Raspberry Brownie Cheesecake

I've been quite ill these past few weeks, and have only just begun feeling a bit like my old self. So to celebrate, I baked up one of my favourite treats, a recipe I've wanted to share since the first time I tried it out of the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook over two years ago.

This recipe combines three of my favourite things: chocolate brownies, baked cheesecake, and raspberries. When I first tried a slice of this from the London store many, many years ago (gosh... it's been so long since uni), I feel completely in love with it. So when my friend, Jimmy, came back from a holiday in the States with a copy of the Hummbingbird Bakery Cookbook for me, it was the first thing I searched for. And lo, there it was!

It's a simple enough recipe to whip up on a night in, assuming you have all the ingredients on hand. So turn on the telly, watch a couple episodes of The Voice, and bake away! Yes, that's exactly what I did on Saturday night after attending a friend's wedding with my boyfriend, and I can't think of a better way to spend a night in.

Raspberry Brownie Cheesecake
from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook

Brownie ingredients:

• 200g chopped dark chocolate
• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g confectioner's sugar
• 3 eggs
• 110g all purpose flour

Cheesecake ingredients:

• 400g cream cheese
• 150g confectioner's sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

Raspberry cream ingredients:

• 300ml whipping cream
• 100g confectioner's sugar
• 150g fresh raspberries, plus extra to decorate

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 9x6 baking tin
2. Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie, and while waiting for that, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl. Beat the eggs in, one at a time, then incorporate the flour and mix on medium speed. Pour the chocolate in and gradually increase speed to get it all combined. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and set aside.
3. To prepare the cheesecake layer, put the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy, then add the eggs one at a time and increase speed of the mixer to ensure everything is mixed thoroughly. Spread the batter over the brownie batter, then bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges are golden. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 2 hours (I like to leave it overnight at this point and finish in the morning)
4. When ready to serve, prepare the raspberry cream. First chill your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for 5 minutes (I can't remember where I learned this trick, but have always done it for whisking cream). Whisk the cream and sugar until stiff peaks form, then whisk in the raspberries. Spread or dollop the raspberry cream over the brownie cheesecake, and serve with fresh raspberries! 

Chocoberry Cake

What is there to do when one is stuck in Friday night traffic for close to three hours? Why, devise a new concept for cake, of course! I was on my way on Friday night, the rain beating down on my windshield, hungry and craving for everything under the sun, when I thought of a dessert my friend Nisa and I used to indulge ourselves with every now and then. The Chocolicious Sundae from Delicious was our favourite, and we recreated it several times for potlucks and barbecues. And boy, I got a sudden hankering for it the other night.

However, I wasn't really in the mood to have a solitary dessert outing (seriously... nobody wants to spend time with me when I'm home in Setia Alam), so I wondered if I could make a cake version of it instead. The elements of the dessert are simple: chocolate, meringue, strawberries and ice cream. Voila, my Saturday baking excursion was planned.

I present to you, the Chocoberry cake! Wow, terrible name. It's a work in progress, please excuse me. I welcome suggestions for a better name *points to comment box*.

Chocolate Beet Cake

• 1 large beet (or 2 small-medium ones) - 3/4 cup grated for the cake, 2 tbsp grated for the frosting
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 170g butter, softened
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/4 cup natural yogurt

1. First of all, some prep work: Wrap the beets (unpeeled, just trimmed of greens and scrubbed clean) in foil paper, wipe down with the vegetable oil and pop in the oven for an hour or so at 200C, or until a knife poked through the beets go through easily. When they're ready, remove and cool for a while, then peel and grate the beets on the fine grate of a box grater and set aside
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C and line your 8x8 round baking pan with butter and parchment paper
3. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda & powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside
4. Cream the butter and sugars until light, then beat in the eggs (one at a time), vanilla and beets
5. Beat in half of the flour mixture until incorporated, then pour in all the buttermilk, followed by the rest of the flour when the milk has mixed completely
6. Divide the batter between your pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer poked through at an angle comes out clean. You don't want to overcook this cake, trust me. When it's done, allow the cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then move onto a cooling rack to cool completely

Balsamic reduced strawberries

• 2 cups chopped fresh strawberries
• 5 tbsp brown sugar 
• 3 - 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 180°C, toss chopped strawberries in sugar and balsamic in a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely

Whipped cream

• 200ml double cream, chilled
• 1 tsp vanilla

Chill your mixing bowl and whisk, then pour the cream and whisk until soft peaks form, pour in the vanilla and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form. You need the cream to be thick to hold the weight of the cake layer on top. Stir through half of the roasted strawberries and dollop half of the cream on top of one layer of cake, top with the second layer, then spread remaining cream over the top

Meringue topping

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180°C/fan. Whisk the egg whites until foamy, then gradually add all the sugar and continue to whisk on high speed until mounds form (not too stiff). Spread the meringue mixture onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and pop into preheated oven, drop the temperature to 165° and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven when done (tap the meringue with the back of a spoon to check doneness) and allow to cool completely. 

