Chocolate Cheesecake

I've never eaten a chocolate cheesecake before but I love cheescake a lot! My favourites are No bake Strawberry Cheesecake, Blueberry Cheesecake and plain New York Cheesecake. So when I came across this recipe, I just have to try it! I wasn't disappointed, I knew I am gonna like it just by looking at the picture on the cookbook. I had to tweek the recipe a bit though as the combination of chocolate and cheesecake is a calorie nightmare! I used light cheesecake on this instance but you can stick to the original cheesecake if you like, a mix of triple chocolate chips (white, dark and milk) can be folded before baking for an extra chocolate kick.

I decorated it with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles, but the cheesecake is yummy on its own.

Ingredients:
- 900 g cream cheese
- 190 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- 200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Base:
- 200 g disgestive biscuit (or 200 g oreo cookies, dont use the white middle part)
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder (not needed if using oreo cookies)
- 150 g unsalted butter, melted

Method:

Preheat oven to 150C or 300F or Gas 2. Prepare a 23cm round springform cake tin, greased and base-lined with greaseproof paper.

For the base: If using digestive biscuit, put into food processor with the cocoa powder (or just the finely chopped oreo cookies) and process until finely ground. Slowly pour the melted butter into the food processor while the motor is running. Press this mixture into the base of the prepared cake tin. Flatten and compressed it. Refrigerate while you make the topping.

Put the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a mixer and beat on slow speed until you get a very smooth, thick mixture. Add one egg at a time, while still mixing. Scraped any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl after adding the 2nd and last eggs. The mixture should be very smooth and creamy.

Put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not let the base of the bowl touch the water). Leave until melted and smooth. Spoon a little of the cheesecake mixture into the chocolate, stir to mix then add a little more. This will even out the temperature of the 2 mixtures. Eventually stir all of the cheesecake mix into the chocolate until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into your prepared cold cheesecake base. Put the tin in another larger deep tin or baking tray. Fill the 2nd tin/tray with water until it reaches 2/3rd up the way of the cheesecake tin. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Dont overcook, the center should still be wobbly in the centre. Leave the cheesecake to cool in the tin, then cover and refrigerate overnight before serving.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Treats

Halloween is one of the festivities that I truly enjoy preparing for - unfortunately my husband doesn't share my enthusiasm! So unless there is a halloween party at home, I can't really decorate for halloween in the house. lol The only thing I could do is bake some scary sweets for Sam, friends and trick or treaters. Everybody seems to buy ready made sweets, candies, and baked products. I always fancied making things myself, make it more special for the kids as they wont get the same thing anywhere else. This year I am also donating 24 cupcakes to charity for them to sell it during their coffee morning. Here are the recipes I used:


Vanilla Cupcake (makes 12)

120g plain flour
140g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
40 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 ml whole milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170 deg C. Put flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer and beat on slow until combined. Gradually pour in half the milk and beat until milk is incorporated.

Whisk the egg, vanilla and remaining milk together in a separate bowl for a few seconds, then pour into the flour mixture and continue beating until combined. Continue mixing until smooth. Do not overmix.

Prepare a 12-hole cupcake tray lined with paper cases. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins or until light golden and the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave the cupcakes to cool completely, once cooled spread the frosting and decorate as desired.

Chocolate Cupcake (makes 12)

100 g plain
20 g cocoa powder
140 g caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
40 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
120 ml whole milk
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Put the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a freestanding electric mixer on slow speed until combined. Whisk the milk, egg and vanilla extract together in a jug, then slowly pour half into the flour mixture, beat to combine and turn the mixture up to high speed to get rid of any lumps.

Turn the mixer down to a slower speed and slowly pour in the remaining milk mixture. Continue mixing for a couple of minutes until the mixture is smooth. Do not overmix.

Prepare a 12-hold cupcake tray line with paper cases. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins or until the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave the cupcakes to cool completely, once cooled spread frosting and decorate as desired.

Vanilla Frosting

250 g icing sugar
80 g unsalted butte, at room temperature
25 ml milk
a couple of drops of vanilla extract

Beat the icing sugar and butter together on slow-medium speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Turn the mixture down to slow speed. Combine the milk and vanilla in a separate bowl, then add to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk is incorporated, turn the mixer up to high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. The longer the frosting is beaten, the lighter an fluffier it will be.

