Japanese Marble Cotton Cheesecake



Ingredients
250g Cream Cheese, softened
50g Butter, softened (I used Salted Butter)
100ml Fresh Milk
1tbsp Lemon Juice
60g Cake flour
20g Corn flour
6 Yolks
1/4tsp salt (I omitted)

6 Whites
1/4 tsp Cream of tartar
140g Caster Sugar (I used only 120gr)

Chocolate mixture:
10 gr Chocolate powder
20 gr Boiling Water

Method:
- Preheat oven 160C.
- Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of the pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper. Make sure the baking paper extends higher than the cake by about 1.5 inches.
- Place the softened cream cheese, butter and fresh milk in a mixing bowl and stir over double-boiler until melt and mixture is thick and creamy. Remove it from double-boiler to cool.
- Upon slightly cool, add in the egg yolks, cake flour, corn flour and lemon juice. Mix until well combined.
- Sieve the egg yolk and flour mixture into another clean bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whip the egg whites in till foamy, add in cream of tartar, continue to whisk. Gradually add in the caster sugar, whisk till soft/medium peaks form.
- Add one-third of egg whites mixture into the cheese mixture and use whisk to stir well. Continue to fold gently with the balance egg white mixture.
- Chocolate Mixture : Pour the boiling water into the chocolate powder, mix well until the chocolate powder dissolved. Mix it with one-third of the cheese batter.
- Pour alternately the cheese and chocolate batter onto the prepared pans. Made a marble effect using fork. Wrap around the outside of baking tin with aluminium foil (if possible double layers) to prevent water going in. Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 mins or until set and golden brown.
- Leave to cool in oven with door ajar, about 30mins to 1 hour. Sudden changes in temperature may cause the cake to cool too quickly and collapse.

You may hop on to The Little Teochew for some more tip & tricks :)



Another lovely award received within this month and generously shared by Precious Moments and Yummy Bakes. Thanks for remembering me and I’m forwarding this Versatile Blogger Award to the next 10 wonderful bloggers :






Liebster Blog Award

It’s a very kind of Anita – Recipe with Pictures that she passed me a wonderful award. Thank you so much :)



Liebster is German and translates to
the English word “dearest”or” favorite”.
It’s meant for up-and-coming blogs with less than "200 followers".



Here are the rules
• Thank your Liebster Blog Award presenter on your blog.
• Link back to the blogger who presented the award to you.
• Copy and paste the blog award on your blog.
• Present the Liebster Blog Award to 5 blogs of 200 followers or less who you feel deserve to be noticed. (Some say just 3 or more blogs of less than 200 followers each).
• Let them know they have been chosen by leaving a comment at their blog.

Here I would like to pass and present the Liebster Blog Award to the five blogs (in no particular order):

 





Stuffed Lotus Root with Mushrooms


Frankly speaking, I’m not good in cooking, so I usually only preparing steamboat during CNY. When Che-Cheh shared this recipe, it looked easy … and decided to cook it last night. I added extra ingredients (steamboat ingredients left from previous night ) …. and the results … simply wonderful & delicious :)

Here is the recipe with minor modification.

Source : Flavours magazine Jan-Feb 2009 via Messy Witchen

Ingredients:
100 g fish paste (I bought ready made)
120 g lotus root, thinly sliced

4 Garlic cloves
6 Dried Chinese mushroom, soaked and sliced
6 Medium size Prawns, without skin
3 Imitation crabs, cut into 2cm lengths and deep fried
1 Spring onion, cut into 2.5cm lengths
1 Red chilli, cut in diamond/long shapes

Seasonings:
1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon “Hau Chi”/Chicken stock powder
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Cornflour
1/8 teaspoon Sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon Ground white pepper
1/3 teaspoon Hua Tiao rice wine (Shaoxing wine)
3 tablespoons Chicken stock / Water

Method :
- Stuff fish paste between 2 slices of lotus root sandwich slightly less than 1cm thick. Deep fried until golden brown, set aside.
- Drain remaining oil in the wok, leaving just a tablespoon of oil in the wok.
- Add garlic, fried until light brown, add prawns (wait until half cook), add mushroom, crabs, onion, chilli and fried lotus root sandwiches, stir-fry on high heat.
- Finally add seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant.
- Remove and serve immediately.

