Chocolate tahini caramels

December 31, 2024

   

We saw in the new year with friends close by. The hosts were vegetarian and excellent cooks so we knew we'd be well fed and, as I often do, I thought I could best contribute by bringing something sweet. The guest list included dairy-free and gluten-free eaters and my mind swiftly turned to a chocolate tahini caramel recipe I'd bookmarked just a few weeks earlier.

The active preparation time looked pretty quick and I was so relaxed about it all that I took an afternoon nap and just barely allowed enough time for these sweets to set! The tahini caramel looks soft and smooth when poured into the loaf pan but it needs freezing to solidify and once that's achieved, it doesn't necessarily slice into neat little squares. I didn't mind odd little caramel shapes and trusted that my friends wouldn't, either. It's worth keeping the caramels in the freezer right until the last moment before coating them in chocolate, because they will melt - quick work is needed and then it's back into the freezer for a final set.

This is the one drawback of this treat - it's not stable at room temperature. These bites need to be carefully stored, ideally not touching each other, in the fridge or freezer until it's time to serve them. If you can manage that, there's much enjoyment to be had: a fudgy centre with a sweet, nutty flavour; a thin, silky layer of chocolate; and a bonus burst of texture from the sesame seeds on top. 

   

Chocolate tahini caramels

(slightly adapted from a recipe on Minimalist Baker)

2 tablespoons margarine

1/3 cup sweet syrup (e.g. maple, golden; I used brown sugar syrup)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup tahini

1 cup dark chocolate chips

sesame seeds, for garnishing

Line a loaf pan with baking paper. Place the margarine, syrup, vanilla and salt in a small saucepan and set it over medium heat. Whisk the mixture as you bring it to the boil. Turn off the heat and whisk in the tahini. Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and freeze for 1-2 hours, until solid.

When the caramel is solid, line a tray that will fit into your freezer with baking paper. Melt the chocolate using your preferred method. Retrieve the caramel from the freezer and slice it into bite-sized squares (as you can see from the photos above, my bite-sized chunks weren't always square). Use a teaspoon and a fork to swiftly drop one caramel at a time into the melted chocolate, coat it on all sides, and transfer it to the tray. Repeat with all the caramel bites. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the caramels and lightly press them into the top of the chocolate. Pop the chocolates back into the freezer for 30-45 minutes.

After serving, store any uneaten caramels in the fridge or freezer.

Toil & Trouble

December 22, 2024

   

Our veg*n group chat brought our attention to a new veg restaurant, Toil & Trouble, towards the end of 2024. It's located on Lygon St and a pleasant walk from our home so we ducked in for a visit just before Christmas. The atmosphere is a little fancier than most veg*n restaurants, perhaps aiming for a wine bar style, and they clearly take pride in their mixed drinks as we were offered, served and sitting with our drinks for some time before we caught sight of the food menu.

   

Michael tried the spicy cucumber margarita ($20), even (especially?) after a neighbouring diner spluttered in surprise at its heat - the medley of cucumber, chilli and coriander made sense. I selected Fluff of the Dog ($14) from the mocktails, a tall glass of yuzu and mint-spiked salted lemonade.

   

While a couple of the cocktails included egg whites, the food menu was all vegan, with many entrees to share, a couple of salads and a couple of mains. Our cocktails especially complemented the burnished miso butter corn ribs ($17). 

   

I'm always keen to try a veg*n phish & chips ($27) when it's available. Unusually for Australia, this one comes with a curry sauce, which worked well with the chips but just can't win over my love of tartare. Apple, fennel and cabbage slaw is a refreshing idea as an accompaniment but in practice wasn't quite as bright as I'd hoped. The centrepiece phish was impressive, though! The tofu had a bit of flakiness, was lined with nori, and was well-battered and seasoned - an excellent alternative to the off-the-shelf mock meats we know well.

   

We rounded out our meal with a spicy tofu salad ($18). Again, Toil & Trouble didn't shy away from the chilli and added some chunky charred leek to this plateful of greens.

It's early days for Toil & Trouble, so their menu and systems might still be adjusting. Our visit was a flawed but a pleasant and promising experience and we hope they'll have the space to grow into something great.

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Toil & Trouble

169 Lygon St, Brunswick East

7050 4821

food, cocktails, mocktails

https://www.toilntrouble.com.au/

Accessibility: The entry is narrow with a very shallow ramp. The interior is flat with quite densely arranged furniture, mostly standard-height tables with backed chairs and a few high tables with backless stools. We ordered at our table and paid at a high counter. We didn't visit the toilets.

Marama

December 13, 2024

   

After a thoroughly enjoyed dinner at Henry Sugar, we cycled a little way north on Rathdowne St to another wine bar, Marama, for dessert. We once had a great (though unblogged) dinner of shared plates at Marama with a friend in 2023, so we entered optimistically. While Henry Sugar was sedate and welcoming, Marama had attracted a rowdy Friday evening crowd and we almost preferred to be offered a window bench on the farthest edge of it.

There were two desserts on the menu, so we were exempt from decision-making. The first was sticky date pudding ($19), with miso butterscotch and custard. While the miso didn't make a strong impression the classic elements were present and correct: a dense square of caramelly cake and a rich, silky sauce.

