Chocolate Cream Cheesecake

If you have read my previous post last month, I said that I have excess of marcarpone cheese.. I've been procrastinating all these while.. Hence, I've been baking excessively this Christmas week cos I wanna use up all the mascarpone cheese and also for the gathering I have at work.. And of ocurse trying out new recipes from the new books that I have.. Weee~

I never tried making chocolate cheesecake before.. Hence, you should know what happened... I made a new recipe from the new book that my sis bought for me.. The author is a Malaysian if I'm not wrong or Singaporean.. I don't know.. It's called Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau...All her cheesecakes look fabulous and mouth watering.. It's very inspiring actually... However, what I don't really like about the book is that it's not very detailed.. hence making it hard for me to decipher the steps.. I have to think properly and experiment on my own.. But other than that, it's a great book.. Go get it if you can... Support Asian cooks and Bakers!! hehe..

Chocolate Cream Cheesecake (taken from Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau)
(my notes in red)

TOPPING
200ml whipping cream
50ml milk
250g dark chocolate, chopped

FILLING
10 egg yolks
2 eggs
60g brown sugar
500ml milk
300ml whipping cream
2 tsp instant coffee powder
250g dark chocolate, melted
250g mascarpone cheese, stirred gently until smooth

BASE
30g butter, diced
60g dark chocolate
1 tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp instant coffee powder, mixed with 1 tsp hot water
2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted
40g ground hazelnuts

Directions:
TOPPING
1. Heat cream and milk over gently simmering water. Add chocolate. Stir until smooth.

2. Pour two-thirds of topping into a deep 20-cm round cake pan. Cover and refrigerate. Set aside remaining chocolate.

Filling
1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Whisk egg yolks, eggs and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Set aside.

2. Combine milk and cream in a pan over low heat. Bring to the boil and remove from heat immediately. Stir in coffee powder and chocolate. Stand for 5 minutes. Slowly pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture while stirring until combined. Strain then leave to cool.

3. Stir in mascarpone into chocolate mixture until smooth. Slowly pour mixture on chocolate topping in cake pan. Place pan in water bath. bake for 50 minutes. (I need to bake quite long.. almost more than an hour..and I had to increase the temprature higher for the last 15 minutes or so. The point is, you need to bake till the  batter is firm enough to hold the base later.. so that it won't sink.. I'm assuming that it will sink it its still in liquid-y state).

Base
1. Combine butter and chocolate. Stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, egg, milk, and coffee mixture, one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into a piping bag with a large plain nozzle.( I didn't use a piping bag.. Just spread it with a trusty spoon or spatula. Try to make as leveled as possible)..

2. Remove cake pan from oven. Pipe mixture on filling. Bake for 15 minutes or until centre of base is firm. (I did a toothpick test with the base). Remove and cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Carefully run a knife around the edge and invert cheesecake onto a serving plate. Warm remaining chocolate topping and serve with cake. Decorate as desired.

I made half the recipe as usual.. I used 70% chocolate for the whole recipe.. and the cheesecake wasn't sweet at all including the topping.. Hence, I would recommend using milk chocolate or not-so-dark chocolate for the topping at least... I think you can opt out the coffee if you don't want to bitterness tang inside the filling..

This recipe produces a soft cheesecake.. not cakey at all although it's a baked cheesecake.. It's not really like custard.. More to creamy.. Overall, I think it's a lovely cheesecake for all dark chocolate lovers.. You can tweak the recipe a bit for a slightly sweeter cheesecake..

~Another day is going by..
I'm thinking about you all the time~

Chocolate and Banana Cupcakes

Recently, my sister bought for me some recipe books.. 3 books to be exact.. One is a Cupcake book, one Bread book and one Cheesecake book.. They were quite affordable actually.. Which is good.. But she bought it so that I can bake some of it for her.. Partly.. Pffftt~ Thanks for the wonderful books anyway.. :)

Anyway, I love love love the Cupcake book.. It's called Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery.. The cupcakes look really pretty and I can't wait to make them all.. Haha... I kept looking through the book everyday.. Contemplating which one I want to make.. All I had to do was wait for payday to make my first one.. The book had so many pretty pictures and I like the fact that they do not use any tip to frost the cupcakes.. just a spatula to spread and sprinkle away with the beautiful toppings.. Hence, on Monday.. I finally made something..