Now you've got all the components of the cake done, just crack the meringue into large pieces and arrange on top of the cake, then finish by drizzling remaining roasted strawberries on top.

Serve to mum's friends and gracefully accept the admiration

Orangey Passionfruit tarts

Do what you love and love what you do. That hackneyed mantra of my fellow Gen Ys rings in my head as I bake up my little treats, force feed my family and friends, and type up these blog posts. Sometimes I wonder just how selfish I can be when I do this, as most of the time the desserts are foisted upon my unsuspecting friends whether or not they want it. And all for what? Just for my personal pleasure of seeing them enjoying something I laboured over with love. I'm a brute. A narcissistic, selfish member of the Gen Y.

Sometimes I feel that our loving and doting parents might have done us wrong in constantly telling us to reach for the stars, that nothing is beyond our abilities (latent they may be), and that they will suffer through the rat race so that we may want for nothing and so that we may have the dreams they never dared to have. I won't generalise, but personally, all of that just made me impatient, discontent, and selfish. Some may call it ambitious and driven, but we are just two sides of the same coin.

I honestly don't know why I started talking about this. Must be the word "Passion" in the recipe I'm about to share with you now. So many people talk about doing what we're passionate about, to chase the thing that we would love to do, and not waste our time sitting in a 4x4 cubicle with no direct sunlight on our skin. Yet, to do that, we'd HAVE to be financially dependent on another. Do our parents then have to suffer more to ensure we get to do what we love? Do we continue to leech on their goodwill? I'm being weird, my apologies. I usually save these mad rantings to my personal journal, but there seems to be a spillover tonight. I'll spare you all the lecture and just hand you the recipe.

Passionfruit Tart
(Makes 12 mini tarts, or 1 8" tart)
For the crust:

• 185g all purpose flour
• 55g icing sugar
• 30g ground almonds
• 125g butter, cold and cubed
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Combine the flour, icing sugar, and almonds in the food processor and whizz to mix. Pop in the cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add in the egg and vanilla and pulse a few more times until it comes together. Tip the batter onto a well floured surface and knead a few times until it comes together. I like to just then roll the crust out and put it into my prepared mold (either 8" tart tray, or a mini tart pan) then freeze for 30 minutes. Freezing the crust means I can skip the pie weights when baking the crust as it holds the shape longer. Anyway, preheat the oven to 180°C and then bake the crust for 20 minutes then remove to cool.

For the filling:

• 160ml passionfruit pulp (I used 3 regular sized passionfruits)
• 300ml cream
• 110g caster sugar
• 4 eggs

I like to prepare the passionfruit filling in advance as I find it allows the flavours to steep and it sets a lot better when you bake. Strain the passionfruit pulp and discard the seeds, then whisk the juice together with the cream, sugar and eggs in a medium sized bowl. When ready to bake, pour the filling into the baked tart crust and bake for 35 - 40 minutes (for a big tart) or 25 - 30 minutes for mini tarts. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely, then refrigerate overnight or up to 2 hours so it sets beautifully. Remove from the pans when ready to serve. 

For the topping:

• 150ml double cream
• 1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• Orange zest

Whisk the double cream until soft peaks form, add the orange juice and continue to whisk until stiff peaks have formed. Then transfer the cream into a piping bag with a tip of your choice and pipe the cream out over the top of the tarts. Finish by grating the oranges (make sure you wash those babies) over the cream. You can also just dollop the cream on top of the tarts if you don't feel like piping; what matters here is flavour, not aesthetics. 

Raspberry Cheesecake

I initially wrote a blog post about friendship, loyalty, and honesty. But you lot don't really care about that, so I'm just going to go straight to this week's recipe share: baked raspberry cheesecake. 

