Blueberry Cheese Cake

This is the my second attempt baking this cheesecake after my first success. I've been baking lately but could never find the time to blog and post my baking adventure. Personally I feel baking cheese cake is the easiest since its so versatile and even if you make any mistakes, the cake wouldn't turn out inedible. Here's my recommended recipe for those who need a quick and easy way to bake a cheese cake. 

My first attempt - looking nice and I'm so thrilled

Second Attempt - Still looking good, hehe

INGREDIENTS

120g digestive or marie biscuits

75g butter, melted

750g cream cheese

210g sour cream

150g granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

250g blueberry fillings

1 tsp lemon juice, optional

3 eggs

METHOD

1. Crush the biscuits into crumbs, finely or coarsely depending on your likings. I prefer a more rough texture, so that I can taste the biscuits. Pour in the butter and mix well.

2. Press the crumbs into a 8 inch spring pan as the base and set aside.

3. In bowl of an electric mixer, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. 

4. Then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. 

5. Finally mix in the sour cream, vanilla essence and lemon juice until smooth. 

6. Pour the cream cheese filling into the prepared crust. Drop some blueberry fillings randomly on top of the cheese cake, and swirl using a fork.

Note: If you want some blueberry fillings in the cake, you may fill half of the cream cheese and spread some blueberry in between before filling the remaining cream cheese.

7. Bake the cheesecake in a preheated 165 Celsius oven using the water bath method for 60 minutes. Let the cake cool slightly in oven with the door ajar for about 15 minutes to prevent cracking. The top layer will appear slightly brownish, just perfect.

8. Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving. 

Castella Cake

The name of this cake really caught my attention when I was hunting for a quick and esay recipe. Castella (カステラ Kasutera) is a popular Japanese sponge cake made of sugar, flour, eggs and starch syrup. You will see many adaptations of this recipe into green tea, chocolate or even cream cheese due to its simple and natural texture for experimentation. Well I haven't try to create my own recipe yet and  this is my first attempt using the recipe from AnnCoo. Well, I must say this cake really taste nice and not too filling for a second piece.

INGREDIENTS

4 large eggs

80g castor sugar

75g milk

60g wild honey

10g cake emulsifier

55g bread flour

90g plain flour

a pinch of salt (optional)

50g butter, melted

METHOD

1. Sieve the bread and plan flour twice and keep aside.

2. Using a electric hand-mixer, beat the egg, sugar and emulsifier in a medium bowl for about 10 minutes until thick and creamy white.

3. Add in the flour bit by bit alternating with milk and combine well using a whisk or spatula..

4. Lastly add in wild honey and butter in batches and combine until even.

5. Pour the batter into two medium loaf pan and bake in a pre-heated 160 Celsius oven for 40 minutes.

6. Cool on wire rack and enjoy.

Cashewnut Brownie

Brownie is always one of my favorite dessert but I haven't bake one before from scratch except those off-the-shelf pre-packed mixture. I still have one box left on my shelf though, hehe. 

Well, tempted to bake my very own, I tried out this recipe which is adapted from Kevin Chai cook book "AA Touch of Classic Baking". It turns out a bit sweet for me.

INGREDIENTS

140g cooking chocolate

50g brown sugar (to reduce to 20g  if you want a less-sweet brownie)

50g butter

1/2 tbs cocoa powder

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp baking powder

40g plain flour

15g white chocolate chips

15g semi-sweet chocolate chips

30g cashew nuts

Notes: For full recipe, double the ingredients and use a 7x7" pan.

METHOD

1. Melt butter, cooking chocolate and coco powder in a medium or large pan over low heat.

2. Stir in brown sugar until almost melted and remove from heat to cool down slightly.

3. Add in eggs and mix well.

4. Preheat your oven at 180 Celsius and lined a 7"x3" loaf pan.

5. Mix the flour and baking powder. Fold flour into the chocolate batter and do not overdo it.

6. Pour and spread the batter into the pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips and cashew nuts over the top.

7. Bake in oven for 25-30 minutes.

8. Serve when cool.

Baked Bread-Crumbs Chicken

Indeed this is a quick meal that I opt for when I come back from work. There are many versions and adaptation of this recipe but for me, even a dash of slat and pepper to marinate the chicken will taste nice. Here's my version of baked chicken breast bread crumb recipe, accompanied by some fresh salads.

