Rum & Raisin Chocolate Cheesecake

I made these yummies for a Masak-Masak challenge. The challenge was to cook/bake/create something that includes the following ingredients: cream cheese, chocolate and a fruit.

I found the following recipe after a quick google and modified it slightly. I love the idea of these cheesecakes because they are in individual portions, and the recipe only requires a 250g block of cream cheese. Most cheesecake recipes require 2 blocks of cream cheese to put into a springform pan. As I'm still in a baking doldrum, I'm rather lazy to dust out the springform for baking. *g*

Rum & Raisin Chocolate Cheesecake

Making the Rum and Raisin:

1. Soak 95g (1/2 cup) of raisins in 80ml (or 1/3 cup) rum in a covered bowl for at least 6 hours or overnight. I soaked the raisins for a few days because after I began the recipe, I got lazy to continue it. *g*
   
2. To use, separate the raisins from the liquid. Keep the liquid for the cheesecake.

Ingredients for the cheesecake:

• Cooking spray, to grease muffin tin
  
• 200g plain chocolate biscuits
  
• 60ml (1/4 cup) light corn syrup/golden syrup
  
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 tsp powdered gelatine
• liquid from Rum & Raisin
  
• 200ml carton whipping cream
  
• 250g Philadelphia cream cheese, at room temperature
• 80g (1/2 cup) icing sugar mixture, sifted
• 150g 70% dark chocolate, melted in microwave
• raisins from Rum & Raisin
  

Method

1. Spray lightly, twelve 80ml (1/3 cup) muffin pans to grease. These are the usual sized cupcake pans you'd use for making cupcakes. The recipe calls for lining the bases and sides with non-stick baking paper, but being lazy, I just lined it with cupcake liners.
   
2. Use a food processor and process the chocolate biscuits until they are fine. In a bowl, add corn syrup and butter to the biscuits. Stir until well combined. I weighed the mix and then divided the mix equally into 12 portions. Each portion is put into the cupcake liners and pressed down with the base of a small glass. Place the muffin pan in the fridge until required.
3. Put the liquid from the rum & raisin in a small bowl and heat it in a microwave for 30-45 seconds on high. Add the gelatine and stir with a fork until it dissolves. If the gelatine doesn't dissolve, send it back to the microwave for another 10 seconds and stir again until most of the gelatine dissolves. Set it aside for 5 minutes to cool to room temperature.
4. In a mixing bowl, use a wooden spoon to beat the cream cheese and sifted icing sugar until smooth. Add the cooled rum mixture, melted chocolate and raisins to the cream cheese mixture and beat until well combined.
5. Use an electric beater to whisk the cream in a bowl until soft peaks form.
6. Then, using a large metal spoon, gently fold in the whipped cream into the chocolate cream cheese mixture until they are all combined.
7. Spoon the filling evenly among the muffin pans. Gently tap the pans on the bench and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4 hours or until set.
8. Use a skewer to loosen the cheesecakes from the muffin pan. You can either leave the cupcake liner on or not, depending on your preference.

The original recipe calls for extra 50g of melted chocolate to drizzle on the cheesecake, but I've simplified it with just a maraschino cherry on the cheesecake for a cheerful look. And this is the result!

Happy Father's Day, Noel!

Rainbow Cookie

I teach Sunday School and sometimes, baked goods play a role in my lessons. Since I was archiving some of my lessons on the Sunday School blog, I thought to share these recipes here too. :)




This one is very simple to make, since there really isn't a need to make multiple cookies - just a huge one or two would do. ;)

I got this recipe from here.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 egg
• Food coloring-with red, blue and yellow you can make all the other colors.

1. Mix sugar, butter, egg and vanilla. Add flour and mix well.
2. Divide dough into six balls.
3. Add a different food coloring to each ball.
4. Roll each ball in a snake shape onto a floured surface. (I put the dough into a cookie press and formed a long line with it. The dough is very soft because of the butter, so if you're rolling, put it in the fridge to harden first before doing so.)
5. Arch snake shape and press onto cookie sheet.
6. Add other snake shapes until the rainbow is formed. Red on the outermost, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo (bluish-purple), and Violet (reddish-purple).
7. Bake at 180 deg Celsius for about 8-15 minutes.

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Uses:

1. Use the cookie in a lesson on God's Promise. (It goes great with Hillsong's Kids' "Rainbow" as an object lesson.)
2. "Taste and see that the Lord is Good!" Ps 34:8
3. Use the cookie in a lesson on sharing (since the cookie has to be broken into pieces to share.)

Halo 3 Cake; Instant Chocolate Ganache

Ethan wanted a Halo 3 birthday cake for his birthday. I almost fainted thinking about how to recreate the Halo 3 look - space, the main character etc.

