Some Useful Tips for Baking Cheesecake

Steam bake : Prepare a tray (bigger than the cake mould), add water until half thickness of the cake mould.

If you are using springform mould for steam-bake cheesecake, you need to cover the outer part of the cake mould with aluminium foil to prevent water from sipping into the cake.

Door Ajar: Do not remove the cheesecake from the oven immediately after baking. Leave the oven door ajar by putting a metal spoon in between the oven door until the cheesecake is cool before taking out from the oven.

To make cheesecake, remove cream cheese and eggs from the fridge one hour before making so that cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature.

Japanese Light Cheesecake

Japanese cheesecake is a very light, fluffy, not too sweet cheesecake with a very cheesecake-y flavour. Most cheesecakes on the market are like bricks of lard and are so rich that you want to hurl after one high caloric piece. This recipe has a fraction of the sugar, cream cheese and eggs than most cheesecake recipes but it has a rich yet light texture. It is also more labor intense than most cheesecake recipes but it's 100% worth the effort.

Ingredients:

Base:

2 Eggs

40g Plain flour, sifted

1/2tbs Cake Emulsifier

1Tbs Water

30g Caster Sugar

50ml Corn Oil

Cream Cheese Mixture:

A:400g Fresh Milk

250g Cream Cheese

60g Plain Flour

B:5 Egg Yolks

20g Lemon Juice

C:5 Egg Whites

100g Caster Sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius. Linea 8" round baking tin with grease proof paper.


2. Mix all the sponge cake ingredients except corn oil at high speed until fluffy. Lowe the speed, add in corn oil and stir well.


3. Pour batter into the prepared baking tin and bake in the preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 25-30 minutes or until cooked. Remove cake from tin and leave to cool on wire rack.


4. Leave the oven on at 180 degree Celsius. Line a 8" round cake tin with grease proof paper and put in the sponge cake prepared above.


5. Double-boil fresh milk and cream cheese until dissolved. Add plain flour, stir and cook until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Add B and stir well.


6. Whisk C at high speed until soft peak is formed. Slowly mix in mixture (5).


7. Strain the cheese mixture on top of the sponge cake.


8. Steam bake the cake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 140 degree Celsius and bake for another 1 hour and 45 minutes or until cooked.


9. Leave cake to cool in the oven with the door ajar 1 hour. Chill in the fridge for 4 hours. Remove cake from tin and place onto a cake board. Cut into pieces and serve.

Note: Click on here for some useful tips for baking cheesecakes.

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Blueberry Cheese Cupcakes

Cheesy blueberry-flavoured cupcake with crunchy biscuit crumbs and roasted almond at the bottom. This gives a combination of smooth moisty as well as crumbly texture. The cupcakes are best served warm. Moreover, cupcakes are always suitable for any occasions. So give it a try.

Ingredients:

Base

3 pieces disgestive biscuit, crushed into crumbs

50g chopped almond, toasted

Cream Cheese Mixture

A: 250g Cream Cheese

3 Egg Yolks

100ml Milk

20g Plain Flour

B: 3 Egg Whites

30g Caster Sugar

C: 3 Tbs Blueberry Jam

Method:

1. Preheat overn to 180 degree Celsius.
2. Base: Combine biscuit crumbs and chopped almond. Place into 12 paper cups with approximately 3.8" or greater diameter.
3. Cream Cheese Mixture: Beat cream cheese and egg yolk until smooth. Add in milk, plain flour and stir well.
4. Whisk egg whites with caster sugar in a clean mixing bowl until soft peak is formed.
5. Mix whisked egg white into cream cheese mixture in 3 batches. Reserve 5Tbs of mixture and mix with blueberry jam.
6. Spoon the remaining of mixture into paper cups and follow with blueberry mixture. Swirl through with spoon for marble effect.
7. Place a bowl of water onto a baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 25 minutes or until cooked. Remove.

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Som Tum

This green papaya salad, known as som tam, is popular in most areas of Thailand. Som tum is a spicy salad made from shredded unripened papaya originally from Laos and region in northeastern Thailand. Variations of the dish are found throughout Laos and Thailand, as well as in the West, where it is more commonly known by its Thai version and Thai name. The slightly tart flavor of the green papaya combines well with the spice of red chili pepper and the saltiness of shrimp and fish sauce, plus the sweetness of honey. Green papaya salad is a beautifully unique and flavor-filled dish that will make a great impression. It's also easy to make, low-calorie, and very nutritious. So try this Som tam recipe for dinner tonight!

Ingredients:

1Tsp Garlic

1 Small Chilli

1Tbs Sugar

1Tbs Fish Sauce

1-2Tbs Long Bean (chopped into 1cm long)

1 Cherry Tomato

1Cup Raw Papaya

1Tbs Dried Shrimp

1-1/3Tbs Lime Juice

1Tsp Honey

1Tbs Peanut

Method:

1. Peel the green papaya, then slice it in half and remove all the white seeds. Using the largest grater you have, grate the papaya to get a cup of it. Place in a large bowl.
   
