Japanese Cheesecake

I used recipe from ieatishootipost and tried 3 times. The photo above was my third cake. All credits to ieatishootipost.

My first cake was a total failure because I only had duck eggs and picked up a phone call from a friend in the midst of beating egg whites. The cake didn't even bake after an hour in the oven.

The one above was my second cake. I completely scratched the top of the cake when I de-pan it. If you can see the cake was in 2 layers (it is a poor photo). It is likely that I didn't fold the whites into the batter properly. The top part of the cake was light and fluffy while the bottom part was heavy.

Ingredients:
Part A: Yolk
250 g Philadelphia cream cheese (1 block)
6 egg yolks
70 g castor sugar
60 g butter
100 ml full cream milk
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
60 g cake flour (I used the mixture of "1 cup plain flour" - "2 tbsp plain flour" + 2 tbsp cornflour" = 1 cup cake flour)
20g corn flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract (optional) - I added

Part B: White
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
70 g castor sugar

Part C: Glaze
1 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp water

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 200°C, fan forced --> because my oven is lack of the non fan force option
2. Coat cake pan with non-stick spray or oil, line bottom with baking paper
3. Whisk cream cheese till smooth over a warm water bath 
4. Add yolks and whisk
5. Add 70 g sugar and whisk
6. Warm milk and butter in microwave or stove, whisk into batter
7. Add vanilla, salt, lemon, juice, lemon zest and whisk
8. Remove from water bath, sift flour and fold into mixture until relatively smooth, don't over mix
9. Whisk whites at low speed till foamy
10. Add cream of tartar and beat at high speed till bubbles become very small but still visible
11. Gradually add sugar and beat till just before soft peaks
12. Fold whites into batter 1/3 at a time (must mix properly to avoid separation of layer)
13. Pour into cake pan and tap the pan on the counter to release air bubbles
14. Line a bigger pan with a dish towel and pour water from the water bath. 
15. Place the cake pan onto the bigger pan and bake. 
16. Bake on the middle rack for
    180°C for 18 minutes
    150°C for 12 minutes
    Turn off over and leave in oven for 40 minutes --> I tried 30 minutes but the top of cake is not brown enough)
    Open oven door slightly at the end of the baking for 10 minutes for cake to cool.
17. De-pan when still warm and remember to wrap whatever you are using to de-pan with baking paper ---> my second cake was scratched because I didn't :(
18.  Glaze top of cake with apricot jam + same amount of water (ratio 1:1) and microwaved it. 

Side note: 揮別錯的才能和對的相逢

Amarula Carrot Cake

No, I didn't lie. It is a carrot cake, see the orange bits? Yes, this is a carrot cake without cream cheese frosting. I have issues with frosting and I usually scrap them out when I eat. Half the people whom I share the calories with doesn't eat the frosting either. So I made a carrot cake with no frosting.

I first read about Amarula carrot cake from here. Of course the recipe said the Amarula can be substituted with Baileys but then it isn't Amarula carrot cake anymore, isn't it. I would then have to call it Baileys carrot cake. Long story short, I managed to get Little P to grab me a bottle when she travelled home to Malaysia from the free duty shop. Of course I need to have a few sips to see if I like the flavour before making the cake and I love it! So here's the cake, with some modifications as I made do with what's leftover in the house.

Let's pretend there are 3 carrots and 1 can of pineapple. The peanut butter bottle contains bicarbonate of soda

Again, please find original recipe here (the author is one of Masterchef contestant). I used the ml measurement.

Ingredients:

Cake
4 large eggs at room temperature
1¼ cups (300 g) castor sugar --> I cut down to 150g
1¼ cups (310 ml) grapeseed oil --> I used rice bran oil
2 cups (about 3) grated carrots
1 canned pineapple grated and drained well --> I used Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces in Natural Juice Canned 440g
1 cup chopped pecan nuts --> I used crushed peanuts
¼ cup Amarula Cream, plus extra ¼ cup for soaking later
½ cup (125 ml) apricot jam --> I used strawberry jam
2 cups (240 g) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp mixed spice --> I used 1 tsp cinnamon (I was afraid the cinnamon would be overpowering)
1 tsp salt --> after I put in the salt, I give it a taste and feel it is a bit salty, so I added another splash of Amarula cream
Extra chopped pecan nuts and pistachio, for garnish --> also crushed peanuts

Cream Cheese icing: ---> i omit the whole icing/frosting
125g cream cheese room temperature
¼ cup (100g) butter room temperature 
2 cups sifted icing sugar 
1 tbsp Amarula Cream

Method:

1. Beat the eggs in a food mixer (or handheld mixer) for 3 minutes until thick, add the sugar gradually and whisk for another 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and thick. 
2. Add the oil slowly and beat for another 2 minutes. 
3. Pour mixture into a mixing bowl.
4. Add carrots, pineapple, nuts, Amarula and apricot strawberry jam and stir well with a spatula. 
5. Sift the dry ingredients into the mixture and fold in with a spatula until well mixed. (I found the jam sticking together a little, maybe because I used strawberry jam...)
6. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). 
7. Line and grease a springform tin (used some rectangular pyrex bakeware) then pour the mixture into the prepared tin and for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre of the cake and came out clean. 
8. Once ready, remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack, and leave to cool completely.
9. Use a skewer stick, poke tiny holes all over the top of the cake. Use a spoon and slowly pour amarula and let it soak into the cake. Make sure the liqueur is evenly spread through the cake and do not over soak it.
10. I sprinkled crushed nuts and very little icing sugar on the top to camouflage the holes. 
11. Add cream cheese and butter into a mixing bowl of a mixer, beat on high speed until creamy. Turn the speed to slow, gradually add the icing sugar a tablespoon at a time until all blended in. Pour amarula cream and give it another quick mix.
12. Ice the cake with the cream cheese frosting, from side first, then the top. Grab a handful of chopped pecans and in a clockwise rotation, stick the nuts onto the side of the cake. Finally decorate the top with whole pecans, and sprinkle pistachio on top.