The cupcakes rose nicely, nice eaten just like that.. I like the buttercream for the fact that it uses dark chocolate.. It's still sweet but I it was just nice to me.. The buttercream consistency was on the softer side which I had mixed a bit longer.. Helps a bit.. but I suggest you just fridge it for a while.. It kinda helps.. The banana taste was kinda mild.. maybe the bananas I used were quite small.. But I would put more bananas in next time...

Chocolate and Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream (taken from Cupcakes from the Primrose Bakery by Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas) (my notes in red)

125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
250g caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
250g plain flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
4 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
175g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken or chopped into small pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 160 C / 350 F/ gas mark 4 and line a 12-hole muffin tray with the appropriate size cupcakes cases

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and smooth, which should take 3-5 min using an electric mixer.

3. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat again briefly (add the eggs one at time making sure it is has incorporate well in between). Stir in the mashed bananas and chocolate pieces using a wooden spoon (careful not to over-stir).

4. Carefully spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, filling them to about 2/3 full. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes. To check they are cooked, insert a skewer in the centre of one of the cakes - it chould come out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and leave the cakes in their tins for about 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool.

6. Once they are completely cool, ice the cupcakes with chocolate buttercream. If you wish, pop some chopped walnuts on each one. Alternatively, you could simply serve them with no icing at all for a breakfast treat, warmed in a the oven for a few minutes beforehand.

Chocolate Buttercream Icing

175g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids)
225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk, at room temperature
1 tsp good quality vanilla extract
250g icing sugar

1. Melt the chocolate in a bowl or plastic just in the microwave until smooth and of a thick pouring consistency. A general guide would be to heat at 30 sec intervals on medium, stirring in between, to avoid burning the chocolate. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a heatproof glass bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Stir in occasionally until it has completely melted and is quite smooth. Leave to cool slightly.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, milk, vanilla and icing sugar until smooth - this can take several minutes with an electric hand mixer (I beat the butter, milk and vanilla first to soften the butter a bit and then add the icing sugar gradually). Add the melted chocolate and beat again until thick and creamy. If it looks runny to use when trying to ice the cupcakes or cakes, simply keep beating - this will thicken the icing and improve its consistency.

~Running away you can't pretend..~

Wilton Course 2

Yes.. That's my cake!!! My beautiful garden that I created... Hahaha.. I just had like abundance of flowers.. Hence, I overloaded my cake with it so as not to waste it.. What do you all think? The flowers were like done in a span of one week.. I did on average 2 different types per day when I'm free.. I had to do it at night after work and it would take one whole night to dry...

My concept was like flowers on both side.. I wanted to make an all rounded cake.. Hence, I made the flowers flow down to the front on the right side.. and flowers flow down to the back on the left side.. But for picture taking purposes, I can only put the bird facing one 'front'.. But my concept is all-rounded.. I just placed as many flowers as possible cos I had waaaaay toooo many.. Haha.. I still have leftovers till today.. PPfftttt...

My favourite flowers were the almost-red daisies and primrose.. For colouring, I love the Orange coloured roses.. But my roses can never be as pretty as the ones in the book.. Why???? My favourite flowers to make would be Apple Blossom and Violets.. haha.. I love making pansies too.. Daffodils are pretty too!! Ok ok.. I love all of them!!

I enjoyed Course 2 alot.. Our instructor was Kathryn.. Very knowlegeable and shared alot of stories with us.. Made new friends.. Pauline, Kristina (she's with me from Course 1), Wilmur, Melody and Christina.. All a happy and friendly bunch.. Learned a lot.. Exchanged a lot of info.. Wish we can all be in the same class again!! These are the other awesome cakes that were made by the ladies of the class..

The cake above is made by Christina.. I loved her daffodils.. She made the centre bud with orange colour.. It was really pretty and outstanding..
I thought her pink rose was pretty even though she thought it wasn't that nice.. She makes awesome chrysanthemum too.. :)

Next is Wilmur's cake.. Very pastel, very sweet.. I liikkee... Hehe.. I love her purple primrose.. And the height of the cake made it so magnificent.. Simply decorated which is good.. I wonder how it was being eaten in the end though.. Hehehehe..

Up next is Melody's cake... Very nice blue which makes the white flowers stand out.. And her basketweave look ultra neat!! haha.. One of the outstanding cake cos of the different colour.. Oh yeah.. I love her leaves colour actually..

