Elaine Bakes: Baked Cheesecake

The other day we celebrated Wilson's birthday at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Kuala Lumpur. The buffet was mediocre, but the desserts were superb. Their cheesecakes definitely made an impression. Since then, I went on a quest to look for a perfect cheesecake recipe. Thomas Keller's cheesecake has been in my To-Bake list for a while. Certainly procrastination doesn't help! 

This time round, I finally found a good excuse to bake this cheesecake; because it's mom's birthday! Mom commented that this is the best cheesecake she has tasted so far and I can't agree more (not that I'm biased because I baked it. lol!). The cheese mixture was light even though 2 cheeses (Philadelphia and mascarpone cheese) were used. More importantly, I was pleased that no cracks were found on the surface of the cheesecake. This recipe is definitely a keeper (which I why I came back to blogging, just in case I lose the written recipe!).



Here's the recipe:

Baked Cheesecake 
Adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc At Home
Recipe for one 7-inch round cake pan

Filling
(A)
250 g  Philidaephia cream cheese, softened at room temp.
125 g  Mascarpone cheese
100 g  Granulated sugar

 2        Eggs
 1        Egg yolk
1 tbsp Vanilla extract
1 tbsp Lemon juice
40 ml  Whipping cream

Crust
 135 g  Digestive biscuits
  55  g  Salted butter
 1 tbsp Caster sugar


Part 1: Crust
1. Line the bottom of a 7-inch loose bottom cake tin with grease proof paper. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Set aside.
3. Blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor till crumbly.
4. Transfer the digestive biscuits into the saucepan in Step 2 and mix with sugar till well combined.

5. Spread the biscuit mixture evenly in the cake pan from Step 1. Then use a flat bottom glass to press the crushed biscuit to give the biscuit base a uniformed thickness. 

6. Once done, bake in oven at 165C for 8 - 10 minutes. Set aside. 

Part 2: Filing

1. Combine (A) and mix at low speed with an electric mixer with paddle attachment, then gradually increase to medium speed. Beat for 3 minutes until light and smooth.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients (except whipping cream) and continue mixing at medium speed until well combined and no lumps are found.

3. Add whipping cream. 

4. Pour mixture into the cake tin from Part 1. 

5. Wrap the base of the cake tin with aluminium foil and bake in a water bath at 165C for 1 hour. 

6. Allow the cheesecake to cool in water bath as the water cools so as to prevent cracks. Then refrigerate and serve chilled. Enjoy!

Elaine's Kitchen: Bird Nest Soup

Last year when I was in Hong Kong, we went to Sheung Wan where assorted dried seafood and tonic food can be found. Since there were plenty of shops to choose from, we picked one at random. During the trip, I got 3 pieces of bird nest amongst other dried foodstuff.

Cooking bird nest from scratch can be tedious at times especially when the dried bird nest still has bits of bird feathers sticking onto it, which sometimes does put people off from buying. However, this is the version to choose from as the bird nest is in its most original form. Nevertheless, the shop proprietor assured us that cooking bird nest soup doesn't require much time and effort, which was proven to be true when I cooked it the other day.

Taste wise, this version of bird nest soup is refreshing and has subtle sweetness due to the addition of rock sugar.

Here's the recipe with step by step pictures included:

Bird Nest Soup

(Serves 3 -4 small bowls)

1 piece    Dried bird nest

2-3 tbsp  Cooking oil

 20   g      Rock sugar

500 ml    Water

1. Soak bird nest in a bowl of cold water overnight.
2. Drain water through a sieve the next day.
3. Transfer bird nest into a clean bowl. Add oil and scramble the bird nest to separate the feathers.
4. Pour luke warm water to the bird nest. The feather and oil will float up at this stage, which simplifies removing feathers from the bird nest.
5. Once the bird nest is cleaned, bring the bird nest and 500ml water to a boil.
6. Add rock sugar and allow to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve warm. Enjoy!

Elaine Bakes: Japanese Milky Madeleines

When eating Madeleine cakes,  I can't help but pair it with a cup of coffee. The Madeleine that I tried previously were the French version. So when I came across the Japanese version in Keiko Ishida's Okashi, I decided to give it a try. This version of Madeleines are lighter and doesn't taste as buttery

Taste wise, I would consider this as the richer version of Kasutera as it has the texture and taste of Kasutera, but slightly richer due to the butter content. Unlike its French counterpart, the Japanese version is baked in special shallow cupcake cups, which can be purchased from Japanese supermarkets like Daiso.

