Cheesecake (suppose to be Blueberry....)

This cheesecake is suppose to be frosted with non-dairy fresh cream and decorated with blueberry fillings on top, but i got really lazy and i also didn't wait for the cake to be set in the fridge completely either. The cake itself is not very sweet (despite the fact that i added 20g of extra sugar) and despite the 500g of cream cheese, still feels light..like Japanese cheesecake (yes..again..) and at least this time round, the cake is leveled and didn't sink in the middle..but i baked for 2 hours at 130C.

Since i am quite bored now, i'm gonna type out the recipe...so here it is...

Blueberry Cheese Cake
Adapted from "A profit making bakery shop" by Wendy Kor

Ingredients A:-
500g cream cheese
120g butter

Ingredients B:-
200g of dairy whipped cream

Ingredients C:-
74g (abt 4) egg yolks
10g (1 pc) lemon zest

Ingredients D:-
15g superfine flour (i used top flour/cake flour)
15g corn flour

Ingredients E:-
150g (abt 4) egg whites
80g castor sugar (i used 100g of sugar)
10g lemon juice

Decoration
200g non-diary fresh cream
250g blueberry filling
100g almond flakes

Method:-
1. Cream ingredients A until smooth, add ingredients B and cream until well combined.
2. Add in ingredients C and mix well. Add in sieved ingredients D and mix until a smooth cheese mixture.
3. Whip ingredients E until soft peaks form. Gently fold it into the cheese mixture, blend well.
4. Pour mixture into 9" greased and lined springform tin.
5. Bake in water bath at 150c for 60-70mins or until firm. Remove it from oven and set aside to cool. Refrigerate it for about 3 hours, remove the cake fromt he tin.

Decoration:-
Cover the side and top of the baked cheese cake with whipped cream, spread blueberry filling on top, decorate the sides with baked almond flakes.

Double Chocolate Bundt Cake

This cake is absolutely delicious. Everyone in my family loves it! I got the recipe from http://cafefernando.com. When i saw his blog i just had to try it..check out his blog and you will know what i mean. This chocolate cake is quite unique cos it uses Toblerone milk chocolate. :)

Happy 端午节 (Duan Wu Festival)!

Today is Lunar Calendar 五月初五 - which is 端午节. So we are all gonna eat rice dumpling today to commemorate patriotic poet, Qu Yuan in the Chu Dynasty! :) I'm not going into the history and all but just that i am amazed at how after so many years later, we are still commemorating this day..i guess it is part of chinese history and culture. :)


There are so many different types of rice dumplings and every 'dialect' has their own version - so what's your favorite type?

i think this is funny...

i think this is funny...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lViRlo1_b1o&feature=player_embedded

http://www.mrbrown.com

Hiatus...possible..

I think i might have to take a break from baking *sigh*.. there is something wrong with my right eye..the eye specialist doc said that the jelly-like substance in my eye is pulling the retina so that's why i am seeing flashes and floaters. I can live with the flashes, but the floaters is making me feel dizzy all the time...i understand that there is no way to remove the floaters so hopefully they go away on their own. And every morning i have to check my vision too..to make sure i can see all the peripherals..in case any distorted vision or dark vision means my retina has partially fallen off.. I read that the mind will adjust to the floaters somehow and i do hope so too, otherwise i'll feel constantly dizzy.. them floating in my view all the time..

I hate getting old...*sigh*...and i am not even THAT old yet..i'm just middle age!? LOL!

Hey, come to think of it, shall i put up a poster of half-naked Hugh Jackman (Wolverine) on my office cabinet so that every 10 mins of working on the computer, i can look up and relax my eyes? HAHAHAHAHAHA..

Red Velvet Cakes w/ Strawberry Juice

I've never tried a red velvet cake before, but i love the deep red color of the cake, so i thought i will try making it. :) However, i hate the idea of using (yes..entire bottle!) of red coloring to color the cake red..it's like so unhealthy imo. So when Helen of Tartelette had the recipe of making red velvet cake with strawberry juice on her blog, i'm thrilled! :)

So, today, i tried baking cupcake version instead, however..my cupcakes didn't turn out as red as Tartelette on her photos..mine is more brownish pink..i wonder what i did wrong? I did cook my strawberry puree till quite thick though. i read the comments that others posted and they too said when they used strawberry juice, the cake didn't turned out as red for them too. Perhaps next time i should reduce the cocoa powder.