Raspberry Cheesecake

For the crust:

• 200g digestives
• 100g butter, melted

1. Grease & line a 7" springform tin with parchment paper
2. Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a medium bowl and then pour into the prepared baking tin and press up the sides and the bottom
3. Cover with a clean cloth and refrigerate the crust for at least 10 minute

For the cheesecake filling:

• 450g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cold
• 3/4 cup caster sugar 
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 heaped tbsp all purpose flour
• 300g (roughly 1 1/2 cup) fresh raspberries

1. Pop the cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl, beat until it blends into a smooth mixture then gradually add the milk and continue to beat 
2. Beat the eggs in one at a time, and make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to ensure it's all mixed properly
3. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour in one addition and beat until thoroughly combined
4. Take the tin with the crust out of the fridge, wrap it with tinfoil and place the tin in a larger roasting tray or baking tin 
5. Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform tin about 1/3 of the way up and scatter fresh raspberries, cover with more filling, and scatter more raspberries, repeat until all the filling has been poured in
6. Pour hot water into the larger roasting tray/baking tin until it comes up to about 3/4 of the springform tin with the cheesecake inside
7. Carefully transfer the entire thing to the oven and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then leave the cake inside the oven until the oven has cooled. Remove the cake when that's done, and cover it with a clean cloth and leave it in the fridge overnight to set 

For the topping:

• 150ml thickened cream
• 2 tbsp sifted confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Raspberry coulis (see below for recipe)

1. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until slightly firmer. Don't overbeat or you'll end up with sweet butter
2. Pipe out some pretty swirls around the edges of the top of the cheesecake, then cover the top with the remaining cream
3. Spoon out some raspberry coulis over the top of the cream
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Raspberry Coulis

• 250g fresh raspberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup water

1. In a saucepan, bring the raspberries, sugar and water to a boil. Simmer until the fruit is mushy then stir in the vanilla
2. Remove from heat, allow it to cool then pour it all into a blender and whizz to a puree
3. Strain the puree through a sieve, then slather your cake layers with the goop

Black Forest Cheesecake

First of all, please play the following track http://youtu.be/NucJk8TxyRg

Okay, now that the mood has been set, lets get to it.

I baked this silky-smooth Black Forest Cheesecake last week. My family loves Black Forest chocolate from Cadbury and I've always wanted to put it in cake form, so thanks to the year end holidays, I finally had that opportunity! I'll save some time and go straight to the recipe share for this week:

Black Forest Cheesecake
7" Springform Tin
Preheat oven 180°C

For the crust:

• 200g Oreo biscuits, filling removed and biscuits crushed
• 100g butter, melted

1. Grease & line a 7" springform tin with parchment paper
2. Combine the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a medium bowl and then pour into the prepared baking tin and press up the sides and the bottom
3. Cover with a clean cloth and refrigerate the crust for at least 10 minute

For the cheesecake filling:

• 170g dark chocolate chips, melted & cooled
• 450g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cold
• 3/4 cup caster sugar 
• 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp milk, room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 heaped tbsp all purpose flour

1. Melt the chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, take the bowl out and stir with a spoon until smooth
2. Pop the cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl, beat until it blends into a smooth mixture then gradually add the milk and continue to beat 
3. Beat the eggs in one at a time, and make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl with a spatula to ensure it's all mixed properly
4. Slowly pour in the cooled melted chocolate, continuously beating the mixture 
5. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour in one addition and beat until thoroughly combined
6. Take the tin with the crust out of the fridge, wrap it with tinfoil and place the tin in a larger roasting tray or baking tin 
7. Pour the cheesecake filling into the springform tin and smooth it out (or draw heart shapes with your spatula) 
8. Now here's the move that will literally make or break your cheesecake (no, seriously, don't skip this if you don't want cracks in your cheesecake): Pour hot water into the larger roasting tray/baking tin until it comes up to about 3/4 of the springform tin with the cheesecake inside (this is a water bath, and people make a huge deal about it like it takes so much effort but it really takes 2 minutes and truly makes a huge difference in ensuring the success of your cheesecake)
9. Carefully transfer the entire thing to the oven and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, then leave the cake inside the oven until the oven has cooled. Remove the cake when that's done, and cover it with a clean cloth and leave it in the fridge overnight to set 

For the topping:

• 150ml thickened cream
• 2 tbsp sifted confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Cherry pie filling
• Fresh cherries for decorating

1. Whisk the cream until soft peaks form, then add the sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until slightly firmer. Don't overbeat or you'll end up with sweet butter
2. Pipe out some pretty swirls around the edges of the top of the cheesecake, then cover the top with the remaining cream
3. Spoon out some canned cherry pie filling (I used Duncan Hines for this) on top (within the swirly edges) 
4. Refrigerate until ready to serve

Berry Passionate Pavlova

Berry Passionate Pavlova & the long stretch of desserts

The last few days have been amazing for me as an aspiring baker; I did my first full on dessert table order for a friend I made over the internet (yay, internet buddies!). She rang me around a month ago to say that she was throwing an engagement party for 60-odd guests and whether I could do a dessert table for her. So me being the over-achieving consultant that I am, said yes immediately! Only to think of the time it would take to actually execute (lol execute, I really am a bloody consultant, aren't I?) the items in the order much later.

