Tag: baking

bloomin’ easy vanilla cheesecake

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sorry about the super poor quality photos
i think it’s time to change my camera. haha
but yes.
it sure has satisfied our cheesecake cravings
and though I was a bit anxious to have it when it’s not cold enough.
it was still quite good!
the best result was when you chill it over night in my opinion.
YUMS!

and it’s pretty easy to make as well.
so give it a shot! (:
can last you for ages! haha
(we still have half in the fridge, awesome for exam preparations!)

so here is the recipe :

Bloomin’ Easy Vanilla Cheesecake
(Adapted from Jamie Oliver)

Ingredients :

150g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
250g digestive biscuits, crushed
115g caster sugar
3 tablespoons of corn flour
900g cream cheese, at room temperature
2 large eggs
115ml double cream
1 vanilla pod (I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract with vanilla beans)
zest of 1 lemon
zest of 1 orange

Steps :

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4, and grease and line the bottom and sides of a 24cm springform cake tin.
Mix the biscuits and butter in a bowl, press into the base of the prepared tin and cook for 10 minutes.
Then remove from the oven and allow to cool.

2. Turn the oven up to 200ºC/400ºF/gas 6.
Combine the sugar and cornflour in a bowl.
Add the cream cheese and beat, ideally with an electric whisk, until creamy.
Add the eggs and beat well.
Gradually add the cream, beating until smooth,
then beat in the vanilla seeds or extract and lemon and orange zest.

3. Scrape the mixture on to the biscuit base, and gently shake it to level out the surface.
Put the cheesecake in the centre of the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes
until the top is golden brown and the filling has set around the edges.
(A piece of foil over the top will stop it browning too much.)
Let it cool at room temperature and serve after 2 or 3 hours, or,
for a slightly firmer texture, put it in the fridge until it’s nice and cold.
(Overnight is best or at least for 3 hours)

DONE! (:

Enjoy!

Fluffy Buttermilk Sultana Scones

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I use to make the scones my mummy taught me.
with 7-up and cream.
but I really wanted to try those that are made using buttermilk. (:
saw a few recipes. but decided to use the one I saw on Kitchenwench
been reading her blog lately.
and she is so inspiring! hehe
and she teaches how to make all the korean yums.
so I was jus addicted. haha.

anyways. the scones came out alright.
though there is definitely room for improvement.
like the shape of the scones and stuff.
but it was super YUM! hehe
really light
and definitely fluffy! hee

absolutely loved it!
I didn’t even need to eat it with cream
just jam and it was awesome enough. hehe

though I couldn’t get them in the nice scone shape.
cause it was stickier than I thought it would be.
so I just scoop and plop! haha.
that’s why the scone was unevenly shaped.
i kinda like it this way.
what do u think? hehe
rustic!

Ingredients :

2 cups of self-raising flour
25g caster sugar
Pinch of salt
80g cold butter, cubed
100g sultanas
1 cup / 250ml buttermilk

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees C and line a baking tray with some baking paper,
then liberally dust with flour and set aside.

2. Sift together all the dry ingredients (both flours, sugar and salt),
then rub in the cold butter with your fingertips till the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Add the dried fruit and toss well so it’s well coated.

3. Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture,
then pour in the buttermilk and quickly stir together till it holds together,
then tip onto a floured chopping board and knead till just combined.

4. As my mixture was stickier than it was suppose to be,
I plopped heaps tablespoons of mixture onto the baking tray.
(If you got your dough nice and dry and easy to roll out,
Pat the dough about 4-5cm flat,
then dip a round cutter into some flour and stamp out the scones,
carefully placing the scones closely together on the prepared baking tray.)

5. Lightly dust the tops with flour, then bake for 20 minutes,
or till the scones are golden and sound hollow when lightly tapped on the top.
Remove the tray from the oven and tightly wrap a clean tea towel around it for 5 minutes
before serving with some homemade strawberry jam and freshly whipped cream!

Fluffy Buttermilk Sultana Scones. DONE!

Enjoy everyone! (:

chocolate souffle : second night in a row !