In an inspired move though, I decided to fashion the cake on Noel's Halo 3 commemorative t-shirt, which he got as one of the first persons in Singapore to get the game (See how fanatic my boys are about the Halo franchise? *winks*). Also, since Noel's birthday is also in December, I figured I could make 2 boys very happy with one cake.

I baked 3 8-inch square cakes using my chocolate cupcake recipe. I wanted a dense, chocolatey texture for the cake and I love how moist my chocolate cupcakes remained days after baking it. I had to extend the baking time to about 40 minutes each cake. I then sliced the cake in the middle to get 6 squares, in order to get 3 layers of cake.

Next, I slather a layer of "instant" choc ganache to sandwich the layers together, with the final layer a mix of canned dark cherries and choc ganache:


In between layers, I brush the cake with the liquid from the canned cherries mixed in with a little rum (not enough to make drunk kids... it's a kids' cake after all), moistening the cake further. *decadence...sighs* When the 3 layers are done, this is what a slice of the cross-section looks like:

The rectangle cake is then cut into shape. I sliced the bottom square into 2 smaller rectangles, and half one of that rectangle for sleeves:

I shaped a collar and the sleeves, and then covered the entire cake with the choc ganache.

After that, I covered the entire cake with fondant:

After that, I added the collar and sleeve details:

I printed out the Halo 3 logo from the Net, and then cut it out from the blue fondant:

Here's the final product:

I used the leftover fondant to cover the cake base and voila! Cake done!

Here's the cake inspiration:

And the cake close up:

I figured in total, I used about 4 Cadbury 70% Cocoa choc bars just for the ganache filling and frosting below the fondant layer. For the ganache, I did a lot of research to find a simple recipe. I struck gold with this amazingly simple 2-ingredient-2-step method to making the most versatile chocolate ganache from this site.

Ingredients:
170g Dark Chocolate (I used the Cadbury Old Gold 70% Cocoa)
1 can Nestle Cream Pure Dairy Sterlised Cream

Method:
1. Heat the choc in a microwave oven at short bursts of 20 sec at med heat until all the choc is melted. Be careful not to burn the choc.
2. Pour the can of cream into the melted choc and mix well until the two ingredients are incorporated.

Done!

The choc ganache is pliable and holds itself well in our warm weather. Excess ganache can be stored in the fridge and warmed in the microwave before use.

Whilst making the cake, Edna hid in a corner and stole bits of fondant to eat... I finally wisen up when I saw little finger pinches from the fondant pile. *grins*

Banana Balls or Jemput Jemput Pisang or Cekodok Pisang

The hubby had a craving for banana balls... and I had over-ripe bananas with a wish to be made into anything other than banana cake or remaining a fruit. So after a thorough search online for banana balls, I finally found it in Mama Fa Mi's fotopages.

I've modified her recipe a little, especially since the bananas I had were very sweet and the amount was way more than her 3 ripe bananas. That said, this is really a recipe for the impatient cook - it takes less than 5 minutes to get the preparation done and all it takes is to fry up the banana balls.


Ingredients:
350g ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tbsp milk powder
3/4 tsp Baking powder
2 tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
Oil for frying

Method:
1. Sift flour, baking powder and milk powder.
2. Mix the mashed banana, sugar and salt well.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mix. Make sure that the overall mixture is neither too dry nor too wet.


4. Heat the oil and drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into it. Once the batter balloons and turns a golden brown, scoop it up and drain it well.


5. Enjoy!


It's a heavenly taste - wonderful bite of banana, soft, yet chewy in texture. And it I mention that it's so simple to make? *g*

Homemade Mayonnaise

In my previous post, I mentioned homemade mayonnaise. And here's how to make it:

Ingredients:
2 egg yolks
1 tbl fresh lemon juice
1 tbl white vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sugar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil mix (I use 3/4 cup olive oil and 3/4 cup canola oil, but it's really up to you. If you find the scent of the olive oil a little heavy, you can use more canola oil. I've not tried this recipe with other oils like soya bean or corn oil, but I suppose those oils might add their own flavour into the mayo, so you can experiment to get the flavour you like.)

Method:
1. In the mixer, beat the yolks, lemon juice, vinegar, salt, sugar and Dijon mustard.
2. Whilst the mixer is beating the above ingredients, drizzle a teaspoonful of the vegetable oil into the mixer at intervals of 5 to 10 seconds. This is to allow the oil to incorporate into the yolk to from an emulsion.

(Here is a whole aside into Science which you can teach your kids - and I do since Ethan's being homeschooled. *winks* An emulsion is a mixture of two liquids that normally can't be combined, eg oil and water or here, vinegar/lemon juice and oil. Emulsifying is done by slowly adding one ingredient to another while simultaneously mixing rapidly, which disperses and suspends tiny droplets of one liquid through another.

However, the two liquids would quickly separate again unless an emulsifier is added to set and stabilise the mixture. Eggs and gelatin are among the foods that contain emulsifiers, and in mayonnaise, the emulsifier is the lecithin in egg yolk.

