Pastry chef Phillipa Margetts walks us through 3 of her favourite holiday recipes.
It took pastry chef Phillipa Margetts a few years to work out that baking was her calling. After studying media and then nutrition, she realised her passion for pastry was what she really wanted to pursue. After training at the esteemed French culinary school Le Cordon Bleu, Phillipa did a stint at award-winning winery restaurant Pt. Leo Estate before moving on to beloved Melbourne patisserie Millstone, and now serves as the pastry chef at Merricks General Wine Store.
Recently Phillipa began an exciting new chapter, creating her own business that focuses on creating elaborate cakes and perfectly-crafted treats for private clients. One of her most lusted-after creations are her Christmas cakes featuring traditional dried fruit soaked in aromatic Cognac to create a festive flavour sensation.
With Christmas rapidly approaching, we reached out to Phillipa to share her famous Christmas cake recipe, along with two more festive sweet treats. Below, we chat to Phillipa about her love of baking before getting her top tips on cooking like a French pastry chef at home.
Q. Did you always have an interest in baking, even when you were growing up?
Growing up, I always cooked. My mum always cooked as well, baking basic cakes and stuff like that at home. I always loved it and it came really naturally to me. I love cooking and then giving it to people and watching their reactions. It’s super rewarding!
Q. What was it like studying at a really traditional culinary school like Le Cordon Bleu?
They're super strict. We had to have our uniforms ironed to go to class and if you were three minutes late you wouldn't be allowed in. But I learnt so much there. It's very French, very old fashioned. But it's interesting, because when I got my first job in the kitchen it made sense that they were strict because professional kitchens are very extreme environments.
Q. What did you do after finishing culinary school?
My first kitchen job was at Pt. Leo Estate in Merricks on the Mornington Peninsula. It was very fast paced but I learnt a lot. At culinary school you learn all of the basic skills but in the kitchen is where you get to apply them, tweak them, learn to work with different flavours, etc. After working in a service environment I decided that I wanted to focus more on baking so then I moved to Millstone Patisserie in Melbourne. And now I have my own business where I work with private clients and do things like custom cakes, wedding cakes, grazing boards, and even dinner parties.
Q. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to make?
I love making wedding cakes because they’re so rewarding. I love seeing the photos of the couple cutting the cake. But wedding cakes can also be really stressful. I drive them myself to the venue and that has to be the worst thing in the world [laughs]. I’ve had numerous occasions where I’ve nearly dropped the cake. They take about three days to make so it’s a lot of pressure!
Q. What’s your personal favourite treat to make?
Probably something like a simple tart. I love sweet pastry and a frangipane filling with berries or apples. It’s so simple but when it’s done right it tastes amazing.
Q. Are you a Christmas person and how do you usually celebrate?
I love Christmas! I have a big family where my three older sisters all have children. It’s a really fun day. The last few Christmases I’ve actually worked and catered a client’s Christmas Day, but I always make it home in time for my family's big celebration.
The flavours of this one are caramel and ginger in quite a rich recipe — but Christmas is all about eating, so why not! It’s a twist on a classic layered trifle but with an update on the flavours. The fruit on the bottom layer is caramelised bananas cooked in . The gin is great because the fruit flavours come out but it also helps balance the super sweet caramel. And then it’s layered with chantilly cream, gingerbread, dolce delice cream, and topped with candied pecans and meringue kisses.
The flavours of this one are caramel and ginger in quite a rich recipe — but Christmas is all about eating, so why not! It’s a twist on a classic layered trifle but with an update on the flavours. The fruit on the bottom layer is caramelised bananas cooked in Haymans Sloe Gin. The gin is great because the fruit flavours come out but it also helps balance the super sweet caramel. And then it’s layered with chantilly cream, gingerbread, dolce delice cream, and topped with candied pecans and meringue kisses.
Top tip: With the gingerbread you want to make sure it’s not overcooked. You actually want it to feel a bit cakey so that it absorbs all the flavours around it. The other important tip is to time it carefully so that everything can cool and set — definitely do the bananas and the dolce delice the day before.
This is a super easy, super traditional Christmas cake that honestly would be hard to stuff up. Anyone could do it! It’s got a Christmas fruit mince made with Croizet VSOP Cognac, which is very festive. Once you’ve cooked the cake you want to take it out of the oven and glaze it with the Drambuie Liqueur while it’s still warm. The warm, spicy flavour of the Drambuie helps bring out the spices in the cake.
Top tip: You want to soak all of your dried fruits in the cognac a few days — or even a week — in advance so that they have time to really absorb flavour.
This recipe makes two puddings, which means it’s fantastic for gifts. It’s actually my great-grandmother’s recipe that’s been in the family for a long time. I find Christmas puddings can be super rich and dense but this recipe is nice because it contains fresh grated apples. Similar to the Christmas cake above, you want to mix your dried fruit, Croizet VSOP Cognac, and with the addition of St Remy VSOP Brandy together for a few days beforehand. When it comes to boiling the puddings you want to be patient and just let it simmer away. It cooks for six hours, which is a long time but you can set it and forget it.
Top tip: I’d recommend getting fresh suet from the butcher shop because I find the powdered version doesn't work as well. I’d also advise wearing gloves when you grate it. For the breadcrumbs I use whizzed up day-old bread rather than packet ones.
