Chocolate Cheesecake

Yeeeeeeeeessssssssss. It is indeed well and truly alive! Of course, I must address any ambiguities and confirm that I do in fact refer to my neglected blogspot and not Frankenstein's Monster (Module B whatuppp).

You know your life's hit a real low point when you begin to procrastinate doing the things you do to procrastinate (cough):

I suck at blogging. By that I don't mean my writing skills suck (stop laffing, please) or that I do not know how to use the internet, but I just have some sort of force within me (wot) that refuses to co-operate and dutifully post recipes and an accompanying cool-story-bro anecdote as soon as I re-acquaint myself with the oven. So yes, I can't promise that I'll regularly blog or anything, but the point is I'M HERE AND I'M POSTING HI LOOK AT ME HI YES I'M REALLY HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look, I haven't been sleeping well lately alright. 

AHEM. So, while I sit here and watch little kids dance around (Schools Spectacular, not some creepy form of voyeurism) and wait for my cinnamon buns to prove, I bring to you, a recipe!!!!!!!!! Not just any recipe;  a cheesecake. 

Ain't she pretty.

This here is my rendition of Nigella Lawson's chocolate cheesecake. It was made for a friend's birthday and devoured by an eager bunch of teens, one of whom had a dislike for cheesecakes (WHAT!!!!) which was quickly turned around after a slice of this. And you thought miracles didn't exist ;)
As tasty as it was, I do have some things to say about this lil old cake:
- As cheesecakes don't rise, I was a little underwhelmed by the low height of the cheesecake. The whipped cream and strawberries were actually an attempt to make it look more 'impressive' lulz
- See those white dots? They're not white chocolate chips or anything delicious. Lumps. LUMPS (lovely lady lumps). LUMPS OF COLD, DAMNED CREAM CHEESE. Although the people who ate it said they wouldn't even have realised had I not pointed it out (damnit!), the lumps bothered the crap out of me. I did learn, however, and I will ensure that  with future cheesecakes the cream cheese IS ABSOLUTELY ROOM TEMPERATURE before I start. It also helps to give it a good whipping (wchh!) on its own before other ingredients are added.
Thank you for reading this post, whoever you may be, and I apologise for my madness. Ur wheely kool <3
Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cheesecake (Adapted from Nigella Lawson)

For the base:

• 125g digestive biscuits
• 60g soft unsalted butter
• 1tbsp cocoa powder

For the filling:

• 175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
• 500g cream cheese
• 150g caster sugar
• 1tbsp custard powder
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 150mL sour cream 
• ½ tsp cocoa powder, dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water 

• 1.        preheat the oven to 180ºc. process the biscuits in a food processor until they turn to crumbs. add the cocoa powder and butter, processing until the mixture begins to clump together.
  2.        press firmly into the bottom of a 23cm base springform tin. chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
  3.         melt the chocolate in a bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, and set aside to cool.
  4.        in either an electric stand mixer (whisk attachment) or with a handheld mixer, mix the cream cheese on medium speed until light and fluffy. add the sugar and custard powder until well combined.
  5.        add the eggs and egg yolks and beat until just combined. then add the dissolved cocoa powder and the melted chocolate. beat until well combined.
  6.        take the tin out of the fridge and cover the outside with two good layers of aluminium foil. if your foil isn’t of a decent quality/thickness, do a third layer or  the cake will be at risk of water seeping in! pour the cheesecake filling into the tin.
  7.        place the tin into a large baking tin and pour in some water until it comes halfway up the sides of the tin. bake for one hour (check it at 45 minutes) or until the sides are jut set, but the middle is still a little bit wobbly.
  8.        removes the tin from the water bath and peel away the foil. allow the cheesecake to cool completely in its tin, before placing the cheesecake (still in its tin) in the fridge overnight. 
  9.        remove the cheesecake from the tin and if desired, decorate with whipped cream and strawberries, or any other topping of your choice :) 

/NOTE: the blogger format is refusing to co-operate and won't let me use capital letters in the recipe section for some reason. it's ridiculous but true, so please don't think i lack basic grammar skills due to the lack of capital letters at the start of sentences!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Macarons

I remember the first time I was introduced to macarons. Like what I suspect to be a large proportion of the population, it happened during an early season of Masterchef Australia, where a certain “dark lord of patisserie” walked into the room carrying a Styrofoam cone covered in bright circles. My confusion was quick to sink in, as the judges carried on  about “macaroons.” The aforementioned bright circles did not match the image in my mind of small, coconutty confections that our Filipino neighbours would often bake. I later discovered that the reason for this was because the judges (and in fact, many others out there) refer to French macarons as “macaroons.”

