LILIANA BATTLE, NEW HOLLAND, P/B $39

As a wa girl, I think I’m allowed to say that I was a little surprised to see this book emerging from a kitchen in Port Hedland, Western Australia. Liliana Battle’s family originates from the Italian region of Calabria and the food in this, her third book The Sweet Life, gives us a taste of her roots as well as the multicultural pot that is Australia. Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit the magical baking gene or much of a sweet tooth, and yet I am experiencing a desire to have a go at some of the sweet treats inside such as the brioche doughnuts with lemon and raspberry mascarpone, fig and honey sponge cake, flourless lemon and lime ricotta cake and frozen cannoli. Not simply a book about traditional recipes, you will find a mix of the old and the new. “In a world where we get so much conflicting information on what we should and shouldn’t eat, and certain foods are seen as evil, I believe a book that focusses on food that is cooked and eaten purely for pleasure is so important.” I’ll bake to that!