The cake itself is really plain and quite taste-less imo...but is light and moist in texture. The cake has to be eaten with some frosting i think. When i ate the cake with the cream cheese frosting, it tasted really good..and without it tasted blah...lol! Makes quite a lot of difference with the frosting and without imo.

Gateau Therese Chocolate Cake

Chocolate cake (Gateau Therese) recipe from "The Sweet Life in Paris" by David Lebovitz. This is his latest book which i bought recently. I was reading page 35 and there right in front of me the recipe calling 'bake me..bake me'.. David Lebovitz said Madame Therese Pellas uses Lindt chocolate to bake this amazing cake ..AND..i have 2 bars of 300g each semi-sweet Lindt chocolate in my 'snack' pantry..:p so why not bake it now and i'm free now...

This recipe uses only 250g of chocolate..and yup..that 50g is in my tummy right now..hahahaha.. i'm a chocoholic..so it is pretty hard to resist good chocolate and i have to admit that i eat them daily without fail! :o The excuse i give myself is that at least i get my caffeine fix from chocolate only.

My cake cracked on the top..so i am not too sure if it is suppose to be that way (like pound cake) or i did something wrong and it sanked in the middle after cooling off in the pan! LOL! I think i must have over-whipped the eggwhites.. Since i just signed up for a twitter account, I tweet David Lebovitz but no response from him. Maybe he thinks i am asking him a stupid question..hahahaha... oh well..nevermind, as long as the cake taste great, who cares if it cracks/sinks on the top or not! :)

Oh yes, the cake tastes extremely moist, chocolaty & delicious despite being quite ugly looking (so never judge a cake by it's look?!!?)! ..;p!

Come to think of it, this cake recipe is kinna like the Japanese Cheesecake, so i should have known and whipped the eggwhites to soft peaks so it doesn't rise and sink!

[may 23] bake again today and whipped the egg whites to soft peaks. the cake rises and sink evenly and not as bad as before. Also, i made a cut on the cake before it rises, so that it 'cracks' nicely and neatly..lol! ...also true to his words, the cake taste better the next day - actually it taste like chocolate pound cake to me (almost like sarah lee pound cake but with massive dose of chocolate!)

Feather Light Cheesecake *success*

*FINALLY*..i got it right! Yipee!! But i tweak the recipe a bit.. i realised (that's the only reason left imo!) that i have to cook the cheese and milk till roux like..but to be safe that it is thick enough, i added 20g of cornflour. I also added 20g more sugar cos there isn't enough sugar imo - not sweet enough. Oh yes, i forgot..because i used low-fat milk i added another 10g of butter.

In the end, the cake turned out well..and i cooked it quite long..1 hr 30 mins in total and it is still moist but acceptable compared to the other 2 failed cakes before.

I'm too lazy to type out the entire recipe....so check out Wen's Delight for the recipe.

BTW, has anyone noticed that the Philadelphia cream cheese is not 250g as what is stated on the box?! I measured it is only 225g (and i measured with the foil packaging not the box though)?!! Hello..! what happened to the balance 25g of cheese then? My friend said the 250g includes the measurement of the box! Izzit? I thought whatever product should be measured by the product only and not the packaging too!

Feather Light Cheesecake *failed 2x*

Opps..i forgot to take photos of my failed cakes. I was so fedup that i threw them in the bin! LOL! I failed the first time round doing it and then i re-did it and failed again. I wonder what's wrong cos i hardly get it wrong the second round!

