Cheese Tart 芝士塔

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pastry shells

This is the third Sunday in a row that I bake tarts. Nothing complicated, just a few more steps comparing to baking cupcakes/ cake. And I found myself really enjoying shaping the tart tin with the dough.

The original recipe is actually meant for Blueberry Cheese Tart, but I don’t have the blueberry filling nor blueberry jam on hand so I substitute it with strawberry jam and Nutella (who will say no to nutella?). This is actually the second recipe I find as there’s minimum leftover, only one egg white. I hearts recipe with minimum leftover.
Why I decided to make these was also because there’s leftover whipping cream from the Marble Cheesecake.

somehow this look like a panda

What you need (seen at Yummy Little Cooks)

For the crust
250g flour
150g butter
2tbsp sugar
1 egg yolk
40g cold water (i used around 30g as the dough got too sticky)

Method for the crust
1. Mix sifted flour with sugar
2. Add butter and mix till crumbly
3. Add egg yolk and mix again
4. Add cold water and mix to form dough
5. Shape dough into a ball and press flat
6. Wrap with cling film and rest in the fridge for 30mins

For the cheese filling
(A)
250g cream cheese
50g sugar
25g butter
(B)
1 egg
(C)
25g whipping cream
(D)
20g flour

Some filling/ jam of your choice

Method for the cheese filling
1. Cream (A) till light and smooth
2. Add in (B) and cream till well blended
3. Add in (C) and mix till well combined
4. Add in (D) and mix till well incorporated. Set aside.

To assemble
1. Press crust dough into tart tin and prick some hole onto the base. Bake in preheated oven at 180degree C for 12 to 15min, or until lightly golden brown. Leave to cool
2. Put some filling into baked pastry shells
3. Top with cheese filling
4. Place some filling on top and swirl into marble effect or make any pattern that you like
5. Return to bake at 200degree C for 10 to 15min.

What can I say? These tarts looks so pretty! About the Strawberry Cheese Tart first, the jam was on the sweet side, not the brand I normally get but it’s what in the fridge. The sweetness covered the taste of the cheese, but easily solve by using another brand of jam. No worries.Nutella Cheese Tart. It was not because of Nutella that I prefer this, but it was because it doesn’t overpower the taste of the cheese filling. I still can taste that slight sourness from the cheese.

I think I prefer this dough and crust as compared to the Coconut Tart. It’s easier to handle and easier for measurement. Win-win situation. Filling wise, the spongy cheese filling is a winner. Not overpowering in taste of cheese so majority will be able to accept this cheese filling tart.

Little enjoyment in life

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Marble Cheesecake (no-bake)

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marble cheesecake

It’s the end of September again. Which means, Mr Boyfriend is aging! Last year, I did a Tiramisu for his special day. This year, I felt bad about not able to celebrate his special day specially, I asked Mr Boyfriend what cake he wants this year. Oreo cheesecake was his first choice, but it wasn’t convenient for me to get the missing main ingredient – Oreo. So he chosen Marble Cheesecake.

I searched high and low and there’s no recipe for a no-bake Marble Cheesecake! O yes, I hadn’t gotten the courage to try a bake cheesecake. Much less for a special celebration, lets not risk it. I found a recipe from Anncoo Journal and modified the layering to get the marble effect. At least I managed to fulfill this little request from Mr Boyfriend.

What you need (see at Anncoo Journal)

For the base
120g biscuit crumbs (i used digestive biscuit)
30g ground hazelnut (i used ground almond)
130g melted butter

For the cheese filling
375g cream cheese (room temperature)
80g icing sugar (sifted)
2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Lemon zest from one lemon
1tbsp chocolate paste
15g gelatin powder + 3tbsp water (soak for a few mins and double boil to melt the gelatin powder)
400g fresh topping cream (i use whipping cream)

Method for base
1. Grease a 9” round spring-form cake tin (i used a 8” square tin)
2. Mix biscuit crumbs and ground hazelnut together, add in melted butter
3. Use hand to mix biscuit crumbs mixture and form it to a dough
4. Press mixtures at the base of the cake tin
5. Put cake tin in the fridge for later use

Method for cheese filling
1. Whip cream till peak form (not too stiff) and put in fridge for later use
2. Prepare gelatin and cool
3. Beat cream cheese, lemon zest and icing sugar till thick and smooth
4. Slowly add liquid gelatin to cream cheese, follow by lemon juice, mix well
5. Use hand whisk to mix in whipped cream, mix well
6. Mix 40% of the cheese mixture with chocolate paste
7. Pour some plain cream cheese into the prepared cake tin, followed by chocolate cream cheese, and alternate till finished
8. Use a toothpick to swirl the mixture for marble effect
9. Smooth the surface and chill for at least 4hours
10. Decorate as desire or eat plain

Like most no-bake cheesecake, it’s almost fail-proof. Texture is creamy and taste is rich in cheese. Can’t really taste the chocolate though. It’s one that Mr Boyfriend enjoys so I have no complaint. If you like more solid texture, can try placing the cheesecake in the freezer for an hour or so. Kinda like ice cream cake texture.

It is likely the most plain looking birthday cake on earth, but it was filled with lots of love. Nothing can beat that.

The least I can do for the special someone

Coconut Tart 椰丝塔

After my first tart last week, I went ahead and bought 2 dozens of smaller tart tin. And I was very excited to use the new tart tins for Coconut Tart. Coconut cake/ cookie had always been my mum’s favorite and the last time we had Coconut Tart was in Hong Kong. So here I go…

Searched online and saw this Coconut Tart recipe at Hearty Bakes. And the best thing? There’s no need to use the mixer – less washing to do. And unlike egg tart, need to half-bake the tart base slightly before adding in the coconut filling and continue baking. As a second time with tart making, I find the shaping of the dough easier as compared to the first time. Practice makes perfect.