Here is another Kristina's cake.. She makes lovely roses since our Course 1 days.. Her cake was big too but not as tall as Wilmur's.. hehe.. I love her pink flowers.. There's something nice about her pink.. The flowers are arranged and crowded in a good way that makes it all pretty.. And I liked her leaves colour also.. haha.. I think I have a fetish for looking at leaf colours.. Hmmm

Presenting to you Paulines' cake.. Her cake looked simple and pretty.. I like the fact that she used the voilet leaves.. I hated to make that.. Cos I can't make nice ones.. Her rope borders look perfect and is nicely placed on the cake.. And it's good that she does not cover it with her pretty flowers.. Her roses are a beauty too..

All of us this a great job.. And to see our final project out was the greatest relieve for the week.. at least for me.. It was an achievement.. Good Work Ladies!! I hope to see you in the next class...

Not forgetting my cake.. haha.. How about a last shot of it.. at another angle.. Just lovely.. I don't have the pictures of a cut slice cos I gave it away to my friend's baby shower event as a present.. I hope it tasted ok if not overly sweet.. Just for your info, I made a 3 layered cake.. Chocolate layer, vanilla layer and another chocolate layer.. I got the recipe from Martha Stewart website.. In between the layers, I spread some chocolate ganache.. I seriously wonder how it tasted like...

~It's been a while, so let's start now..

Let's leave the world behind us...~

Soft, Moist, Chocolatey Brownie

I felt like eating brownie since like last week... Wanted to buy one from Mrs Fields.. but it's so hard to find the outlet nowadays.. My favourite is Triple Fudge Brownie.. But I think my sweet tooth has mellowed down.. I can't take stuffs that are too sweet anymore.. I don't know..

Anywaayyy.... I saw this recipe yesterday and I saw the pictures and straight away I knew I wanted to make it.. I couldn't wait any longer.. I know I stated somewhere in my previous brownie recipe that it was THE BROWNIE recipe BUT I think this is THE BROWNIE RECIPE.. hahahah.. Im fickle..

I've always wanted to buy those 70% or more dark chocolate and make into something but Im scared.. But this recipe provides me an opportunity to use it.. And that is partly the reason why I wanted to do it.. I advice you to use the best dark chocolate you can get cos the brownie is just awesome to me.. *I'm thinking Guanaja*... It's not that sweet but it taste strongly of chocolate with a hint of bitterness.. On top of it, it was soft and moist and makes it taste kinda fudgey... Just the way I like it... Annndd the aroma of it was just incredible as it was baking... When I open the container full of it.. Gosh~ This is a must try recipe... I kinda knew it would be a bit bitter and so I topped it with Butterscotch Chips to neutralise the bitterness.. It was just perfect.. Sweet and bitter in harmony... I think it would be very very good with ice cream too.. It kinda reminds me of Flourless Cake but better.. :P

I baked it in a 9-inch square tray but found it kinda too big unless you are going for thin brownies..I'm gonna make it again very very soon cos I have to finish my butterscotch chip.. And what better way than this...

Spiced Brownies with Cocoa Nibs (taken from http://www.vanilla garlic.com)
(my notes in red)

8 oz of 70% cacao chocolate
6 tbsp / 3.03oz / 86.1g  unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 tsp cinnamon (optional) (I omitted)
1/2 tsp ground ancho chilli powder (I omitted)
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tbsp cocoa powder, plus extra for dusting
1/4 cup cocoa nibs (I replaced with Butterscotch Chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (170 C) and line a springform pan with parchment paper (a simple 8 or 9 inch square or cicle will just be fine). Light Grease and dust the parchment line pan with butter and flour.

2. Place chocolate, butter, cinnamon and chilli powder over simmering water (double boil). Stir together and until melted, smooth and warm.

3. In another bowl, place eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla together and whisk on high speed for 2 minutes. It should be thick and light coloured.

4. Add the warm chocolate to the egg mixture and whisk together.

5. Fold in the flour and cocoa powder.

6. Scrape the bater into the lined pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

7. Allow to cool for 30 minutes on a wire rack. remove springform rim. Dist with cocoa powder and serve. Great with whipped cream, mint ice cream, or chilled cream poured over it.

~If you're happy and you know
You clap your hands~

Strawberry Shortcake

I have like 2 bottles of mascarpone cheese in hand and I had to do something with it.. I bought it some time ago to make cheesecake but I have't done it because Im worried it won't taste nice and nobody's gonna eat it.. I know I'm paranoid.. The funny thing is, I bought it the first time and then I misplaced it and thought I didn't buy it.. After a few days, I bought it again and found the misplaced bottle.. -_- So loser right? ahaha.. That is why I have excess mascarpone cheese..

