WhānauKai: Feel-good baking to share aroha and feed hungry tummies

Be on the lookout for WhānauKai: Feel-good baking to share aroha and feed hungry tummies, the recently released cookbook by Naomi Toilalo. This gorgeous, hard cover cookbook is believed to be one of the first bilingual cookbooks and is full of delightful baking from tried-and-tested classics to new twists on crowd-pleasers.

Naomi believes that baking should be a simple pleasure, and shares more than 70 of her tohutao reka – delicious recipes, all made without fancy equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. Bursting with bold flavours, this cheekily indulgent cookbook shows you how to make amazing, sweet treats to create memories and celebrate life with the people you love.

Whānaukai is a window into the whakapapa that inspired Naomi’s passion for baking, where feeding people has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. From her South Otago farming roots to the manaakitanga of Te Araroa marae and raising a household of four energetic daughters, kai brings together friends, family and neighbours.

In 2017, Naomi was runner-up in TVNZ’s Great Kiwi Bake Off and, since 2020, has hosted The Giving Series on social media, where fans nominate deserving recipients of her delectable baking. Naomi also works for Māori Television as a presenter, actor and director, where she is able to channel her love for te reo Māori. Naomi is known on Instagram as baker extraordinaire @whanaukai.

We know you’ll love Naomi’s Plum Melting Moments –

Pihikete Pata Me Te Paramu

Plum Melting Moments

These rich, buttery melting moments totally live up to their name. Lemon and freeze-dried plum add zingy flavour, while melted white chocolate and rose petals make sure they look as good as they taste. If you’re planning to make them as a gift you might want to make a double batch, because they’re very hard to give away once you’ve tasted one.

Makes 20 biscuits

Ngā Pihikete Pata | The Butter Biscuits

Whakamahanatia te umu kia 170 te pāmahana. Heat the oven to 170°C. Whakaritea kia rua paepae ki te pepa tunu. Line two trays with baking paper.

Whakapāhukahukatia te pata, puehu huka, kiri rēmana me te iho hūperei ki te mīhini whakaranu mō te rima miniti kia tāhungahunga ai. Whip the butter, icing sugar, lemon zest and vanilla essence with electricbeaters for at least 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Sift in the puehu kānga and puehu parāoa. Ranuhia – mix it together. Roll into 40 balls and place on the lined trays. Flatten each ball slightly with your palm, then bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Cool on the trays while you make the filling.

Te Pani Reka | The Icing

Whakaranuhia te pata kūteretere me te puehu huka. Mix together the softened butter and icing sugar.

Tāwhiuwhiua kia tāhungahunga. Beat it until fluffy. Sift in the freeze-dried plums. Tukua te wai rēmana me te pē wanira. Add the lemon juice and vanilla paste. Tāwhiuwhiu anō. Beat it again.

Pipe or spread the pani reka on the undersides of half the pihikete. Top with the remaining biscuits and chill for about 20 minutes until the filling is set.

Mēnā e hiahia ana koe ki te whakarākei i ngā pihikete, whai mai i ahau. If you want to decorate the

biscuits, follow me.

Ngā Whakarākei | The Decorations

Drizzle the tiakarete mā in a circle on top of each pihikete (or simply dip them into the tiakarete). Carefully crunch over some poihanapere tauraki-tio. Finish with a sprinkle of raupua rōhi and display them in all their beauty. Store these in an airtight container in the cupboard for up to a week.

Recipe extracted from WhānauKai: Feel-good baking to share aroha and feed hungry tummies by Naomi Toilalo (HarperCollins NZ, HB, RRP $50). Photography by Sarah Henderson.