Have you ever wondered how the delicious lavender desserts are made at The Port Arthur Lavender farm? Well I am lucky enough to be able to share one thanks to the friendly chefs Tyron and Jack! You can purchase the lavender oil required for the recipe from the shop at the Port Arthur lavender farm or from my online kitchen store 

The Port Arthur Lavender Farm is situated on the Arthur highway only a few minutes before the Port Arthur Historic site. They serve delicious Tasmanian produce inspired lavender creations in the café as well as great coffee and they have the loveliest gift shop, lots of the gifts have been hand crafted in Tasmania.  As a local resident living on the Tasman Peninsula I have stopped in many times to buy gifts. They distil the lavender on site so it is a unique experience for tourists as well as a popular spot for local residents. I regularly meet friends at the lavender Farm with our kids, for a glass of wine in the bean bags out the front during summer, or coffee and dessert in winter, they also have a cute cubby house and other activities for children.  I was a guest at a lovely wedding at the Lavender Farm last summer and the function was managed beautifully from the stunning presentation of the room on arrival to the delicious meals of Tasmanian produce and Tasmanian wines served. With the close location to the Port Arthur Historic Site the Bride and groom had the wedding ceremony at the open church at The Port Arthur Historic site with Tasmanian wines and beverages and then onto The Port Arthur Lavender farm for the reception. Handy for a Tasmanian wedding when there is an endless supply of gorgeous locations on The Tasman Peninsula for photos!

 

Thanks Again Chefs Tyron Spaulding and Jack Thompson for the recipe – and for coming out of the kitchen so I could take a photo, I know how much us chefs prefer to hide out the back behind the stove!

Layered Lavender Cheesecake – Recipe by Chefs Tyron Spaulding and Jack Thompson from The Port Arthur Lavender Farm

 

Ingredients

2 ½ cups biscuit crumb
250 grams melted butter
1 litre cream
¼ cup icing sugar
1 kg cream cheese
15 grams gelatine
1 cup boiling water
8 drops culinary lavender oil
170grams white chocolate, chopped
130 grams dark chocolate
½ cup cream
purple food colouring

 

line a 24cm spring tin with baking paper.

combine biscuit crumb with the melted butter and press into the tin.

Whip the 1 litre of cream with the icing sugar and then divide evenly between 3 bowls.

For the first layer melt the dark chocolate and ½ cup of cream together in a metal bowl over simmering water to make a ganache then mix this in with one of your bowls of whipped cream and icing sugar and set aside.

For the second layer combine the chopped white chocolate with another bowl of whipped cream and icing sugar and set aside.

For the top layer add purple food colouring to the last bowl of cream and set aside.

Dissolve the gelatine in the boiling water

Blend together cream cheese, gelatine and lavender oil until smooth

Place one third of the cream cheese mix into each of your 3 bowls of cream and flavourings and mix each well.

Spread the chocolate mixture over the base of the tin, then the white chocolate mixture then the purple mixture and refrigerate until set.

Chefs and lovers of Tasmanian produce who would like to submit a recipe for this website please contact me or share with a friend who you would be, Thanks!

My family entire family loves this quick pasta and it has loads of vegies, if you use a packet of pasta it is a super quick meal to prepare too!

400 grams smoked salmon (the off cuts or even canned salmon would be suitable too)
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 large cloves garlic
1 red onion
1 zucchini
2 yellow squash
300 grams snow peas
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
100 grams spinach
½ bunch dill
½ bunch parsley
1 tablespoon sundried tomatoes
400 grams smoked salmon (the off cuts or even canned salmon would be suitable too)
80 grams parmesan cheese

Pasta (or buy a packet)

2 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon oil
2 eggs

Use a food processor to make the pasta dough. Place the flour in the food processor. Turn on the processor and with the motor running, add the oil and the eggs. Continue blending until the mixture comes together to form a firm dough. If the mixture seems too wet or sticky to handle, knead in a little more flour by hand on a floured bench.

To roll the pasta, divide the dough into 4 portions. Using a pasta machine set at number 1 (or at the widest setting) feed each portion of the dough through the machine. Repeat this process with each portion of pasta on each setting, until you reach setting number 6, (or the highest setting on your machine). The pasta should be silky smooth and slightly elastic. Cut the pasta into fettuccini strips using the appropriate cutter on the pasta machine. Dust the bench with flour and carefully lay the lengths of dough aside until needed.

To cook the fettuccini, bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil and cook the fettuccini for 4 minutes. Alternatively, the pasta can be cooked in advance, even the day before it is required. To do so, simply cook the fettuccini as above, cool and roll in a little olive oil and refrigerate until required. Reheat the fettuccini in the sauce when you are ready to serve the dish.

To make the pasta sauce: crush the garlic and slice the onion and saute in the olive oil over a medium heat in a heavy based pan. When the onion is cooked add the sliced zucchini and squash and continue cooking stirring occasionally until soft, over a low heat add the snow peas that have had the ends removed and cut in half, the halved cherry tomatoes, and roughly chopped spinach dill and parsley until only just wilted remove form the heat and toss through the salmon (unless you like it cooked through – put it in the pan earlier) and top with the grated or shaved cheese.