In My Tropical Kitchen, April 2026

The month of March and into early April, including Easter Week, called for some calming and comforting food, and some careful planning. I needed assurance that food would be catered for throughout the month and particularly over Easter when our club's Annual Easter Indoor Pickleball Tournament was being held, and most importantly, our daughter Shannon was driving home for Easter. I know that also means that a cake needs to be baked, and I also planned that her favourite Monte Carlo biscuits would be in the biscuit tin, or in the refrigerator, still necessary at this time of year.

Monte Carlo Biscuits

Hope's delicious Monte Carlos have been a favourite biscuit amongst our family for as long as I can remember. When our daughter said she would love Ma Ma's (my Mum's) original recipe, I was inspired to find it. I've really enjoyed doing some research, baking a few batches of biscuits, comparing her handwritten recipe with others, and now I am very happy that I can bake Monte Carlo's exactly the same as Mum did, from her original recipe. They taste perfect.

Cumquat Marmalade, Ginger and Oat slice

This slice incorporates the nostalgic flavours of ANZAC biscuits, Grandma's Cumquat marmalade, and the warmth of ginger spice, into one delicious layer of biscuit. This is  a great one for the weekend. Think breakfast, morning tea, or afternoon tea or take it into work to win a few extra brownie points.

Delicious Ginger Crunch Slice

This Ginger Crunch slice has a melt in your mouth shortbread base, and a delicious ginger caramel icing. If you haven't already tried this slice, prepare to fall in love. I really doubt that you will be able to stop at 1 piece, we couldn't.

Hope's Date Rollettes, a classic delicious biscuit

Imagine a delicious, oval shaped biscuit rolled in coconut, and surprisingly encasing a sweet, chewy, and caramelly edible date, and you have Date Rollettes, a confection which my Mother used to bake for us on a regular basis. We loved them.

Afghan biscuits, the traditional New Zealand Anzac Day biscuit and homemade Anzac biscuits

 LEST WE FORGET!

 ANZAC Day is remembered in Australia and New Zealand on Thursday the 25th April each year and is a declared public holiday in Australia, New Zealand, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Norfolk Island, and Tokelau. To commemorate this sad occasion, many of us in Australia and New Zealand will be either making a batch of the traditional Anzac biscuits, or a batch of these delicious Afghan biscuits, which have no connection to the Afghan people or their country of origin.