For some reason I forgot to add in all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda) and I thinking to myself that the batter is quite watery..lol. Lucky for me that I had pre-measured the flour and while I was taste testing the batter, I saw the bowl that contained the flour. Ha!

I kid you not the batter for this cake is yummy, must be the Amarula!

Let's also pretend the ice-cream is in a perfect ball shaped ^^

To be honest, I don't actually remember how carrot cake taste like usually because I don't usually eat them...

Banana Bread

I've made a few banana breads and they are a bit on the heavy side. This one probably is a little on the heavy side for my liking but it also means I would be eating many at one good (that's a good thing on the waist and hips). However this is probably one of the better recipes I tried and doesn't use oil. I grabbed the recipe for here.

I used a more bruised and ripe bananas, almond pieces and vanilla extract not in picture and the bottle with yellow cap is soda bicarbonate

Ingredients:

160 g (1 1/3 cups) walnut or pecan pieces --> I used almond, that's the only nuts I have at home currently
85 g butter, melted and allowed to cool until lukewarm (if using unsalted butter, add 1/8 teaspoon fine table salt)
300 g (2 cups) plain flour
3/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
168 g (3/4 cup) caster sugar --> I used brown sugar, packed and reduced to 1/3 cup)
390 g (1 1/2 cups) mashed very ripe banana
2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
90 g (1/3 cup) natural yoghurt.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius fan-forced. 
2. Place almond on a baking tray and bake for about 3 minutes or until fragrant. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Line a loaf pan.
4. Stir flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar together in a large bowl.
5. In a medium bowl, stir or whisk together mashed banana, eggs, vanilla, yoghurt and melted butter. 
6. Add almonds to the banana mixture and stir to combine.
7. Add banana mixture to the bowl with the flour mixture and gently fold ingredients together until just combined. Don't over mix as this can make the banana bread tough. Transfer mixture to prepared pan.
8. I put flaked almonds on the bread just because I have some leftovers and I love almonds ^^
9. Bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes, until a wooden skewer or thin-bladed knife inserted into the centre of the bread comes out without any batter attached.
10. Allow banana bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. 

All these sugar treats at home is not good for me! :|

Mini Lemon Tarts

I like desserts made with lemons - the tangy lemon taste kind of offset just the normal sweet dessert. Anyway, I benefit with some home grown lemons from Little P's boyfriend and as there was a planned small get together at my place, what's better than use the lemons and made some desserts? I went on my usual googling spree and found this easy to make mini lemon tarts. Mini size is great, one bit into the mouth :D

I got the recipe from Butter Baking. It appears it was initially adapted the pastry from David Lebovitz and filling from Tartine.

I have actually made this recipe twice in a month - once for the CNY get-together and second time when my mum was here visiting. Both times I halved the recipe and it made 24 mini tarts.

I cheated, this photo is taken on a separate day after I have made the tarts. The measuring jug contains some leftover lemon filing.

Ingredients:

Tart pastry:

180 g unsalted butter (6 oz) --> I used 90 g reduced salt butter

6 tbsp water --> 3 tbsp

2 tbsp vegetable oil --> 1 tbsp

2 tbsp sugar --> 1 tbsp castor sugar

Pinch of salt --> I omitted this as I used reduced salt butter

2 cups flour (300g, 10 oz) --> 1 cup

Lemon filling:

¼ cup plain flour (35g, 1¼ oz) --> 1/8 cup

1 cup sugar (220g, ½ pound) --> I used 3/8 cup (¼ cup + half of ¼ cup)

½ cup lemon juice (125ml, 4 oz, about 3 lemons) --> ¼ cup

zest from 1 lemon, grated --> zest from ½ lemon

3 eggs --> 1 big egg + 1 small egg

1 egg yolk --> 1 small egg

pinch of salt

Method:

To make tart pastry

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F) and take out two mini muffin pans.
2. Place the butter, water, oil, sugar and salt in an ovenproof bowl.
3. Put the bowl in the oven for about 15 minutes until the butter is melted, bubbling, and just beginning to brown around the edges.
4. Carefully remove the bowl from the oven and dump in the flour. Stir quickly, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the side of the dish.
5. Put a teaspoon of dough into one mini muffin hole, and press it into the base and up the sides using fingers and try not to make a hole. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
6. Prick the dough with a fork once or twice.
7. Bake for 8 - 12 minutes until the pastry is golden brown all over.
8. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

To make tart filing

1. Reduce the oven to 150 C (300 F).
2. Combine the flour and sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
3. Add the lemon juice and zest to the same medium mixing bowl and mix to dissolve the sugar.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and the egg yolk with salt.
5. Add the eggs into the lemon and sugar mixture and whisk until well combined.
6. Put the mini muffin tins back in the oven, pull the oven rack out of the oven slightly and pour the filling into each pastry case while it is still in the oven. (I took the whole muffin tins out to pour the filling, don’t trust myself to work on the case while it is still in the oven)
7. Shut the oven door and bake for 5 – 10 minutes until the centers are just set.

Err.. yes, I have limited resources of accessories to plate up and half the time I test-eat them very soon or store up in some container. Hopefully we shall see some improvement on this part down the road but don't let this stop you from trying this recipe. My mum loves it... and she is a strict judge!