he showed me what it was to cry

It sure has been a month of birthdays! last week was just vuina's, and Kat's birthday happens to be a week after hers. so like for vuina and evelyn before that, I made Kat her birthday cake and now she can join my list of cheesecake people. When I make cheesecakes for birthdays, I try never to repeat them for another person so that cake is personalised to them. Kat has earned herself a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake for her 23rd birthday! Dare I say, it is also one of the better, if not the best, cheesecake I have made.

Kat has a thing for owls (like vuina with moustaches - what is wrong with these girls!!) and after helping me make a moustache for vuina's cake, i knew she would suspect an owl cake for herself. a cake made out of an owl. But I didn't do that because I don't believe cheesecakes should be fashioned so friovolously, so I made up some Reese Peanut Butter cup owls to perch on peanut butter branches on the cake. The owls were fabulous but the branches... were... subject to interpretation and DID NOT come across as branches.

 it was a fairly large cheesecake, as most cheesecakes are, and it fed 14 people that night, some with second slices.

I thought of the owl myself, to be fashioned out of Reese's, but the big-eye idea came from google images. Here is a step-by-step:

First, turn the Reese cup downside up. The frills at the side make for good feathery texture! White Chocolate buttons for eyes, or you can use mini oreos with the top cookie taken out for eyes too. 

And then chocolate chips for eyeballs. I cut the pointy edges off so it will stick well onto the white chocolate buttons. And I used peanut butter to glue everything together too. 

 And then half a skittle for its beak. Vuina decided that one owl had to have a mustache, and I drew this out as well....then I stuck the nose on it. 

Yellow flower sprinkles for feet.... 

And finally, chocolate chips for ears. 

Perched on some branches....minding its own business... *hoot*

I took Friday night to bake this cake, and I would recommend this to any peanut butter and cheesecake lover. You'd think peanut butter and cream cheese would be too strong for each other, but this cake is the perfect balance between the two, none of which overshadow each other.

recipe:

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups digestive biscuit crumbs
2 tbsps cocoa powder
60-80g butter, melted, more if needed
600g cream cheese, get a good brand - the cheaper it is, the yuckier it is. use Philly.
1 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup soft, brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 heaping tbsp custard powder
8-9 Reese peanut butter cups, chopped into quarters
150ml single cream, whipped
4 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
150ml cream
150g dark cooking chocolate
More peanut butter for decoration

1. Make the crust: Mix the digestive biscuit crumbs, cocoa powder and melted butter together until completely blended. Pat into the base of a cheesecake tin, mine was 9 inches round. Let chill.
2. Cream the cream cheese and sugar together until incorporated. Mix in the 2/3 cup peanut butter, cinnamon powder and vanilla essence and continue to cream till fluffy. Add in the custard powder. Cream well until soft and fluffy.
3. Fold in the whipped cream gently.
4. In a separate small bowl, whisk the 4 eggs well and whisk into the cheesecake batter till incorporated.
5. Take the prepared cheesecake tin out of the pan. Microwave the remaining 1/3 cup of peanut butter till soft and pour onto the chocolate crumb base. Make sure the base is evenly coated before pouring in the cheesecake batter. Pour only about 1/3 of the batter in. Then sprinkle in the Reese peanut butter cups. Then pour in the rest of the batter.
6. Wrap the outside of the tin with aluminium foil and bake, bain-marie, in a preheated oven at 160C for 1 hour.
7. Leave to cool in oven for 1 hour and then chill overnight.
8. Make a ganache topping by heating 150ml of cream till just below a simmer. Break in the cooking chocolate and let sit. Stir to incorporate. With the cheesecake still in the springform tin, pour over the chocolate and chill till set.
9. Decorate according and serve.

happiest 23rd katty kat. Hope you had a wonderful time. Thanks for being my friend. :)

well excuse me, guess i've mistaken you for somebody else

so now that I have been able to make macarons successfully, I've been trying and trying and trying again and again and again to perfect it. I think I've got the shells down and I realise that the way in which you handle the batter affects two things: quantity and size. Should you undermix the batter, which I think is the safer of the two evils, you get a puffier macaron like you can see in the picture. You also tend to yield a lesser quantity. If you overmix, you get more macarons, but flatter ones, ones that don't puff and rise up but stay a uniform, stagnant height. I personally prefer the puffier ones as the look uber cute but the flat ones are more elegant and dainty.

