“Mum’s been baking for so many years she feels the need to be creative”
Chef Peter Gordon grew up in New Zealand, where he was inspired by mum Timmy and her fantastic baking. Here, as his mum prepares to celebrate her 80th birthday on 19 July, the king of fusion cooking pays tribute to Timmy’s own clever hybrid
TASTES LIKE HOME
“There are a handful of cakes and biscuits that form part of every Kiwi and Australian home cook’s repertoire. Melting moments and yo-yos are two of them. They’re similar in that they’re both biscuits sandwiched together with a filling, but Mum didn’t like the way yo-yos crumble, or their dryness (they contain a lot of cornflour) so she made a hybrid of the two sorts using custard powder from the melting moments and called it a mo-yo. Mum likes to play around with old recipes a little these days as she’s been baking for so many years that she feels the need to be creative. She does all her mixing in a red plastic bowl she’s had for more than 30 years. Her favourite knife is a bone-handled butter knife that’s almost as old as she is. She does have some new equipment– she uses the microwave in some crafty ways.