Sweet Cherry Cheesecake

The best thing happened to me in summer is cherry!! I always love them, because I came from tropical country and they are always too expensive, it's just luxury.
This year summer is long and warm. And we are quite lucky to have good quality cherries grow in central Otago, South island and having them go on sale in supermarket. Yay!!
Having them too much in the fridge means making cheesecake is a good idea to consume them, except the calories part. Ooopps!! I don't care. :)
Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 cups sweet cherries (about 450g)
• 1 1/4 cups cracker crumbs ( I use oat & wholemeal biscuits)
• 80g melted butter
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 500g cream cheese, soften
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Method:

1. Combine biscuits crumbs with melted butter. Press into bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Refrigerate.
2. Wash and pit cherries. Place cherries above the biscuits crumbs, evenly.
3. In large bowl, beat the soften cream cheese with electric mixer until light,  add sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and almond extract beat until smooth and fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time, blending until smooth (do not over beat or the cake will crack during baking).
5. Pour the batter into prepared crust and cherries gently. Baked at 170C for 45mins (the center of the cake might still a little wobbly, but it will set after cool down).
6. Turn oven off and let the cheesecake stand in oven with the door ajar.
7. Remove and refrigerate cake overnight.

Sweet Cherries Sauce:
wash 2 cups fresh cherries, halves and pitted
a dash of salt
1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot starch or cornstarch
1 cup of cold water
1 tbsp of lemon juice
- combine everything together except the cherries in a pot, cook over heat, stir constantly until thickened. Add cherries and cook for another 3-5 mins. Wait till cool and pour over chilled cheesecake.

Lemon Poppy Seeds Butter Cake

The original recipe is orange and chocolate chip cake and it's half of what I made here. I increased the batter because I have a 9 inch cake ring instead of small mini loaves pans. So I end up having a big cake and 5 muffin size cakes. :)
I didn't make any icing for it. Generally I will try to cut down the sugar in my cake. But with this cake, you could squeeze the lemon juice (the naked lemon that we have scrap off it's skin) and add a couple tablespoon of sugar and heat it up to make a lemon syrup and brush it on top of the cake when it just come out from the oven. Yum~


Adapted from recipes+, August 2010 issue 24 (mini Jaffa loaves)
Makes 1 9inch round cake and 5 muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 whole finely grated lemon zest
• 1 3/4 cup fine brown sugar
• 300g butter (room temperature)
• 3 cups self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp poppy seeds
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 cup milk (I use organic unsweetened soy milk here)

Method:

1. Butter and lightly flour your cake pan, line the base with baking paper.
2. Preheat oven to 160C/140C fan forced.
3. Beat the butter on low speed for 2 minutes and add brown sugar. Turn the speed to medium speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Then, add eggs one at a time and continue beating. (Beat each of the egg about 1 min before adding the next). Add in lemon zest and vanilla essence.
4. Turn the speed to low before adding the flour. Add flour and milk alternately for 4 times. Add in poppy seeds. Continue to use low speed to beat the batter until well blended and smooth. Transfer batter into the pan (half full of the cake pan). The rest of the batter can scoop into muffin cups.
5. Place on the pan in the center rack of preheat oven and bake at 50mins-1hr or until a cake tester comes out dry. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before removing from pans.

p/s: Muffin size cake cook faster, test the doneness about 20 mins after you baked in the oven. If the skewer comes out clean, remove from the oven and continue to bake the 9 inch round cake.

Green Tea Kasutera (Castella) Cake

I came across this cake by reading Lily's blog. I am always curious to try out different methods to bake a cake. This I mean usually I bake butter cake, which you beat the butter and sugar first and gradually add in other ingredients.
Kasutera cake is something I had before but I forgot how it taste like. Simply because usually you only get them as a gift from someone visited Japan.
In my version of this cake, I do not have macha powder (green tea powder), so I use 2 Japanese green tea bag and grind them into very fine powder, and sift them. It's kind of brown instead of green, because I don't use any color for the cake. and I find it taste better after the second day, because the cake will become more moist.

Ingredients :-

• 4 large eggs
• 2 yolks
• 4 1/2 tbsp fine brown sugar
• 3/4 cup bread flour (high grade flour)
• 1 tbsp green tea powder (I use 2 green tea bags, grind)
• 1 tbsp fine brown sugar
  
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp oil
• Sugar for sprinkling

Glaze :

• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp hot water

Method :-

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F, or 150°C / 300°F if you're using a convection oven.
2. Cut the parchment paper so that it's large enough to fit the bottom and sides of the cake pan with a little excess. Fold it in until it completely covers the bottom and sides, leaving a it hanging over. (To make it stick to the pan, smear a little butter or shortening on the pan first.) Sprinkle a little sugar over the bottom, on top of the paper.
3. Fill the pot with water and bring to a boil, then turn to small heat.
   
