Happy Queen's B'day!

It's Queen b'day today, although i hardly know her, but God Bless the Queen for because of her, I got to enjoy ( probably the last ) public holiday before Christmas.

Public holidays are rare and precious in Australia. All year round, we have but only a small numbers of public holidays: The New Years day, The Australia day, The Easter, The Anzac ( which was not made public holiday because it falls on Saturday this year :( ), The Queens b'day, Labour day ( which are yet to be proclaim to be public holiday this year ) Christmas and Boxing day!! We often need to make plans a few months ahead if we plan to go on a short break during the long weekend, the motel will always be fully booked, and the traffic going out of the city would also be quite dreadful, not to mention the stress of driving because of the triple demerit points during public holidays!!



Because my husband have his essay to be completed, and a record book of dangerous level demerit points, we decided not to go anywhere, and just chilled out and enjoy the surprising sunny Monday. To keep up with the Queen b'day's theme, I decided to bake a traditional English cake. Well, you need a cake for every b'day, especially your queen's b'day.



This cake was a traditional autumnal cake from the country of Gloucester shire in England. Gloucester shire is very famous for it's apples, pear and plums.The local cheese: the double Gloucester, has also been made in Gloucester shire since the 16th century and was traditionally made from milk produced by Old Gloucester cattle. It is a hard, pale orangey cheese with a creamy, almost buttery, nutty flavor and a flaky texture. Hence, the Gloucester cake, was made from the locally produced apples and cheese. I have never eaten a cake made from hard cheeses, and was very eager to try when I first read about this cake from NQN. I was lucky enough to lay my hand on some quality double Gloucester, but like NQN, i also make it with pear instead of apple because I love the juicy and sweet Corella pears.



Double Gloucester Cheese Cake with Corella Pears

Ingredients:

• 225g Corella Pears, ( about 3-4 small sized pears )
• 120g Butter, soften
• 180g Caster sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 120g Double Gloucester, grated
• 450g Plain Flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarb soda
• 2 tsp Baking powder
  
• 3 tbsp yoghurt
• 60g flaked almonds

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius, line and grease a large loaf pan with grease proof paper.
   
2. Grate the pear, retain all skin and juices
3. With an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and eggs.
   
4. Sift together the flour, bicarb soda and baking powder
5. Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredient, stir in the pear, cheese, and yoghurt. If the mixture appear to little too dry, add a dash of milk.
   
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, sprinkle the flaked almond on top.
   
7. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour. Rest in the pan for about 5 mins before turning out onto wire rack to cool down further.
   

I like to serve the cake warm, straight from the oven, with a glass of cold chardonnay.
Oh, I'm not too sure if the Queen is truely happy on her birthday, but I sure am!!

Mother's Maple Cheesecake

Mother's day was never a big event in our family when I was young. Growing up in a church, it's merely just another event of the many events. Also, my mother was such a practical mum that she never encourage us to buy anythings or do anything special on these days ( or any other days ). I still remember on some occasion, she used to buy our shampoo which were running low, and ask us to wrap it up and give it to her during the sunday school presentation as the sunday school teacher ask each kids to give a present to thank our mother during Mother's day!!! I seldom show my gratitude and appreciation towards her, and always took her for granted.

It was when I leave home to study aboard, and trying to live independently then i truly appreciate my mother. My first year was particularly a hard one, trying so hard to fit in and adapt the new culture, living with a foreign relatives, have to juggle my heavy uni workload, and trying to cook my own meals ( which i never did before!! ) How easy it was when I was living with mum that my only worries was to pass my exam. She would thoughtfully prepare many delicious and nutritious meals which according to her, is good for the brain . My mum is great in kitchen, so much so that we're never have to dirty our hands to cook. I must admit that I never touch any kitchen utensil other than the spoon and the fork ( if that's consider a kitchen utensil at all! ) After many years of living aboard, I've develop a closer relationship with the kitchen utensils, and cooking is not merely just for survival now, but a great enjoyment, and i often found my mum inside me when I'm preparing meals. I tend to do it just like she used to do it, it's a strange thing!! I guess the love of preparing food genes do runs in the family, from my grandmother, to my mother and to me.

I would love to bake my mother this cheesecakes when the parental visit next month. They love cheesecakes as they can't desired anything too sweet, and a good cheesecake is hard to find in Malaysia. I've never baked a whole cheesecakes before, so i decided to do a little experiments and practice well before their arrival. In addition, I can also take this opportunity to treats all those homesick overseas students in my church with my experimental cheesecake, it's very rich and good for the soul, the best we can make do during Mother's day, without our mothers!!



It's not hard to decide which cheesecake to experiment, the autumn wind is chilling, and there were falling maple leaves everywhere, perfect season for a rich, maple cheesecake!