Here's the recipe:
Japanese Milky Madeleines
(Makes 9)

Preparation & Baking time: 1 hour

(A)
100 g Butter
 50 g Whipping cream
 15 g Whole milk
 1 tsp Vanilla extract

(B)
3          Eggs
1  pinch Salt
150 g    Caster sugar

(C)
 15 g  Honey
1 tbsp Hot water

(D)
120 g  Cake flour
 20  g  Corn flour        
1/2 tsp Baking powder

1. Melt (A) in a water bath and stir till ingredients are well blended. Set aside.
2. In a heatproof bowl, beat ingredients (B) with a whisk till well combined. Then transfer the bowl over to a pot of simmering water and whisk until mixture reaches 43C. At this stage, the mixture will be pale and thick.
3. Remove the egg mixture from heat and continue whisking with an electric whisk on high speed until light and fluffy.
4. Add in honey mixture and mix well.
5. Fold in sifted flour mixture gently with a spatula bit by bit.
6. Then add in butter mixture from Step 1 until just incorporated.
7. Spoon batter into a piping bag and pipe batter into shallow cupcake moulds arranged on a baking tray. You can fill the batter till almost full as this batter will not rise too much.
8. Bake for 20 mins. at 170C, or until when the skewer comes out clean.
9. Cool on a wire rack and don't forget to enjoy this treat with a lovely cup of coffee. Enjoy!

Elaine's Kitchen: Praline Ice Cream

I bought a 1kg tub of praline paste few months back with intentions of making Eric Lanlard's Piedmontois cake. Since the cake was quite tedious, I'm still procrastinating. Hopefully I shall attempt it one day before the praline goes bad. At the moment I'm still experimenting on a few ice cream flavours. This morning, I thought to myself, why not make praline ice cream. I wasn't sure about the praline ratio needed for the recipe but in the end, my guestimation turned out fine. Phew! 

Taste wise, this ice cream will remind you of those yummy Belgian chocolates. Definitely a flavour worth trying!

Here's the recipe:
Praline Ice Cream
(Makes 1 small tub of ice cream)

260 ml  Milk
  60 g    Praline
   4        Egg yolks
  45 g    Caster sugar
 100 g   Whipping cream

1. Bring milk, praline and 1/3 of the caster sugar to a boil on medium heat in a saucepan. Once 75 deg. C is achieved, turn off heat and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar till pale yellow.
3. Pour in warm milk mixture from Step 1 into Step 2 and continue whisking till well combined.
4. Return mixture into the saucepan and stir gently under medium heat till it thickens. Remove from heat once 75 deg. C is achieved.
5. Pour mixture into a bowl and cool it down with ice water before transferring mixture into an ice cream maker and start churning.
6. When the ice cream is half-frozen at about 10 mins., pour in whipping cream into the ice cream maker.
7. Keep churning for another 15-20 mins.
8. Transfer ice cream into a clean container and chill for at least 5 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Elaine's Kitchen: Goji Berry Congee with Oyster & Lotus Seed

During my recent trip to Hong Kong, I came across a congee recipe from a dried seafood shop there. According to the leaflet, this congee nourishes the blood and liver and also removes toxins from the heart. Sounds healthy eh? Since the ingredients listed in the recipe can be obtained easily, I decided to give it a try. 

Taste wise, if you like dried oysters, then definitely give this a go.The dried  Chinese ingredients gives the congee a natural sweetness without needing any artificial flavouring. The congee is not difficult to attempt except that it needs some patience since there will be plenty of stirring required during the cooking duration.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Goji Berry Congee with Oyster & Lotus Seed 
(Serves 2 - 3)

Cooking time: 1 hour 5 mins.

  40 g  Dried oysters
  40 g  Lotus seeds
  20 g  Goji berries
  40 g  Jujubes
   8  g  Ginger
200 g  Short grain rice
Salt to taste

1. Soak the lotus seeds in water for approx. 1 hour for it to soften. Then remove the kernel and rinse thoroughly. Set aside.
2. Rinse and soak the dried oysters for 5 mins.. Then cut them into bite size pieces. Set aside.
3. Destone the jujubes with a cherry pitter and slice into tiny pieces.
4. Rehydrate the goji berries by soaking them in a bowl of clean water.
5. Rinse the rice thoroughly with water and drain.
6. Peel the ginger and cut into thin slices.
7. Put all the ingredient (except goji berries) into a casserole pot cover with 3-5 cups of water.
8. Allow the mixture to boil on high for 5 mins.
9. Cook the congee on low heat for the next 1 hour and add water if the congee gets too dry.
Stir occasionally.
10. Add in goji berries and allow to cook for 5 more minutes. Season with salt to taste. Enjoy!

Pot of goodness :-)

Elaine's Kitchen: Green Tea Ice Cream

Since tasting Michel Roux Jr's ice cream at Le Gavaroche, I have been tempted to make my own ice cream because his ice cream was probably one of the best I have tasted. Recently I invested on an ice cream maker and my first ice cream attempt was in fact chestnut ice cream from Michel Roux's cookbook. The texture was as good as the one I tasted at Le Gavaroche. However I won't be featuring that recipe today because when I made it last week I didn't managed to capture any good photos; reason being that I only made a small batch and was too busy digging into the ice cream. Maybe I shall save that post for some other day.