Regardless of the fact that I am under resourced (hahahaha funny, it's really just me and my amazing Kakak who helps me separate egg whites and line my baking pans... yikes...), it was so much fun! A wonderful experience, and one that I am really looking forward to do again. Except this time, I may be more realistic and not bite off more than I can chew. 

the lovely couple & an incomplete shot of the dessert table

The dessert table that the lovely bride-to-be requested included the following items:

1. 1 small two-tiered cake (beetroot chocolate with my new favourite cream cheese frosting)
2. 3 6-inch cakes (vanilla cake with strawberry champagne filling, hummingbird cake, strawberry cake)
3. 24 mini tiered cakes (chocolate cake with swiss meringue buttercream)
4. 24 mini pavlovas (strawberry pavlova with freshly whipped cream, and a passionfruit syrup topping)
5. 24 cupcakes (earl grey tea cakes with aforementioned new favourite cream cheese frosting)
6. A tray of chocolate brownies (the recipe of which I have yet to share)

Out of these items, I have chosen to share the recipe for the Berry Passionate Pavlova with you lot (yay!). It's really simple to make, and just takes a little bit more effort and time than I usually prefer. I do hope you give it a shot, or if you're too lazy and live/work around the Kuala Lumpur area, then please do drop me a comment and I'll swing by with a box of these lovelies for you. Heeeheee shameless plugging. 

Berry Passionate Pavlova

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 1 tsp strawberry extract (I used a clear extract, then coloured with a drop of Wilton's Dusky Pink gel colouring)

1. Preheat the oven to 150C, and line a few baking trays with parchment paper
2. Beat egg whites in a free standing mixer using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form, start at the lowest speed and gradually (but rather quickly) increase the speed to medium-high. This should take around 5 - 8 minutes, depending on the humidity of the room you're in
3. Then slowly add in the sugar, I like to allow it to trickle into the bowl while it's mixing 
4. Once the sugar is incorporated, add the cornflour, beat for a bit more, then add the vinegar... beat a bit more
5. Then finally add the strawberry extract and colouring / OR you could just not and have plain meringue pavlovas
6. To make mini bite-sized pavlovas, transfer the meringue mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto the baking trays. I used a Wilton 1M tip to create a rose effect, however you may also just do dollops in a bag or with a spoon (whatever is easiest for you, you don't need to go out and buy tools and tips if you don't have them). 
7. Pop them in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes. Start watching them around 35 minutes cos the smaller they are, the faster they bake, and you want to retain a marshmallowy centre with a crisp outer shell. At this point, what I do is just tap the sides with the back of a butter knife to see if they are hard and crisp. If they are, then I like to take them out at that point

WOW long winded instructions, lol but these are REALLY surprisingly darned easy to make
Then once the meringues have cooled, you may choose to enjoy them as is or top with freshly whipped cream and fruits. I chose to drizzle some passionfruit syrup over it that I had leftover from previous recipes.

Enjoy!
xx Nabs

Kiwi & Passionfruit Pavlova

Ever since my trip to New Zealand at the end of last year, where our gracious hostess had left a homemade pavlova in our fridge for our Christmas pudding, I have been tempted to recreate the recipe. And as the pavlova is NZ's national dessert, there was an abundance of recipes in most of their souvenir and curio shops (such as a very cute apron with the recipe embroidered on the front that my aunt bought). Yet, as friends may know, I have always been a bit wary when it comes to working with egg whites (as in whipping or separating them).

Last weekend though, I felt like it just needed to be done. I just had a craving for that crispy crunchy shell, and the icky-sweet marshmallowy centre, with tangy cooling fruits over the top... Mmmm! Besides that, it has also been a while since I've challenged myself with a recipe.