What you need (seen at Hearty Bakes, from Tarts my heart Heart of romance)

For the base
250g flour
15g milk powder
60g sugar
170g butter
40g egg (slightly less than an egg)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (i omit)

For the filling
40g butter
80ml water
80g dessicated coconut
160g sugar
2 eggs
1tsp baking powder
1tsp flour
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (i omit)
150-200ml evaporated milk (i used 150ml)

Some glazed cherries for topping (optional)

Method for the base
1. Combine flour, milk powder and sugar. Rub in butter until mixture resemble bread crumbs. Add in beaten egg gradually, follow by vanilla essence. Knead to form dough.
2. Wrap dough with plastic wrap and rest in fridge for half an hour or ready to use
3. Roll out dough  and place into tart mould. Touch some flour on both thumbs and press the dough onto the tart mould. Trim off edges for excess.
4. Half bake the tartlets in preheated oven at 180degree C for 10-15mins

Method for the filling
1. Melt butter with water (i used water bath method), pour into mixing bowl. Combine with remaining ingredients, mix until blended.
2. Spoon filling into the half baked tart cases and decorate with cherry
3. Baking in preheated oven at 175degree C for 25-30 mins (till crust and filling turns slightly golden brown)
4. Cool and remove from mould.

Mum loves this! The happiest thing was she commented it tasted like the one we had at Hong Kong. It was enough for me. But silly me, forgotten to add in the eggs for the coconut filling while doing the first half of the baking. Lucky me, not much harm done, both trays taste as good! That’s one of the luckiest thing on earth.The tart base is slightly thicker and hold itself better than the base of the egg tart. And slightly sweeter too. Filling-wise, it’s really full of coconut, that’s a good reason for more than half a packet of dessicated coconut! And it’s also moist enough to finish one without having any drinks. But some might find it a bit sweet, so I suggest having it with coffee or tea. Would be prefect. Otherwise, you can consider reducing the sugar use for the filling.

Would I make this again? Definitely yes, especially since my mum loves it.

Practice makes prefect

Coca-Cola Cherry

I was cheated into drinking this – Coca-Cola Cherry.

Mr Boyfriend bought it for me but I never thought of drinking it any time soon as it’s rather expensive. So one fine day, he went to open it without me knowing. And I didn’t suspect anything when he brought the cup to me as the color is the same as the normal coke we get locally.

That explained the amount of drink left for photo taking.

But I must say the taste is really interesting. It’s like mixing cherry syrup into normal coke. Not very hard to describe as the taste is rather distinct.

Cost-wise, it is slightly more expensive than Coca-Cola Ambasa which Mr Boyfriend got both at the same Korean Supermarket in town. This is definitely a very interesting drink from Coca-Cola.

Seriously, why doesn’t Singapore sells such drinks and we have to get it as an imported product which cost much more…

Le Le Xiao Long Bao (Pork) 乐乐小笼包 （猪肉）

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xiao long bao

Vinegar with thinly sliced ginger are the best when it goes with Chinese dumplings. Somehow, as years go by, I had started taking raw ginger because of Chinese dumplings. I used to enjoy my Chinese dumplings with vinegar, but now, I’m starting to love the ginger too.

Mr Boyfriend bought this frozen Xiao Long Bao (小笼包) from NTUC not long ago and I wasn’t very enthu about making it at home because there’s no vinegar at my house. Yes, not a bottle of vinegar ever exist at my house. So because of Le Le Xiao Long Bao, Mr Boyfriend went to bought a bottle of black vinegar.The vinegar we had to go along was from Tiger Brand and there’s a sticker on it saying that it’s meant for dumpling, dry noodle and shark fin soup (please please no shark fin soup, i’m anti-eating-shark-fin).

To be true, I was pretty worry when I open the packet as some frozen dumplings will actually stick to each other and thus, unable to separate them unless you want to leave one of it with a hole in the skin. And being Xiao Long Bao-s, it’s very important that there’s no hole so that the ‘soup’ which is the essence is retain inside. And surprisingly, there’s no such incident. There’s 15 pleasant looking individuals in the packet.

I did both steaming and frying to them. Using a non-stick flat wok, pour some water (to steam) to cover the whole wok and add some oil (to fry) to it. Next place the Xiao Long Bao-s in, cover the wok and cook it on medium / low fire. Once all the water evaporated, the sound will change and let the oil fry the base of the Xiao Long Bao-s slightly. This method was caught by an auntie who sells pan-fry dumplings.

It took me around 10mins and we had a wok-ful of Xiao Long Bao-s to enjoy with the vinegar and ginger.

As a frozen product, I wasn’t expecting a lot of soup/ juice in the Xiao Long Bao-s. But there was! It’s enough to make me a happy girl.

The skin was not overly thick too. The top part where they ‘close’ the Xiao Long Bao is actually thinner than the one I had one of the outlet of Crystal Jade. But sadly, I was a bit disappointed with the minced meat filling inside. There was almost no texture to speak off. A bit too soft and there’s lots of fats in it. I think that’s the only thing lacking for this frozen product.  Taste-wise it’s alright. Not extremely tasty and not unacceptable, but just no wow-factor to it. But keeping in mind it’s actually a frozen product, it’s pretty worth getting a packet just in case you have the craving for it.

Will I buy this again? Likely. It will still be a pleasure to have this with ginger and vinegar at the comfort of my home.

Updated 27 Sep 12: i tried the Chicken Xiao Long Bao and the filling is much much better. more texture and not mashed like the Pork Xiao Long Bao. Recommended.