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I watched Masterchef and they made a chocolate and jaffa souffle
Not a big fan of jaffa.
I left it out.
so it’s just chocolate Souffle. for the second night in a row! haha

because I never had my souffle rise perfectly on the sides.
I was hoping this one would be it.
and IT WAS IT! hehe

it rose. perfectly.
i was super happy! hehe
and it was still nice and gooey in the center.
the way baby likes it. hehe

poke it in the middle and add a scoop of ice cream
match-made in heaven  hehe

guess who’s the happiest girl on Earth?
*jumps*
awesome. and super easy as well! hehe

Ingredients :

120g of 70% dark chocolate
4 eggs, seperated
50g sugar, and extra to coat the ramekins
butter to coat the ramekins

Steps :

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees celcious.

2. Boil a pot of water and put a heat proof bowl over to melt the chocolate.
Make sure you don’t get any water in the chocolate, or it will be ruined.
Butter the ramekins with a brush and with upward strokes on the sides.
Coat the buttered ramekins with caster sugar.

3. Cool the melted chocolate and beat in the egg yolks.
IN another bowl, beat the egg whites with a bit of the sugar to get the meringue started.
Slowly add the rest of the sugar till you get stiff peaks.

4. Add 1/3 of the meringue mixture into the chocolate mixture until incorporated.
Then slowly stir in the rest of the meringue mixture gently.

5. Scoop the mixture into the ramekins slowly and carefully, not to get any on the sides.
Then bake it in the over for 10 mins.

6. Sift icing sugar over the top immediately after you’ve taken it out of the oven
and put a scoop of ice cream in the middle of the souffle.

7. INDULGE.

Chocolate Souffle. DONE!

Bon Appetit everyone (:

two for you ; two for me ♥

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so what do I do when I don’t feel like studying or reading journals?
I bake.
for me. it is therapeutic.
and a form of a stress-reliever for me.
so I always look through recipes that I’m interested in.
and wish I have the ingredients
and get the baking started!

So a few weeks ago I tried the chocolate souffle recipe from The F Word.
but felt like making it again
but this time using another recipe to see if it works better.
and it did! hehe (:



I signed up for a membership with Epicurious.com
and it’s free to look at the recipes they put up! hehe
and the recipes are from the food magazines like Gourmet and Bon Appetit.
so the recipes are pretty darn yums! hehe

I hoped and prayed that it rose nicely
and not overflow.
and it rose pretty nicely in my opinion haha
but I’ve yet to make one that rises perfectly vertical.
well. will keep trying! haha

i think it looks quite pretty!
especially with the icing sugar on top. hehe

a close up shot of the souffle (:

DIG IN. haha
literally! I attacked the middle of the souffle first.
if only we had ice cream!

i couldn’t stop myself from snapping away! hehe

Give this a try! it’s really easy and foolproof!
and u can whip it up in less than 30mins!

Chocolate Souffles
(Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, Epicurious)

Ingredients :

1/4 cup granulated sugar plus additional for dusting the dishes
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped fine
1 large egg yolk
2 large egg whites
confectioners’ sugar for dusting the soufflés

Steps :

Butter 2 shallow 3/4-cup gratin dishes and dust them with the additional granulated sugar,
shaking out the excess.

In a bowl blend together 2 tablespoons of the remaining granulated sugar,
the flour, the cocoa powder, the butter, and a pinch of salt until the mixture resembles meal.
(I rubbed in the butter into the flour and cocoa mixture using my hands)

In a saucepan bring the milk to a boil.
Whisk the cocoa mixture into the milk with the chocolate, cook the mixture over moderate heat,
whisking, for 1 minute, or until it is thickened, and let it cool.

In a bowl beat the egg yolk slightly and beat in the chocolate mixture.
In another bowl beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold soft peaks,
add the remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, a little at a time, beating,
and beat the meringue until it holds stiff glossy peaks.

Stir one fourth of the meringue into the chocolate pastry cream to lighten it
and fold in the remaining meringue gently but thoroughly.

Divide the mixture between the prepared dishes
and bake the soufflés in a shallow baking pan in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 15 minutes,
or until they are puffed.

Dust the soufflés decoratively with the confectioners’ sugar and serve them immediately.

Chocolate Souffle. DONE!