So being the paranoid baker that I am, to prepare the kitchen for whipping meringues in an incredibly humid country (we live on the Equator), I drew all the curtains in the house, put the air-conditioning and de-humidifiers on, and shooed my sister out (body heat, ya know? LOL) of the kitchen. After a good half hour of house conditioning, I felt it was safe to begin...
Pavlova recipe
from an embroidered apron bought in NZ

• 4 large egg whites, room temperature 
• 220g caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour, sifted
• 2 tsp white vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 150C
2. In your thoroughly grease-free large mixing bowl, with the whisk attachment, whip the eggwhites (with a pinch of salt) until stiff peaks form (roughly 8-10 minutes depending on the climate)
3. Add sugar slowly, whisking well as you go
4. Add the cornflour and vinegar, whisk until just combined
5. Shape the meringue onto non-stick paper on your baking tray
6. Reduce the oven temperature to 120C, bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, after which you prop the oven door open with a wooden spatula, and allow the pavlova to cool in the oven with the oven

Toppings

• 150ml whipping cream, refrigerated
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pinch of salt
• 1 kiwi fruit, sliced thinly
• Passionfruit seeds

1. Pop your mixing bowl and whisk in the freezer for up to 10 minutes, then when you're ready, whisk the whipping cream, vanilla and salt until fluffy (about 8 minutes, do not overwhisk as this will turn into butter)
2. Gently (I am telling you three times, gently) pipe or cover the top of the pavlova with the cream, then drizzle over with the passionfruit seeds, and arrange the kiwi slices as you like

Caution: this recipe is VERY sweet, though the texture turned out perfectly! I was so surprised that it worked on my first try, as I fully expected it to only work on the third try. My new oven is a godsend, I swear. My aunt mentioned a way to make it less sweet while retaining that texture... I'm going to give that a shot this weekend, and if it works, I'll definitely share the recipe with you.
Lots of love,
Nabs

Back to Basics Banoffee Pie

There has been a particular recipe sitting on my shelf for far too long, and now that I've tried it, I don't quite know what I was so afraid of. I've been terrified of trying Banoffee Pie, or any caramel based recipe, due to the fact that I'm afraid to make caramel.

I can't for the life of me understand why. It's incredibly easy, and oh-so-satisfying to taste the results. Unless you're an idiot like me and taste it right out of the hot saucepan. I'm still waiting for my lip to blister, wondering if it will be so unsightly that I may need to take some days off work. LOL, jokes.

A good friend of mine asked me last week if I can do Banoffee Pie, and I told her the truth: that I've never tried it, but have always wanted to try. She then went on to say that she's got a friend who may be interested in asking me to do the dessert for her wedding! 60 mini Banoffee Pies! Is it silly of me to even try and wish for this gig?

I whipped up (heh, geddit?) a sample for her, and made a test pie to go with it... from my side, the flavour and texture turned out great, and everyone here seems to like it. I just wonder if she'll feel the same. Sitting on tenterhooks here and biting my nails to boot!

But that said, whether or not she goes for my Banoffee Pie, I've not opened up a whole new world for myself! CARAMEL!

Banoffee Pie

Crust

• 250g plain digestives, passionately whacked with a rolling pin into fine crumbs
• 120g butter, melted

Filling

• 100g butter
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 397g condensed milk

Topping

• 3 medium bananas, ripe and soft
• 300ml whipping cream

1. To make the crust, mix the digestive crumbs and butter using a fork, then press into the bottom of a lightly greased pan (I used a round tin foil pan for ease of delivery, but springform or removable bottom is ideal). Use the bottom of a glass to firmly pat the crumbs down. Then chill in the fridge while you prepare the filling
2. In a non-stick saucepan, gently heat the butter and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved. Pour in the condensed milk and bring to a boil gently, making sure to stir continuously so the caramel doesn't burn
3. Pour the caramel over the chilled crust and smooth it out with a rubber spatula then chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour while the caramel sets
4. Just before serving, slice your ripe bananas to cover the caramel
5. To make the whipped cream, be sure to chill your bowl and whisk for 2-5 minutes beforehand. Then for a creamy, yet not overpoweringly sweet whipped cream topping, just whisk the cream for around 1 minute (if you're using an electric mixer) or until soft peaks form and you can turn the bowl over and the cream stays intact. Smooth or pipe the cream over the top
6. For extra decoration, you can grate some semi-sweet chocolate over the top of the pie, or decorate with slices of bananas

It couldn't be easier, and now I'm dying to make more pies to give away to friends and family members!

x Nabs

P.S. Sorry for the ugly, over-exposed pictures...