Japanese Cotton Cheesecake

Most of us have tasted cheesecake ever since the existence of cheesecakes. There are some people have even taken it a step further to make it a part of their food chain. I am not kidding ... if you take cheesecake at least 2 to 3 time a month, you probably be classified as "cheesecakeholic". Many times, we take the very popular form of cheesecake that most people love i.e. heavy, solid & moist with 99% of cheese filling. Me too.. usually 1 slice is enough for the day because it gives you that 'heavy' yet satisfying feeling. Sometimes, I do feel guilty to take a second slice because of the fat content in the cheesecake... but nevertheless, that's the love-hate relationship I have with cheesecake!

Alternatively, there is another type of cheesecake which contains less fat but tastes wonderfully good i.e. the fluffy japanese cheesecake which is as light as feather and as soft as cotton.  Its smooth and fine texture causes it melts in your mouth almost immediately!

                                                                Fresh from the oven!

                                                               The texture is so fine - like sponge!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

(A):

250g cream cheese

250 ml milk

120g butter

(B):

50ml fresh orange juice

2 nos orange rind, grated

(C):

6 egg yolks

60g sugar

(D):

70g plain flour

20g corn flour

(E):

6 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

60g sugar

Method:

1) Melt cream cheese  and milk over a double boiler until cheese is dissolved. Drain to get smooth texture.

2) Remove from heat and add in butter, stir until butter dissolved.

3) Add in (B) & (C). Mix well.

4) Add in (D), mix until becomes thick.

5) Whisk egg whites & cream of tartar & gradually add in sugar (E) until stiff peak.

6) Fold egg whites to cream cheese mixture slowly.

7) Pour batter into a 8" square tin and bake in a preheated oven 150C with water bath for 1 hour 10 mins.

      

Mini Cream Puff

I love cream puff. I love its puffiness and the creamy filling. Not so sweet :)
So, I decided to make my own cream puff which calls for 4 main ingredients: water, flour, eggs and butter. This is my third try. First and second tries were total disasters ... all puffs were burnt like charcoal. Well, I learnt an important lesson here, never trust the oven's temperature setting. It may not be accurate! It's important that you have a thermometer to tell you the exact temperature and it's not very expensive to buy one. This is a thermometer used for baking (not the one that you hang on the wall).

It's amazing to watch the dough puffs up like a 'ping-pong' ball. Make sure you don't open the oven door at this crucial time, otherwise your cream puffs will become flat.  For the filling, I always go for pastry/custard cream instead of whipped cream as it tastes much better.

  

Lemon Drizzle Cake

While looking through my kitchen cabinets the other day, I found packs of plain flour and SRF which I think I've bought some times ago.   I started looking for a simple recipe so that I could use up those flours. I don't like to keep them as they may turn rancid easily especially SRF.  So, I found this lemon cake recipe from "Breads & Baking" by Gina Steer, which calls for SRF. Great! Wonderful!

But when I checked on the date, damn! the SRF has already been expired half a year ago. Thinking of using it and hoping that the rising agent in the flour could still be used. Then I did a test to see if it's still active. It's a very simple test really !  Just pour some warm water in a small bowl, add a teaspoon of the SRF into the warm water. If it bubbles, means it's still active. Unfortunately, mine has no bubble.  So, I decided to make my own SRF.  Here's how you do it: for each cup of plain flour, add 1 1/4 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt.  So, I'm on my way to bake the cake!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
125g butter
175g SRF
175g castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 lemons
50g castor sugar

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 180 C.  Line a 7" square tin with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter and 175g sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat the eggs, and gradually add a little to the creamed mixture, followed by adding 1 tablespoon of the flour. Mix well.
4. Finely grate the rind from 1 lemon and add in the mixture. Squeeze the juice from the lemon and add in the mixture. Mix well.
5. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 25-30 mins.
6. Grate the rind from the other lemon and mix with 25g of the sugar and set aside.
7. Squeeze the juice from the last lemon into sauce pan. Add the remaining 25g of sugar and simmer over low heat until sugar dissolved.
8. While the cake is still hot, prick little holes all over it using a skewer. Sprinkle the lemon rinds sugar mix and drizzle over the syrup.

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year and to all my friends who celebrate Chinese New Year (CNY), Gong Xi Fa Chai!

I was supposed to bake a cake for this CNY but I was so loaded with work ... house chores to be exact. So, I had no time to get down to my kitchen lab at all! Anyway, I would like to share with you one more cheesecake which I baked sometimes last year. It was a delicious cake topped with creamy caramel and aromatic toasted pecans ... it's heaven! I discovered this recipe in the Net while I was searching for challenging cheesecake recipes. Then, I came across an eye-catching photo of a cheesecake with a thick chocolatish caramel dripping down the sides of the cake. I tell myself, this is it... I want to do this! The passion and the determination of making one 'successfully' drove me to start the mission almost immediately. I drove to the nearby bakery supply shop to assemble all the necessary ingredients and hit the kitchen right away.....

These photos were taken from my handphone camera (I should get a semi-pro digital cam for better quality). If you like caramel and pecan, I highly recommend this!!

