Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake

When my cousin sister requested something "chocolate-y" and "cheesecake-y", I just had to put this decadent chocolate cheesecake together. I've never tried piping and decorating a cake before (I usually spoon a spoonful of cream or something and then use a toothpick to make swirls), so I was really playing with the elements I had before placing them on the cake.

It kind of looks like the macarons around the cake are half sunk into the cake, doesn't it? 

Anyways the cheesecake was a hit; creamy chocolate cheese filling, a little chocolate hit from the chocolate button, chewy chocolate macaron, and crunchy with the chocolate biscuit base . Note: best not eaten after a heavy meal (e.g. KFC or any other fast food for that matter...because we did and everyone didn't look so good afterwards). 

Decadent Chocolate Cheesecake
Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
base
125 grams of chocolate biscuits (I made my own the previous day creaming together a 1/2 cup of butter softened with 1/4 cup brown sugar, then added 1 cup all purpose flour and mixed. I spooned the mix onto baking paper into about 12 proportions and baked it for 20 minutes in a preheated oven at 150 degrees Celius)
60 grams of melted butter


filling
250 grams of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 egg yolks (I think this can be omitted)
1 cup cream, whipped
125 grams milk chocolate

Directions:

1. Prepare the base first by mixing the biscuit crumbs (crush the biscuits beforehand) with the butter and then press this into a 20cm diameter spring form cake pan (or prepare a cake tin by lining with baking paper). Refrigerate this.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pot of boiling water.
3. Beat cream cheese until smooth then beat in the brown sugar. Add lightly beaten egg yolks and melted chocolate and mix well. Then gently fold in whipped cream.
4. Pour over the biscuit base now in the cake pan. Then smooth the surface. Add any decorations or other elements as desired. Chill for at least 4 hours before serving. 

Mocha Macarons

Another Sunday afternoon, another sunny day, and another lovely day to bake. I was planning to bake a cake today but then plans changed, and I ended up experimenting with another macaron recipe.

I improvised as I went, taking the ratios of another macaron recipe and tweaking the ingredients, but I know macarons are delicate and fragile creations so I dare not change too much. And I felt like a little chocolate and a little coffee today so on top, you see, is dried coffee granules while the shells are cocoa flavored which led to the idea of the mocha flavor combination.

The cocoa powder and coffee granules really worked together and you could taste the slight bitterness of the coffee granules though the whole macaron may be sweet. The coffee buttercream with some cream cheese and the chocolate button really added to the mocha flavour combination, so overall it was a mocha hit! 

Thank you to the kind volunteer photographer. You really made the effort to plate this up, and I think you did a wonderful job because it looks like a mouth-watering picture, don't you think?


Mocha Macarons
Makes 25-30

Ingredients:
shells
80 grams icing sugar
50 grams ground almond
5 grams unsweetened baking cocoa powder
50 grams egg white (2 egg whites), room temperature
25 grams caster sugar

coffee cream cheese buttercream
1/8 cup butter, at room temperature
1/8 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 cup icing sugar
1 teaspoon hot water
2 teaspoons of instant coffee (optional: extra coffee granules to add for a stronger coffee taste)
some chocolate buttons to decorate

Directions:
shells...

1. Sift icing sugar, almond, and cocoa powder together in a bowl.
2. Beat egg whites until foamy, then add caster sugar a little at a time while beating at medium speed. Continue to beat until the egg whites looks glossy and forms soft peaks.
3. Add a quarter of the almond mixture to the egg white mix and gently fold until just incorporated. Add the rest of the almond mixture to the egg white mix and gently fold until the mix looks ribbon-like and consistent.
4. Place the mixture into a piping bag and pipe 2.5 cm rounds onto a baking tray prepared with baking paper. Bang the tray gently on counter to rid any trapped air in the macaron shells.
5. Leave to rest about an hour or until the shells form a slight crust (when gently touched, the shells do not stick to your fingers). At about a half hour, sprinkle coffee granules to decorate the shells (I did half the batch with coffee and left the other half).
6. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees Celsius. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the shells are hard.
7. Let cool before sandwiching fillings (Note: it's best served within the day, or else store the shells away in an airtight container).

coffee cream cheese buttercream...

