lovely little inspiration: thalia ho of butter and brioche & a few of her stunning recipes

Thalia Ho of Butter & Brioche

Hi There, Friends!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Thalia Ho, the lovely lady behind a favorite baking blog of mine, Butter & Brioche. I’ve been reading Thalia’s Australia-based site and pinning her stunning images for quite some time now, and am so very excited to share the responses she composed to my questions this morn.

To Thalia: Thank you, thank you for agreeing to participate in my ‘lovely little inspiration‘ series! And to everyone else: Enjoy!


lovely little inspiration:

thalia ho of butter & brioche

1) When and why did you begin blogging? Was there something or someone in particular that inspired you?

I began blogging just over a year ago, now. I’ve been passionate about food my whole life and have been baking since I was very young. I love the process of it, the creation, the sharing and then the eating. Beginning Butter and Brioche was just a natural progression of that, and was a medium for me to chronicle my love for baking, in particular french baking, and my personal journey.

2) The desserts you create are so, so stunning! Do you have any tips for novice bakers? Is there a particular treat that you find difficult to bake from scratch?

Keep at it. Baking like anything is a skill – it’s something that can only be learnt by doing and in the process you gain knowledge, insight and little tips and tricks that will help you perfect it. There isn’t something in particular that I find difficult to bake from scratch – but I have to say that assembling this Croquembouche cake was one of the most laborious and frustrating tasks ever.

By Thalia Ho | Butter & Brioche

By Thalia Ho | Butter & Brioche

By Thalia Ho | Butter & Brioche

By Thalia Ho | Butter & Brioche

3) Do you have a favorite recipe? If so, what is it?

I love any-type of baked or sweet recipe. In particular, I love baking brioche. My favourite recipe often changes based on whim, but at the moment my definite favourite is this poached champagne grape stuffed brioche. It’s pretty rich, luxurious and decadent.

4) What are your absolute favorite ingredients to bake with? Why?

I constantly go through ingredient phases and obsessions…recently I’ve been loving using herbs and flowers in my baking. Though, typically anything rich with vanilla is a classic. Oh, and I will never tire of using loads of chocolate and fleur de sel either.

5) Which food blogs do you derive the most inspiration from?

There are so many incredible food blogs that are inspirational that it’s becoming increasingly hard to choose my favourite reads. Those that I visit the most are written by bloggers whose personal stories resonate with me – like Michelle from Hummingbird High, Beth from Local Milk, Heidi from 101 Cookbooks, Mimi Thorisson from Manger, Rachel from La Pêche Fraîche, Sarah from The Vanilla Bean Blog and Ash from Not Without Salt. I keep coming back not only for the food but for the prose, photography, and to keep up with their journeys.

By Thalia Ho | Butter & Brioche

By Thalia Ho | Butter & Brioche

6) How do you typically prepare for a food-photo shoot?

I wouldn’t say that I “prepare” very much though before I begin to shoot, I do like to think about what I’m cooking and the way I want it to communicate through the photo. This then kind of turns into a prop and background/light search. I also like to create mood-boards of images that inspire me which Pinterest really helps with. I’m obsessed with it. It all helps the creative process and the resulting shoot.

7) What advice would you give to someone just beginning their a) photography and b) blogging journeys?

Passion and dedication are hand-in-hand requirements. It’s really important to be committed and have a deep love for the process of it all. Blogging like anything has its ups and downs, and as such you really do need a good support network – I’m blessed to have wonderful family and friends that support my Butter and Brioche journey and I’ve been lucky to meet and make a lot of supportive friends through food blogging, too.


I love all of Thalia’s creations, but these are absolute faves of mine:

Cookies and Crumb Cake
Chocolate Expresso Bean Cookies
Black Forest Gateau

xoxo! I’ll be back soon with a new post.

– Abby ♥

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15 comments on “lovely little inspiration: thalia ho of butter and brioche & a few of her stunning recipes”

  1. yay!!! i love thalia’s blog — her baked goods just look so incredibly decadent and tasty. this is a great interview, i really love this series of yours! i’ve enjoyed all the posts so far!

  2. Such delicious looking food, beautifully photographed! I’m impressed.

  3. Thalia’s creations are so gorgeous. how nice to see her featured here! 🙂

  4. Goodness me, Thalia’s blog is amazing! I cannot wait to spend hours searching through these recipes, everything looks amazing!

    Xx Lucy-Claire // Sunny Days and Lovely Ways

  5. i love Thalia’s blog!! Always so inspiring with her recipes and photos.

  6. all of those foods look absolutely delicious! xx, kenz
    http://sincerelykenz.com

  7. Oh gosh, I can only imagine the time and effort it took to make that salted caramel croquembouche cake! It looks beautiful though, and even more importantly, delicious, so I dare say that it was all worth it 😀 I love what Thalia said about coming back not just for the food, but also for the prose, photography, and journeys 🙂 -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s

  8. Do you know what camera thalia uses for her photos? They’re just so beautiful and crisp and clear!