugar mix over the top.

Bake for at least 30 minutes - I got worried at about 35 and took it out, but it could definitely have been pushed a bit further to get a really nice golden top. 

True North VI

December 11, 2025

   

I'll be honest: I was actually hoping to have my birthday lunch at Beit Siti. But they were taking a well-deserved break and it was no disappointment to head a little down the street to True North instead. Their menu is full of fun foods, with endless adaptations explicitly laid out. Do you want yours with Nuttelex or butter? An added egg? Bacon or facon? Some feta, or even salt and pepper tofu? They can do that. Also, they have a list of seven house-made non-alcoholic drinks! I had a blackberry and ginger fizz ($7).

   

I went back and forth on the Fermental As Anything ($24): uninspired by the name yet into the idea of smashed avo with pickley bits; not thrilled by the toast stacking or the possible domination of colourless tomato and raw onion over avocado... ultimately actually very, very pleased and finishing the lot! This was pebre, not salsa - lighter on the tomato with more chopped pickles than onions, a dash of rocket, and a train of fermented chilli tahini. This meal was bright, summery and satisfying.

   

Michael gets a bit excited every time he sees congee on a menu, so it was immediately the vegan-friendly Oatis Redding ($24) for him. As the name suggests, it's oat and not rice based, built up with mushrooms, kimchi, spring onion, chilli oil, fried shallots and, for a fee, salt and pepper tofu (+$6). He loved the lot, and I was impressed by the tofu chunk he let me taste - they're available direct from the sides list and I wanna get my own serve with whatever I order next at True North.

   

True North need never just be a Plan B - they've brought their A game every time we've visited.

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You can read about one, two, three, four, five of our previous visits to True North.

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True North 

2A Munro St, Coburg 

9917 2262 

food, drinks

https://truenorth3058.com/

Accessibility: There's a small step on entry and a pretty crowded interior (especially on the weekends when the stools at the bar are in use). We ordered at the table and paid at a high counter. The toilet is a narrow non-gendered cubicle.

Beautiful Jim Key

December 11, 2025

   

Cafe Beautiful Jim Key popped up in a new apartment block on Wilson Ave last winter, and seemed immediately to be very popular. Michael suggested we give it a shot on a Thursday morning, when there was less of a contest for a table. The all-day menu largely covers the brunch items we expect - granola, bircher, avocado toast, French toast, a big breakfast, eggs on toast with a list of add-ons. It is scattered with vs, vgos, vgos and dfos, though it's missing a legend. I've no idea how they're veganising their smoked sausage and cheese roll but they'll allegedly do it.

   

Maybe it's not the best way to judge a cafe on the first visit, but I'm often drawn to a savoury muffin when it's on offer. The zucchini and parmesan one on offer here was rich and fluffy, great stuff. I cut through the cheese with a tropical fruit juice ($7). I also noticed a nice little list of other non-alcoholic drinks that I'd enjoy later in the day - butterfly pea and jasmine iced tea, housemade blood orange soda, and Non 1 Salted Raspberry and Chamomile.

   

Michael picked one of the more original items from the menu - curried soft boiled eggs teamed with mango chutney-spread toast ($22). It was silky, warmly but not hotly spiced, something he'd gladly come back for.

Our first encounter with Beautiful Jim Key was a very good one! It'll certainly be high on our list for a revisit.

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Beautiful Jim Key

7 Wilson Ave, Brunswick

0400 124 414

food, drinks

https://www.beautifuljimkey.com.au/

Accessibility: BJK has a flat entry and medium-spaced furniture, a mixture of bench seating along the wall, low tables with backed seats, then a high communal table with backless stools. We ordered at our table and paid at a low counter. We didn't use the toilets, but I think I spotted a reasonably spacious unisex cubicle.

Kilcunda

December 6-7, 2025

   

We had an overnight stay in Kilcunda this summer, motivated by a live music show at Archies Creek Hotel. The weather was pretty miserable (excepting a 20 minute period in which I took the above photo), but the eating was an unexpectedly bright spot.

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I looked past the name and booked us dinner at Udder & Hoe. It has a compact circular floor plan with an arc of floor-to-ceiling windows facing the (on our visit, very dreary) beach, and millennial-instagram vibes. We picked most of the vegetarian options across the menu - it doesn't explicitly mark dietary suitability but it's the kind of place that lists all the featured ingredients rather than naming dishes.

   

What we ate, we liked a lot. Sourdough came with sweet, fluffy Tenby Point honey butter ($8), and a flat little chickpea crumpet ($7) was topped with Prom Country feta and a tangle of pickled zucchini and fresh herbs. The same salad mix was teamed with radish and almonds, atop a burrata ($18) with a side of croutons. A third time, a pickled onion version garnished a deceptively small, very hearty mushroom and kale lasagne ($30). Lasagne isn't a summery food, but then this wasn't a particularly summery evening. It's probably for the best that we didn't order the side of organic salad leaf with pickled onion ($14). We skipped dessert but picked up a block of chocolate from their display of fancy groceries and trinkets.

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kgs' eclectic outdoor furniture looked abandoned on our evening walk, but the morning confirmed that it's a bright and very-much-in-business cafe. We started early and had our pick of the more carefully curated indoor furniture and booth seating. The menu covers off on the breakfast classics, and leans towards burgers and wraps for lunch. Again, we relied on ingredient lists and not markers for dietary interpretation. I chose a cosy plate of sourdough crumpets ($19) teamed with tangy strawberry-rhubarb compote and yoghurt plus a toasted oat crumb. Michael tried the on-trend hot honey toast ($17.50), which actually featured smashed avocado, Danish feta and a bit of chilli. 

   

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While we didn't get to enjoy Kilcunda's beach as we might have hoped, the catering far exceeded my expectations... all the more reason to come back when the forecast improves.

Miss Moses

November 29, 2025

   

We've visited Brunswick bar Miss Moses a few times over the years for live music, trivia and food, but this is its first appearance on the blog. It's had decent vegetarian options as long as I've been visiting, and it currently offers a full page vegan menu separate from its mainstream menu. Dairy-free and gluten-free options are also well-marked (although the kitchen is not guaranteed coeliac-compliant). There's a lot to choose from: little snacks like pickles and olives; classic fried sides like chips, onion rings and potato cakes; tortilla chips, the now-ubiquitous cauliflower 'wings'; a couple of tacos, seven burgers, and three counter meals. That they were out of mock-fish on this day was disappointing but hardly limiting.

   

Michael chose the Spicy Chook burger ($23); the chicken tenders were doused in a tasty gochujang hot sauce, though Michael could've taken it hotter. It's teamed with pretty classic pickles, aioli and lettuce, then a serve of very decent chips.

   

I was still eating more mindfully than usual, and figured the chicken burrito bowl ($25) was my safest option. I picked my way carefully, focusing on the bed of rice, slaw, corn, beans and salsa; nibbling at the juicy seitan and tortilla chips, spreading the guacamole around judiciously. This was a great plate, and in other circumstances I would have forked it up with great enthusiasm.

I'm not currently in my pub era, but should I ever get back there, Miss Moses will be highly ranked.

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Folks on The Chicken Scene were underwhelmed by the fried chicken burger.

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Miss Moses

581 Sydney Rd, Brunswick

8374 7825

standard menu, vegan menu 

https://www.missmoses.com.au/

Accessibility: Entry is flat and there's a clear corridor through the centre. Furniture is medium spaced; a mixture of low tables with backed seats and high tables with backless stools. We ordered and paid at a high bar. We didn't visit the toilets, but we noticed that they're located up a full flight of stairs.