Apart from chestnut ice cream craving, I have also been craving for some good green tea ice cream. In the past, I used to mix some green tea powder into vanilla ice cream but the quality wasn't fantastic. As for those in restaurants, I remembered having to pay RM10+ for a mediocre scoop of ice cream at Kampachi, a Japanese restaurant at Equatorial Hotel.

So yesterday while going through my cookbook before going to bed, I stumbled upon Keiko Ishida's Green Tea Ice Cream recipe in her cookbook. I have been trying to figure out since last week on how much green tea powder I need to make green tea ice cream. I was very pleased with my find and decided to try her recipe today.

The verdict? My mum liked the green tea ice cream the moment she tasted it. She commented that it tasted just like those sold in Japan. That's how good it was!



Here's the recipe:

Green Tea Ice Cream
(Makes approx. 6 scoops)

200g   Milk
  3       Egg yolks
 80 g   Caster sugar
 10 g   Green tea powder
100g   Whipping cream

1. Bring milk to a boil in a saucepan on medium heat, then set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar till pale yellow before adding in green tea powder.
3. Pour in warm milk and continue whisking till well incorporated. Don't worry if the mixture appears foamy as it will settle once it's set in the ice cream maker.
4. Return mixture into the saucepan and stir gently till it thickens to form a custard under medium heat.
5. Pour mixture into a bowl and cool it down with iced water before transferring mixture into an ice cream maker and start churning.
6. When the ice cream is half-frozen after about 10 minutes, pour whipping cream into the ice cream maker.
7. Keep churning for another 15 minutes.
8. Transfer ice cream into a clean container and chill for at least 5 hours before serving. I like mine covered with some red bean paste. Yummy!

Elaine Bakes: Sweet Potato Mont Blanc Cupcakes

The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Weekend starts tomorrow to commemorate Queen Elizabeth's 60 years of reign. When I left my job recently, amongst the gifts, my colleagues gave me a Jubilee cupcake kit from Accessorize, knowing how much I love baking. lol! So I promised that I would do something with it during the Queen's Jubilee celebration, thus this post =)

Making individual Chestnut Mont Blanc dessert has always been in my list of one of the things I want to bake. It still hasn't materialized till this day, although I consider making Mont Blanc Chestnut Cake being close to what I wanted. Nevermind. Save that for next time. This time though, I baked sweet potato Mont Blanc cupcakes since Japanese sweet potatoes are easily available in Malaysia. I wasn't sure initially about using sweet potatoes in dessert but I was wrong, indeed in turned out to be a very addictive piece of dessert. Do give it a try! 

Here's the recipe:

Sweet Potato Mont Blanc Cupcakes

(Makes 6 cupcakes)

Part 1 (Topping): Sweet Potato Cream Puree

200 g  Japanese sweet potatoes (can be found in Japanese supermarkets)

 50  g  White chocolate, chopped into size of choc. chips

 50  g   Condensed milk

 20  g   Unsalted butter, softened 

 20  g   Sugar

 30 ml  Milk

1. Boil potatoes in a pot of water till softened.

2. Puree the sweet potatoes with a potato ricer into a mixing bowl (doing it with a wire mesh sieve gives smoother results but I was too lazy!).

3. Add in white chocolate, butter and sugar immediately to allow the heat to melt those ingredients before adding in the rest of the ingredients. 

4. Mix thoroughly with a whisk till well combined. Cover with a cling wrap and keep chilled in the fridge until when needed.

Sweet Potato Puree

Part 2: Whipped Cream

100 ml   Whipping cream

10 g Caster sugar

10 ml Rum

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk till stiff peak forms. Cover in a cling film and keep chilled in the fridge until when needed. 

Part 3: Cupcakes

(A)

  2      Egg whites

 60 g  Caster sugar

(B)

  2      Egg yolks

1 tbsp Milk

60 g    Cake flour

10 g    Butter

1. Mix (B) in a bowl till well combined. Set aside.

2. Whisk (A) with an electric whisk till stiff peak forms.

3. Pour 1/3 of the meringue from Step 2 into Mixture B till well combined.

4. Pour in the rest of the meringue then fold gently.

5. Transfer the mixture into cupcake cases evenly. Be sure to fill only 1/2 cup or they might overflow during the baking process! 

6. Bake in oven that has been pre-heated to 170C for 18 - 20 minutes.

NB: The cupcakes will shrink a little once cooled as there wasn't any raising agent used in the recipe.

Part 4: Sugar Syrup

30 ml  Water

 5 g     Sugar

 1 tsp   Rum

Mix everything until sugar has dissolved.

Part 5: Assembling

1. Once the cupcakes has cooled down, brush the top of the cupcake with sugar syrup using a pastry brush.

2. Pipe some whipped cream on top of the cake. This is to create some volume to the dessert when piped with the sweet potato puree later on. 

3. Chill the cakes in the fridge for 15 mins. in order for the cream to set.

4. Meanwhile, start filling the pastry bag with a multiple opening nozzle and the sweet potato puree.

5. Pipe the puree on the cupcakes and allow to chill in the fridge for 10 mins. before serving. Enjoy!