Anyways, I continued watching and noticed that the contestants seemed to have numerous freakouts, panic attacks and fits of crying as they all struggled with the challenge. I decided to read up on macarons and discovered that the contestants were not alone – copious amounts of food bloggers and recipe authors had waxed lyric about how difficult it was to master the art of the macaron. Of course, never in a million years did I expect to not only be attempting to bake them, but actually be recreating several successful batches.

I, for one, follow the “simpler” recipe of using French meringue; Zumbo uses Italian meringue, which is supposedly a more reliable method due to the fact the meringue is partly cooked before going into the oven (this, to me, just reads as extra steps, not to mention dishes). It looks simple enough. Whip up some egg whites, fold  in some almond meal and icing sugar, pipe and Voila. However, the success of the macarons depends on so many other factors. The exact measurements of the ingredients, the temperature of the oven, whether you rest the shells or not/for how long, how you fold the mixture; all things which can drastically affect the macarons when altered just a tiny bit. Because this post is mainly for a friend interested in how I make them (ahem, and a necessary push for me to actually blog again), I’m not going into the evolution of my macaron-baking and the numerous recipes I have used and the results they have produced. I will instead, just say that it is possible to successfully bake macarons at home. Yes, it takes a lot of practice (not that it’s impossible to fluke your first batch) and it is wise to read up on them first and learn from each attempt (I sure did), but it is possible.

What’s more is that many of the ridiculous “rules” that you may come across when reading macaron recipes are absolutely unnecessary. I don’t age my egg whites, I don’t fold the mixture a certain number of times, I don’t dry my almond meal prior to adding it to the mixture. I don’t cook the macarons at two different tempatures… you get the gist. However, I will admit to drying my macarons before putting them in the oven. Bravetart states that this isn’t necessary, but I prefer to dry them just to be safe. It’s no extra work, and I usually use this time to clean up anyway.

Speaking of Bravetart (or Stella), she is a champion. Like, actually. Just scroll through the comments on her macaron recipe and you’ll see that she has inspired many to start making macarons. She shuns the “rules” of making macarons and removes the fear many have. I have seen other blogs recommend her  (how I discovered her blog in the first place) and I will in turn, do the same. It’s really refreshing to see someone say SCREW DA RULZ instead of warning that your macarons are doomed if the egg whites haven’t been aged for days beforehand and the mixture folded exactly 43 and 1/3 times.

So read her posts, heed her advice and give macarons a go. Yes, macarons are difficult to make and take a lot of practice. But they are possible to bake at home and the satisfaction you get from baking a perfect batch never gets old.

Macarons (Adapted from Bravetart)

For the macaron shells 

• 115g almond meal 
• 230g pure icing sugar
• 144g egg whites 
• 72g caster sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt

1. Place the almond meal and icing sugar into a food processor and process for approximately one minute, until well combined and very fine.
2. Sift the mixture into a medium bowl, discarding any larger pieces that do not fit through the sieve. Set aside.
3. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites, sugar and salt on low speed for three minutes.
4. Raise the speed to medium and whip for another three minutes, and then another three minutes on high speed. The mixture should be stiff by now.
5. Turn the mixer off and add the vanilla and any food colouring, should you wish to colour the shells.
6. At the highest setting of the mixer, beat the mixture for one minute. By now the mixture should be extremely stiff and dry. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and fold with a rubber spatula until a smooth, magma-like consistency is achieved, with the mixture flowing off the spatula in a thin ribbon. The wet and dry ingredients will, at first, appear impossible to combine but will begin to smoothe with more folds. It is very important not to overmix, but be rough with the mixture at first; you want to actually puncture the large air bubbles out of it.  
7. Place the mixture into a large piping bag fitted with a 1cm round tip. Pipe in circles of a desired size onto a baking tray lined with baking paper (I usually aim for 20 cent coin-sized rounds, as the macarons do spread a little after piping).
8. Leave the macarons to rest in a cool, dry room for approximately half an hour. You will know when they are ready to be baked when they appear dry and lose their shine. When you touch the top of a shell, the mixture should not stick to your finger. ******YOU CAN SKIP THIS STEP if you're daring*******
9. Place the macarons in an oven preheated to 150 degrees Celcius and bake for approximately 18 minutes, or until the macarons are firm to the touch and the feet have settled.
10. Leave the macarons on the baking trays for five minutes, before removing them from the baking paper (using a metal spatula if necessary) and allowing them to cool on a metal rack. Once cooled, match the shells into pairs and pipe one half of the pairs with a frosting or ganache of your choosing and sandwich together with their other halves.