Chocolate Frosting

300 g icing sugar
100 g unsalted butte, at room temperature
40 g cocoa powder
40 ml whole milk

Beat the icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder together in a mixer on slow-medium speed. Add the milk to the butter mixture a couple of tablespoons at a time. Once all the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer to high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy.

Chocolate Crinkles - Crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside!

I have been baking Chocolate Crinkles eversince I started helping my Mum's catering business a few years ago. I first came across them from my baking class with Heny Sison.

I like them because they look like cookies, but a bite out of them reveal their brownie like taste and texture. Nice!!! It's crunchy on the outside, soft and chocolatey on the inside. It also is quite easy to make and takes about 10mins only in the oven. Quick, easy and yummy! What more do you want? These was my Mum's best seller and I probably have baked thousands of them already. Once I baked them and gave the lot as a gift to my friend's birthday party without asking permission from my hubby and daughter who adores these crinkles. They have never forgiven me that day and I had to make another batch just so they would speak to me again! lol

Anyway here is the recipe, enjoy and don't forget you can't use cheap cocoa powder! This makes or breaks a cake (or cookie on this instance).

Ingredients (Makes 30-36)

3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 medium to large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
about a cup of confectioners sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 baking sheets. In a bowl, combine all the liquid ingredients and beat until well combined. In another bowl, combine all dry ingredients except confectioners sugar and mix. Make a well in the center and pour the liquid mixture. This is the fun and hard part of the job, take off all your jewelries and using your clean hands, knead this mixture until combined. You cannot use any utensils here as the mixture turns heavy when mixed. Knead until everything is well combined. Take a scoop of dough (preferably use an ice cream scooper) and form the dough into a ball by rolling each between the palm of your hands. Roll in confectioners sugar then put on the baking sheet with an inch apart.

Bake until cookie breaks on top (about 10 mins or so). Don't overbake, center should still be soft.

Green Tea Cupcake

I ordered green tea online for the first time as I was missing my favourite Green tea frappuccino which I always order from Starbucks back in the Philippines. I cant seem to find this green tea powder on any chinese or specialty tea store around so I went and ordered it online. I haven't made my frap yet, but I did use the green tea to make the Icing for the above cupcake. This is ordinary chocolate cupcake recipe with added instant espresso powder to give it a little kick and the icing is made from butter, cream cheese and green tea. The consistency is too runny, I am not sure why, probably because of the addition of green tea or it could be because I used medium fat cream cheese which is slightly less firm. The cupcake got a thumbs up from my husband.

Coffee and Chocolate Cupcake (makes 12, you can double the recipe)

1/3 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 small or medium size eggs

1 cup flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1 Tbsp instant espresso powder (omit or lessen to 2 tsp if you want to lessen the caffeine)

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

Method

Beat butter until softened, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time until mixed. In a separate bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Set aside. Add vanilla to the milk, this will be your liquid ingredients. Add a third of the dry ingredients to your butter / sugar mixture and beat to combine. Add half of the liquid ingredients and beat to combine. Repeat until all is combine together. Scoop batter into cupcake cups, about 2/3rds full. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Green Tea Icing

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

4 oz cream cheese

1 1/2 - 2 cups powdered sugar

1 tbsp green tea powder

Method

Beat butter and cream cheese together until well combines. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar and 1/2 of the green tea powder and beat to continue. Taste, add more powdered sugar and green tea if you want to. Pipe icing onto cupcake or if too thin, put in the fridge for an hour or two to thicken before decorating the cupcake.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

The mixture before being put in the oven...

the finished product... hot and moist.

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream

Another Scottish food that I love - Sticky Toffee Pudding! It's so popular that wherever you eat, whether in a posh restaurant or a simple coffee shop, you will always find Sticky Toffee Pudding in the menu. Believe me, this can rival any chocolate pudding out there! When I first decided to bake this at home, I was very surprised to learn that the main ingredient is Dates! I used them before for my Food for the God's recipe which was another favourite dessert in my family so I was very excited to bake this pudding for the first time a year or so ago. But looking at different recipes. Unfortunately I couldnt find the one I like, most of those I found says to leave the dates soaking in warm water for a few hours or overnight. As I said before, I dont have the patience of a saint when it comes to cooking. So I carried on looking for my perfect recipe and found one made by James Martin. Boiling water, dates, process in food blender and voila! Ready to use. Perfect! So off I go and made them, lo and behold they were gorgeously moist and yummy! I didnt have treacle in my cupboard which was one of the unique ingredients here, so I replaced them with golden syrup instead and it was still a success. This recipe had introduced me to treacle and dark muscovado sugar, two ingredients I have never come across before.