I've been wanting to make this Strawberry Shortcake recipe since the day I saw the strawberry shortcake at Rive Gauche and the Chantilly cake at Bread Talk.. Mentioning Rive Gauche will always remind me of Guanaja.. The best chocolate cake ever!!

So finally, I got around to making it this recipe that I've been wanting to make.. The recipe comes from a book I borrowed at the National Library.. The cake is sweet, soft, nice buuut... I can't really get used to the chantilly cream.. It smells and taste strongly of heavy cream.. too strong.. Maybe I could put more cheese.. I don't know.. But it does not taste that bad when eaten with the sponge cake and strawberries.. It's lovely actually.. But I do wish I could find a better cream recipe.. Oh yeah.. I was too lazy to decorate either.. :)

Strawberry Shortcake (taken from Just Desserts and Other Baked Treats by Daniel Tay)
(makes one 20cm/8 inch cake)

1 kg Strawberries, cleaned, hulled and sliced (I used around 250g without any decorations though)

Genoise Sponge
110g/4oz egg yolks
175g/6 1/5oz eggs
170g/6oz sugar
110g/4oz light cake flour, sifted
55g/2oz unsalted butter, melted

Chantilly Cream
1ltr/32 fl oz/4 cups whipping cream (I used heavy cream)
100g/3 1/2oz sugar
100g/3 1/2oz mascarpone cheese

1. Preheat oven to 180C (350F) and line cake tin with wax paper.

2. Prepare genoise sponge. Combine egg yolks, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk on high speed for 10 minutes. Reduce to medium speed and whisk for another 10 minutes or until fine air bubbles form.

3. Pour the batter into a lined 20cm (8 inch) round cake tin. Level batter with a spatula and bake for 20-25 minutes or until top of the cake is firm to touch. Remove from heat and leave aside to cool.

4. Unmould cake and remove paper. Peel skin off top of cake and discard. If not using immediately, cover with plastic wrap and freeze. Genoise sponge can keep for up to 6 weeks, frozen and 3 days, refrigerated.

5. Prepare chatilly cream. Combine cream, sugar and mascarpone cheese in a mixing bowl and whisk at medium speed for 3 minutes. Increase to high speed and continue to whisk until light and smooth. (Don't mix too long as the cream will curdle easily). Set aside.

Cake assembly
7. Horizontally slice genoise sponge into 2 equal layers. Place one layer on a cake board and place a 22.5cm (9in) cake ring over (I didn't use a cake ring cos the cake shrank and I didn't want to use to much cream all over..wished I had an 8 in cake ring). Spoon half of chantilly cream over a around sides of sponge cake layer and level with an angle palette knife. Arrange some strawberries on top of cream, then place second sponge layer over. Spoon remaining cream over and around sides of cake and level again. Refrigerate cake until slightly firm.

8. Gently ease cake ring from cake and remove. Coat sides of cake with ground almonds if desired. Decorate cake as desired and serve chilled.

~Let's make our world the most
beautiful home~

Sausage Roll (Bread Roulade)

I made my bread again after a long time staying away from it.. I have been doing several cinnamon roll recipe but I can never get it right.. The taste is there, the looks not really there.. Something with the way I do is just wrong.. But I shall practice again... Cos I just love cinnamon roll or sticky buns.. I hope I can make one as nice at the Sticky Buns I love at B Bakery at Bussorah Street.. You guys should try those Sticky Buns there!! It's the best!! *boomz* haha..

Back to my baking.. I felt like working with yeast the other weekend and I made these cos somebody requested for it.. I learned to make these at some Bread workshop that my workplace was having.. It was really enjoyable and I learned a few new stuffs and got to know new places.. The chef told us the Bread Roulade is just a sophisticated name for Bread Roll.. It is not really that difficult or tough making breads.. just strength and patience.. :)

I didn't use any machine at all because I wanted to see whether I can successfully make bread with just my bare hands.. Hehe.. And anyway.. machine does not help much cos bread dough tends to be very very heavy and  you would still need to knead it yourself.. aaannndd. I do not want to risk spoiling my beloved KitchenAid.. While I was doing this, I totally missed out the butter until I added all the dry and wet ingredients and was mixing it with my hands.. I quickly took out the butter from the fridge and cut it into small pieces and pinch it together with all the ingredients in.. I was quite worried by then whether my actions would result in a failure.. But thank god everything went well... I was really drained by the end of 25 minutes or so kneading the dough.. haha.. I kept kneading and kneading because the dough wasn't smooth and I couldn't get a stretchable 'gluten window'.. (I will take a picture of the 'gluten window' one day to show you was it is). This gluten window shows that the dough is ready to rest and let the yeast do its work. I was wondering why the dough wasn't that smooth.. Was it because I added the butter late and the butter didn't have time to react and melt with the dry ingredients.. Hmm.. *wonders*   

My only condition for the person who requested me to make this was to buy the sausages.. He bought Cheesy Onion sausage.. The sausages were awesome.. I looovve it.. I  got really full eating the bread roll.. Really really full.. Hahaha..

