A MARKET FRESH AUTUMN
A market-fresh Autumn
Happy Easter from Cambridge Markets EQ
The Easter long weekend is almost upon us and the market is brimming with school holiday buzz. We have a bonanza of stalls and sweet treats in abundance, from the chocolate ganache babka at Babka Baby to the salted caramel-filled donuts from our newest market addition, Berliner.
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, you certainly won’t be disappointed. But we also encourage shoppers to look beyond the edible for Easter gifting. We’ve got a bounty of Easter-appropriate gifts, from candles and flowers to beautiful handmade children’s books that promise less screen time and more engaged play.
At this special time of year, the market makes a wonderful day out for the whole family, with hot food stalls, live music and of course quality stalls aplenty.
We hope to see you all here!
Seasonal produce: what’s on the inside counts
Bypass the flavourless, unblemished fruits of the supermarket in favour of the fresh and tasty produce at the EQ markets. Michael from Banana Bar explains that his Coffs Harbour bananas stay on the tree in their sub-tropical climate for longer, so the flavours have time to develop.
“As the bananas ripen, the skin blackens, but don’t be put off, that signals the inside is perfectly sweet and ready to eat,” Michael says. “My fruit is picked as close as possible to the time it’s going to be eaten, it’s all absolutely seasonal and therefore full of flavour.”
The stone fruits have now finished, but there’s still plenty of sweetness to enjoy. “Papayas are good all year round, but particularly so in winter because they’ve had longer on the tree,” Michael says. Mandarins are just coming into season and grapes of every type are providing nature’s candy in basketfuls.
With the cooler weather creeping in, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower and kale are stacking up at the Southern Highland’s Moonacres Farm stall, including unusual potato varieties like the Tasmanian pink eye that has been thriving in the red soil of the Highlands.
And grab yourself a bunch of award-winning rhubarb for a stand out seasonal treat, perfect for cooking into a cozy crumble.
April in bloom
With Mother’s Day on the horizon don’t forget we have a bloomin’ gorgeous selection of brightly-hued dahlias, chrysanthemums and the first of the Autumn’s tulips.
“The cooler nights have given this season’s florals strength and energy,” Mayfarm’s Peter explains. “They’ve grown slower resulting in a more beautiful bloom that lasts longer at home.”
This year, chrysanthemums, the official Mother’s Day flower, are bursting with brightness in shades of pink and orange, and would no doubt be received with equally bright smiles on May 12.
Babka Baby! is stocking the sweet Easter treat you don’t know about (but should)
Fresh from a worldwide babka tour, Marque Owen, the brains behind our new stall Babka Baby!, is brimming with excitement over his sweet yeast cake. To him, the beloved babka is the perfect pastry. “It’s so wholesome. It’s made with all natural ingredients. It’s just delicious and real.”
If you’re yet to try the Yiddish sweet treat, Babka Baby! at our Wednesday market, is the place to visit. Marque has spent more than a year perfecting his babka recipe, and the result is at once gooey, rich, sweet (but not overly so) and moreish, with an incredible depth of flavour.
“It starts off thinking it’s going to be a bread, but the more times it rises and the more times you knock it down, it changes the consistency of the fibre and turns into a cake,” Marque says.
On Marque’s menu, the standout chocolate ganache flavour and traditional cinnamon flavour are sold in three sizes; slice, half or full.
Take home the full size for a showstopper of a dinner party desert. “It goes brilliantly with ice cream, cream or mascarpone,” Marque says, “and I always serve mine warm so the chocolate melts a little and it’s a bit gooey.”
Made with 74 per cent cocoa Belgian chocolate ganache, Marque’s babka would also make the perfect Easter table centrepiece. “There’s a Greek Easter cake that is a derivation of the babka,” he says. But no need to wait for a special occasion. “It can be a coffee cake, a morning tea cake, an afternoon snack.”
Find out for yourself every Wednesday at Cambridge Markets EQ.
Holiday trading
We have a full house at Cambridge Markets EQ at the moment. We have great stalls, a wonderful buzz in the market and we can’t wait to see you here too. We will be open on Easter Saturday for trading as usual, from 8am-2pm, so come by and pay us a visit.
Cambridge Markets EQ, Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-2pm
Winners
Congratulations to the lucky winners of our Marvellous March promotion. The winners were: Archer Tobias, Sally Tunley, Mike Reynish, Jessica Clarke and Donna Forster. Well done everyone. We hope you enjoyed your shopping.
Exciting news!
Cambridge Markets is thrilled to announce we will be hosting a new weekly market across the Bridge, in Freshwater. The new weekly Sunday market kick off on May 19 with up to 50 stalls. The market will involve our eclectic mixture of the best fresh food and produce stalls as well as our favourite hot food vendors and other boutique retailers. Be sure to check us out when we launch.
Oliver Street carpark, Freshwater.