Rocky road cheesecake

Marshmallow heaven. This rocky road cheesecake is simple and delicious. 

Ingredients:

Rocky road base:

• 200g milk chocolate, melted
• 50g digestive biscuits, broken into pieces
• 50g mini marshmallows

Filling:

• 280g Philadelphia cream cheese
• 150g marshmallows
• 180g double cream, lightly whipped

Topping

• 8 to 10 marshmallows 

Method:

For rocky road base: Mix together all of the base ingredients and pour into a greased and lined 20cm Spring form cake tin, smoothing into an even layer with the back of a spoon. Leave in the fridge to set while you make the filling.

For the cheese filling:  Beat the cream cheese with a wooden spoon to loosen the texture. Heat the marshmallows in a microwave in 10 second burst until they started to melt and go goes, stir briefly and repeat until fully melted. Pour this mixture into the cream cheese mixture and fold until it's just mixed. Fold in the whipped cream and pour the mixture onto the base, smoothing out with a spatula or the back of a spoon till flat. Put in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours. 

Once the cake is set, carefully remove from the tin and place onto a plate. Toast eight to ten marshmallows on skewers over a gas hob or with a blowtorch and place in a circle around the cake.

Orange chicken

This is more popular in America than UK. 

Ingredients:

• 2 large pieces of chicken breast, cut into bite-sized cubes
• 2 tsp cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Oil for deep frying 
• Salt & sugar to taste
• Chopped spring onions, for garnishing 
• White toasted sesame seeds, for garnishing
• Orange sauce 

For frying batter:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup plain flour
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup cold ice water 
• 1/2 tbsp cooking oil
• Pinch of salt

For orange sauce:

• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/2 tsp zest of orange zest
• 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 5 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cider vinegar 
• 2 tsp Chinese rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp cornstarch 

Method:

In a bowl, mix in all the orange sauce ingredients. Set aside.

To make the frying batter: In a large bowl, whisk egg and mix in the rest of the frying batter ingredients until batter is smooth. Drop in the chicken cubes, mix well and set aside.

Heat up a wok with deep frying oil. Gently drop in the battered chicken cubes, one by one, making sure it is spread out to prevent sticking. Fry until the colour changes to golden brown and completely cooked. Dish out and drain on paper towels. 

Heat up the wok over medium high heat with 2 tsp of cooking oil. Stir fry garlic until fragrant. Gently  pour in the orange sauce mixture, stir and bring it to a light simmer. Add additional seasoning to taste; ie, water if the sauce is too thick, salt, sugar, etc. 

Toss in the deep fry chicken, stir well until sauces all absorbed and lightly thickened up. Dish out and ready to serve with hot steamed rice. Garnish with chopped spring onions and sesame seed. 

Eggless Mango Mousse Cake

Decided to make this cake that suitable for vegan therefore I decided to use the eggless chocolate cake. This cake is very simple to put together. 

Ingredients: 

For the eggless chocolate cake:

• 11/2 cup plain flour
• 1 cup castor sugar
• 4 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp coffee (optional)

For the mango mousse:

• 2 cups mango puree
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 2 tbsp sugar, add more or less depending on the sweetness of the mango 
• 4 tbsp gelatin soaked with 4 tbsp water or 3 tsp agar agar soaked in 3 tbsp water

Method:

For the chocolate cake:

Pre heat the oven to 180°C/160°C for fan oven. Grease and line a 9" pan. 

Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and sieve twice. Set aside. Add the coffee powder to the water and mix well. Set aside.

Beat the sugar and oil. Add the lemon juice/vinegar and vanilla extract and beat again. 

Sift in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold gently along with the coffee mix. Once everything is mixed well, pour into the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. 

Test with skewer or tooth pick in about 30 minutes into the baking, if it comes out clean then the cake is done. Remove and cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn into a cooling rack to cool completely. 

For the mango mousse:

Soak gelatin in water, let it bloom for 5 minutes. Then microwave for 30 seconds. Set the gelatin aside to allow the gelatin to cool completely. If using agar agar add it to warm water and heat it up and stir for about a minute or until it becomes clear. 

Once the gelatin is cool, add to the mango puree and mix well. Set aside. 

Remove the base of a springform pan and set the ring on your serving platter or a cake board. Use parchment paper to build the side if the ring will be lower than the cake.

Place the cooled cake inside the ring. Soak cake with the sugar syrup**and set aside.

Whip the cream in high speed until it forms stiff peaks. Now fold in the mango puree and gelatin mixture with the whipped cream. Mix well.

Add the mango mousse over the cake and spread well using a spatula or spoon. Cling wrap and allow to set in the refrigerator for at least  4 hours. 

For the mango glaze:

• 1/2 cup mango puree
• 2 tsp gelatin or 11/2 tsp agar agar
• 3 tbsp water

Once the mousse is set, prepare the glaze.

Soak the gelatin or agar agar in 3 tbsp of water and allow to bloom for 5 minutes. Then heat in a microwave for 30 seconds. Allow to cool completely. If using agar agar, add it to warm water and heat it up for a minute or until it becomes clear. Keep stirring to avoid it form clumping. 

Bounce the gelatin/agar agar has cooled down, mix in the mango puree. Mix well. Pour over the set mousse and spread lightly.

Put the cake back in the refrigerator until the glaze sets completely. Once set remove the springform ring and slowly remove the parchment paper.

Slice and enjoy. 👍

** to make the sugar syrup, add 3 tbsp sugar to 1 cup water, boil it and cool completely.