Anyway, as you can tell I love James' recipe and have been baking these on and off in my house for the last year. I did try treacle on my next baking and indeed it made a big difference in the taste. But I still maintain that golden syrup alone will do the job if you're not a fan of treacle. Also, dont leave the pudding longer than it should be in the oven as it will dry out and it always taste better when its moist and "sticky". A lot of the times, I would tweak the recipe to suit my own taste, but this is one of those that I didn't change a lot except not having the treacle on my first try as I didnt know what it was! he he Here is James' Martin recipe taken from the BBC Food website:

Preparation time less than 30 mins

Ingredients
55g/2oz butter
170g/6oz demerara sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 eggs
200g/7oz self-raising flour
200g/7oz pitted dates
290ml/10fl oz boiling water
1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp vanilla extract

For the sauce:
110ml/4fl oz double cream
55g/2oz butter, diced
55g/2oz dark muscovado sugar
2 tbsp black treacle
1 tbsp golden syrup

For the moulds:
30g/1oz soft butter
30g/1oz flour

Method
1. Butter the moulds and dust with flour and preheat oven 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. Using a food processor cream the butter and sugar together.
Slowly add the golden syrup, treacle and eggs. Continue mixing until the mixture
looks smooth, then turn down to a slow speed and add the flour. Mix until
everything is well combined.
3. Add the boiling water to the dates and tip into a blender. Secure the lid firmly
and blend to a purée.
4. Add the bicarbonate of soda and vanilla.
5. Pour this into the batter while it is still hot and stir well.
6. Pour into the moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are just firm to
the touch.
7. Make the sauce: simply place all the ingredients in a pan, bring to the boil,
stirring a few times and then remove from the heat. Put to one side until ready to
use.
8. Remove the puddings from the moulds and place on plate. Coat with the
warmed sauce and serve with good vanilla ice cream.

Some of my previous sweet concoction

Before I decided to write a blog about my baking escapade, I was already taking photos of some sweets I made that got the friends and family thumbs up... here are some of them:


Chocolate Fruitcake baked for our Christmas dinner 2008. Recipe from Nigella Lawson, all decoration courtesy of my daughter. Not bad for an 8 year old! I don't like fruitcake a lot - and because I am not a very patient person, I do not fancy making this 2-3 months before Christmas! So when my colleague Fiona mentioned Nigella's chocolate fruitcake recipe that I can make on the same day, I grab the chance and made this for our Christmas Dinner.It was chocolatey and very moist. Definitely a keeper and will be seen again next Christmas or Hogmanay. I won't include the recipe for now as I intend to do this again and will feature the recipe by then.

Fruit Scone, one of my favourite. I have never come across them before I came to Scotland. I didn't fancy the look probably because there is no chocolate in it lol. My husband introduced me to Scones with Jam and Clotted Cream! Yum! Yum! From then on, I was hooked! I first baked these babies just 4 weeks ago to go with my breakfast smoothies and had plenty left so I decided to bring some to my sister with my own homemade blueberry jam and tesco finest clotted cream. She got hooked as well.... and blamed me afterwards from her increased waistline as she always finds herself buying Scones with her regular shopping! Here is the recipe:

For the scones

450g self-raising flour
2 tsp baking powder, plus extra for dusting
pinch salt
50g caster sugar
100g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for dusting
200g sultanas
300ml milk
1 free-range egg, beaten, for brushing,
or 25g/1oz plain flour, for dusting

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7. For the scones, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, then add the butter and, with clean hands, rub quickly into the flour, creating a fine breadcrumb consistency. Add the sultanas. Add the milk, a little at a time, working with your hands to create a smooth dough. Leave to rest for 10-15 minutes before rolling. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface until 2cm/1in thick. Using a 5cm/2in pastry cutter, cut the dough, using one sharp tap and not twisting the dough as you cut (twisting the scone mix will result in the scone rising unevenly). Once cut, the scones can be either brushed with the beaten egg for a shiny glaze, or dusted with the flour for a matt finish once cooked. Place the scones onto a greased baking tray and bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until risen and golden brown. Allow to cool slightly, and serve while still warm with jam and cream. These scones freeze very well.

