Q&A with Tilly Pamment
The comfort and joys of roast chicken, plain cakes and re-reading Austen. Here's what the lovely Tilly Pamment is reading and cooking at the moment.
Tilly Pamment is an author, recipe developer and lover of plain cakes, so much so that she has just written a whole book in celebration of them. From sturdy loaf cakes to tea cakes, slices and sponges, it’s all about creating, in Tilly’s words, “little pockets of cake calm”.
Here, she shares what she’s been reading, cooking and loving at the moment. Plus a recipe from her beautiful book for burnished cheesecake with morello cherries.
We’ll be back with a new episode in a couple of weeks, in the meantime, thank you Tilly for taking our Q&A!
Germaine and Sophie x
What’s the last book you read and LOVED and why?
Often I find myself 'reading' cookbooks, rather than fiction at the moment - and currently at the top of the stack on my bedside table is Tessa Kiros' new book 'Now & Then'. It's a beautiful collection of recipes and stories from Tessa's life and feels like picking up a good friend.
What was the last meal you had in a restaurant and LOVED? And why?
Not a restaurant meal as such, but during the holidays we took the kids into Sydney for the day, and our first stop (as I always try to make it!) was Flour & Stone. We shared a slice of their Old Fashioned Vanilla Cake, Rhubarb & Pear Tart, Pannacotta Lamington & Family Chocolate Cake. The PERFECT breakfast in my book!
What was the last meal you had at home and LOVED? And why?
I often forget how good a simple roast chicken is. But whenever I remember to cook one, I am always delighted! Butterflied and baked on a bed of lemon, with butter under the skin, you really can't go wrong. Especially with a tray of crispy baked veggies and a green salad. Perfectly delicious.
What’s your go-to comfort food?
Anything with mashed or roast potatoes! And more specifically, things that my mum used to cook us when we were kids; pasties, chicken schnitzel, meatloaf or rissoles.
What’s your go-to comfort read?
When I'm in need of comfort, I often return to Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice', or one of Maggie Alderson's novels. I've read them all countless times, but find them delightfully lighthearted and cheering.
A cookbook you are loving cooking out of at the moment?
Apart from Tessa's, I am loving Gill Meller's book 'Root, Leaf, Stem, Flower' at the moment. Not a new book, but one I find myself often dipping in and out of. It's full of beautiful flavour combinations, and the photography by Andrew Montgomery, I love too.
You get to invite four of your favourite writers over for dinner, who are they and what will you cook?
Oh, what a lovely thought! I'd invite Tessa Kiros, Nigella Lawson, Maggie Alderson and Nadiya Hussain, and I would cook a high tea of sorts - chicken finger sandwiches, curried egg sandwiches, little anchovy and onion puff pastry bites, buttermilk scones, and a Victoria Sponge and tea to finish.
Images and text from The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment, photography by Tilly Pamment. Murdoch Books RRP $39.99.’