The start of another road trip outside of Cairns with my buddy Mat. Our first stop was Port Douglas (a small town about 45-minutes north of Cairns). Having arrived first thing on a Sunday morning, what else to do but to check out the local farmer's market by the ocean.
Driving out to Port Douglas, you pass my field after field of sugar cane. It's a big industry in Far North Queensland ("FNQ"). Not surprisingly, there were a few local delicacies / treats at the farmer's market involving sugar cane. Kinda kewl - the kid below sells "sugar cane juice", using an exercise bike to power a grinder (which looks like a pasta-maker), which squeezes the juice out of the sugar cane. D-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s! Tasted a lot like lime lemonade.
After a quick tour of the market and a quick bite to eat for breakfast (more on that in a second), Mat and I headed north only a few minutes to Mossman Gorge. One of the most visited parts of the Daintree National Park (a protected rainforest area), the Gorge is a really neat area with a swimming hole, a rolling river and lots of large, smooth rocks for lazing around in the afternoon sun. A quick stop for some photos, and we were off to our next destination: Cape Tribulation!
Our "quick breakfast" consisted of some badly-needed coffee, croissants and a jar of "Passionfruit Butter" I bought at one of the stands at the Port Douglas market.
Croissants recipe - c/o CooksRecipes.com. Passionfruit Butter recipe - c/o the old lady at the Port Douglas market who sold it to me.
Ingredients – Butter Croissants:
2 (1/4-ounce) packages active dry yeast or 5 teaspoons active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
2 cups butter, chilled
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
Method – Butter Croissants:
1 - Combine yeast and warm water, stirring to dissolve the yeast. Let stand about 10 minutes.
2 - In a large mixing bowl, mix together yeast mixture, half of the flour, 1/2 cup water, and honey; beating until smooth. Cover bowl with a towel and let stand for 1 1/2 hours.
3 - With a pastry knife or two butter knives, cut butter into remaining half of flour. Add yeast mixture. Fold together to just moisten flour without breaking up the butter pieces.
4 - Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat down, rolling into a 18 x 12-inch rectangle. Using a spatula, fold one-third of the dough toward the center, then fold another one-third from the other side. Lift the folded dough off the work surface and scrape the surface clean. 5 - Sprinkle the work area with flour and repeat the rolling and folding 3 more times. If the dough becomes too soft, chill until firm again.
6 - Roll dough into a thin rectangle then cut diagonally to form 12 triangles; roll each triangle from the wide end to the point. Place on ungreased baking sheets, curving the ends into a crescent shape.
7 - Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush on top of the croissants. Let rise for about 1 hour.
8 - Preheat oven to 375°F. Re-glaze croissants with egg/water mixture then bake until puffed and brown, about 10 minutes.
Makes 1 dozen.
Ingredients – Passionfruit Butter
1 pound fresh butter
1 egg
1 tbsp white sugar
2 Passionfruits
Method – Passionfruit Butter
1 - In a stand-up mixer, blend block of butter with one, fresh egg.
2 - Once butter is completely smooth, add sugar and continue blending until sugar is dissolved into the butter.
3 - Cut Passionfruits in half. Scoop out the inside on one Passionfruit, seeds and all, into the butter mixture. Blend until smooth.
4 - Check consistency. If desired consistency has been reached, stop. If not, feel free to add more Passionfruit.
5 - Adjust sugar, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to use.
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