I made this one night out of a whim - Sam and I was craving for food and I decided to make our favourite Crepe Suzette with lemon and sugar (as above) as well as Nuttella Chocolate. Here is the recipe taken from the cookbook "I Love Sugar" which I bought from M&S:

115g plain flour
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp caster sugar
2 large eggs
300 ml milk
30g butter, melted and cooled
finely grated rind of lemon

Method
Sift flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Put the eggs and a little of the milk into the well and beat them together. Stir in the cooled melted butter, then slowly add the remaining milk until the batter resembles a single cream. Stir in the lemon rind. Cover and leave to stand for at least 30 minutes.

Heat a frying pan over a high heat, then add a tiny knob of butter or spray / brush with oil. Reduce the heat to medium, add a ladleful of batter and swirl to cover the base thinly. Cook for 1 minute or until the underside is cooked and golden. Using a spatula, flip over the crepe and cook on the other side. While this is cooking, you can add sugar and cinnamon or sugar and lemon or nutelle or any filling you want. You can keep this plain as well. Fold into triangles and serve.

Alternatively, stack each cook crepe on a plate, cover with baking paper between each one and use for later. I still prefer eating it while hot! You can drizzle the crepe with honey or syrup or just experiment and add anything you fancy.

A new twist on Leche Flan

Leche Flan (Creme Caramel) is a staple dessert in the Philippines. It is very versatile. I used the original recipe with a twist - instead of caramelising the sugar which takes a long time, I used ready made syrup. I will experiment next time as I just found out there is now Light Condensed Milk now so will pair that with semi-skimmed milk instead of evaporated for a healthier option and see if its ok and not a disaster. I will also try and use sugar caramelised with my kitchen blowtorch, for now here is the recipe for the below picture.

Leche Flan (Crème Caramel)

Golden syrup
Softened butter, for greasing
10 large egg yolks
1 can condensed milk (397g)
1 can evaporated milk (410g) or 1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of small lemon

Note: This recipe can be steamed or baked in the oven. If baking, pre-heat the oven to 370 degrees.

Lightly butter 8-10 metal pudding basins or large ramekins. Put enough golden syrup to cover the bottom (The more syrup you add here, the sweeter the flan will be). Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks until light and fluffy. Then add condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla and lemon together until smooth. Try to avoid making too many bubbles. Pour carefully into the buttered dishes and cover moulds tightly with foil.

Steam for about 20 minutes OR Bake for about 45 minutes. Before baking the Leche Flan, place the dishes on a larger baking pan half filled with very hot water.

To serve: run a thin knife around the edges of the mould to loosen the Leche Flan. Place a platter on top of the mould and quickly turn upside down to position the golden brown caramel on top. Serve with sliced strawberries or raspberries.

Can be eaten cold as well, my daughter dunk wafer sticks on them!

Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcake

Chocolate and Strawberry Cupcake
6-8 cupcakes, 350 degree oven

Ingredients

1/4 cup butter (about 50 gms), room temperature

1/2 cup caster sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup + 2 tbps flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

pinch of baking soda

pinch of salt

1/4 cup good quality cocoa powder (cheap ones just dont taste nice)

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Beat butter until softened. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until combined. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside. Mix the milk and vanilla. Set aside. Add 1/3 of the dry flour ingredients into the butter and mix until combined. Add about half of milk/vanilla and mix until combined. Repeat the process finishing with the dry ingredients. Scoop batter into cupcake cups up to 2/3rd full only. Bake for about 22-25 minutes or until cook.

Strawberry Ganache

80 gms chocolate, chopped in small pieces

1/2 cup double cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

2-3 large strawberries, chopped in small pieces

Heat cream in medium heat until it start to bubble, pour cream over chocolate and stir until chocolate melts. Add vanilla. Stir until well combined. Add strawberries and chill in the fridge until needed.