INGREDIENTS

One chicken breast, halves

One egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

1/2 tsp rosemary (optional)

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 cup or bowl of bread crumbs

1 tsp olive oil

For salad, 

Two leaves of iceberg lettuce

Two strawberries

One apple

Some thousand island

METHOD

1. Beat the chicken breast softly with a meat pounder.

2. Marinate the chicken with black pepper powder, soy sauce and rosemary for about 15 minutes.

3. Dip the chicken breast in the egg mixture and dredge in the bread crumbs until fully coated.

4. Place the chicken on a oven dish or a lined baking tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the chicken.

5. Bake at 190°Celsius for 20 minutes or until the chicken is done.

Happy Valentine's Day - Honey Love Muffin

What happens when you mix everything you love and bake it into a melting cup of delicacy? Well, that's love and the theme for my muffin recipe, fusion of food that I love to indulge in haha..

Honey is sweet just like love

Chocolate is delicate just like love and

You'll go nuts once you're in love..

Don't be left out if you're single out there, although valentine day is also known as S.A.D (single's awareness day). Valentine is not meant for lovers only, it is a day to celebrate love, be it your parents, your friends or whatever you love to do... You must learn to love yourself before you can love others. Here's to my love for baking, yummy...

INGREDIENTS

150g plain flour

1 tbsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate 

1 egg lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla essence

60g salted butter

100g wild honey

125ml low fat milk

50g semi-sweet chocolate chips

50g white chocolate chips

40g almond silvers (any nuts will do) 

40g Oreo crumbs (i just can't resist to add these)

METHOD

1. Melt the honey and butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Let it cool down.

2. Add in the egg, milk and vanilla essence into the mixture and stir well.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and cocoa powder.

4. Fold in the sifted dry ingredients into the wet mixture slowly to avoid over mixing.

5. Combine the nuts, Oreo crumbs and chocolate chips into the batter and mix well.

6. Spoon the batter into some muffin cups and bake in a preheated 180 Celsius oven for 25 minutes.

7. Cool on wire racks and enjoy!

Lemon Cheesecake

First post for 2012 with another favorite cheesecake recipe. I wanted to make a blueberry cheese cake initially but since my brother is around and berry is not his cup of tea, I changed my mind. This lemon cheese cake is matched with Oreo crumbs as the base and sinfully tasty. 

INGREDIENTS

Base

100g Oreo cookies crumbs

50g butter, melted

Filling

250g cream cheese

65g whipping cream

30g granulated sugar

2 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon essence
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3 egg yolks

3 egg whites

35g granulated sugar

METHOD

1. Mix the Oreo crumbs with butter in a small bowl. 

2. Press the crumbs onto an 8" spring form cake pan lined with aluminum foil and chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.

3. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Add in the whipping cream slowly and continue to beat with medium speed until.

4. Then add in the egg yolk one at a time while beating the mixture until combined. Add in vanilla essence, lemon essence and lemon juice.

5. Sift the corn flour into the mixture and mix well using a spatula. Set aside.

6. Whisk egg whites and sugar until soft peak. Then fold in the egg whites into the cheese mixture using a rubber spatula.

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared base.

8. Bake at 160 Celsius for 60 minutes using steam bath method.

9. Cool to room temperature and chill cheesecake at least 4 hours before serve.

Before Decoration

TIPS: Decorate with some cocoa powder and icing sugar

Snow White Almond Cookies

I love cookies but baking them are not as easy as I think, especially cut-out cookies. Measuring and mixing is fine with me but the challenging part is cutting out and removing each and every one single cookie from the rolled-out dough. That's why home-made cookies can be so expensive and we often lament that it's just and easy task. Not so until you have actually experienced it yourself. The recipe of this cookie is simple but as I mentioned, it's the rolling and cutting that will make you sweat if you bake in bulks. Whatca waiting for, let's get busy baking now.

INGREDIENTS
130g shortening
70g icing sugar
120g plain flour
80g corn flour
100g almond nibs (toasted)

METHOD
1. Using a electric hand-mixer, beat the shortening and icing sugar until smooth and fluffy.
2. Add in plain flour and corn flour and mix well using a spatula or your hands.
3. Finally add in the toasted almond nibs and combine until integrated.
4. Cut out cookies into desired shapes.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 Celsius for 20 minutes.Please be careful as the cookies can be very hot once it's out from the oven.
6. Cool the cookies and store well.

Tips: You may substitute almond nibs with almond flakes or chop your own almonds into bits and pieces.
Shortening can be really oily and messy, so wear disposable thin plastic gloves to avoid heavy washing later.

