Saturday 28 March 2015

Mini snicker cheesecake

Kk

This cheesecake is easy to make & lush. Since it's a mini cheesecake you can have more than one !!

Ingredients:

Crust
  • 14-16 Oreo cookies
  • 35g unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake filling:
  • 340g cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs, at room temperature 
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp double cream
  • 3 snickers, chopped into small pieces
Chocolate ganache filling:
  • 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup double cream
Caramel topping:
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup double cream
  • 35g unsalted butter
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 snickers, chopped coarsely for topping
Method:

Crust:

Preheat oven to 180C/160C for fav oven 

In a food processor pulse the Oreo cookies till fine crumbs. Transfer cookie crumbs to a bowl then add the melted butter. Mix well till the crumbs are well coated with the butter. 

Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Distribute the crumb mixture equally into 12 cupcake liners.  Press the crumb firmly into the bottom of the liners, first using your finger and then using back of a measuring cup.

Bake the crust at 180C/160C for fan oven for 4-5 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Cheesecake filling :

Chop the snickers bar into small pieces. Take softened cream cheese in a bowl. Beat the cream cheese using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or using your hand mixer till completely smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes, scrapping from the sides as required. There shouldn't be any lumps.

Add the egg one at a time, mixing well after each addition .

Once egg are mixed, add in the double cream, granulated sugar and vanilla extract. Beat the mixture on medium speed until it completely smooth. 

Stir in the chopped snickers.

Using an ice cream scoop, fill the cupcake liners with the cheese cake batter. The liners should be almost full.

Bake at 180C/160C fr fan oven for 20-22 minutes or until the center looks set. The center might be a little wobbly. 

Let the cheese cake cool down in the pan for 30 minutes and then take them out of the pan. Let them cool for another 30 minutes  and the place them in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours to set. 

Chocolate ganache filling:

Once the mini cheese cake are set and chilled, start making the ganache. Heat the double cream in a pan on medium low heat. As soon as the cream starts simmering (not boiling) remove it from heat and pour it over the semi-sweet chocolate chips. Set aside for 3-4 minutes. Then take a spoon and whisk the mixture till the chocolate and cream are mixed together completely. 

Caramel topping :

Add brown sugar, double cream and unsalted butter in a pan on medium heat. Whisk till all melted and smooth. Let the sauce simmer on medium heat.

After 3-4 minutes the caramel sauce will thicken and that's when you remove the pan from the heat and set aside. 

To serve:

To assemble the mini cheesecake, take them out from the refrigerator and spoon the chocolate ganache in the center of each cheese cake.

Drizzle some caramel sauce and then place a few chopped snickers pieces on top. 

Keep the cheese cake refrigerated. 





Saturday 21 March 2015

Tomyam Fried Mee Hoon


Ingredients:
  • mee hoon serving 4, soaked in water until tender, drain and set aside 
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • chicken breast, sliced 
  • carrot, shredded
  • bean sprout
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten with a dash of fish sauce
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
Sauce:
  • 21/2 tbsp tomyam paste
  • 2 tbsp light soya sauce 
  • dash of salt
  • 200ml water
Garnish:
  • chopped spring onion
Method:

Fried the egg into an omelet and let it cook down then sliced thinly and set aside.

Sauté onions until fragrant. Then add the tomyam paste & kaffir lime leaves. Continue stirring on low fire until aromatic.  Add the chicken meat and stir fry until the chicken cooked. Then add the water & let it boiled.

Add the mee hoon and carrots. Stir to combine well. Cook until the mee hoon turns tender & the mee hoon has soaked up the water & looks dry. Add the beansprout & mix well for another 3 minutes.

Dish the mee hoon into a serving plate. Garnish with sliced egg and spring onion. Serve hot immediately 





Sunday 15 March 2015

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies


How can anyone not loving peanut butter. These are fantastic and easy to make. Soooo soft and chewy !  This was a perfectly soft, not-overly sweet peanut butter cookie. 

Ingredients:
  • 225g margarine, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 250g peanut butter
  • 2 eggs
  • 11/2 cups plain flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda 
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups quick cooking oats
Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a large bowl, cream together margarine, brown sugar, white sugar, and peanut butter until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in the oats until just combined. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, or until just light brown. Don't over-bake. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Saturday 7 March 2015

Lemon curd and orange parfait


This is not just a posh ice cream, it's a parfait by Nigel Slater made using lemon curd. I used  a shop-bought jar lemon curd as I'm too lazy to make one myself . However my meringue are home-made, they were nice and mallowy in the centre and crunchy on the outside, this added to the overall loveliness of the finished parfait.  You could used ready made meringue from shop too.

Ingredients:
  • 600ml whipping or double cream
  • 200g meringues
  • 8 heaping tbsp lemon curd
  • grated zest of 1 orange
You need a cake tin or plastic freezer box approximately 24cm x 12cm x 7cm deep, lined loosely with kitchen film.

Pour the cream into a chilled mixing bowl and whisk until soft and thick. 

Crumble the meringue into the cream.  Add the lemon curd then  grate in the orange zest (taking care not to include any white pith). Stir gently to incorporate the meringue, curd and zest into the cream. Do not overmix. 

Pour the mixture into the lined container, cover with a piece of kitchen film and put in the freezer until set. Depending on the temperature of your freezer, this will take about 4 hours. You can keep it frozen for several days but you should remove it from the freezer a good 30 minutes or so before serving.

To serve, unmould the parfait and cut into thick, crumbly slices