Vanilla Buttercream

1/4 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 tbsp milk

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 - 2 cups of icing sugar

Method

Beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Add milk, vanilla and sugar. Beat at low speed until light and fluffy. Add more sugar if needed.

How to Assemble the Cupcake:

1. Fill the cupcakes with the strawberry ganache by cutting the top off. Spoon the ganache and return the top of the cake.

2. Pipe buttercream icing on top.

3. Decorate with half of a strawberry.

Food and Me

I was born in the Philippines. I always believed that my family are born to cook (with the exception of my sister! lol). The best cooks in my family have always been the men - my grandad and uncles cook without measuring anything and still everything comes up yummy! When there is a family gathering, prepare to diet for days as the food are gastronomical and plentiful good enough for 2x the amount of people present.

My Mum took these skills further and run a catering company for about 20 years. I have always been interested in cooking and would often be in the kitchen watching how everyting is made and asking questions. Probably irritating my Mum in the process when she has 100+ people to feed in a few hours time! But she always found the time to teach me the basics of cooking. As young as 9 years old, I would tag along delivering food or helping out during any catering events or cashiering. In High School, we had home economics which teaches us girls how to good wives in the future and the boys were taught woodworking and electrical stuff (lower those eyelashes ladies, lol). It may sound sexist, but I am glad I do have those skills now and I really did enjoy my cooking classes back then.

In the late 90's, fastfood chain become the new thing in food and my Mum's catering business suffered. Both my Mum and Dad only cook Filipino food and not interested in any foreign ones. I always seem to be the odd one in the family, my taste buds have always been curious. In order to help my Mum's business, I enrolled in professional cooking classes learning foreign food and later introduced this to my Dad who was more open minded than my Mum at that time and he incorporated a few recipes that quickly become favourites and made my family's catering business interesting again - some of them are Beef and Broccoli with Oyster Sauce, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Seafood Paella and Pasta Carbonara.

In order to improve our parties and events - I also enrolled in two baking school taking classes in chocolate artistry and baking which I truly enjoyed. To complement these skills, I also took up short courses in table setting, napkin folding, flower arrangement and bartending. My sister who enjoys the dining table better than the kitchen, had been the brains behind the business. While I was busy improving our menu, my sister was organizing the business in terms of procurement, invoicing, payments, etc.

I enjoyed the baking part rather than the main meal cooking and my Mum's customers seemed to agree! Both my Mum and Dad refused to learn to bake and I had no one to teach and carry on with my normal (boring) office work. I found myself working 9-5 in the office and coming back and baking till midnight to meet my Mum's order for baked items. For two years, I became her baking supplier - the crowd favourites were Chocolate Crinkles, Butterscotch Bars, Chocolate Eclair, Crusted Macaroons, Apple Pie and Pineapple Pie. Aside from them, I also make my own chocolate and truffles. I enjoyed the artistic part of the job so even though I only have 4-5 hours rest a day, I was having fun. For Christmas, I made my friends and family a Chocolate House gift (about 2o of them!) made entirely of dark and white chocolate with mashmallows and M&Ms for decoration. It was a hit!

After two years, the orders for cakes had increased and became more frequent. My weekends were also spent helping catering events to prepare drinks, canapes, "pretty sandwiches" that I hardly had time to rest and enjoy my career. My Dad has become an expert on a few of my recipes, and Mum was starting to learn new things as well. This is the time that I said goodbye to the family business and concentrated on my career. I still take over half of the kitchen during family occasions and my bestseller cookies and cakes were still present for friends and family.

My husband's favourite is anything chocolate - specially my Chocolate Crinkles and Chocolate Pudding. My father-in-law loved my apple pie and leche flan (see pic above) which is a philippine dessert quite similar to Creme Brulee. While my daughter just loved everything I make and has the sweet tooth to taste them all! She also seems to have a knack for it and took a childrens baking class a few months ago. She is waiting to turn 10 before she can join the Junior cooking class next year.

I, on the other hand, have decided to start baking regularly again, feeding anyone who would be willing to risk life and limb and increase their waistlines while trying my recipes! To highlight my new venture, I would be blogging everytime I bake or make something.

Wish me luck!

Grace