Here is the recipe:

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

250g (or 1/2 pound) digestive biscuits

4 tbsp unsalted butter (melted) 

Filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese (at room temperature)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

Caramel topping:

3/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp water

12 tbsp heavy cream

Handful of pecans to sprinkle on top (you can also substitute it with walnuts)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 325F.
2. Mix the crust ingredients together well with your fingers. Press the crust into the springform pan (I used 8") and partway up the sides, to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
3. In a small bowl, blend the cream and sour cream together.
4. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese on medium-low speed until it is very smooth.
5. Add the following ingredients i.e. cream cheese, sugar, salt, lemon juice, zest, eggs (one at a time) and cream/sour cream mixture, mixing on medium-low speed until smooth after each addition and scraping the bowl frequently.
6. Pour the batter over the crust in the prepared pan.
7. Bake with water bath until the cake has just a slight wobble in the center when nudged.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
9. Cover the cake with plastic wrap directly on its surface, and chill overnight.
10. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it unchill slightly while you prepare the topping.
11. In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, water over medium-high heat to dissolved the sugar. Heat on medium-high without stirring, washing down the sides with a wet pastry brush occasionally, until the mixture turns an amber color.
12. Add the cream and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring from time to time, until the caramel is thick but not chewy.
13. Remove from the heat and cool at room temperature until it is slightly warmer; it should still be quite pourable at this point.
14. Pour the topping over the cake; use an offset spatula to spread it to the edges and let it drip down the sides.
15. Top with chopped pecans.
16. Chill for 2 – 6 hours before serving.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Happy New Year 2012 to all of you!!

Whenever I am not working, I would always find time to try out new recipes to improve my baking skills. I remember last year, I had this desire for cheesecakes that I would bake one cheesecake every fortnightly, well almost.  It's like when you are into something and you wouldn't want to get out of it. You just stick to it for as long as you want. That's the feeling and emotion I had.  Ok, back to my baking lab (l like to call my kitchen a lab instead because I do a lot of R&D stuff in there), here is a blueberry cheesecake which I used fresh blueberries instead of canned blueberry jam. I like the sourness of the berries that mixed together with the sweetness of the cream cheese ... take a bite of the cheesecake with the berries burst in your mouth ... that is what I called the real blueberry cheesecake!

Recipe:

Crust:
141g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
3 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs melted butter

Filling:
1 pound cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 160C. I used a round 8x8 springform pan.
2.  Combine the crushed biscuits, sugar and melted butter. Mix well. Pour the mixture  into the pan and press evenly.
3. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Set aside.
4. Combine the cream cheese and sugar and beat until smooth.
5. Stir in flour until well blended.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the batter is smooth.
7. Stir in the vanilla and heavy cream until well incorporated. Lastly, stir in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared crust.
8. Bake in water bath for 50 minutes or until the centre is set. Let it cool and refrigerate overnight to get the best result.

I made quite a number of different varieties of cheesecakes in the past 1.5 years. It's one of those cakes that you would enjoy to do simply because the steps involved are quite straight forward. Personally, I prefer baked cheesecake to non-baked cheesecake. I love the smell of the burned crust and the cream cheese that gives the extra flavour to the final product. In May last year, I baked two cheesecakes for my in-law's wedding... a lemon cheesecake and a classic New York style cheesecake.

Lemon cheesecake with lemon curd topping

Here is the recipe:

Crust:
141g Digestive biscuits, crushed
3 Tbp sugar
4 Tbp butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/4 cups sugar
1Tbp grated zest & 1/4 cup juice from 2 lemons
680g cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup heavy cream

Lemon curd:
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbp cold butter
1 Tbp heavy cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
salt

Method:

For the Crust

1.       Preheat oven to 160C. Mix the digestive biscuits crumbs with the sugar and butter. Mix well.  Press evenly the crumb mixture in the bottom of a 8-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown (~12 minutes). When cool, wrap pan with foil.

For the Filling

1.       Process 1/4 cup of the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor until the zest is broken down and the sugar turns yellow. Transfer to a small bowl and mix in the rest of the sugar.

2.       Beat cream cheese to soften it. Add the sugar mixture and beat until combined, creamy and smooth.

3.       Add eggs, one at a time. Beat until incorporated.

4.       Combine lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Add in the cream cheese mixture and mix until incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.

5.   Bake the mixture in water bath for 55 to 60 minutes.

For the Curd

1.       Heat lemon juice in a small pan on medium heat until hot, but not boiling.

2.       Whisk eggs in a small bowl, then gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the hot lemon juice into the egg/sugar mixture, then return the mixture to the saucepan and continue to heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture is thick enough to cling to the spoon.

3.       Immediately remove the pan from the heat and add in the cold butter and mix until incorporated.

4.       Stir in the cream, vanilla and salt, then pour through a strainer into a small bowl. Cover surface of the curd directly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until needed.

To Assemble

When cheesecake is cooked & slightly cooled, top it with the lemon curd while still in the springform pan. Refrigerate for at least 5 hourrs.

New York cheesecake (looks like the chinese roasted pork :)

Here is the recipe:

Crust:
15 pieces of Digestive biscuits, crushed
2 Tbp butter, melted

Filling:
904g cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbp vanilla extract
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Method:

For the Crust

1.       Preheat oven to 175C. Mix digestive biscuits crumbs with melted butter. Press evenly in the bottom of a 8-inch springform pan. Wrap pan with foil & put in the freezer.

For the Filling

1.       Beat cream cheese to soften it then add sugar and mix until smooth. Add in milk and mix in the eggs one at a time. Mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla & flour until creamy and smooth.

2.      Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.

3.   Bake the mixture in water bath for 55 to 60 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 5 hours before serving.

As promised in my last post that I would publish those sweet buns I've made in the class. Here they are ...

The dark color filling is red bean. Well, I have yet to try making one on my own ... but I will do it in 2012!