4. Mix the milk and the 4tbsp of honey together, you may need to heat up the mixture for a few seconds in the microwave.
5. Double sieve the flour, green tea powder, salt and 1 tbsp fine brown sugar.
6. Whisk eggs, egg yolks and sugar in the warm bowl sitting over the pot of simmering water.
7. Check the temperature of the mixture, you want to get the mixture between 30C. Keep whisking and checking the temperature. If it's becomes too hot, remove and whisk outside and return to the pot when it cools down.
8. Keep beating about 8-10 mins until the mixtures becomes thick and shinny.
9. Whisk in the milk and honey mixture. Add in flour with hand whisk a tablespoon at a time. Do it as quickly as possible, to prevent the foams collapse.
10. Place oil in a medium bowl and spoon in a few spoonful of batter and fold together. When this is well blended, fold this mixture into the main batter.
11. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
12. Baked for 40 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean.
13. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, brush the top with the honey-water mixture.
14. When the cake is cool enough to handle but still warm, lift out from the pan with paper and all, fold the paper to cover the cake. And put into plastic bag. Seal the bag and put into the refrigerator to cool the cake down.
15. To serve, use very sharp knife to make clean cuts.
    

recipe adapt from http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2009/09/green-tea-kasuteracastella-cake.html
and http://www.justhungry.com/2006/08/oyatsu_and_kasutera_castella_a.html

Apricot Almond Cake

Sometimes the fun of baking is about alter your ingredients and explore of the existing good recipe. I alter this from the Orange flourless cake which I posted before.
I had this canned of apricots in the closet for some time. When I decide I'm not going to just open and eat it. Ideas quickly developed in my brain. So here is this yummy cake!


Ingredients :

• 1 canned of Apricots (drained)
• 150gm butter
• 3/4 cup (180g) caster sugar/brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup (80g) flour
• 1 cup (125g) almond meal
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup of shredded coconut
• 1 tsp poppy seeds

Syrup
2 tbsp caster sugar/brown sugar
drained juice (from the canned)

Methods :

1. Grease a cake tin 22cm, cover base with baking paper.
2. Put the drained apricots in blender and blend until smooth.
3. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl, whisk until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beat until combine.
4. Stir in almond meals and sifted flour, baking powder and apricot puree.
5. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin, bake at 160C for 1 hr or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Pour hot syrup over hot cake.
6. Serve cake warm or cold with cream or dollop of creamy yogurt.

Syrup: Combine sugar and juice in small pan, stir over the heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Bring to boil pour over the cake.

Mexican Corn Muffin

I took the recipe from the local supermarket and decide to try out. Nice and easy savoury muffins which goes well with pumpkin soup in the winter. Tips for baking muffins is don't try to mixed until really well blend, or the muffins will become hard.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp Mexican Seasoning ( I used Cajun Seasoning)
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped chives or spring onions
• 1-2 cups grated Edam cheese
• 410g can whole kernel corn, well drained
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat oven to 210°C and grease muffin pans.

2. Sift flour and baking powder together in a bowl and stir through the Mexican/Cajun Seasoning, sugar, chopped chives and cheese, keeping ½ cup cheese aside.

3. Make a well in the centre of the mixture and pour in the whole kernel corn, milk, oil and egg. Stir gently until just mixed and place spoonfuls into the muffin pans.

4. Sprinkle with grated cheese previously set aside and bake for 10-12 minutes or until cooked and golden.

Recipe adapts from http://www.foodinaminute.co.nz/

Chocolate Brownie

Ingredients:

• 110g butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cocoa powder
  
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pecan, roughly chopped ( I like walnuts, should increase to 3/4 cups)
  

Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 160C, grease a square cake tin, cover base with baking paper.
2. Melt butter, mix in sugar and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at the time.
3. Add combined flour, cocoa and baking powder and mix thoroughly. Stir through the chopped nuts and pour into the tin.
4. Bake for 25-35 mins or until the skewer comes out clean.
5. Cool for 5 mins in the tin before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

I didn't have a proper measurement of the chocolate ganache when I was making it. Because I didn't have cream at home. I melted some chocolate, butter and 2 tbsp of milk and then spread on it. Cut it when it is completely cool. I will edit it once I have re bake it. Or you could use the following as reference or just eat without any frosting.

There's one I found on www.best-chocolate-recipes-online.com

• 115ml of double cream
• 110g of plain chocolate, finely chopped

Put the cream into a saucepan and bring nearly to the boil, so it is scalding hot. With the finely grated chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour the hot cream over and leave to allow the chocolate to melt into the hot cream. Gently stir to mix.

Leave it to cool long enough for it to be a nice spreadable consistency.

It's Autumn, lets have Feijoa Cake!

I never have this fruit back home. But I've heard so much of this fruit before the autumn came last year. Everyone was telling me, it's the most delicious fruit in New Zealand.
Feijoa also known as pineapple guava or guavasteen. The fruit is maturing in autumn, usually we just cut into half and scoop the pulp out with spoon. It has really distinctive flavour, some of my friends said taste like perfume, I also thought it taste like Bubblegum. :)


Ingredients:

• 1 cup of mashed Feijoa (choose very ripe fruit)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 75g butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
  
• 1/4 tsp salt

Methods:

1. Grease a cake tin 22cm, cover base with baking paper.
2. Sifted the flour, baking powder and baking soda together 2 times.
3. Add the milk, vanilla essence and salt to mashed Feijoa.
4. Beat butter and sugar in a bowl, whisk until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beat until combine.
5. Stir in half of the flour and alternate with the fruit mixture. Do not over mix.
6. Pour mixture into prepared cake tin, bake at 180C for 50mins or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Lemon Icing on top

• 50g butter
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup icing sugar

beat everything together until fluffy and spread on cool cake. Cut and served.