Notes and tips: 

- While I list 150 degrees as the oven temperature, be aware that everyone's oven is different and, particularly older models, don't necessarily match the temperature they are set at. The only way to figure out the perfect temperature for your oven is through practice.

- It helps to pre-trace the circles onto the underside of the baking paper to aid in piping.

- Despite what other websites say, you can use either pure icing sugar or icing sugar mixture in your macarons. I have had successful results using both (CSR brand!)

- Macarons are best eaten the day after; when they are freshly baked, they are often too crunchy. They will soften overnight due to the filling.

- You can use liquid food colouring in these, as long as you use it sparingly (many websites state that only powdered food colouring will do).

- Use a piping bag if you can (I did with the last batch, and it made things SO much easier). However, if you don't have one on hand, a large sandwich bag with the corner snipped off can work, too.

- It's obviously easier with a stand mixer, but we only recently got one and I don't trust it yet, so i still use our 200 year old hand mixer.

- BE CAREFUL WHEN FOLDING THE MIXTURE. I strongly believe this is the most important step when making macarons, and is exactly the difference between a good batch and a failed one. DO NOT OVER-MIX!!!! You should be able to tell when you’ve mixed it perfectly while piping; the mixture will settle itself into a circle and if there’s a peak at the top from the piping, it should disappear after a few seconds. If it’s really runny, it’s definitely over-mixed, and if it’s too stiff, under-mixed. However it is better to have done this than over-mixed, and the mixture should settle during the resting period.  * I’ve never under-mixed it though, so that’s just coming from the interwebz.

Ahhh there’s like a million more but that’s all I can remember right now! Happy baking, and may you soon be wearing the I-just-baked-a-successful-batch-of-macarons-ain’t-life-grand smile, too.

Crackers - Daring Bakers February 2013

 Being an avid reader of food blogs long before I decided to get my own, I would often come across posts labelled as a "Daring Bakers (or Cooks) Challenge."  It was only months later that I decided to look further into the matter (gosh, I'm making it sound like something so much more serious than just a community of food bloggers, aren't I?) and I discovered what it was all about; essentially, the Daring Kitchen is an online community where recipes and advice is discussed and shared by bloggers, budding chefs and fatties alike (guess which one I fit into). The Daring Kitchen Challenges come in two types; the Daring Bakers and the Daring Cooks, who would each month take on a new "challenge" and cook something new, different and sometimes, just plain weird (just wait 'til the next challenge post....).

Each month on the 27th, everyone involved posts and shares their products and everyone joins together in a collective screen-licking. Or something.

Yes, it's past the 27th but I found me some fine print, dictating that there is a one week "grace period" to post so it's all good :). Yes, I'm just making excuses for my procrastination again. Shut up.

SO NOW onto the actual challenge. 

This month's challenge was very generous and not too difficult, allowing free reign on the choice of recipes and involving nothing too difficult. The challenge was to create any sort of cracker/crisp flatbread, so long as it was crunchy (so no like...un-crisp flatbread). I made two types of crackers, one using olive oil as the binding agent, the other using butter. The second one was definitely preferred, although next time I'll be sure to add more pepper and perhaps some dried herbs or something, it was a bit too plain with just the cheese. The dough was a little tricky to work with due to all the cheese and butter, but it was nothing too difficult. 

On the other end of the seasonings spectrum, the olive oil crackers were waaay over-seasoned and were definitely too salty for my liking (although my sister loved them). A shame, since I quite liked the crispy texture of these. Perhaps next time I'll refrain from chucking in the entire seasonings drawer into the mix (jokes, I'm Indian* and you'd actually die if that happened). 

Easy Cheese Crackers (Adapted from Nigella Lawson)

• 100g plain flour
• 200g grated cheddar cheese
• 50g soft butter
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

1.   Place all the ingredients into the food processor and process until the mixture starts to come together.

2.   Bring together into a dough using your fingers and wrap the dough in cling wrap. Allow to rest in the fridge for half an hour or until dough is firm to the touch.