Garlic Bread

Instead of buying those over-the-counter garlic bread made from expired baguette in supermarket, try to make your very own. Since I do not want to have smelly hands later, I opt for those butter garlic spread which is so easily available and easy on your pocket. Fuss free and fresh garlic bread baguette.

 
INGREDIENTS

1 loaf of fresh baguette

Butter garlic spread (I used Tru-Blue)

METHOD

1.Cut the baguette into desired shape, length and thickness.

2. Spread the garlic butter on each side.

3. Arrange the baguette on a baking pan and bake for 20 minutes in a 160 Celsius oven. (No need to preheat the oven but watch closely to avoid the garlic burnt)

4. Enjoy the fragrant garlic smell!

Almond Goldflakes

Wow, its really been a quite a while putting my baking adventure aside due to my busy work lately. Been feeling guilty since I didn't bake anything for Christmas. Nonetheless, in preparation for the coming Chinese New Year (CNY) festive seasons, I need to start baking my very own cookies. Mum and myself decided not to buy any cookies and bake our very own. Here's my first bake CNY cookies and its a really simple recipe. Hope you like the colors and crunchiness.

INGREDIENTS

250g corn flakes

50g rice bubbles

100g almond silvers (toasted)

125g butter

3 tsp maple syrup / honey 

50g granulated sugar 

METHOD

1. Mix all the dry ingredients (corn flakes, rice bubbles and almond silvers) in a big mixing bowl.

2. Melt the butter and sugar over low heat. Do not stir the mixture but move the pot slowly because stirring the sugar will clog the mixture and bubbles will form.
3. Once the sugar is melted, turn off heat and mix in the maple syrup. 
4. Pour butter mixture over the dry ingredients mixture and mix well.

5. Use a spoon to tug in the cornflakes into mini cups.
6. Bake at 160 Celsius for 10mins (watch closely to avoid burning).

7. Store in air-tight container and keep for maximum 3 weeks.

Pumpkin Raisin Cake

I always look for simple and fuss free recipe since I only have a few hours to spare after work for my baking endeavor. With some pumpkin left and not looking for anything fancy to bake, this is  indeed something practical and healthy for my morning cravings.

Those raisins are popping out..jeez

(Recipe adapted from YumYum magazine, Edition 64)

INGREDIENTS

250g butter

180g brown sugar

4 medium eggs

270g plain flour

1tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

2 tbs full cream / fresh milk 

300g pumpkin, shredded

100g raisins

METHOD

1. Line a 8 inch square pan and preheat the oven at 180 Celsius. I used two 9x5 inch loaf pan to make two separate cakes for giveaway later, hehe.

2. Using a electric hand-mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until smooth and pale.

3. Add in egg one at a time and mix well after each addition.

4. Sift in the flour, ,baking powder and cinnamon powder into the egg mixture.

5. Add in the milk and stir well using a spatula.

6. Then mix in the pumpkin and raisin until fully combined.

7. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

8. Remove and cool on wire rack.

Fresh from oven and smells so good!

Sakura Cheesecake

Yeah, its cheesecake again which I can't get tired of. This cheesecake is also known as Japanese cotton cheesecake due to its light and soft texture. You'll be craving for another piece when you finish eating your first piece. I think it tastes better than those sold at Jusco.

Try the recipe and you'll never regret it.

INGREDIENTS

250g cream cheese
100ml fresh milk or full cream milk
1 tsp lemon juice
60g cake flour
20g cornflour

50g butter

120g granulated sugar
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

METHOD

1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. Stir it well and let the mixture cools down.

2. Fold in the cake flour, corn flour, egg yolks, lemon juice and mix well.
3. Using a electric hand-mixer, beat the egg whites until foamy. Turn speed to medium and add in cream of tartar and sugar gradually. Beat with high speed until soft peaks form.
4. Add the cheese mixture to the egg white mixture and mix well. Pour into a 8-inch round lined cake pan 

5. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 70 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C.

6. Once done, remove out the cake and let it cools off completely on a wire wrack. Do not leave the cake in the pan or else bottom of the cake will be ruined by the moisture.

7. Enjoy with a cup of coffee.

NOTE: This recipe is taken from two sources which I have no ideas where it originates from, Diana Desserts or Bake With Yen recipe book. Doesn't really matters as long as it taste good!

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

I'm making chiffon cake again and this time its the Matcha, which means green tea in Japanese. Not many people likes the green tea flavoring and I'm happened to be one of them. But, I can still take it if the flavor is not too strong. Matcha is also said to boost metabolism and helps to reduce cholesterol levels when consume regularly. Well, I guess its not too bad to have a taste of green tea once in a blue moon.