2. Pound the garlic, chilli and dried shrimp together and cut the tomato into halves. Add these ingredients into the bowl.
   
3. Add fish sauce, sugar, honey and lime juice into the bowl and mix well.
   
4. Toss and do a taste test. If not salty enough, add a little more fish sauce.
   To serve, scoop salad into individual bowls or onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with grounded peanut and fresh coriander. Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Note:

• This recipe makes 2 servings.
• If you prefer more tomotoes, you could add more tomatoes.
• Add more chillies if it is not spicy enough.

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Mini Sausage and Cheese Bun

Buns are fairly common in Asian countries, people tend to have them for breakfast or high tea. The buns sold in most of the bakeries are in quite a large size. However, if you have kids or if you are having some sort of a party, you can bake your buns in mini sizes for easy servings.

Do try out this recipe during your free time. The total time consumed to make this recipe may take up to 3 or 4 hours, so you might want to sort out your free time before starting.

Ingredients:

Dough

800g Bread Flour

15g Yeast

190g Caster Sugar

1Tsp Baking Powder

6g Bread Improver

50g Butter

350g Cold Water

2Tsp Milk Powder (Optional)

1Tsp Honey

Filling

Cooked Sausage (Cut into 2 inches)

Cheddar Cheese (Cut into cuboid of 1cm x 1cm x 4cm)

Glazing

1 Egg (beaten)

Method:

1. Put bread flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, bread improver in a mixing bowl and mix well. Add in milk powder and honey.



2. Slowly pour in water.



3. Use slow speed to knead the dough till gluten is formed (can pull into very thin sheet without tearing).



4. Add in butter and knead till well-combined.



5. Leave aside and cover with a wet cloth to prove till double in bulk.



6. Divide into 64 equal portions.



7. Shape each portion into a roll about 10cm long.



8. Take one sausage or cheese and use the dough to roll around it. Another alternative is to roll each portion into thin oval shape and place a sausage or cheese near one end and roll it up.



9. Arrange sausage rolls on a greased baking tray 5 cm apart to prevent sticking.



10. Brush buns with beaten egg, cover with a wet cloth and leave to prove till double in bulk. This takes around 1 hour.



11. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degree Celcius till golden brown, for about 15-20minutes. Remove and leave to cool.
    
    
    
    

Tips:

• Do not overbake bun, it will be dry and hard.
  
• Number of buns may vary according to own preference. This depends on the size of the buns made.


• The bun sizes shown in the pictures above are around 8 cm and there are two ways to do this: (i) you can weigh the whole dough and divide the weight by 64 (this is the estmated amount of buns the ingredients above can be made into), or (ii) knead the whole dough into a spherical shape and cut into half with a dough cutter. Each half of the dough can then be cut into two more halves. This can be continuously done for six times to get the right size for a bun.
  
• Make sure fillings are not wrapped too tight.
  

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Cocktail Charlotte

Here's another charlotte that I've made recently for my friend's birthday. Basically, it's same with the mango charlotte I've made previously except the filling is replaced with cocktail. There's some changes for the recipe,

1. Replace 120g of mango with 120g of fruit cocktail.
2. Replace pureed mango with cocktail syrup.

Here's some pictures that I've took......=D

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Ham and Potato Bake

Layers of potato, ham and cheese are bound together by a quiche-like egg and cream mixture. This potato bake cuts well and can be served hot or cold, as a side dish or with a salad as a light meal.



Ingredients:
2 Medium-sized potatoes (around 100g each)
3 Slices of cheddar cheese
2 Slices of ham, finely chopped or cut into small square pieces
1/2 Medium onion, diced
2 Large eggs
6 Tbs of cream (Nestle)
Salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 180 degree Celsius (160 degree Celsius for fan forced oven)

Thoroughly grease a 10cm diameter pan or bowl. You could use a springform pan for neat and easy serving, but make sure it is leadproof.



Methods:

Peel and halve potatoes. Boil potatoes until tender, drain. Allow potatoes to cool then cut into 1cm thick slices.

Cover the base of the prepared bowl with a layer of potato slices. Season with salt and pepper.




Top with half of the onion and a layer of ham. Place slices of cheese on top of the ham.


Repeat the layering ingredients (seasoning each layer of potatoes), finishing with a layer of cheese.

Use a whisk or fork to beat the eggs and cream until well combined. Gently pour the mixture over the ingredients in the bowl.


Bake for about 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the egg mixture has set. Cover the bake with aluminium foil if the top begins to brown before the egg mixture has set.

Remove from oven and set aside for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cut into wedges to serve.

This recipe serves about 2-3 persons.

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