Chocolate Mud Cheesecake

Tried baking this cheesecake from Catherine Lau's Cheesecake Seduction. I made a mistake by not following the recipe exactly and substituting whipping cream with nestle cream in order to save cost. After having done so i realised that maybe nestle cream isnt so suitable for cake making afterall. It had a strong smell as compared to normal chilled cream. If i had used whipping cream, i think the cheesecake would have turned out creamier. The cheesecake that i baked turned out to be a dense mud chocolate cheesecake. It tasted funny and a bit salty, perhaps due to the nestle cream. However, after chilling the cake for 2 days, the taste improved and the funny taste was gone. Well, i read that cheesecakes mature their flavour when they are chilled for a longer period of time.

Quite a pity that the cake looked good but the taste wasnt what i expected. I am definitely going to try this recipe again next time. For my second attempt, i will make sure that i stick to the recipe closely.

Sultana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Whew! It had been a busy period for me during Xmas and New Year. This post should have came up much earlier.

I wasnt satisfied with my maiden attempt on muffin baking. It turned out slightly stiff and kueh like in texture. The taste was bland and the muffin stucked to the paper liners. I guess i slightly overmixed the batter. The ideal batter should be lumpy while i tried to break up the lumps.

On my second attempt, the muffins did not turned out good either. The batter was very watery which i though was because i had added too much orange juice.

With some perseverance, i managed to get decent muffins on my 3rd attempt. This time round i mixed the liquid and dry ingredients until they were just nicely combined. The muffins came out to be soft, fluffy and kueh-like. Hmm... I wonder if authentic muffins are supposed to be like this.

After having done some reading on muffins, my understanding is that there is generally 2 kinds of muffins. One is by using melted butter while the other is by the creaming butter method. The muffins derived from these two methods are totally different in texture. Muffins yielded by the previous method would be slightly kueh-like while the latter kind of muffins are more cake-like. The muffins that i attempted belongs to the first category. In my opinion, muffins done by the creaming butter method are no different from cupcakes. In actual fact, i feel that majority of muffins you find in stores are fluffy and cake-like. Tastewise, i think that cake-like muffins seem to be more agreeable with my palate.

The original recipe that i followed called for blueberries. Thinking that fresh blueberries would not be so easily available in supermarkets, i substituted them with sultanas and choc chips that i had in hand. The amount of sugar used in this recipe is on the low side hence the resulting taste of the muffin is light. This is compensated by the sweetness and aroma of the sultanas and chocolate chips.

Vanilla Cupcakes

I received this book Favourite Cupcakes and Cheesecakes from my friends as my birthday gift 2 months back. The cupcakes look appetizing and i tried baking the vanilla cupcakes. For my previous attempt, most of my cupcakes were underbaked and it took nearly 35 minutes before they were done.

This time round, the cupcakes turned out ok. The first batch was baked at 160 degrees for 35mins. I then increased the temperature to 180 degrees and it took only 20minutes for the 2nd batch to be ready. The results were cupcakes that are soft, moist and buttery.

Next time round, i will bake them longer till the top is crisp and dry. Maybe i should cut down on the butter and milk on the next bake.

Chocolate Fudge Brownies

This was my first attempt at making brownies. According to diana desserts, there are 3 kinds of brownies - cake-like, fudgey and chewy. Out of the three i would prefer the latter two. To me cake like brownies are just like dense chocolate cakes.

The recipe i tried was quite simple. Instead of the usual rectangular shape brownie, the recipe suggests rolling the dough into balls. In my opinion, i think the texture and taste of the brownie is ok. Will be trying out other chocolate fudge brownie recipes in future.

Melting Moments

Came across these mouthwatering cookies called melting moments when i was reading biscuit, cookies and brownies by Periplus. The great thing about this recipe is that few basic ingredients are required and the steps are really simple. I followed the instructions and my 1st bake turned out pretty good.

The crust was cripsy and the inside simple melted when popped into the mouth. I guess that is the reason why it is called melting moments. After reading the melting moments entry on cadenz's blog - http://decadenze.com/blog/2006/10/10/more-melting-moments/, i decided to sandwich 2 cookies with chocolate buttercream. yummy!~ Shall sandwich melting moment cookies with jam and melted chocolate to create a variety next time.

Basic Macarons

I attempted to bake macarons for the 2nd time last week. On my 1st bake, i took the opportunity to polish my piping skills. At first i made quite a mess with the batter while piping. However, i soon got the hang of it after some practice.

Making macarons certainly was no easy task. I read that macarons have a high failure rate especially when using the french meringue method. In both my 1st and 2nd attempts, I managed to get the right consistency of the batter - shiny flowing lava. The tough part was the oven temperature and baking time.

During the 1st 8 mins on my 2nd attempt, my macarons developed 'foot'. I sure was excited about that. However, I had difficulty in getting the base of the macaron to be cooked. I baked the macarons for nearly 25mins before the base was nearly dry when the recipe stated only 10 -11 of baking time. Due to the long baking time, my macaron browned when they were supposed to look shiny.

Even though the macarons on my 2nd attempt were like 80% successful, the taste was quite ok. it tasted chewy on the 1st 2 days. After a few days in the fridge, they tasted better without the chewiness.

I shall attempt baking macarons another time. Its nice to see the macarons you bake turn out crispy, moist and colourful. The best thing about learning to bake macaron is that you get to save a lot if you are good at it. Macarons are quite pricey and one macaron sells for $1.60 at Bakerzin.

Here are some sites which i referred to when baking the macarons:
1) how to make macarons
2) basic technique and simple macaron recipe

3) coffee macarons

For those who are interested, refer to link 3 for the baking timing and temperature control. Read links 1 and 2 for basics on macaron making. Good luck!

Banana Chiffon Cake

The last time i baked a chiffon cake was like 2-3 months back. After reading Rei's blog, it gave me motivation to bake a chiffon cake again. This time round i decided to try her banana chiffon cake.

Rei definitely is a master homebaker of chiffon. Her spirit of baking chiffon cakes is admirable. Read her 2 posts on chiffon troubleshooting and you will know why. She definitely gives you all the A-Z of chiffon baking. Anyone who wants to attempt a chiffon cake MUST read her blog. If i had come across her blog earlier, maybe i would not have failed 4 times.

In my mind, i was thinking whether i had lost my mojo after a few consecutive successful attempts. The weather wasnt too kind. It was wet, cold and drizzling outside. This could affect the beaten egg whites as they will draw moisture from the air.

The cake turned out successful. But it wasnt the most perfect attempt i made. The top of the chiffon cake was dome shaped instead of being flat.

I had substituted corn oil with peanut oil and was praying the strong peanut aroma would not interfere with the fragrance of the bananas. Luckily, it didnt. The cake turned out fluffy, slightly moist and carries a light banana taste. yummy! Cant wait to attempt new chiffon cake flavours!

Banana Chiffon Cake recipe can be found from Rei's blog:

Recipe