I apologize that I can't share the recipe because I the chef states "Not to be reproduced" at the end of the recipe. So, i'm not quite sure whether I can actually share the recipe.

~See you later elevator~

Orange Muffins with Brown Sugar Topping

I've been so quiet.. A lot of things happening.. Nothing great actually.. All sad stuffs.. But I shall not dampen your mood anymore.. I've been doing a number of muffins.. Here's a new one..

I've always loved citrus flavoured cakes.. They're always refreshing and feels kinda healthy.. hehe.. I did Orange Muffins with Brown Sugar Topping.. It nice.. Soft, refreshing and somehow bland BUT the Brown Sugar Topping made it SUPERB for me.. haha.. I wanted to bite into something when eating it.. Hence, dried cranberries were my number one choice when pairing with orange.. I would double the topping for one recipe of muffins the next time I make it

I enjoy doing muffins cos its simpler as I don't have to use any machines.. You should try this, really..

Orange Muffins (taken from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Orange-Muffins/Detail.aspx)
makes 12 regular size muffins (my notes in red)

2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (I added more zest)
2/3 cup orange juice (I added a bit more)
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup ground walnuts (optional) (excluded)

Brown Sugar topping

1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white sugar and grated orange peel. Stir in orange juice, 1/2 cup melted butter, eggs and chopped nuts.

2. Pour into 12 muffin cups.

3. Blend 1 tablespoon melted margarine, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top of each muffin. (I wouldn't say sprinkle but just drop some on top of the batter)

4. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.

~Yesterday.. You ask me something I thought you knew
So I told you with a smile..it's all about you..~

Banana Muffins

Im sorry for the lack of entries recently.. Been quite busy with a few orders here and there.. and work.. and jamming with my band members..

Anway, I tried making banana muffins last weekend.. I don't really enjoy doing muffins cos I always thought that muffins taste dense and filling and boring.. But this muffin that I made really made me change my mind.. Haha.. It's soft, delicious and awesome especially with chocolate chips.. And I don't really like banana stuffs... 

My sis came across a website about muffins.. Well.. it states that you should not overmix the batter.. cos if you do, you will have tunnels and your muffins will be dry.. For more theory on muffins, you may visit this website.. http://www.joyofbaking.com/muffins/muffinrecipes.html

Banana Muffins II (taken from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Banana-Muffins-II/Detail.aspx)
Makes 12 (my notes in red)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup butter, melted   
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.

2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

3. Bake in preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.
 
~You treat me like a rose
You gave me room to grow
You shone the light of love on me
And gave me air so I can breathe~

Orders and Deserts for Potluck... Weee~

I've had several orders from my sister's colleagues and friends lately.. Orders for cupcakes for students.. one for  gubahan (wedding present?? I'm not sure how to translate it in English).. and I had to make desert for my Hari Raya Potluck at work...

Above all that... I know this off subject.. I don't usually write about myself but I just wanna say that I GOT MY DRIVING LICENSE!!! hahahaha.. All the money and effort I put into.. for that one piece of card.. Im really proud and really really happy of myself.. And I passed it on my first attempt.. hehehe.. Cool rite!!

Ok.. back to my baking thingy.. Been quite tired with all the late nights but Im used to it I guess.. I wish I can quit my job and do this full time.. LOL..

This is an order for 80 cupcakes I made the frosting with 2 colours.. Just like those swirl ice-cream that Mc Donalds used to sell.. I used to love that ice cream.. Where it's half chocolate and half vanilla.. I tried to make the colours friendly for the boys too... Hence, I did one with purple and green and it remind me of Poison Ivy in Batman.. Hmm.. I figured it wasn't a good colour combi.. Oh well.. But it does reminds me of Halloween.. :) Oh yeah, the base of the cupcakes were Old Fashion Chocolate cupcakes cos it's just the best chocolate cupcake among all the chocolcate cupcakes recipe that I've tried..

