Chris Gordon is our events and programming manager extraordinaire, as well as our monthly food and gardening columnist. Here is the latest instalment of her self-isolation cooking diary.

I want to begin this record by describing my recent odyssey to purchase ingredients to bake my very own hot cross buns.

First, I travelled by foot and with great cheer to my local independent supermarket, only to find bare shelves. I then travelled by bike to markets further afield and yet, I did not strike gold. A nearby organic supermarket did indeed offer a variety of flours, but none that I understood. Eventually I found a little tub of flour at a local cafe – Marios Cafe. Oh, how I skipped home only to realise that I had not considered the need for yeast. And although Australia produces more food that we all could collectively possibly eat, it does seem the nation is a little low on this particular ingredient just now.

So I made the very grown-up decision to not make hot cross buns this year, but rather to support one of my excellent local bakeries and have them deliver to my door!

I did still want to bake for the pending long weekend though. So, using the excellent Now for Something Sweet, I whipped up a chocolate and hazelnut cake, and some brownies. I did this with music pumped up high and a glass of delicious white wine by my side.

Now for Something Sweet is made up from the Monday Morning Cooking Club’s quest to find the greatest sweet recipes that the world can give us, and my goodness, I reckon they have crafted a truly tremendous gift for all home cooks. The recipes in this cookbook are fuss-free and the results are always very good. I ended up transforming the cake batter into sweet little muffins which worked beautifully. I wrapped up these bundles of chocolate goodness into sweet little sacks as my Easter gesture to our neighbours.

And importantly – neither recipe called for all-purpose plain flour or yeast…

Look out for further updates from Chris over the coming weeks.