I dunno how I did it and I didn’t do it on purpose
but i ate it half way and realise that it was in a shape ♥.

absolutely. AWESOME. (:

Creme brulee

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I bought the blow torch and ramekins set
and been wanting to try making creme brulee for the longest time yet
and so I did! (:

and im really glad that I did. hehe
cause I got to use the blow torch for the very first time!

and i must say. they are super yummy!

when the idea struck me yesterday
what I didn’t know is that creme brulee needs to set in the fridge overnight. haha
so my over-excitement of having it last night died haha.
but when I got home today in the afternoon
Baby tempted me to have it to “clear the fridge” haha
and being me.
I gave in! hehe happily i must add. hehe


cooled and ready for the fridge! hehe

me using the blow torch caramelizing the sugar hehe

really enjoying myself haha. a bit too much i think. oopsie. (:

nicely coloured. hehe. DIG IN!

and check out the black specks of vanilla seeds! hehe

It was really YUM for the first time making it (:
im quite happy with how it turned out
besides it still being a bit more wobbly than I would have liked. hehe

AND!!!! haha
this is super exciting.

we splurge on a bottle of vanilla bean paste with vanilla seeds! hehe
SO HAPPY!
cause I don’t have to use the fake vanilla essence anymore.
not that there is anything wrong with it.
but I’ve gotten use to using this back home.
so without it, I feel like my cakes and everything won’t taste as good!

going to have another after dinner tonight. haha
and after gym of course. (:

just so you wanna try it yourself
here’s the recipe! hehe
(and remember you need to set it for a whole night before u serve!)

Ingredients :

600ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 egg yolks
1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 120°C.

2. Place the cream in a saucepan and add the vanilla seeds and pod.
Place over medium heat and bring to scalding point, then remove from heat.
Set aside to infuse for 5 minutes.

3. Place egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl
and beat immediately with electric hand beaters for 2-3 minutes or until pale.

4. Remove vanilla pod from saucepan and discard,
then pour the hot cream over the yolk mixture and whisk to combine.
The beating process will have created a foam on the top of the mixture.
Use a large spoon to scoop off and discard the foam.
Strain mixture into a large jug,
then carefully pour mixture into 4 x 150ml ovenproof ramekins.

5. Place ramekins in a deep roasting pan.
Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins.
Cover pan loosely with foil, allowing some air to enter in the sides.

6. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes – the custards should still have a slight wobble when done.
Carefully remove ramekins from oven and water bath, and set aside to cool.

7. Place brown sugar on a baking tray,
turn oven off and place in oven for 15 minutes or until sugar is completely dried out.
Allow to cool, then place in a processor and process to a powder.
Store in an airtight container.

8. Once the custards have cooled, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill overnight.
When ready to serve, sprinkle 2 teaspoons of the brown sugar on top of each custard,
and use the back of a teaspoon to spread it evenly.
Use a domestic blow torch to caramelise.

9. Creme Brulee. DONE!

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Icing

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was really quite excited to try this recipe
cause it’s fro the famous Sprinkles
and they went on a program and baked their famous Strawberry Cupcakes.

it wasn’t too complicated
but using a handheld mixer wasn’t easy haha.
wish i had a proper mixer.
i miss my kenwood. (:

anyways. this is how it went!

out of the oven
a nice pinkish tinge
cause of the strawberry puree hehe

hehe baby caught a few shots of me putting the icing on the cupcake

haha that’s Cheok’s hand! haha

tadah! hehe
after icing them. hehe
too bad I didn’t have anything nice to put on it
to make it look prettier.
well. i tried though. haha

i put rainbow rice on them. hehe
just a little.
just to add colour hehe (:

all 12 of the cupcakes! (:
im a happy girl.

Recipe :

(makes 1 dozen cupcakes)

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4tsp kosher salt
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1 large egg
2 large egg whites
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup pureed strawberries
1 tsp vanilla essence

Steps :

1. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together, set it aside.

2. Add vanilla and strawberry to milk and set it aside.

3. In a standing mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Slowly add egg and egg whites until blended.

4. Add half of the mixture and when blended well,
add the milk mixture then add the rest of the flour.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl
and make sure entire mixture is smooth.

5. Divide the batter between 12 cupcake cups
and bake for about 20 mins or until the tops are dry to the touch.



Recipe :
(for icing, 12 cupcakes)

2 sticks unsalted butter, firm but not cold
1/8 kosher salt
3 1/2 cups of icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tso vanilla essence
2 tbsp pureed strawberries

Steps :

1. Beat butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy.
Reduce speed and gradually add the icing sugar until incorporated.

2. Add vanilla and strawberry puree and mix until blended.
Do not overmix, or the frosting will incorporate too much air.
The consistency should be dense and creamy
like ice-cream.

♥