INGREDIENTS

PART A

5 egg yolks

1 tbs honey

40g granulated sugar

PART B

50ml warm water 

2 tsp green tea powder

4 tbs corn oil

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

PART C

100g cake flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

PART D

5 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

30g granulated sugar 

100g chopped walnuts

METHOD

1. Cream part A ingredients until the sugar is dissolved and looks creamy pale yellow. You may use a hand whisk or electric mixer.

2. Mix the green powder with warm water and stir until combined. Then add in the corn oil into the creamy batter together with the green tea powder mixture and vanilla essence.

3. Sift in the cake flour and baking powder into the batter. Mix until no lumps are seen using the whisk.

4. Its time to beat the egg white until stiff peak. When the egg white starts to become frothy, add in the cream of tartar and sugar. Continue to beat until stiff peaks are form.

5. Fold in the egg white into the earlier egg yolk mixture using a spatula. Fold slowly until they are well combined.

6. Add in the chopped walnuts and give it a few stirs.

7. Pour the mixture into a 22cm tube pan and give it a few bangs to release any air bubbles.

8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

9. Once done, invert the cake on a wire to cool completely.

10. Serve and enjoy!

Thorny Dual Chip Cookies - It Hurts !

Its gonna hurt your waistline without you feeling any pain haha. This type of cookies are the dough type which are slightly thicker as compared to those thin and crispy type. The cookies still yield darker color than I expected, must be due to the cheaper cocoa powder brand that I bought. One key ingredient that can really affect the smell and taste is really the type of cocoa powder being used  (If can, try to use Van Houten or Hershey). And you need to bite to see the hidden treasures inside. 

INGREDIENTS

110g butter

200g granulated sugar

150g cake flour

30g cocoa powder

100g coffee chips

50g grated Cadbury milk chocolate

100g white chocolate chips

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

2 eggs

Almond nibs for coating

METHOD

1. Using a whisk, mix the cake flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a medium bowl.

2. In a big mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy using a hand electric mixer.

3. Add in the vanilla essence and eggs. Mix them until combined.

4. Now, add in the flour mixture and mix again. The result is a sticky dough-like texture.

5. Stir in the coffee and white chocolate chips and grated chocolate.

6. Roll the dough into small balls and coat them in almond nibs before arranging the cookies in a lined baking pan. Make sure the almond nibs are slightly pressed into the dough, else they will drop off later.

7. Bake in a preheated 180 Celcius oven for 10 minutes.

8. Cool the cookies before storing.

Just nice with golden brown toasted almond

Wow, look at those chips!

I've baked some drop chocolate chips cookies (thin and crispy type) before but I've yet to start blogging at that point of time. Nonetheless, I will definitely baking them again for sharing.

Sugar Butter Cookies

Butter! Its either you love it or hate it for some reasons. The great things about this butter cookie recipe are easy to made and the cookies taste sweet, buttery, extremely crumbly, light and airy. A good choice for gifts or snacks during TV.

INGREDIENTS

400g cake flour

200g salted butter at room temperature

150g brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

1 egg white, mix with 2 tsp water

1/4 tsp baking powder

Some castor sugar for sprinkling

METHOD

1. Sift the cake flour and baking powder into a bowl, mix well and set aside.

2. In a big mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar until well combined. You can either use a electric hand mixer or a whisk to do this. If you are using whisk, just make sure that the butter is melted and soft completely. I use whisk to avoid messy cleaning later.

3. In a small bowl, crack the egg and add in the vanilla essence. Stir well and pour into the butter-sugar mixture earlier.

4. Add the flour half at a time into the liquid mixture and mix lightly until it forms a mass. Using your hands, knead the dough until it become smooth.

5. Divide the dough into 4 portions and chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes for easier cutting.

6. While waiting for the dough, lay two pans with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180 Celcius.

7. Now, roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to a 5mm thickness. Using your desired cookie cutter, cut out the cookie and place it onto the lined baking pan earlier. Repeat with the rest of the dough until you have all the cookies cut out.  I made about 120 cookies using my teddy bear shape cookie cutter ;-)

8. Brush the top of the cookies with the egg white and sprinkle with some sugar.

9. Bake the cookies for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

10. Cool the cookies on a wire rack and store in an air-tight container.

Carrot Fruit Cake

I saw this recipe in newspapers and decided to give it a try, but with slight modifications of course. Knowing my dad likes carrot cake a lot and being health conscious, the sugar was reduced in this recipe. And the cake turns out to be nice and yummy with a nice scent of cinnamon.

