dessert Archives - Page 48 of 57

No-Bake Lemon And Lime Cheesecake. A Mother’s Day Post.

10|05|2014

You know I’ve never told my Mom ‘I love you Mom’. Not in so many words. I’ve always marvelled at her strength, the way she’s able to embrace situations…for being the Mommy who has a solution for everything. I wanted to tell her ‘Hey Mom..you are a Super woman’. But I didn’t. Ever. Perhaps I’ve just taken her for granted all along or maybe like many of us, I’ve assumed that she would know. But motherhood, since it happened to me 4 years ago, it changed my perception about every big or little relationship in my life. Unlike me, my little boys are quite vocal about their affection towards their mother. And I am ever so ready to hear them, to read the little love notes scribbled in crayons or get hugged over and over again. A million times over.

I will be meeting my Mommy at end of this month, after a year. Something that I am really looking forward to. I’d love to bake for her and also get her into the kitchen to cook all my favourite dishes. Ironically, my mother is diabetic…to the highest degree. So was my grandmother. It runs in the family so I need to keep a tab on my blood sugar levels. Funny, considering that sugar is the core of my creations, the basis of this blog.

I’ve kept my Mother’s Day cake simple…just like I would do if she was eating it. I’ve made this many times before and I love this cheesecake, the flavours, the simplicity of a straightforward cake. The natural essence of lemon and lime. I’ve chosen the flowers inspired by the Autumn colours at the moment. These colours are stuck in my head as the Autumnal, colour changing leaves are one of the first things I intend to show her before we lose the leaves to Winter.

If you are still deciding on what to make for your Mommy, go ahead with this cake. You wont regret it. So few ingredients, 10 minutes of prep time and such an amazing blend of flavours. Of course, it can be made for any other celebration too.

My little boys have been participating in a few secret meetings with their Daddy. They come out giggling and full of excitement after the closed- door meetings. We’ve planned a little picnic on Sunday next to the waterside near our place. I cant wait to find out more.

Happiest of Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers, grandmothers, soon-to-be mothers and all those who build a family of love, strength and gratitude.
And to my dearest Mom, I love you…with the heart and brain of a 2-year-old. Even today!

Lemon and Lime Cheesecake (minimally adapted from Taste.com)
Serves 8-10

150g sweet biscuits, processed to fine crumbs (I used Butternut Snap cookies)
50g butter, melted, cooled
500g cream cheese, softened (I used Lite Cream cheese)
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 lemon, zest finely grated, juiced
2 limes, zest finely grated, juiced
1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 teaspoons powdered gelatine
300 ml thickened or heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
Fresh flowers, to decorate

Grease and line base and sides of a 19 cm (base) springform pan with baking paper. Combine biscuit crumbs and butter. Press into base of prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

.Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice and gelatine in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring with a fork until hot and gelatine is dissolved. Set aside to cool. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the lemon and lime zest. Beat gelatine into cream cheese mixture until well combined. Fold in cream, mixing until well combined.

Spoon filling over base. Smooth surface. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. When ready to serve, gently place a circle of baking paper, smaller in circumference than the cake on top of the cake. Place the fresh flowers. Serve chilled.

Spiced Chocolate Streusel Cake

8|05|2014

On a cold day, nothing warms up my soul than the smell and taste of spice. Spices are a part of my heritage..they are built into my palate, they spell the word comfort to me…even more than chocolate. They can take me back in time when I woke up to the sound of the mortar and the pestle every day as a little girl. My mother would fill up jars of freshly ground cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, coriander or nutmeg after dry roasting them and the house would smell wonderful for hours. Spices are a constant in my kitchen too and consciously or otherwise I play around with them in my cooking and my recipes. If you are reading this blog for a while, you know that I love to pair them up in my desserts too.