I finally made my COMPLETE NEAPOLITAN cupcakes.. hehehe.. I put some strawberry flavouring into the frosting and it tasted WONDERFUL!!.. I didn't put so much flavouring cos I didn't want it to overpower the taste of the cucpake itself.. This one was for my sis's friend who ordered for gubahan and for herself... She's lucky cos it's the last of the golden tray packaging cos I can't find it anywhere anymore...

This was the main thing that I brought for the Raya Potluck at work.. I wanted to make use of my Wilton Decoration skills.. Hence I decorated my cheesecake with it.. Don't mind the ugly dark red borders that spoiled the cake.. I wanted to do some fancy decorations with the strawberry swirl but it FAILED.. haha.. Lucky for me, the roses decorations took off alot of people's eyes from that UGLY borders.. haha.. I apologize for the ugly writing.. Like I said, Im not so good at writing yet and it was really hard cos the buttercream won't stick to the cake because of the glaze.. Hence I had quite a hard time writing on the cake.. Furthermore.. I was actually rushing.. haha..  Other than the cheesecake.. I made some extra neapolitan cupcakes for the potluck.. And also I made nutella cupcakes..

I'm really glad that my colleagues and the NS boys loved the cheesecake and cupcakes I made cos they were gone quite fast... And some were even reserved for later.. haha.. I hope we can do these kinds of small gathering often though.. It was really nice and homely and I absolutely love Hafizah's rendang.. haha..

~Can't read my, can't read my
No he can't read my pokerface~

Vols-Au-Vent - Daring Bakers

This is my second Daring Bakers entry... It was very intimidating for me cos we had to make puff pastry from scratch.. I have never tried something as complicated as this before.. The furthest I went was making bread which I'm still not good at..

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.

As the weather here in Singapore is freaking hot and humid.. I had to do this at night.. My counter top was also not suitable cos it is small tiles and it would leave marks on the dough.. Thankfully, my dad had a large marble tile which I could use to do the pastry so that it won't leave any tile marks and it is much more smooth to roll and easier to make.. and it also maintains the cool temperature longer.. When I was making the Pâte Feuilletée aka Puff Pastry, the temperature got the best of me and I had to run through and fro to the fridge.. literally.. haha.. I had to roll the dough quite long in size and the butter keep appearing from the dough as it was being stretched.. ahaha.. I should have taken pictures..But both my hands were dirty.. The flour played a very important role here and I keep throwing flour onto the butter "peek-a-boos".. How I wished my kitchen had air-conditioner.. As I was folding it and folding it, I was wondering whether this would be successful.. I was really paranoid..

It was really fun though.. I must admit that.. And when it finally baked.. And it rose nicely.. I was exhilarated.. Boy, was I relieved and really happy that all my hardwork paid of... I don't mind doing it again though.. But I really wish it wasn't that hot here..

I wanted to make a dessert filling but I had no time as I had some dinner plans with the girls.. And I brought some for then to taste.. Thus, I thought Japanese curry would be easier and more unique.. rather to my original idea of chicken pot pie filling.. Vols-Au-Vent (based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan) (my notes in red)

Equipment:
-food processor (will make mixing dough easy, but I imagine this can be done by hand as well)(I did this using my KitchenAid)
-rolling pin
-pastry brush
-metal bench scraper (optional, but recommended)
-plastic wrap
-baking sheet
-parchment paper
-silicone baking mat (optional, but recommended)
-set of round cutters (optional, but recommended)
-sharp chef’s knife
-fork
-oven
-cooling rack

Prep Times:
-about 4-5 hours to prepare the puff pastry dough (much of this time is inactive, while you wait for the dough to chill between turns…it can be stretched out over an even longer period of time if that better suits your schedule)
-about 1.5 hours to shape, chill and bake the vols-au-vent after your puff pastry dough is complete

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent
Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

In addition to the equipment listed above, you will need:
-well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)
-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)
-your filling of choice

Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage. See the “Tips” section below for more storage info.)

On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick (I think can be a bit thicker than this.. or the pastry won't puff as much and it's harder to handle thin dough). Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting.

(This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. ( I like my puffs small.. I used a 2.5" round for base and cut a small star shape for the top layer.. I wanted the sides to have more space rather than a thin border which I dd on my first batch).(Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork (prick them lightly, making sure not to go all the way through the pastry) and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.
Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly (I did put a silicone mat during the first roung and i ended up having a flat puff pastry..hence, i decided not to put anything on top of it and it turned out fine). Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings.

