Mini Marble Chiffon Cheesecake

Another attempt at marbling.
This time with a chiffon version of cheesecake.  I revisited an earlier classic chiffon cheesecake recipe I used, but the results were rather disappointing.

You see, the cake rose tall and beautiful while baking.  But once it was done, and I let it cool gradually in the oven with door ajar, it deflated so much (like half the height) that it caused the cake to be so uneven.

What went wrong?  Did I overbeat the egg whites till they were too stiff??

Oh well, what the heck!  The marbling still turned out pretty nice (I'm shameless, haha) and it still tasted good.  At LEAST it still tasted good.

Victorian Milk Bread

This is a basic bread and it is easy to make. It comes with a soft crust and crumb, perfect for a morning toast with butter and jam.

I divided my dough into 3 equal parts. Having "itchy fingers", I felt that I had to add some extras into my plain bread.

So, each dough had some jam spread randomly on them after knocking down the dough the first time.

My 3-in-1 milk bread in one big loaf.

Not that pretty but well, this was part of the fun of baking. :)

Recipe (without the jam of course):

• 300g bread flour


• 1 tsp of instant yeast


• 15g of sugar


• 180ml of fresh milk (lukewarm)


• 25g butter (softened)

Steps:

1. Mix the flour, yeast and sugar evenly.


2. Add milk and butter.


3. Knead until smooth and elastic.


4. Proof until double the volume.


5. Knock down, roll into desired shape and place into baking tin.


6. Proof until double the volume.


7. Bake at 200 degree celsius fo about 25 minutes.

Fruit & Nut Pound Cake

I remember the days when we bought frozen Sara Lee. And every time I pulled it out of the freezer, it was rock hard. Even after a few moments in the microwave to warm it up, it was still dry. And a tad too sweet for me. 


So when I started baking, pound cake was one of the first few recipes I attempted. It looked easy enough, but as with all simple things, there is more to it than meets the eye...

My first few attempts were either too dry or too wet. But today, I think I've found a recipe that's worth sticking to. It had just the right amount of moisture, was dense yet not heavy, and with just the right amount of buttery taste without being overwhelming. The photo doesn't really do the cake justice. It's either the lighting, or just simply my lousy camera skills. 

OK, enough yapping. Here's the recipe. 

FRUIT & NUT POUND CAKE

Makes a 9x5" loaf or 2 mini loaves. 

227g butter

200g sugar (up to 250g if you like it sweet)

4 eggs

1.5 tsp vanilla

1.5 tsp water

170g cake flour

60g raisins, currants, or cranberries

30g nuts (I used a mixture of pumpkin and sunflower seeds)

With your mixer on medium-high, whip butter till smooth and shiny. 

Gradually add sugar and beat till light and fluffy and almost white.

Stir together eggs, vanilla and water.

With mixer running, add egg mixture in a thin stream, and mix till fully incorporated.

Sift 1/3 of the flour over the batter.

Fold in gently with a spatula. Repeat twice more. 

Finally, fold in fruit and nut till evenly distributed.

Scrape batter into pan. Smooth top.

Bake at 160*C till skewer comes out clean, about 80 min for large loaf pan and 40 min for mini pans. 

When done, allow cake to cool in the pan for 5 min before unmoulding onto a cooling rack to cool completely. 

One thing still baffles me:  Why does the pound cake always split on top?  Has anyone found a way to make pound cake with a nice smooth top?  Please tell me... 

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

It's time for another cheesecake  :)
Hubby wanted something with chocolate, so it wasn't difficult to decide on the flavour.

Recipe for a 16cm / 6.5" cheesecake:


Crust
6 Digestives biscuits, crushed (about 100g)
45g butter, melted

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag.  Press as much air out as possible and seal the bag (I just used a bag clip). With a rolling pin, smash the biscuits till you get even crumbs.
Stir in the melted butter till even distributed.  Then pour mixture into a lined and greased springform pan.  Press down with the back of a spoon or bottom of a glass.
Pop into the freezer to set while you make the filling.

Filling
500g cream cheese, room temperature
100g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tbs milk or whipping cream
30g chocolate, melted

Beat cheese, sugar and vanilla extract till smooth and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time; beat till well combined.  Add milk and mix well.
Divide mixture into 2 portions and stir in chocolate to 1 portion.
With a spoon or ladle, pour mixture onto crust, alternating between the plain and chocolate mixtures.
Then, drag a knife or toothpick along the surface to create any marbled pattern.

Bake bain marie at 150*C for 30-35 min till edges are set and centre still wobbly.  Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for about 30 min. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge.  Patience is important in this step.  Otherwise, any sudden drop in temperature could cause the surface of the cheesecake to crack.

Allow the cake to chill for at least 4-5 hours before serving.  Best if savoured a day or 2 later to let the flavours develop overnight.

Cognac Fruit Cake with Chocolate Frosting

I made this cake specially for my dear old friend, who has a sweet tooth but can't bake. Her birthday is round the corner and I thought this would be a nice treat for her and her family.


The rim of candies in crunchy shells were Hershey's special dark chocolate. They helped to complete the look.

You can find the cake recipe in a previous posting.
http://thebatterbaker.blogspot.com/2010/12/cognac-fruit-cake.html

Almond Cupcakes

Happy New Year, my friends!!

May 2011 be a blessed year for you and your loved ones. 

Mini Chocolate Macarons

It's been a while since I baked macarons. I usually prefer chocolate flavour because the cocoa makes it less sweet.



Traditional macarons in the old days, were simply fused together when they were still hot without any filling.



These were filled with buttercream, with a blob of Hershey's chocolate in the middle of the sandwich.



And of course, I can't resist dressing up some of the macarons in pretty icing flowers and sprinkles.