Raspberry Rosewater Roll

The next pink thing.

It thrills me to blog about another pinkie idea... Raspberry pink is perfect in giving desserts that rightful touch i lust after. When raspberry meets rose, the word is alluring.

What i tried this time sometime back was a Japanese souffle cake recipe which destines at a dulcet soft sponge with the shade of pale cream. A fraction like towel rolls; 5 times more refined than generic spongecakes. I'm glad my attempt pulled through.

Once the oven tinked i cautiously removed the cake to prevent overbrowning (color is crucial for this)... But not all blunders were evaded- i realized i had no buttercream on hand! So with limited time to marshal a rollup before my cake stiffens, i grabbed a pot of mascarpone cheese from the refrigerator and lashed up a simple spread. Whipped it icing light and trickled some sensual rosewater to scent...voila!

I'm sharing the recipe for the souffle sponge roll. Fillings are self-explorable from flavored buttercreams to creme Chantilly; or even a frantic whip-up like mine would work fine. Basic swissroll techniques still apply. (Pardon my lousy rolling skills cos i'm no swissroll expert)

Biscuit Roulé type Soufflé

makes 1 regular roll

190g egg yolks

50g caster sugar

vanilla essence

230g egg whites

100g sugar

100g cake flour

25g butter

55g fresh milk

In a mixing bowl, beat egg yolks with sugar and vanilla essence until thick & creamy.

In another bowl whip the egg whites until stiff peaks form, adding sugar in 3 additions. Fold a third of the whipped whites into the egg yolk mixture. Sift in the cake flour and incorporate well. Fold in all remaining whites and mix well with a spatula.

Place the butter and milk into a microwaveable bowl and microwave until both melts (approximately 70C). Gradually pour it into the egg mixture and fold into a smooth, glossy batter.

Tip the batter into a lined and greased rectangular pan, then even the surface with a scraper. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes or until cake has set & resistive to touch. Immediately remove from oven & lightly knock tray on a work surface to release any trapped air. Unmould the cake while it is warm but spread your desired fillings after slight cooling (but still pliable).

Raspberries, rose & mascarpone.. this ain't solely about the color anymore. It's feminine fragrance seduces. And beware, i may just pounce in with another heavily-pinked entry lol.

With love,

the girl loving her raspberries always.

New York Cheesecake

I happen to love cheesecakes unfalteringly.

While most people whoop over tons of gooey cheese within their savories, im happier having cheese in my desserts. Don't get me wrong. I still sink regularly into pizzas and gratins & their irresistible relatives with no disdain, but the cheesy sweets take me to a higher realm of delight.

I'll usually keep a close watch for my favourite species: American, Blueberry & Walnut. Or anything bearing the blood of cheese, say cheese+tart, cheese+brownie, cheese+souffle, cheese+icecream, or cheese+whatever's morally acceptable...

So when i saw Jamie Oliver's screamingly-mouthwatering New York Cheesecake emblazoned on the cover of a Delicious issue, i took almost immediate action. The product: a creamy, moderately dense cheesecake smacked with robust vanilla Yum! Double yum with a dollop of blueberry topping (:

Here's the original recipe, unmodified.

Jamie Oliver's New York Vanilla Cheesecake
recipe from Delicious Magazine march 2009 issue

His recipe reacted quite well to modifications so you can try adding your own touches. i tweaked the base's butter-to-biscuit ratio, added walnuts for crunch & adjusted the proportions of some ingredients for mine.

Serves 8-10

250g digestive biscuits, crushed

150 unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup cornflour

900g Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature

2 large organic eggs

1/2 cup thickened cream

seeds of 1 vanilla pod, or 1/4 tsp vanilla extract (1/2 tsp for me =p)

grated zest of 1 lemon

Blueberry Topping

450g blueberries

1/4 cup caster sugar

Grease and line the base of a 24cm springfoam cake pan. Preheat oven to 180C. Mix the biscuits and butter in a bowl, press into the base of the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Turn oven to 200C. Combine sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Add cream cheese and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually add the cream, beating until smooth, then beat in vanilla and zest.

Tip mixture into pan, level the surface and sit on a baking sheet. Place in centre of oven and bake 35-40 minutes until top is browned and the filling is set around the edges. A piece of foil over the top wihh stop it from browning too much. Allow to cool. Place in fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

Put the blueberries in a sacuepan, sprinkle over sugar and add 1 tbsp of water. Put ona medium-low heat to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Cool and serve with cheesecake.

Maybe i'll try incorporating some fresh berries into the cheese batter next time, so it'll become a true-blue blueberry cheesecake. Oh i so love those =D

Blueberry Cheese Tarts

As a child i loved visiting neighbourhood confectioneries. I would stop & oogle at those inflated sugar-coated doughnuts, figurine-topped cakes, rainbow chip swissrolls and these beautifully swirled cheese tarts. Then compare their drool-factors on the mind scale.

If cheese tarts took victory, its solely because of their pretty face. Many bakeries make vulgur digestive crusts and with sooo little jam inputs that i often regret my choice, but still fall for the fraud again. A typical visually-influenced consumer, hah.

So i wised up and decided to recreate my own rendition.

Whipped up a philly cheese filling (similar to cream cheese frosting but with extra coagulating ingredients) and paired it with Michel Roux's pate sucree recipe- and im surprised by how well it turned out.. except that cheese-deflation flaw after cooling.

The pastry dough was extremely soft at first (from the use of whole eggs instead of egg yolks) but firmed up easily with refrigeration. Once chilled, it became amazingly smooth and pliable yet free from sticky trouble that usual doughs pose. The product? Crispy, non-soggy shells so nicely browned all over.

Undoubtedly one of the best doughs ive worked with.

Tart, filling, cheese, filling.

I'm finally getting the taste of blueberries..

No more choking digestives & dry cheese tarts for me!

Pate Sucree
from Eggs by Michel Roux

Ingredients:
250g plain flour
100g butter, diced & slightly softened
100g icing sugar
small pinch of salt
2 medium eggs

Method:
1) Put the flour on a work surface and make a well. Put in the butter, icing sugar and salt.
2) Using your fingertips, mix all the ingredients in the well, then add the eggs and gradually draw in the flour, little by little, and mix well.
3) When everything is completely amalgamated, knead the pastry 2 or 3 times with the heel of your hand to make it completely smooth. Wrap it in cling film and rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours before using.

(cheese tarts are from Thousand Deli, hougang central)