Fill and serve.

*For additional rise on the larger-sized vols-au-vents, you can stack one or two additional ring layers on top of each other (using egg wash to "glue"). This will give higher sides to larger vols-au-vents, but is not advisable for the smaller ones, whose bases may not be large enough to support the extra weight.

*Although they are at their best filled and eaten soon after baking, baked vols-au-vent shells can be stored airtight for a day.

*Shaped, unbaked vols-au-vent can be wrapped and frozen for up to a month (bake from frozen, egg-washing them first).

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Steph’s note: This recipe makes more than you will need for the quantity of vols-au-vent stated above. While I encourage you to make the full recipe of puff pastry, as extra dough freezes well, you can halve it successfully if you’d rather not have much leftover.

There is a wonderful on-line video from the PBS show “Baking with Julia” that accompanies the book. In it, Michel Richard and Julia Child demonstrate making puff pastry dough (although they go on to use it in other applications). They do seem to give slightly different ingredient measurements verbally than the ones in the book…I listed the recipe as it appears printed in the book. http://video.pbs.org/video/1174110297/search/Pastry

Ingredients:
2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
1 pound (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter

plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.) ( I just used my trusty KitchenAid)

Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick (doesn't matter if it's kinda rectangular-ish). Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:
Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich (use your arm-strength!).

With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Steph’s extra tips:
-While this is not included in the original recipe we are using (and I did not do this in my own trials), many puff pastry recipes use a teaspoon or two of white vinegar or lemon juice, added to the ice water, in the détrempe dough. This adds acidity, which relaxes the gluten in the dough by breaking down the proteins, making rolling easier. You are welcome to try this if you wish.

-Keep things cool by using the refrigerator as your friend! If you see any butter starting to leak through the dough during the turning process, rub a little flour on the exposed dough and chill straight away. Although you should certainly chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns, if you feel the dough getting to soft or hard to work with at any point, pop in the fridge for a rest.

-Not to sound contradictory, but if you chill your paton longer than the recommended time between turns, the butter can firm up too much. If this seems to be the case, I advise letting it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to give it a chance to soften before proceeding to roll. You don't want the hard butter to separate into chuncks or break through the dough...you want it to roll evenly, in a continuous layer.

-Roll the puff pastry gently but firmly, and don’t roll your pin over the edges, which will prevent them from rising properly. Don't roll your puff thinner than about about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick, or you will not get the rise you are looking for.

-Try to keep “neat” edges and corners during the rolling and turning process, so the layers are properly aligned. Give the edges of the paton a scooch with your rolling pin or a bench scraper to keep straight edges and 90-degree corners.

-Brush off excess flour before turning dough and after rolling.

-Make clean cuts. Don’t drag your knife through the puff or twist your cutters too much, which can inhibit rise.

-When egg washing puff pastry, try not to let extra egg wash drip down the cut edges, which can also inhibit rise.

-Extra puff pastry dough freezes beautifully. It’s best to roll it into a sheet about 1/8 to 1/4-inch thick (similar to store-bought puff) and freeze firm on a lined baking sheet. Then you can easily wrap the sheet in plastic, then foil (and if you have a sealable plastic bag big enough, place the wrapped dough inside) and return to the freezer for up to a few months. Defrost in the refrigerator when ready to use.

-You can also freeze well-wrapped, unbaked cut and shaped puff pastry (i.e., unbaked vols-au-vent shells). Bake from frozen, without thawing first.

-Homemade puff pastry is precious stuff, so save any clean scraps. Stack or overlap them, rather than balling them up, to help keep the integrity of the layers. Then give them a singe “turn” and gently re-roll. Scrap puff can be used for applications where a super-high rise is not necessary (such as palmiers, cheese straws, napoleons, or even the bottom bases for your vols-au-vent).

If you want a printable version of the recipe, you can go to the Daring Kitchen.com.. You can also see all the creative and pretty and amazing Vol-Au-Vent that the other Daring Bakers made..

The pastry was really nice.. soft.. my friends loved it.. I was really happy with cos it was a success.. But I don't really eat much pastry.. But I guess the taste is quite comparable to those they sell at bakeries.. except it's softer.. especially when you get to eat it fresh.. But it doesn't taste soo buttery which I like..

Basically, if you're doing this for the first time.. just do it without worrying so much and see what it turns out like.. And when the dough is ready to use, just play around with the size you want and what shape.. It's time be adventurous and creative.. haha..