I was a bit unsure of whether I should call this a chocolate cake in the first place. The obvious reason for that is that there is no chocolate in it. The cake and the streusel use cocoa powder. In the era of the ‘chocolate chunk’ baked goods this would be rather old-fashioned or out of place….is what I thought. But one bite into the cake and I immediately loved it. It has all the qualities of a good chocolate cake minus the richness. It’s moist and light and the crumble or streusel totally compensates for a frosting. The spice is subtle in the cake but shines through in the topping.

A cake like this is hassle free and easy. It’s easy to make and easy to store and carry in your lunchboxes. If you adore spice, this is certainly delicious. A dollop of whipped cream or ice cream with a few berries on the side makes it a lovely dessert. My husband who is not a lover of rich, frosted cakes went in for seconds which was a pleasant surprise considering the fact that he stays away from most of the sweets at home.

You could leave out the spice if you want a plain chocolate cake. It would still taste good with the crumble on top but the spice takes it to a different level. The cake is best served warm or at room temperature.

Spiced Chocolate Streusel Cake
Serves 6-8

1 1/3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup castor sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
125g butter, melted, cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the streusel topping
1/2 cup plain flour
50 g butter, chilled and chopped into cubes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup pecans or any nut of your choice, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Lightly grease a 18 cm round cake pan. Line base with baking paper. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and spices into a large bowl. Add in the sugar. Combine buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla in a jug. Make a well in centre of flour mixture. Pour in buttermilk mixture. Using an electric mixer, beat on low-speed until combined. Increase speed to high. Beat for 3 to 4 minutes or until thick and creamy. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

To make the crumble topping, place all the ingredients in a bowl. Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the mixture until the mixture contains large and small crumbs.

Sprinkle the crumble topping over the cake batter in the prepared pan.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove gently from the pan and cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Caramelised White Chocolate Doughnuts

4|05|2014

I share a little shopping ritual with my twin boys. If they are joining me on a grocery trip to the supermarket, they would get to pick and choose and eat their favourite doughnuts. The supermarket is located inside a busy shopping centre and though many of the popular doughnut outlets also happen to be on the same floor, they always want to pick the doughnuts from the bakery section in the same supermarket. The obvious reason for that is the colourful inviting displays are very suitably placed within the eye level and even reach of a small child. Marketing strategy at its best. So each time not one but two of the combo packs tinted in bright shades and strewn with colourful sprinkles land up on my shopping trolley.With a constant supply of outsourced doughnuts, my blog has completely missed the opportunity to make some at home. But since the time I’ve discovered caramelised white chocolate I’ve developed an uncontrollable urge of dunking everything into it…muffins, cupcakes, eclairs, cookies and even store bought doughnuts. That is if I am able to convince the boys to buy the non-glazed ones, especially cinnamon doughnuts. Caramelised chocolate with a little spice is the next thing to Heaven…is all I can say. So I thought it was time to post a doughnut recipe.

I’ve tried out a few baked doughnut recipes before but they’ve never turned great so I was on the lookout for one. This one is way better (from Sally’s Baking Addiction) than the rest and is soft with a great texture. Though I personally feel that a baked doughnut never measures up to a fried one, keeping health and convenience in mind these are pretty good. You can use the fried ones as well and I am sure they would taste amazing too. The caramelised white chocolate is the star of the show so really anything dunk-able would do.

I think I have mentioned before that I use David Lebovitz’s recipe and method for caramelising the white chocolate. It always works for me. It is a simple process (explained really well) and all that it requires is some patience. The results are worth it. The recipe will yield more caramelised white chocolate than needed to glaze the doughnuts. To use up the rest of the chocolate, you may want to look at this cheesecake or this mousse. I’ve added toasted chopped pecans mixed with a little bit of chocolate sprinkles to decorate the doughnuts. Feel free to play around with the decorations.

The original recipe for the doughnuts using a doughnut pan made 8 doughnuts. Since I used individual pans which may be slightly bigger than the size of a regular doughnut, I got 6 out of the batter.