The recipe "Feather Light Cheesecake" is from Chef Alex Goh's Fantastic Cheesecake. I tried 2 of his cheesecake recipes in his book and they both turned out great. However, this one really gets me..i don't understand why after being in the waterbath for an hour, it is still undercook and wet inside, but when i use a wooden stick to test the cake, it came out clean! I tried it the second time round thinking it could well be the waterbath that is making the cake wet, so i did it with the cake out of the waterbath, but it still didn't work and my cake cracked on top. However, i must say it did look better than the first cake which collapsed to like 1 inch..hahahaha....but still when i cut open, it is still very wet inside. Is it meant to be like this? I don't really know but i doubt so because the photo in the book shows a very light and dry textured cake.

Could it be cos i didn't cook the mixture thick enough? That's the only reason left, if anything. I'll try it again next time round..and if it failed 3x, i think there is something wrong with the recipe then! Till then...

Chestnut Cream Cake

Recipe from Alex Goh's The Baking Code. I didn't follow the recipe exactly, the recipe called for chocolate sponge, but i used vanilla sponge instead with chestnut cream layers. I figured that it is nicer combination to have chestnut cream with vanilla sponge rather than chocolate sponge.

This is the first time i am able to frost my cake so evenly without the whipped cream melting on me. That's not my skill or the lack of, which i just found out today, but the type of cream & brand that i use. I never had such great time frosting my cake before at my own pace and not having to worry if the cream is gonna melt soon, so this is the first time and i am thrilled. Even Phoon Huat's Non-Dairy Whip Top Cream isn't as stablized as this "Pour & Whip Non-Diary Pastry Cream". From now on, i am only going to use this Pour & Whip Pastry Cream to frost my cakes - it not only can withstand the heat but also very thick, creamy and smooth but also great tasting - doesn't taste like non-dairy at all!

I am surprised that this chestnut cake is quite good. Actually, i didn't expect it to be good cos it didn't turn out quite the way i expected it and plus i kinna messed up the chestnut puree that i was suppose to pipe on top of the cake..so in the end, i had to do away with that and just make do with the chocolate coated chestnuts as decoration (can you can see the condensation on the chocolate coated chestnut..shows how hot our weather is!).

Cinnamon Roll w/ raisins & almond flakes

Recipe from Chef Don Yong. I didn't have the required tin....so i used a rectangular tin and a square tin. After proving, the buns in the square tin developed a funny shape..hahahaha...i think i should have used a round tin instead. Nevertheless, overall recipe was good - the bread turned out soft and fluffy but i would have preferred it to be sweeter though but that could be because i didn't put all of the raisins required.

After the next day, the bread is on the dry side (not as moist as when it first came out of the oven) - perhaps cos i added too little butter? i think the recipe calls for brushing of butter (didnt state how much) on the bread then sprinkling of the cinnamon sugar, i think i should have brushed the butter liberally (instead of being so stingy..hahaha)..and add more sugar and cinnamon.

Pandan Coconut Macarons

Made a test batch of macarons today with local flavors, ie pandan & white chocolate coconut ganache. I added about 1 tsp of pandan paste but didn't add any coloring. I think should have added more coloring for a more vibrant color. And because it was just a test batch with small amount of batter, i piped out much smaller than what i usually do, i didn't watch the oven time and my first tray of macarons were slightly burnt on top...second tray was much better.

I added about 2-3 tbps of dessicated coconut to the basic white chocolate ganache...perhaps i should have used coconut milk to replace half of the heavy cream used to give that subtle hint of coconut flavor instead?

These macarons taste kind of like  those colored coconut candy that i use to eat when i was a little girl ..hahahaha..

I need to practice more on my piping skills though..

The Shop of Your Life

I have always been a fan of Bakerella, reading her cake-pops and her creations are just sooo phenomenal to me! I think she's really very gifted and can decorate such beautiful cupcakes and cake-pops.

When i saw her recent post about where she shopped, i was taken aback.. wahhhhhh........ made me feel like hopping into a plane right now and flying over to that shop immediately! It's like my dream shop - all the baking stuff under one roof and so many choices!! I think i will go crazy in there and buy almost everything in the shop! LOL!

And when she said that she buys sprinkles just in case...i feel the same way too, i totally understand where she is coming from..hahahaha..