1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together then whip in the icing sugar.
2. Dissolve the coffee in the hot water and add into the mixture. Beat until consistent. Add extra coffee granules if desired.
3. When assembling the macarons, using a piping bag or ziplock bag or even a spoon (I prefer disposable piping bags with fitted nozzles, easier to manage and great results), pipe the filling in between macarons then add a layer of chocolate button before piping a little more to attach the other macaron shell. Serve within the day or else refrigerate. It can keep up to a few days.

"My Mom Says Milo Is The Best"

When I saw a box of Milo cereal in the pantry I knew I just had to bake these Milo Doggie Cookies, adapted from Happy Home Baking, for the kids at church. As some kids have nut allergies I really try to bake nut-free recipes during big occasions or events such school parties, birthday parties, and church outings.  

I don't think Australia sells Koko Crunch but our Milo Duo and Milo Cereal is just the same. Unfortunately I didn't have the chance to buy any chocolate sprinkles but I used whatever baking decoratives we had in the pantry. I think the doggie above looks the cutest-all chocolate chips!

The large choc chip eyes in comparison to the tiny nose makes the doggies look a tad strange don't you think? 

Nevertheless these Milo doggies were a hit. Crunchy, chocolatey, full of Milo-flavour and finished within the hour.

Milo Doggie Cookies
Makes about 48

Ingredients:
180 grams butter, at room temperature
80 grams Milo
200 grams cake flour (I used self-raising cake flour)
25 grams corn flour
25 grams milk powder ( I used more Milo powder)
100 grams of choc chips
some Milo cereal
some chocolate sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat 140 degress Celsius. Line two baking trays.
2. Sift cake flour, corn flour, and milk powder (Milo).
3. Cream Milo and butter together for about 2-3 minutes at low speed.
4. Pour in cake flour mixture and beat for 1 minute until it forms a dough.
5. Divide dough into 10 grams each.
6. Insert two Milo cereals for ears into the small round dough, and add a choc chip for the nose and 2 sprinkles for the eyes.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes. Leave it to cool and put in airtight container.

No Knead Bread: Just What I Need

I agree with Happy Home Baker, these truly are "magical rolls". When my mom passed by these little beauties her first instinct was to poke it. I know she was judging whether the rolls were hard or soft. With fingers crossed behind my back, my mom exclaimed, "Wow! These are really soft!!"  

I must say, I was relieved to hear that because my mom always compares the things I bake to the things she could buy in supermarkets. If they aren't as delicious and presentable as the supermarket's, why spend all that time making it? Afterwards came taste testing. When the rolls had slightly cooled, she took the bread in her hand and halved it. After that she peered at the texture of the bread (I know, I should have took a picture of the inside...next time!), then she took a bite. To my surprise, she said it was as good as professional bakeries' back at home in Taiwan. And in Taiwan, with a bakery or two for every block you walk (my grandma's street alone has four bakeries, a ten minute stroll), there's a lot to compare to. 

You know, this is my first baked bread. I've made steamed buns before. But this is different. It's a breakthrough! For some reason, I still had it in me to try tweaking the recipe by creating savory buns out half the dough using some garlic filling from Happy Home Baking's Garlic Bread recipe. Thanks to Tray for the encouragement...you made me feel like having a go (:

You can find the recipe here.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

I was eager to try this recipe that my Aunty gave me and I happen to have all the ingredients in the house too.

The texture of the cookies were really soft on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside. With every bite you could really taste the components of the cookie, in fact, you could smell the cinnamon at the opening of the oven door when these little cookies were done baking.

I hope these were what my Aunty's cookies looked like, well, not stacked upon each other like a tower.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 40-50

• Ingredients:

• 
  
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups quick cooking oats ( 1 minutes cook oatmeal)

• Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into 1/2 sized balls of large egg , and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Flatten each cookie with a large fork dipped in sugar.
3. Bake for 8 minutes in preheated oven (I baked it an extra 3 minutes). Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

p.s.Oatmeal cookies always taste better under cooked than over cooked, so don't over cook it, or it will be very hard to chew when it's cooler. You can add nuts, raisins, or dry dates, cherries etc., so there's many different kinds of oatmeal cookies.