Maple Cheesecake
Ingredients for the crust:

• 8 digestive biscuits
• 1/3 cups pecan nuts
• 85g butter, melted

Ingredients for the cake:

• 600g cream cheese
• 50g caster sugar
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 125ml maple syrup, plus more for later
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius, or 160 degree if fan force.
2. Grease and line a 20cm round spring foam cake tin with baking paper.
3. Process biscuits and pecan nuts in the food processor until finely crushed.
4. Add butter, combined well, and press the biscuit mixture firmly onto the base of the cake tin. Chilled in the refrigerator while making the cake filling.
5. With a electric beater, beat the cream cheese until they are smooth, gradually beat in sugar, corn flour, maple syrup, eggs and lemon juice until well combine. Do not over beat or else it may cracks, or develop bubbles ( like mine :( ).
6. Pour the cake fillings into the cake tin with the biscuit base. Wrap 2 layers of al foil around the cake tin to prevent water from sipping in from the water bath.
7. Put the cake tin into a large baking tray, and pour boiling hot water around the cake tin. ( your cake tin should sit in the middle of the baking tray, with hot water around it )
8. Bake in the preheated oven for about 1 hour and 3o mins. i check the cake every 10 mins after the 1st hour. When the cake is set but still a bit wobbly in the middle, it is done.
9. Switch off the oven temperature, and cool the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar, and then take it out and cool it to room temperature before leave it in the fridge overnight.
10. Pour extra maple syrup over the cheesecake before serving. Best serve cold.

Because of my over beating, my cheesecake develop some bubble on the surface, but it's not a fatal one, and I'm overall very satisfied with the taste and texture of the cheesecake. This recipe is adapted from NQN, and she was very kind to give me a few tips and hints for baking this cheesecake as I'm very unsure about the water bath thing. Apparently, the most important thing with baking cheesecake is not to "shock" the cake, ie: the cake dun get shock when first entered the hot oven by baking it gently with the water bath, and the cake dun get shock when comes out of the oven by cooling it in the oven first and then room temp, and then fridge. If the cake is shock, it'll cracks, very much behave like us don't you think?!!!

I think it'll be the perfect welcoming cheesecake for my mum, and hopefully the first bite would shock her taste bud and she'll cracks a big smile!!

Twisted Cheese

I love cheesecakes but they can be a bit troublesome to bake, with the biscuit base and leave it to cool overnight etc etc...
so, when i came across this chocolate cheese cake with a twist, which do not invovled the biscuit base and the cooling overnight etc ect, i decided to give it a go!
It's actually a very simply cake, substituting butter with cream cheese. Resulting a in a very moist chocolate cake. I frost it with chocolate frosting and decorate it with choppen pecans.

Chocolate CheeseCakes
Ingrediants:

• 125g cream cheese
• 60g butter
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup choppen peacans
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1/3 cup SR flour
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicar soda

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree celcius
2. Grease a 20cm (8 inch) spring foam cake tin and lined with baking paper
3. Beat cheese, butter, sugar and egg with electric mixer until light and fluffy.
4. Stir in nut and milk
5. Sift all the dry ingrediant together for 2 times and add into the cake batter.
6. Spread the mixture into pan.
7. Bake for about 50 mins, or until cooked.
8. Cool in pan for 15 mins and then cool on wire rack for at least 1 hour, or until completely cooled before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

• 1/2 cup cream
• 100g dark chocolate
• 60g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar

1. Combine the cream, chocolate and butter in a bowl and melt it over a saucepan of boiling water, gently stir with a woodern spoon until they are melted and combine.
2. Cool the chocolate sauce slightly, and then beat in the icing sugar until smooth.
3. Spread on cooled cake, decorate it with anything you like..

The cake before frosting and after frosting



I make this cake for the youth group, and i didn't get to try it, but feed back were that it's very good and some thought it was store bought. So, i think it should be nice **

Say Cheese

I can't think of anyone who doesn't like cheese,
It can turn the most tasteless pasta, soup or salad into a wonderful meal,
It goes well with savoury dishes, and it can also be made into a sweet, beautiful dessert.
Not all cheese is sinful and rich, ricotta and cottage cheese for examples, are light and they have a very unique texture.
Sweeter, richer cheese such as Mascarpone is great for Tiramisu, and my favourite type of cheese, the cream cheese is great for making cheesecakes, various frosting, and many many heavenly dessert.
Making such a rich dessert into something small, somehow manage to cut the guilt out of eating them, but then again, for such a wonderful cheesecake, it's hard to stop at one.
Anyway, life is too short to be counting how many one can have!! So, enjoy!

Mini Strawberry Cheesecakes

make 10 mini cheesecakes

Base:

150g Nice Biscuits

70g Butter, melted

Filling:

250g cream cheese

75g (1/3 cup)caster sugar

1 large egg (min 65g)

20ml (1tbs) lemon juice

100ml (5tbs) thickened cream

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree celcious, line a 12 cup muffin pan with 10 patty cases.
2. Crushed the biscuits until they resemble fine crumbs. Combine melted butter with crushed biscuits in a medium bowl. Coat crumbs evenly with butter.
3. Divide biscuits mixture evenly between the 10 patty cases. Press mixture firmly using the back of spoon.Set aside while making the filling.
4. Beat cream cheese and caster sugar with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy.
5. Add the egg, lemon juice and cream, and beat until well combine.
6. Divide mixture evenly amount the prepared patty cases.
7. Bake cheesecakes in oven for 20 mins. The middle of the cheesecakes will be wobbly when hot and sink a little when cool.
8. Allow to cool on wire rack for 30 mins, and store in an airtight container in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
9. Just before serving, remove the patty cases, and top each mini cheesecakes with strawberry syrup and strawberry. Dusting with icing sugar and serve cold.

Step-By-Step

Combine crushed biscuit with melted butter

Press mixture firmly onto patty cases with back of spoon

Evenly filled each patty cases with filling, bake for 20 mins

Cool on wire rack before transfer to the fridge to chill.