Fleur de Sel de Guerande

I just have to 'dairy' this french sea salt, cos it is sooooo difficult to find here! I know that at Tanglin Mall, there's a shop that sells the flavored ones..but i don't want flavored ones, i just want the original version. I've been hunting for ages and in Melbourne when i was there but nowhere to be found. So, no choice, i seek the help of my colleague who's job is to know where to get all these stuff (i should have asked her earlier instead of going round the world!!!) and she got them for me..hurray!...

Here it is...the ever elusive sea-salt...



Also i didn't realise i've got the best Fleur de Sel which is the 'Fleur de Sel de Guerande'...until i was searching if there is even an expiry on sea salt, that i found David Lebovitz's post here (yes yes yes....him again..oh..and i am going to the bookshop later to get 2 of his books which they reserved for me..hahahaha..) about Fleur de Sel. Now i know that Fleur de Sel de Guerande is harvested by hand and Fleur de Sel Camargue is harvested by machine. See the difference? That's why the steep price of the salt! Very expensive for salt....plus in this sort of plastic bag...i thought would come in at least a box..

I'll go back home later to taste this, then taste the table salt, then taste the australian sea salt i got recently, then taste the kosher salt...and see if there are any difference or not.. It's ok, my blood pressure is low, so a bit more salt will do me good. lol!

So, now i can bake Chef Pang's Caramel Fleur de Sel macarons found at Chubby Hubby's site and finish up the last batch of egg whites sitting in my fridge! :)

David Lebovitz's White Chocolate Ice Cream

White chocolate ice-cream recipe ...yup..from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. It's really really good!! I highly recommend anyone who loves to make ice-cream get a copy of his book..(btw, i am not promoting his book for him, but it is a very good book imo)..but i have made 3 ice-cream recipes from this book of his and got fantastic results! All 3 ice-cream i made from his recipes has very smooth & creamy finish, imo better than store bought ice-cream. Normally i am not a fan of white chocolate but for this, i am totally bowled over. Amazing.

I have no time to type out the recipe, but you can find a version of David Lebovitz's white chocolate ice-cream in dinneranddessert.com.

I didn't use Valrhorna white chocolate, just ordinary Cadbury's Dream and i have such great result. Just wondering if i should try it again with Valrhorna white chocolate.

[Note : May 14]:  I finally did another batch of ice-cream with Valrhorna white chocolate. With Cadbury's Dream, you can't really taste the white chocolate but more creamy and vanilla.  With Valrhorna, the chocolate melted easily (yes, the Cadbury's Dream took a long time to melt!) and the ice-cream tasted more white-chocolatey flavor, ie, you can taste the white chocolate in the ice-cream.  So my verdict: both equally yummy but with different taste, so largely depends on what you like. 

What's For Dinner?

I cooked my own mother's day dinner and dessert...lol!...

Like my mortal & pestle? It's very heavy!! But I have another bigger one inherited from my mom..it's a block of rectangular stone with a pin-like stone and that's very very very heavy..that if i ever drop it on my foot, i think it will crush the bones on my foot!..lol! The process of making sambal...yup..i'll thought i be 'hardworking' and pound my sambal instead of using the food processor. But in the end, it was so boring and tiring that i got my domestic helper to pound instead....;p

Normally, i don't blog about what i cook for dinner (this blog here is more of a diary for me so i can remember what i baked before and what i did wrong/right..), but since it is Mother's Day today, so i'll do something different? Also i forgot it is Mother's Day today and i bought all the stuff to cook for dinner instead of 'relaxing' today....so on with it.... here's what we had for dinner..

Sweet Sambal Eggs..the sambal a bit similar to the nasi lemak type of chilli sauce. 

Sambal Prawns..everyone said it is yummy..dunno if it is mother's day and they all making me happy..hahahaha

Stir fry vegetables. I don't know what these tiny vegetables called though..anyone know?

That's what's for mother's day dinner tonight.  

Next Dessert - white chocolate ice-cream - really good!

Coffee Macarons

Second batch of macarons that i made today. Coffee macarons with white-chocolate-coffee ganache. To give the macarons coffee flavor, i added 3 tsp of instant coffee powder & 1 tsp of coffee paste. White chocolate ganache with 2 tsp of instant coffee powder to give the white chocolate coffee flavor and ended up with not just coffee taste but also a tinge of toffee taste.