~Whenever I get this way
I just don't know what to say..
Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday..~

Strawberry Cupcakes

I have been delaying this post for quite a while now.. Been so busy and tired.. There's so much more recipes that I have yet tried.. Aaarrgghhhhh~ Haha..

I made these Strawberry cupcakes a while back.. on the first day of raya when I was sooo free.. I've been wanting to make it for quite long but I always do not have enough strawberries or I am not sure whether I should waste my strawberries on this.. Strawberries in Singapore are so expensive and I am so picky about getting pretty ones.. Haha.. If only all these fruits are grown locally.. It would be heaven for me...

These cupcakes are nice but I think the strawberry taste is too mild.. Maybe you can add a lil' of strawberry flavouring if you prefer a stronger starwberry taste.. But the recipe would do it for me.. It's not so sweet.. maybe cos the strawberries aren't sweet either.. However, the strawberries, will make the cake a bit moist.. So if you're looking for those dry texture.. this is not it.. Cos the finely chopped strawberries will make the cake moist at some parts.. Unless you used lesser chopped strawberries and substitute with flavouring or whatever not.. :) Also, it produces a nice flat cupcakes.

The blog where I took it from used Strawberry Meringue Buttercream but I was to lazy to do it and no one in this house likes frosting anyway.. Hence, i just used what I have.. My Buttercream Drem Icing.. But very little cos I think nobody would eat it if I put a dollop of it.. haha.. But kids seems to love it though.. Haha.. Sweet tooth.. Anyway, my purpose of it was to try out the cupcake recipe mainly..

Strawberry Cupcakes (taken from http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/ - makes 40-44 cupcakes)

(adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) (my notes in red - i did half batch and made 28 cupcakes using my Reynold muffin disposable aluminium tray)

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour (not self raising)

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

3 large whole eggs, plus 1 egg white (2 eggs plus ~1 egg white for half batch)

1 cup milk

2 cups finely chopped strawberries, plus more for garnish

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350F (~180C). Line standard cup muffin tins with paper liners.

2. Sift together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Put butter, sugar vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer. Cream on medium-high until pale and fluffy. Add the whole eggs and egg white, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

4. Change the speed to low, add the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the milk. Beat until well combined. Fold in the strawberries by hand.

5. Fill each paper liner with batter 3/4 full (the batter does not rise that much. So nothing lesser than 3/4 full). Bake, rotating the pans half way through, until golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20-30 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool for 15 minutes, then turn cupcakes out onto racks to let cool completely.

6. To finish, fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open star tip with the buttercream. Pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak. Just before serving top each cupcake with a thinly sliced strawberry. (I did mine with the open star tip and a small swirl and top it with a drop of strawberry jam to make it look pretty).

Strawberry Meringue Buttercream

from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes (my notes in red.. I haven't tried this but I made Swiss Meringue Buttercream before and here are my tips)

1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries (8 oz), rinsed, hulled and coarsely chopped

4 large eggs

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 1 /2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons, at room temperature (In our hot and humid weather in Singapore, please make sure the butter is not melting. I would put it a the fridge for a while after cutting it into small pcs.. melting butter or butter that is too soft would result in a failure!! I had to fail twice to learn that it is the butter's fault :(..was such a waste of food/ingredients... really)

1. Puree strawberries in a food processor.

2. Combine egg whites and sugar in the heatproof bowl of a standing electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water (My water is still boiling but at a very very low heat). Whisk constantly by hand until mixture is warm to the touch and sugar has dissolved (the mixture should feel completely smooth when rubbed between your fingerstips) (please test it with your fingertips, it may take a while to dissolve, approx. 3 min).

3. Attach the bowl to the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, mix until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue mixing until mixture if fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl) about 10 min.

4. With mixer on medium-low speed (by this time, I would have change to the paddle attachment), add the butter a few tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once all butter has been added, scrape down sides of bowl with a flaxible spatula and switch to paddle attachment (those with no standing mixture, just carry on with the same whisk attachment, it would still work, trust me.. ). Continue beating on low until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Add strawberries and beat until combined.

5. Stir with a flexible spatula until frosting is smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using on the same day, or transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to one month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 min.

** For a better explaination on how to make a successful swiss meringue buttercream, I relied on How to Eat a Cupcake's website..

~Kau takkan pernah tahu apa yang kau miliki

Hingga nanti.. Kau kehilangan..

Maka jangan pernah tinggalkan aku..

Oh Kekasih..~