INGREDIENTS

200g plain flour

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp soda bicarbonate

1 ¼ tsp cinnamon powder

4 eggs

120g granulated sugar

150ml corn oil

200g grated carrot

100g mixed dried fruits

50g toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped

METHOD

1. Line a loaf pan with baking paper and preheat oven to 180 Celsius

2. Sift flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate and cinnamon powder into a medium mixing bowl.

3. Mix eggs, sugar and oil in a separate bowl and stir until well combined.

4. Add the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and stir until it becomes a batter.

5. Stir in the grated carrot, walnuts and mixed dried fruits and mix well.

6. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 35-40 minutes until cooked through when tested with a skewer.

7. Let the cake stand in the oven for 10 minutes before cooling on a wire rack

8. Serve while it’s warm which taste best.

Bite-Size Oaty Scones

This is really a simple and fuss free recipe with minimum ingredients required. I bake this with mum over the weekend with less than an hour as time is running late for me to rush back to KL. These bite-size scones are so convenient and I can take a quick bite while on my way to work.

INGREDIENTS

180g self raising flour

50g oats

50g butter, diced

50g granulated sugar

50ml whipping cream or milk

50g dried cranberries

1 egg, lightly beaten

(The proportions are so easy to remember, right!)

METHOD

1. Combine oats, sugar and flour in a mixing bowl. 

2. In a separate small bowl, combine egg and whipping cream. Now its time for action.

3. Rub the diced butter into the dry ingredients and mix with your hands until well combined. Then add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and add the cranberries.  

4. Work quickly to form a soft dough and do not overmix. If the dough is too sticky, you can add in a little more flour.

5. Using your fingers, shape the dough into bite-size scones on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 190°C for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Serve and enjoy while its warm. If you can't finish them, store it in a air-tight containers for up to a week but I bet it's gone within days ;-)

Oops before I forget, this recipe is adapted from Amy Beh's recipe.

Crunchy Peanut Pound Cake

With some peanut butter left in my kitchen cabinet and expiry date is around the corner, I decided to bake a simple pound cake. Reason being, I knew that I could have never finish eating the peanut butter myself in such a short time. The final result is a perfectly baked golden pound cake.

INGREDIENTS

1.5 cups self raising flour

250g peanut butter, either crunchy or smooth
150g butter, soften at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

3 large eggs

3 cups of brown sugar 

1 cup milk

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 170 Celcius and line a 10'x5' loaf pan with baking paper.

2. In a large bow, beat sugar, butter, vanilla essence and eggs with a hand electric-mixer on low speed for a minute.

3. Using high speed, beat the mixture for 5 minutes until pale and creamy. Remember to scrape the bowl occasionally to ensure all the ingredients is mixed altogether.

4. Beat flour into the batter alternately with milk on slow speed just until smooth after each addition.

5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.

6. Cool on a wire rack and serve. 

Nice Golden Brown!

Chocolate Muffin with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

I promised my friend's kids that I would make them muffin when I see them next time. With an easy chocolate muffin mix brought from 'Bake With Yen' which I usually go to but my baking supplies, I decided to make a quick muffin bake, topped with peanut butter frosting. This is my first time using this easy mix from BWY and with some creativity, I created some penguin look-alike muffins for them too. I was so happy when I see the smile on her faces and they're shouting cupcakes! Well, sometimes I can't tell whether its muffin or cupcakes myself ;-). Hope that they will enjoy eating them!

Chocolate Muffin

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs, 

500g muffin mix

130ml water 

135ml corn oil

METHOD

1. Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined well.

2. Divide the batter into 16 cupcake cup equally using a ice-cream scoop or spoon.

3. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190 Celcius for 20 minutes.

4. Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack before decorations.

Peanut Buttercream Frosting
(Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

50g butter

125g creamy peanut butter
2 cups icing sugar
30ml whipping cream (you can substitute with milk)

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. 

2. Slowly beat in 1/2 of the confectioner's sugar. 

3. Mix in 1/4 cup of the cream. 

4. Beat in the remaining confectioners' sugar.

5. If necessary, add a little more cream or milk until the frosting reaches a good spreading consistency.

DECORATIONS

1. Use a spatula to spread the peanut buttercream on the muffin and decor with some sprinkles and chocolate rice.

2. To create the penguin-look, I use Munchy mini cookies. Separate the cookies and pipe some buttercream to stick the cookies on top of the muffin. Finally pipe the nose and walla, penguin look alike.