I find that once you get the 'hang' of making macarons, it is not too difficult actually..just know the right consistency of the macaron batter, everything will turn out well. The only thing is i am still bad with the piping..so some of my macarons are big and some are small.. hahahahaha...but the funny thing is despite all the uneven piping i still can 'match' the shells..lol!

Basic white chocolate ganache and basic macaron batter can be found at Tartelette's blog.

PS: These coffee macarons are instant hit with everyone..everyone likes the coffee macarons better than the orange ones, including me. Normally i like orange-flavored anything but some how when i ate them both side by side, the coffee ones stands out better. I guess i didn't put enough orange flavor to the orange macarons..next time i'll trying adding a bit of orange essence and see if that improves it.

Orange Macarons

I have been making ice-cream hence lots of egg-white sitting in my fridge..so i figured, why not make more french macarons (so i can practise too..hahaha..). I decided to make orange macarons with chocolate ganache with orange flavor & coffee macarons with coffee cream.

For orange flavor in the macarons, i added orange paste to give the macarons shell a tinge of orange flavor. For chocolate ganache (i used David Lebovitz's chocolate ganache) but to add that orange flavor, i added orange zest to the chocolate ganache and a bit of rum. I wanted to use orange liquor..but was too lazy to take it down from the high shelf so i added a bit of rum instead.

Coffee Ice Cream

My daughter (aka my part-time photog) requested for coffee ice-cream - her favorite. So i prowled through my books for what i think is the best coffee ice-cream. Easy to make and great tasting. Since i had good results with David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop for my earlier chocolate ice-cream, i decided to use his coffee ice-cream recipe.

The recipe and steps of how to make is shown by Simply Recipes. However she uses decaf coffee beans. I never thought of the caffeine issues though....what was in my mind was using the best aromatic coffee beans. After looking around, I settled for Starbucks espresso coffee beans (i wanted to use Lavazza but i can't find in the supermarket i was at).

I have to say that the ice cream taste great! I'm not a coffee drinker but i have to say the coffee ice-cream is extremely fragrant, velvety smooth and yummy! I'm not exaggerating when i say this coffee ice-cream is really good! I really have to say that David Lebovitz's recipes are absolutely great! Seriously..i am thinking of getting more of his books except that some of them are out of print and thus expensive..right now in my mind, i am thinking of ordering his Book of Chocolate from amazon...perhaps i'll wait for his new book which is suppose to be out soon..and order it together. :)

Chocolate Wafers

I baked chocolate wafers today thinking that they would go great with my coffee ice-cream which is 'ripening' in the freezer. I came upon Smitten Kitchen's homemade chocolate wafers & icebox cupcakes and thought what a good idea to bake some of these and plus they look easy. Check out her blog and recipe which is adapted from Alice Medrich's Pure Dessert.

I used Hershey's special dark cocoa powder instead of the Valrhona cocoa powder which Smitten Kitchen did. Well, the main reason was i was too lazy to dig my pantry for my Valrhona cocoa powder which was lying around somewhere (Hershey's however was just on the shelf within reach..:P) and I wanted my wafers to look dark like Oreo cookies. Well, in the end, they do taste like Oreos..quite similar. lol!

Yummy! :9 Everybody ought to try this..it's so easy to do and hassle free. The only hassle is our hot weather here melts the cookie dough lightning fast, so each time i cut the cookie pieces, i have to put them in the fridge immediately....prior baking.

Baked Donuts

I wanted to make some donuts but just refuse to fry them..i hate deep frying anything. So when i came upon this recipe from 101cookbooks.com for baked donuts, i just had to try it.

I glazed donuts with butter/vanilla glaze. However, don't except them to taste like the fried ones..i find it is a cross between bread and donuts..hahaha..the exterior is a bit dry like bread/bagel but centre soft like donut. I guess the exterior is dry because it's baked rather than fried but definitely healthier than fried ones. :)