Caramelised White Chocolate Doughnuts
Yields 6 large or 8 medium doughnuts

For the baked donuts (adapted from Sally’s Baking Addiction)
1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour (careful not to over measure)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/3 cup (65g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup (60ml) milk
1/4 cup (60g) Greek yogurt
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 recipe caramelised white chocolate ganache, lukewarm
1/4 cup toasted, finely chopped pecans, to decorate
chocolate sprinkles, to decorate

For the caramelised white chocolate ganache (makes about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup caramelised white chocolate (using David Lebovitz’s recipe)
1/4 cup heavy or thickened cream

For the baked doughnut: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Spray a donut pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and granulated sugar together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Whisk the milk, yogurt, and egg together until smooth. Add the melted butter and vanilla, whisking until fully combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Do not over mix. The batter will be very thick.

Pipe the batter or spoon the batter into the doughnut cups. Since the batter is quite thick it is easier to pipe it in. You can use a ziplock bag in case you don’t have a piping bag. Cut a corner off the bottom of the bag and pipe the batter into each donut cup.

Bake for 9–10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Allow the donuts to slightly cool before glazing.

For the Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache: Place the caramelised white chocolate in a medium bowl. Bring the cream to a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Leave aside for 5 minutes and stir with a spoon till smooth. Cool slightly before glazing the doughnuts.

The chocolate ganache sets completely when cooled so the glazing would have to be done before the ganache cools completely. In case, it becomes hard, warm slightly while stirring with a spoon and it turns to a liquid consistency.

To Assemble : Dip the cooled doughnuts into the caramelised white chocolate ganache and turn to coat evenly. Transfer each doughnut onto a wire rack over a baking sheet to catch the glaze drippings. Take each doughnut and dunk again if you have enough glaze leftover. Sprinkle with toasted pecans and chocolate sprinkles in your desired pattern.

Orange Creme Caramel

21|04|2014

Peeking through my cold frosted window every morning, hoping to get a glimpse of the sun, I am coming to embrace the changes of the season. The sun is late in rising and so are we. Perhaps that is a convenient way for me to interpret the changes that come about with cold weather. Sleep is so dear and so welcome. Or is it Citrus that makes it obvious. Citrus fruits are everywhere and the only excuse for not using them in a recipe is probably eating them as they are. Maybe not lemon and lime. My new way of enjoying them are squeezing the juice into tea. But Oranges..there are more dishes to try on my wish list than I could fit into one season.

Crème Caramel, a dessert that I can associate with my growing up years. When tortes, tarts or for that matter even mousse was not that popular where I lived. It was served in smaller individual portions and I liked it that way. But today, convenience takes precedence over anything else and a single round pan works great for me. It has the charm of a after-dinner centrepiece much like a cake without a lot of effort.

There are many flavour variations of this dessert out there and a few different recipes too. I have tried out a few and I find that a combination of eggs and egg yolks yields a fabulous texture. Smooth, creamy but enough to hold shape and can be easily sliced into portions.

Orange Crème Caramel (adapted with variation from Coles recipes)
Serves 6

3/4 cup castor sugar (for the caramel)
1/4 cup water
1 cup milk
300 ml heavy or thickened cream
2 tsp orange zest
1/4 cup castor sugar (for the custard)
3 eggs
3 egg yolks
1 orange, sliced into small wedges
1/2 cup strawberries, hulled and sliced

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Place sugar in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup water. Stir over low heat, without boiling, until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat slightly and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring, for about 7 mins, or until mixture is a deep golden-caramel colour. Use a wet pastry brush to brush away any crystals from the side of the pan.

Stand a 19 cm round cake tin in a baking dish, and pour the caramel over the base of the cake tin (take care as the tin will get hot). Set aside to cool completely.

Combine milk, cream and orange zest in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, then immediately turn off the heat. Stand for 5 mins.

Whisk extra sugar, eggs and yolks until combined. Pour milk mixture onto egg mixture, stirring constantly. Strain the custard into cake tin over the caramel. Pour hot water around the tin to come halfway up the sides. Bake for 50 mins to an hour, or until set. Cool completely, then refrigerate overnight. Turn out onto a serving plate and cut into wedges. Serve with fresh oranges and strawberries