3.   Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease two large baking trays. 

4.   Roll out the dough until it is approximately 3mm in thickness. Use a cookie cutter to form cookies and place on a greased baking tray.

5.   Bake for ten minutes or until golden brown.

6.   Allow to crisp up on the baking tray for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Olive Oil crackers with Herbs

• 1 cup plain white flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 tbs water
• 2 tbs dried herbs 
• coarse sea salt, to sprinkle

1.   Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and grease two baking trays.

2.   Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl.

3.   Add the olive oil and water, stirring til the mixture starts to come together as a dough. Add more water if the mixture is too dry, but keep in mind that it will be very crumbly. 

4.   Form the mixture into a dough with your fingers and roll out into a thickness of approx. 3mm.

5.   Use a cookie cutter to form cookies and place on a greased baking tray. Sprinkle each cracker with a small amount of sea salt. Be careful not to oversalt!!!!

6.   Bake for ten minutes or until golden brown.

7.   Allow to crisp up on the baking tray for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Blog checking lines: Sarah from All Our Fingers in the Pie was our February 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she challenges us to use our creativity in making our own Crisp Flatbreads and Crackers!

Portugese Custard Tarts

I know, I know.
I have no excuses as to why I've been blogging so little lately. It's basically nothing to do with practical issues and everything to do with being lazy. Okay, and the fact that I don't bake as regularly anymore without hordes of guinea pigs school-friends to feed/that I've just been re-making old recipes, but......y'know.
So I bring to you, fashionably late, my first recipe post of 2013. By the way guys, happy new year! (Better late than never, no?)
* * * * 
There was a show that aired on National Geographic when my brother and I were in primary school, by the name of Chasing Time. I doubt many know of its existence, its run seemed short-lived and its Wikipedia page bare; but it was awesome. More or less, a team of two would perform a certain number of challenges based in a certain city in the world, kinda like The Amazing Race, but... different. Anyway, one episode saw a team of two travelling to Lisbon, one of the challenges (somehow, I don't think eating these was a challenge at all) requiring them to find and eat some of Portugal's culinary claims to fame; custard tarts. 
The flaky pastry, creamy custard and the caramelised, browned tops were always a point of fascination to me and I vowed to never rest again until some of these were acquainted with my mouth. 
Whelp, it's been about ten years and no one's ever bought me a ticket to Lisbon. Yet somehow, I've managed plenty of rest in this life of mine. Go figure. 

It was only at the start of this year when, with a freezer full of un-used puff pastry and a fridge stocked with eggs, I decided to recreate these for myself. Okay, so making these at home after seeing the real deal on tv was kinda like settling on McDonald's after visions of The Fat Duck, but hey, one step at a time.

The recipe I used was from Not Quite Nigella, who in turn adapted it from Bill Granger. NQN herself stated that she uses regular milk as opposed to cream when she makes these; a welcome adjustment to me as I don't usually have cream in the fridge anyway. The custard came together quite easily although i did strain it as an extra measure -- lumps just freak me out, okay. Also, I don't know how but the custard only made enough for about six tarts for me, so next time I make it, I'll definitely be making a double batch of custard. Aand I'll probably only eat them fresh from the oven; I had one when they were cold and yeah, let's just not go there. 

Portugese Custard Tarts (Adapted from Not Quite Nigella)

• 2 egg yolks + 1 whole egg
• 115g caster sugar
• 2 tbs cornflour
• 250mL milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees and grease a 12 hole muffin pan with some melted butter.
2. Whisk the eggs, sugar, cornflour and milk together in a medium saucepan until smooth.
3. Gradually whisk the mixture over medium heat until it thickens and no liquid remains in the pan.
4. Off the heat, whisk in the vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with a loose layer of cling wrap and allow to cool.
5. Meanwhile, cut the sheet of pastry in half and place one half on top of the other.
6. Roll the sheets into a tight coil (from the short ends) and using a sharp knife, divide into twelve equal parts. 
7.  Use a rolling pin to gently flatten each round until it is large enough to comfortably fit into a hole in the muffin pan.
8. Place pastry rounds inside the muffin pan and spoon two tablespoons (or enough to fill up each case almost to the top) of custard into each pastry case.
9. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until the tops of the tarts have browned and the pastry is puffed and golden.
10. Allow to cool in muffin pan for five minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.