Serves : 2-3 pax

I am submitting this delicious dish to Aspiring Bakers #15:Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen's Delight.



Melt-in-mouth German Cookies


I guess I no need to explain further about these German cookies anymore :) as they are so popular and well-rated since last year. But what a pity that I just got chance to bake this year. It’s never too late for you that have not tried it, you will love it as it really melted-in when you pop into you mouth :) and can’t stop just eating only one :D

Source : Min’s Blog and SSB

Ingredients:
125 gr Butter (I used SCS Butter)
40 gr Icing sugar, sifted
125 gr Potato starch
80 gr Superfine flour / Plain Flour

Chocolate rice (optional)

Method:
- Beat butter and icing sugar till fluffy and lighter in colour.
- Sift in potato starch and flour, mix to form a soft dough.
- Pinch a bit of dough and roll into small balls. (I had my 1/3 dough mix with the chocolate rice)
- Arrange on lined baking pan and press lightly with a fork (dip the fork in water after each press to prevent cookie dough from sticking to the fork).
- Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 15 mins, upper rack (need not bake till cookies turn brown).

Yields : 60 pcs

Here's wishing all of you a  Happy Chinese Lunar New Year!


Cashew Nuts Cookies


This year, beside pineapple tarts, I didn’t have chance to bake more for CNY cookies, only extra 2 more varieties. The first one are these cashew nuts cookies, which I had been on my baking list since last year, but only this year I got chance to try this. Thanks Wen for her generous of sharing her Auntie’s yummy recipe.

Ingredients:
250 gr Butter (used quality butter and chilled)
190 gr Icing Sugar

420 gr Plain flour (I reduced to 320 gr)
1 Tbsp Milk powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Salt

1 no Egg
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

200 gr Ground roasted Cashew nuts (I used 300 gr)
300gr Cashew nuts (Halves it, bake until half cooked for topping)

Extra egg for egg wash

Method:
- Sift flour, milk powder, soda and salt together, set aside.
- Cream butter and icing sugar till light and fluffy.
- Add eggs and vanilla till well mix.
- Lastly add sifted flour & ground cashew nut, mix well with the low speed.
- Form a soft dough and chill till firm (min. 2 hours)
- Roll the form and cut into the preference shape using cookies cutter
- Egg wash a layer first, place cashew nut on it, slighlty press. Egg wash again on top of the cashew nut too, to make the nuts look shiny.
- Bake at preheated oven of 180 degree C for 15-25 mins.

Yields : approx 100 pcs for half recipe.


Christmas Fruit Cake


I know this a bit too late to post, so sorry not to be able to update the blog, and I was actually baking this fruit cake at the last minute of Christmas day.  Just hope that I never too late to submit to Aspiring Bakers #14 : Creative Christmas Bakes (December 2011) hosted by Hankerie :)

Ingredients:
250 gr Mixed Fruits
50 gr Apricot
50 gr Cranberries
3 Tbsp Rum

250 gr Butter
130 gr Sugar
1 tsp Orange zest
4 Eggs
210 gr Plain Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
40 gr Orange juice
40 gr Ground Almonds

Method:
- Soak mixed fruits, apricot and cranberries with rum over the night.
- Cream butter and sugar until pale & fluffy, add in orange zest.
- Add eggs one at a time till thoroughly mixed before adding in the next egg.
- Mix 2 Tbsp of flour to soaked fruits.
- Fold in shifted Plain Flour+Baking Powder, orange juice and ground almonds alternately to the butter batter, lastly add in soaked fruits, mix well.
- Pour into 8 inch square cake tin.
- Bake at 160C for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hour or until cook.
- Let the cake cool in tin for 20 mins, then remove and leave it to cool completely.

PS : Dizzle some drop of rum onto cake once a while (every 2-3 days) to keep cake moist in the fridge.



Here, I would like to wish everyone HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!