Emulsification is used in making medicine, and in making various items like paint, make-up, detergents and explosive. Thus concludes this post's Science lesson.)

3. Once you get a pasty mixture from your oil addition, you can add the oil in larger amount, making sure that the mixture remains an emulsion.

4. Once all the oil is incorporated, just put your mayonnaise into a jar and you're done!


For those of you worried about using raw egg yolk in cooking for fear of salmonella, make sure that the egg shell is washed before use. The egg itself doesn't contain the salmonella germs, which are actually found in fecal matter - on the outside of the egg or on unwashed hands. Therefore, wash your eggs in a mild bleach solution if you're worried (and keep those hands clean!), to kill those salmonella germs. Hey, now the Science lesson is really over! *grins*

Welcome to McBrenda's!

Healthy hamburgers are an oxymoron? Not necessarily so! *grins* Homemade burgers are not only delicious, they are a chockful of healthy veggies, proteins and carbohydrates. Besides, you're almost guaranteed an empty plate after the kids have sat at the dinner table. *winks*


McBrenda's Burgers
Ingredients for Beef Patty:
500g lean minced beef
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 egg yolk
1 dash dried oregano (and other dried spices for taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together.
2. Weigh the entire mixture and divide the amount to get your desired number of patties. This ensures that not only will you get the right number of patties for the number of hamburger buns you bought, but also that each patty is equal in weight... which help you avoid all those "But mmmmuuuum, his patty is bigger than mine!" complaints. heh.
3. Pat the patties into shape and put it in the fridge for about half an hour for the flavours to mingle, and for the patties to retain its shape. If you'd like to freeze the patties, do so by all means - just make sure to separate the patties by sandwiching them between plastic bags. When you want to use them, just thaw them out before cooking.

4. To cook them in the oven, pre-heat the oven to 200 deg Celsius. Put your patties on a rack and grill them to perfection... which takes about 10 to 15 minutes depending on how well-done you like your patties. (Warning: Be careful not to flip the patties too early, otherwise they might break up. If you do feel the need to flip the patties - which I don't - do it at the last minute and let the oven grill it on the other side for a minute or two.)


5. Assemble the burger. Make that a two-all-beef-very-special-sauce-lettuce-cheese-pickles-onions-on-a-sesame-seed-bun... erm... well, it helps, but you can put the usual suspects into the burger - cheese, lettuce and onions. I use my homemade mayonnaise to hold the patties etc to the bun. Serve with homemade baked potato wedges. *grins*

The BE BLESSED Brownie

Added on 4 Nov:
This was my first bake after my long pregnancy anti-baking (think antithesis of pregnancy craving). Edna's at that age where all cakes are birthday cakes, and all birthday cakes are hers. And what is a birthday cake without a candle? *winks*

As always, this brownie is absolutely chocolaty and aromatic. It's just so simple to bake too!


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On request, my Brownie recipe, which originated from allrecipes.com. *grins*

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups white sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans/almonds/macadamia/walnuts
3/4 cup melted butter
4 eggs

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Grease and flour a 9x13inch baking pan.
3. Mix together flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, sugar and salt. Stir to blend.
4. Mix in 3/4 cup cooled melted butter and 4 eggs.  Make sure the butter is cooled because you really don't want to have scrambled eggs in your brownie. ;P
5. Mix thoroughly and add in the chopped nuts.
6. Spread the batter evenly into prepared baking pan.
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven.
8. Cool completely in pan before cutting into 2 inch squares.


I suppose the best thing about this recipe, apart from the yummy factor, is how fast it is to bake it. This is one of those perfect, welcomed dishes when there is a potluck to attend. *grins*

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(19/06/2011) Edited to add:
This brownie can be a perfect pre-bake gift for a friend.
1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
2. In a dry and clean glass jar, pour sugar and press down firmly.
3. Add cocoa powder and press down firmly.
4. Pour in chopped nuts, making sure they are evenly layered in the jar.
5. Top off with the flour mix.
6. Seal the jar.

Make a card with the following instructions to attach to the jar:
=================================================================
The BE BLESSED Brownie

You'll need:
An oven. A 9x13 inch pan. 4 eggs. 3/4 cup butter. A large spoon.


Break the seal on the mix and empty the mix into a large bowl.
Engage the ingredients:  Use your hands to mix thoroughly!


Beat 4 eggs lightly, and together with 3/4 cup of cooled melted butter, add them into the mix.
Large spoon in hand, mix up everything so that it's well mixed.
Ensure the pan is greased, and spread the batter into it.
Set the oven to preheat at 180 deg C, and bake for 30 minutes or until done.
Simply allow the brownie to cool in pan before cutting into 2 inch squares.
Every square of warm brownie, serve with scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Delight in the chocolately goodness of the brownie with family and friends!