 Kat and I made a tiramisu flavoured macaron this time round. We did not flavour the shells, but kept to making good filling. On the top, we dusted from cocoa powder. This cocoa powder was sieved on after the macarons had been knocked on the counter top to eliminate air bubbles. but should you forget to knock the macarons before putting on the cocoa powder, never fear. the cocoa powder will be knocked into a uniform  brush of cocoa powder that I believe looks better. The picture on top shows pronounced cocoa powder bits as it was sprinkled on only after the knocking.

to make the macaron a tiramisu one, we used a two dimensional filling. first filled with cream cheese, and then a dollop of strong coffee ganache in the middle. if you want, you even chuck in some chocolate shavings.

this is the last batch of macarons I will make in London. I can't believe that the course is ending so soon.... I wonder where all the months have gone. I was buried in books trying to pass my exams and keep up with work... and now it has gone before I am ready to let go of London. I have less than a month left. GASP!

recipe:

Tiramisu Macarons

150g egg whites, divided into two 75g portions
200g castor sugar
200g icing sugar
200g almond powder
50ml water
1 tsp vanilla extract
Cocoa Powder

Filling:
6oz cream cheese (don't get soft cheese, trust me!)
Slightly less than 1/2 cup castor sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp custard powder
150ml cream
300g bar of white chocolate
2 tbsps instant coffee powder
1 tbsp kahlua, optional
Hot water
Chocolate shavings, optional.

1. Separate the egg whites carefully. Divide the egg whites into two 75 g portions.
2. Into a large bowl, sift in the almond powder and icing sugar twice. If you have a food processor, processing the two would eliminate the need for sieving. Dunk in one portion of the egg whites and leave aside (without mixing)
3. Pour castor sugar and water into a saucepan and let come to a boil until the temperature reaches 118C. This is crucial! You must use a thermometer!!!
4. While the sugar is boiling, whip the egg whites until it forms foamy stiff peaks. You should reach stiff peaks by the time the sugar temperature is reached. If you have a kitchen aid, you can start whisking at 115C. If not, start whisking at 90-100C. You can err on the side of egg whisking - meaning that you could be done with the egg whites faster. But the moment the sugar reaches 118C, it must be used.
5. With your electric mixer on low, pour in the sugar syrup in a small, slow, steady stream. When all the sugar syrup is added, whisk on high until the meringue has cooled, and is glossy and firm. Set aside.
6. In the large bowl of the almond powder, mix in the egg white until a paste is formed. Scoop in the meringue batches by batches, and fold into the paste until you get a thick, flowy magma.
7. Pipe into rounds and tap on the counter several times. Let sit aside until a skin has formed.
 8. Bake at 150C for about 12 to 15 minutes. This should be preheated before hand at about 180C, and turned down to 150C when the macarons go in. Rotate once.
9. Filling: Cream the cheese, custard powder and sugar together. Add in the vanilla extract and let set till thick.
10. To make coffee ganache, heat the cream until it begins to simmer at the side. Break in the white chocolate bar and let sit for a moment. Meanwhile, mix the coffee powder with as little water as possible to form a paste. Add this into the cream and white chocolate. Add in the kahlua at this stage if using. Mix all together till smooth and let chill till firm.
11. To pipe: Pipe the cream cheese in first and pipe the coffee ganache on top. Sprinkle over chocolate shavings if using.
12. Chill macarons in the fridge overnight before serving.