   

Second was something a little more creative and summery, centred on grapefruit ($20). A segment of lightly burnt grapefruit sat atop a scoop of white chocolate mousse, itself nestled within chunky-yet-tender black sesame crumbs, all with a side of grapefruit granita. These contrasts of texture, colour, temperature and flavour excite me most: the earthy, creamy, and icy; the sweet, rich and brightly tangy.

Marama did well to serve both the dessert traditionalists and the novelty-seekers with their two options! And they did their best to serve both the revellers and the more reserved patrons. Hopefully we'll find the right moment to return in 2025 and document more of their menu.

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Marama

793 Rathdowne St, Carlton North

9077 3303

dessert menu

https://www.maramawine.com.au/

Accessibility: There is a small step at the narrow door and a flat interior. Furniture is densely arranged with a clear pathway through the middle, a mixture of regular height tables with backed chairs and cushioned benches, and high tables with backed stools. We ordered at our table and paid at a high bar. We didn't visit the toilets.

Henry Sugar

December 13, 2024

   

I've been quite oblivious to Henry Sugar's reputation as a wine bar and restaurant. Locking my bike out front each time I got a haircut led me to looking them up on instagram, where I noticed that their Sunday lunch specials often had appetising vegetarian options. I decided to follow through with a visit for my birthday dinner with Michael.

The menu fits easily onto an A5 page. No dietary features are marked but we found it pretty easy to figure out what was vegetarian; the staff would no doubt be happy to help with other constraints.

   

Naturally there was a cocktail list and thankfully a few mocktails as well. I had the longest ice cube of my life, surrounded by Aces, rhubarb and rosemary ($14, pictured left) while Michael chose a Noël Sour from the seasonal specials ($23, pictured right), a concoction of white peach brandy, whiskey, rum, oloroso, crème de mure and lemon.

   

I was delighted when our crisps ($9) arrived in their own Henry Sugar packaging. These are lightly tempura-battered leaves seasoned with salt and vinegar, a fun way to get started.

   

The bread course ($9) is a little playful as well, as they serve puffy focaccia with Vegemite butter. 

   

Getting into the meal proper, we shared a shallow dish of smoked eggplant, stracciatella, curry honey and buckwheat ($24). This was soft, sweet and smoky with a contrasting crunch from the buckwheat, and the right thing to have alongside the bread.

   

The butternut 'short rib' ($29) was the meat-mocking we didn't expect to see on an omni wine bar's menu. It didn't resemble the texture of meat at all, but the sweet pumpkin was a good substrate for lacquering with koji BBQ sauce. Alongside was a spicy sambal tumis, which we both enjoyed in differing proportions.

   

As a side to the 'rib', we shared an excellent plate of charred asparagus served on a scoop of burnt scallion cream cheese with a halo of chilli crisp ($26).

We were pleasantly filled and very happy by this stage, ready to trust that the desserts would be very good. But it was early and the weather was gorgeous so we opted to get back on our bikes and make that a second stop of its own. The service at Henry Sugar was prompt and friendly, and I'd gladly go back if I found a special occasion for it. They're also well-placed for a sneaky mocktail-and-crisps after my next late-arvo haircut.

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Henry Sugar

296-298 Rathdowne St, Carlton

9448 8196

menu 

https://www.henrysugar.com.au/

Accessibility: There's a shallow ramp on entry. Furniture is medium-to-generously spaced, with a mixture of high tables and backless stools toward the front and regular-height tables with backed chairs and padded benches toward the back. We ordered and paid at our table. We didn't visit the toilets.

Holy Crumpets

December 11, 2024

   

I've had my eye on Holy Crumpets for a while. Their street signs are modest (with the previous occupant's name, babajan, still visible) and I suspect it's taken them a while to hit on regular opening hours (although these are now clearly visible on their door and their instagram page). Happily those hours included my 2024 birthday and we stopped in for breakfast at the start of a work-from-home day.

Holy Crumpets is a simple operation that suits me well: they make and serve sourdough crumpets with classic toppings (butter, Vegemite, honey, jams) and more elaborate special toppings, plus the requisite coffees and teas. That's it! The crumpets are vegan, as are many of the toppings, but there's no joy for the gluten-free.

   

Michael's long black ($5) and my chai ($5) arrived promptly in cute retro cups, and we didn't have to wait too much longer for our crumpets. I had a single crumpet topped with vanilla marscapone, raspberry coulis and chocolate flakes ($14, pictured top). It was almost as good as it looked, let down slightly by a lukewarm temperature. Meanwhile, Michael doubled up on the labneh, dukkah, olive oil and spring onion topping ($18, pictured below). The crumpets themselves are dense and textured, and we took home a pack to extend the fun.

I liked the casual set-up and constrained yet thoughtful menu at Holy Crumpets, and I'd like to return a few times to get a sense of their rotating specials and the consistency of their execution.

   

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Sweet & Sour Fork visited Holy Crumpets when they were operating in the CBD.

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Holy Crumpets

713 Nicholson St, Carlton North

food, drinks, specials

instagram page

Accessibility: Holy crumpets has one step up at the door. Furniture consists of a few medium-spaced regular-height tables with backed chairs and a high bench with backed stools. We ordered and paid at a regular-height counter. We didn't visit the toilets.