Salam everyone! these are some of the bakes and cakes I did throughout this month. First picture from the left is, Cheesecake au caramel et aux noix de macadamia, Red Velvet, Double Chocolate Twix Brownies, Sweet Potato Streusel Pie, Customized Wording Macarons, Pecan Butter Ball cookies, and finally Red Velvet Popcakes.
Well, those 4 new desserts I made; cheesecake, brownies, pie and cookies were really nice. These recipes would definitely be a keeper. The brownies were moist and chewy. The texture was perfect for me as I always love chewy brownies. I also used 70% Valrhona chocolate, to counter the sweetness. But u can always use 65% cocoa or less if you doesnt like it bitter. I tend not to reduce the sugar as I doubt it will affect the texture. Anyway, the brownies were the most hit in my house. Mother loved it so much! hehe and I also topped it with Twix just to make it a lil bit different despite of putting nuts or let it plain. Owh, you may also put any of your favorite candy as well. Sometimes this minor creativity can make your desserts look and taste very special.
And, the pie also were one of my new favorite. I'd say goodbye to apple pie and switch to sweet potato pie! hehe.. I always love sweet potatoes, it can be nicely eaten with any cooks except RAW. haha.. Okay, but Ive to tell you that this recipe is WORTH TRYING. Its superlicious from its crust, fillings, and crumble topping. Its even nicer if you have it with vanilla ice cream! mmmm.. yummeh!
Now we move on to next dessert, called Cheesecake au caramel et aux noix de macadamia. From the name its self, we know that this cake must be interesting. No one will reject a cheesecake unless if ure allergic to em. Well, actually I made this cake specially for my lovely aunty. Its her birthday on 1st January, and we're goin to have double celebrations tonight. The recipe of this cake I took from Martha Stewart and the caramel Macadamia was adapted from Ottlenghi's "The cook Book". So far, this cheesecake I made yesterday was ok in a sense where it didnt sink. But overall, I heard this cake was nice and Im goin to taste it tonight and give the feedback on my next post =)
Okay, enough talking about cakes. Now we proceed to another recipe Ive tried last week, called Pecan Butter Ball Cookies. There's nothing much I can say about this because this cookies just like 'kuih arab' or 'Sugee'. So, I bet you can imagine how does it taste like. Nothing new, but yet they were still delicious =) gonna make it again next time!
Before I forgotten, early this month I joined Edina from http://adorablecupcakes.blogspot.com/ for cupcakes decorating class. She's not only made beautiful cupcakes decoration, but the icing was delicious as well! Thanks Edi. I really enjoyed your class. *hugs*
Finally, I would like to thank to those who had ordered from me. I apologize if there were lacking in your orders. I would appreciate if you can speak out any of your comments or dissatisfactory so I can improve in future. Your comments are really important for me.
Till then, have a blast new year and looking forward for more orders next year before I proceed to my final year LLB in UK. xx!
Sweet Potato Streusel Pie - Adapted from Taste of The South Christmas Cooking Southern Style Special Issue 2010.
Yield: 1 (9 inch) pie
Crust:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 tbs sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
5 tbs ice water
Filling:
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
1 tbs fresh orange juice
1 tbs honey
1 1/4 cups cooked mashed sweet potatoes
3/4 evaporated milk
4 oz mascarpone cheese ( i used cream cheese)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp kosher salt
Topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut, toasted
1/3 cup sugar
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
11 tbs unsalted butter, melted
Directions:
1. in the work bowl of a food processor, combine flour, butter, sugar, and salt for crust. pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. add 5 tbs ice water, and pulse just until dough forms a ball. shape into a disc, and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. refrigerate until firm, approximately 1 hour.
2. on a lightly floured surface, roll dough to 1/8 inch thickness. Transfer to a 9inch pie plate, pressing into bottom and up sides. trim or crimp as desired. refrigerate for 30mins.
3. preheat oven to 350. prick bottom and sides of dough with a fork.
4. bake until crust is light golden just around edges, 12 to 15mins. let cool.
5. in a large bowl, combine brown sugar and butter for filling. beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 4mins. add egg, orang juice, and honey, beating until combined. reduce mixer speed to low. add sweet potatoes, evaporated milk, mascaporne cheese, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. beat until mixture is well combined. pour into prepared crust.
6. bake until edges of filling are set, 35 to 40mins.
7. in a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, coconut, sugar, salt and cinnamon for topping. stir in butter until mixture is crumbly but well combined. crumble topping over partially baked pie.
8. bake until crumble topping is golden brown, an additional 30 to 35 mins. cool slightly before serving.
Cheesecake au caramel et aux noix de macadamia
new york cheesecake - adapted from martha stewart
Yield makes one 10inch cake (i used 9inch pan)
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
- One 9-ounce package chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed (about 2 cups)
- 2 1/4 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 pounds (six 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs
- 4 blood oranges
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur
Directions:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the sides of springform pan. Wrap exterior of pan including base in a double layer of foil. Melt 6tbs butter in a small saucepan (I just melt the butter in microwave) over medium heat. place crushed wafer cookies and 3tbs sugar in a large bowl, still until well combined. pour melted butter over cookie mixture and mix until evenly moistened. press mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.2. place pan on a baking sheet. bake until crust is set, 10 -12mins. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.3. in a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy about 3mins. in a large bowl, whisk together remaining 2 1/4 cups of sugar and flour. with mixer on low speed, gradually add sugar mixture to cream cheese, mix until smooth. add sour cream and vanilla. mix until smooth. add eggs one at a time; beating until hust well combined. do not over mix.4. Pour the batter into prepared pan. set pan in a large, shallow roasting pan. bake 45mins. reduce oven to 325 degrees. continue baking until the cake is set but slightly woobly in the center, about 30min more. turn off oven leave the cake in oven with a door slightly ajar, 1hr. transfer pan to a wire rack, let cook completely. refrigerate, uncovered at least 6hrs or overnight. before unmolding, run a knife around the edge of the cake.
for the caramelised nuts: - adapted from Ottolenghi’s “The Cookbook”
150g macadamia nuts
90g sugar
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and put the nuts on it. Roast them for 15 minutes. The nuts will only become slightly golden. Keep aside to cool down.
Put the sugar in a sauce-pan, big enough so that the layer of sugar is not more than 3mm high.
Heat the sugar gently. Do not stir at any moment. When the sugar is turning into a golden-brown caramel, add the roasted nuts and stir gently with a wooden spoon. When the nuts are coated, pour them over on the lined baking tray and leave to set. Instead of chopping them off roughly as indicated in the recipe, I preferred keeping all the nuts whole or halved, with some plain caramel bits. Keep aside.
for the caramel sauce:
60g butter
160g sugar
100ml cream
Put the sugar in a saucepan and let it melt on medium heat. As soon as the sugar has melted,without having started to brown, add the butter and mix well. Turn the heat to medium-high and keep on stirring until it becomes a smooth and dark caramel. Remove from heat and carefully add the cream. Leave to cool.
Finishing the cheesecake:
Put the cake on your serving plate. If the biscuit base seems to fragile, you might want to leave the bottom of your spring tin or the parchment paper.
Spoon the caramel sauce in the centre, allowing to spill over a little. Scatter the caramelised nuts on top and serve.
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