regrets collect like old friends

 happiest birthday to my friend vuina! vuina is a chocolate addict who LOVES chocolate, and is one of those girls who thinks she'll die without it. she is also obsessed with mustaches and says if she could she would grow one herself! so for her 22nd birthday we decided to throw her a mustache party - Kat's brilliant idea - and we all stuck some paper mustaches to our upper lip.


she cried in joy when she saw us... 

i made vuina a chocolate cake, with chocolate buttercream and decorated it with rows and rows of raspberries to offset the sweetness of the cake. it was a much larger cake than i anticipated and between the 5 of us girls, we could not finish it. we handed the cake around to some of the tables in the restaurant, especially the tables who were so amused by our antics. some people stopped to ask "what's with the mustache?"

the cake was moist and very chocolatey, but in my opinion, oil based cakes don't ever beat butter based chocolate cakes. the thing is that oil based cakes keep moist for longer but butter based cakes are fluffy and soft. oh well, you lose some, you win some. on hind sight, i would have changed the frosting and filling to a whipped chocolate ganache to bring out the flavour of the chocolate better. the buttercream worked well with the cake though, and i made just enough to fully frost and fill the cake. 

it was a great night of laughter, girl talk and worrying for passing the BPTC and i hope she really enjoyed the night. :)

recipe:

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Martha Stewart

Cake:

1 1/2 cups cocoa powder

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups caster sugar

1 1/2 cups soft dark brown sugar

1 tbsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsps baking powder

Generous pinch of salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsps vanilla extract. 

1 tsp cinnamon powder

1 1/2 cups warm water or coffee

Frosting:

10-11oz icing sugar, sifted

7oz butter 

2 oz cocoa powder 

1 generous tsp vanilla extract 

3-4 tbsps milk

1. Sift all the dry ingredients into your mixer bowl. 

2. With the mixer on low, add in the wet ingredients one by one and mix with electric beaters until smooth, about 3 to 5 minutes. Periodically scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is being mixed well.

3. Divide batter among two parchment paper lined 8-inch square pans or three round ones. Bang the pans on the kitchen counter several times to release air bubbles. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 35-45 minutes, rotating once, until a skewer comes out clean. I baked mine for 45 minutes, and I used a square pan. 

4. Let cool completely.

5. Shave the cake to form smooth tops and chill overnight. If you don't time to chill, never fear. I just recommend this because it makes frosting a lot easier and crumbs are not falling all over the place.

6. To make the frosting, beat the butter till soft and creamy. Sift in the icing sugar periodically, 1/3 of the total quantity at every given time. Pour in a tbsp of milk to help bind everything together. Do this until all the cocoa powder and icing sugar has been mixed in. I had some chocolate left over from the mustache so I added that in too. Mix in the vanilla extract. 

7. Fill and frost, chill before serving. 

and maybe i'll get famous as the man who can't be moved

hello friends! i am one step away from being a qualified barrister, all i have to do is pass my exams! most of my papers are done, certainly the hardest ones are. I have gone from SO MUCH work (and unable to make even dinner for myself some nights) to lying day in day out on my bed brainstorming what to do what to do what to do. perhaps the time off would not be so bad if the London skies were kind. One would expect spring to be happier, but we are at the mercy of volatile grey clouds. yes, it's still cold. what can I say? It's London. good ol' English weather. strangely when the sun's out i sometimes miss the rain...

lately i have been enthralled with the idea of French food. I knew its pastry alright, and I always knew them to be difficult beyond home baking. but I have been watching Rachel Khoo on BBC (beams that she is also half Malaysian!) and she makes it look all too simple. I bought her book. Not my first *cooking* book, but certainly my first that I had really wanted to try. And in honour of my new found inspiration, I made Tarte Tatin.

Tarte Tatin is a French Apple Tart created by mistake by the Tatin sisters. I never saw its appeal, to me it looked less than appetizing. It had an unmistakable lack of colour, and shine sometimes. It is a monotonous gold colour, with upside apples on a bed of pastry dough. either shortcrust or puff. How hard can it be to topple some pastry over caramelised apples?

