It has been more than a month since I blogged. Hubby was away and I was way too busy running around with the kids and so on. Also stuck with daughter's school project. I was not this much inclined to my own projects when I was schooling.
For a long time I have wanted to try to combine both dark chocolate and white chocolate in one dish. Thus, came up with the idea of making a trifle. I just love trifles. They are simple yet luxurious desserts.
Dark and white chocolate have distinctly different tastes. Dark chocolate is made of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, small amounts of sugar and vanilla. White chocolate is not true chocolate because it contains no chocolate liquor and, likewise, very little chocolate flavour. Instead, it is usually a mixture of sugar, cocoa butter, milk solids, lecithin and vanilla.
I used my famous moist chocolate cake as the base of the trifle. The recipe is found here.
Black & White Trifle
What do we need:
1 moist chocolate cake
200g cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup double cream, chilled
2 tbsp grated dark chocolate
White Chocolate Pudding
1 cup milk
100g white chocolate
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp corn flour
2 tbsp sugar
How do we do it:
Combine all the pudding ingredients except the white chocolate. Cook on low heat while whisking constantly until mixture boils and thickens. Keep whisking for 2 minutes and remove from heat. Stir in the white chocolate. Cover with cling film and press down so that it touches the surface of the pudding. This is to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool completely.
Slice the moist chocolate cake to 1 inch thickness and place it in a pie or flan dish.
Lightly beat the cream cheese until soft. Set aside. Beat the double cream until stiff. Fold in the softened cheese and the cooled white chocolate pudding. Pour the white chocolate cheese mixture on the cake. Finally, sprinkle the grated dark chocolate on top. Chill thoroughly. It tastes better after a few days.
The trifle may also be made in smaller portions like in ramekins or dessert glasses.
This trifle not just look amazing but it tastes AWESOME!!
Hello everyone. After a long long gap I'm pleased to be back to the world of foodblogging. 2011 has been a hectic year for me with lots of changes in lifestyle and some significant achievements.
In conjuction with Chinese New Year and as a comeback gift I present my ever favourite blueberry cheesecake. This recipe was given to me by my brother who is a great baker.
Cheesecake is a luscious, rich dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cream cheese. A cheesecake may or may not have a crust or base. This crust is can be made from biscuit crumb, pastry or sponge cake. The filling is made by creaming the cheese and mixing it with eggs and sugar. A range of flavourings may be added to this mixture. It is then poured into a special springform pan and baked. After baking, the cheesecake is thoroughly chilled and generally topped with fresh fruit or with a sweetened fruit sauce, nuts, and/or chocolate.
Cheesecakes may be baked or unbaked. Uncooked cheesecake is made with a biscuit crumb base and a filling made of cream cheese enriched with eggs, flavoured and set with gelatine.
The texture of cheesecake can vary from light and airy to dense and rich to smooth and creamy. Unbaked cheesecake is lighter and creamier than the baked version.
What do we need:
Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
Filling
2 packages/8oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp plain flour
4 eggs
2 cups blueberry pie filling
How do we do it:
Combine crumbs, sugar and butter. Push mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
Lightly stir the cream cheese until soft and creamy. Beat in sour cream, sugar, vanilla and flour. Add in eggs one at a time. Pour the mixture into the crumb lined pan. Bake in a preheated oven 165° C for 1 hour or until firm to the touch.
Cool the cake completely. Loosen the edges of the cake with a knife to removing the cake. Place blueberry pie filling on top of cake. Chill well before serving.
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HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR
Submitting this entry to :
Carrots are nutritional vaults. They store bulks of nutrients. No other vegetable or fruit contains as much carotene as carrots. Beta carotene, a dimer of Vitamin A, is abundant in the carrot and gives this vegetable its characteristic orange colour. It contains about 87% water, rich in mineral salts and vitamins (B,C,D,E) as well as calcium pectate, an extraordinary pectin fibre that has been found to have cholesterol-lowering properties.
The carrot has a woody texture and is a truly versatile vegetable. It can be eaten raw as in salads or blended into juice. They are cooked in soups, stews, curries, stir-fries, and a lot more. Carrots are also used in baking. Carrot cakes, muffins, cookies and pudding are a few of them.
Carrot is the main ingredient in this 10th edition of Weekend Baking Session. I have decided to bake carrot cupcakes for a change. Added some walnuts as they are carrots´ perfect partner. Also adding some sultanas for extra taste. Cream cheese makes an excellent frosting for carrot cakes.
Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
What do we need:
Cake:
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup sultanas
Topping:
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
How do we do it:
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg powder. Set aside.
Grease the muffin tray with butter or simply line the muffin holes with paper cups.
Beat oil and sugar until sugar dissolve. Add the eggs. Beat again. Gradually stir in the sifted flour mixture. Do not over stir. Then, add the grated carrots, walnuts and sultanas.
Fill the muffin holes with the cake batter to two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated oven at 180º C for 25 – 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, combine all the frosting ingredients together. Beat until smooth.
Spread the cream cheese topping onto the carrot cupcakes. Decorate as per desired.
This edition of Weekend Baking Session is especially meant for my baby brother. Today is his birthday. He loves cheese cakes. So, I have decided to give him a visual treat of a cheese cake.
Cheese cakes are too sinful. To reduce the richness, I am baking a fusion of butter cake and baked cheese cake. Using less amount of butter than a normal butter cake and less amount of cheese than a normal cheese cake. Also adding some compoted plums that has been sitting in my pantry for a long time. The reason is to give extra tanginess and flavour to the cake. So, here we go.......
Plum Cheese Cake
What do we need:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 cup coarsely chopped plums in syrup
How do we do it:
Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Set aside.
Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Add the vanilla essence.
Add in the sifted ingredients and the whipping cream alternately, starting and ending with the flour mixture. Finally, fold in the chopped plums.
Pour the batter into a greased and lined 7" cake tin. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
The cake is very moist and soft.Happy Birthday To You, Dearest Thambi.
Some 3 months ago there was this craze called The CCC Craze around the food forums in SE Asia. I did not wanted to join it though as it is my nature that I always do something that others are not or no more doing it. Well, since the CCC craze has now subsided, it's time that I bake it.
This recipe was posted by Kirsten in Jo's Deli & Bakery Message Board. For the 2nd week of WBS, Chocolate Cheese Layered Cake is the chosen one.
Chocolate Cheese Layered Cake
What do we need:
A
250g cream cheese
60g castor sugar
1 egg
B
180g butter
150g sugar
3 eggs
3 tbsp cocoa
120g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
How do we do it:
Beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until well incorporated. Set mixture aside.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, one at a time until well incorporated into mixture. Sieve all the dried ingredients together. Fold into egg mixture.
To assemble, pour half of mixture ‘B’, then all of mixture ‘A’, then remaining mixture ‘B’. Bake in a preheated oven at 180° C for 45-50 minutes or until skewer comes out clean.
Once cool, chill in refrigerator.
Well, I did not expect it to look like this. Shapewise, I guess, I did not really do good job. It is not supposed to be wavy. There should be three parallel equal sized layers. I will have to bake this cake again and do it correctly the next time.
Tastewise, I think I have done it right as I like it very much.