Not too easy, let me say. This dessert baking is not for chickens or wimps. Takes real courage. Why?

Caramel. Caramel! i don't like the taste of caramel, and lucky me, because it's as finicky as Macarons can get. burns easily, hard to get off, and VERY HOT.

apples arranged with their rounded backs down to form a nice round shape upon unmasking from the pan. traditionally baked straight from the pan but I did not as I was unsure if my pan could sustain in a hot oven.

and in the pictures below: it moves from a buttery yellow, bubbles up into a boiling amber and this is where the skill comes in: where to stop! you stop when it's perfectly caramelised, tender deep golden brown...

like i said: this recipe is not for chickens. boiling hot caramel on high heat. Don't be a wuss and keep on low heat, it won't caramelise well.

this recipe would also work well with different fruits or an array of fruits that do not crumble under pressure. bananas, peaches, apricots....



actually i have not tasted it yet. I made it for a dinner party I am hosting tmr night, and to ease the work for tmr I made this in advance. this picture is taken as the pie exited the oven, and unfortunately I suspect its snug positioning would be jeopardised tmr as the apples will shrink. Best served out the oven really, but here's to hoping that when I heat the dessert up again tmr night it will not disappoint.

recipe:

Tarte Tatin

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

500g block of puff pastry

6-7 medium apples (I used Royal Gala but I think Granny Smith tastes better baked)

Zest of one orange

Zest of half a lemon

Juice of half an orange

Vanilla pod seeds (optional, I would love to chunk these in but vanilla pods are EXPENSIVE IN LONDON!)

1 cup castor sugar (the next time I will try with brown sugar and see how it turns out! :D)

1/2 cup butter

Pinch of sea salt

1. Roll out the pastry to a 9 inch round (to cover an 8 inch round pan) and set aside in the fridge. It should be about 3/4 of a centimeter thick.

2. Peel the apples and cut into quarters (one apple, 4 pieces). Core the apples too. Try to cut them nicely as they are the center piece of the dessert.

3. In a saucepan, melt the butter, but do not let boil. Take off the heat and stir in the sugar, until well blended and the sugar and butter is completely combined. Put in the zest of the orange and lemon, the juice and the vanilla pods. Mix everything together well and distribute evenly in the pan. Arrange the apples on the pan.

4. Return to high heat and let the mixture boil for about 10-15 minutes. The mixture should go from a yellow to a nice golden colour and you should only take it off the heat when it becomes a very light Cola colour. not quite brown, but a sunburnt gold if you like.

5. By this time, some of the apple backs would be slightly more caramlised. Turn the apples around and return to high heat for another 5 minutes, now to get a proper Cola colour. I can't give you an advice here except to watch the pan, follow your gut instinct and take the pan off the heat the moment you suspect the caramel to be done because 10 seconds is all it needs for caramel to burn.

6. Pour the contents quickly into your round pan, arrange the apples prettily, remembering that the apple backs are the centerpieces! then, throw the rolled out pastry atop the apples, and tuck in the sides on top of the pastry dough. or if you want, you can go the extra mile and try to decorate the sides.

7. Bake, in a preheated 180C oven, for 20-25 minutes.

8. Take off the oven, put your serving plate on top of the tin and turn out the pie. Careful of hot caramel spilling over. If you wait till the pie cools, it will never get out because the caramel will stick to the pan. Serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

*pictures are taken with a 2MP camera on Ipad... which explains the rubbish quality

we belong to the thunder

i normally bake alone. for me it's a therapeutic time - and achievement time, and just something i don't want help with (Except cleaning or when i need an extra hand). i don't even let Garrett help. i do it alone!

macarons seem to be a different story. this is the first time I have actually been afraid to the process! normally i conquer it quite fast, and if it doesn't work i do it again and hey presto! but these are finicky, volatile, temperamental things that need to be treated right. and if you do bake - you will know what a huge burden it is to have failures after working so hard trying to get them right.

cue Kat. she's my macaron baking partner now and i am afraid to do it without her! the reason why i need her is because there are two very stressful processes - whipping the meringue into soft peak and getting macaronnage right. if these things go wrong, the batch is as good as gone. and no matter how you justify it, a macaron without frilly feet isn't a macaron at all. with two people the stress is shared out. haha

resting stage - there is a debate on whether macarons should be rested or not. for us, we rest our macarons. and we don't keep a count of time - or not accurately. we just rest them until they have dried out, and won't touch you back when you touch them. that's how we know they're ready for the oven. this varies with room temperature, but here in London, in the start of spring, we take about 30-45 minutes to adequately rest them. so if you do decide to rest them, rest them all the way!

however, i also know there are some methods where you don't rest at all - you pop the tray into the oven THE MOMENT the macarons are piped out. so no delay. just straight in. i have not tried that but i am scared to, anyway.

what about egg-aging? we didn't do this. because we adopt an italian method, we find that the process is somewhat more stabilised and perhaps because of that, the egg white aging does not have much effect. i do know, that aged egg whites tend to hold better and it is encouraged if possible. but if not, just do what we did, leave the eggs at room temperature and whip them up. also always use a digital kitchen scale to measure egg whites!

temperature - we played with this a little and found that 15 minutes in a 160C oven too hot, 12 minutes in a 140C not long enough to cook it. i have not found the perfect answer - it is a work in progress after all, but i think it is best to preheat at 180C, then turn down to 150 for about 12 minutes. you know it is not adequately baked when the bottoms are moisty, instead of dry and crusty. we did another experiment and baked it twice when the first time was not enough to cook it sufficiently. the second baking time took about 2 minutes in a 160C oven and came out perfectly fine. macarons aren't that unforgiving after all! although do not tell this to pierre herme...

another thing we realised is that if the macarons are piped out into an uneven surface, for example if there are indentations or grooves on your baking tray, the feet will not form properly. so you need really good, flat trays for them to come out properly.

coming to think of it - this batch looks SO GOOD compared to the last batch. what did we do differently?

WE USED A SIEVE!

the first time we made the macarons, we did not have one and we invested in one this time. the almond is hard to get through the sieve, but we sifted the almond meal and powdered sugar twice. this actually resulted in the macaronnage being a little harder to do because the batter became runnier faster. so you need to be very careful about folding! MAKE EVERY FOLD COUNT!

because it was finer, and runnier we realised that the consistency was not right the first time we made the macarons. this time, it was a perfect consistency. you know this when you pipe the macarons out, and it settles into its round shape easily. with the very first batch, we often had to manipulate the macaron shape - tapping down the peaks, fingering it into a round shape. btw if you do find yourself in a position to have to manipulate the macaron shape, dip your finger into some water first... then the batter won't stick.

TAP TAP TAP. always tap the baking sheet to get rid of air bubbles. don't be shy about it. bang it on the counter as hard as you can, several times.. and you will see the end of air in your macarons.

and although this time we made perfect round, smooth topped, consistent frilly macarons, we failed at the filling! we decided to make a raspberry lemon curd, but for some reason it would not stiffen up (sobs - must have gotten the proportion wrong). anyway, although we did pipe it in and it did harden up eventually, i would recommend using a white ganache filling for these green tea macarons to bring out more of its flavour, as green tea is very mild.

we also found that resting the macarons with its filling in, overnight, resulted in the best macarons. when you first make them it would be too crunchy and when you leave it for more than 24 hours it would be melt in your mouth soft. neither are the right textures, so i suggest making them overnight if you do plan to serve it the next day.

For the recipe, you can follow this recipe; just add in 2.5 tsps of matcha powder into the powdered sugar and almond flour mixture.

good luck! hope these tips help!