Basque Burnt Cheesecake (& Matcha version)

 

Ingredients:

1 box Philadelphia Cream Cheese (at room temperature)

1/2 cup caster sugar

3 large eggs

2 tbsp cake flour (or all purpose flour)

2 tsp cornstarch

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream (at room temperature)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/8 tsp sea salt

How to Make:

1. Preheat Oven - choose convection (with fan) to 230'C and use middle rack.

2. Line your baking paper with baking paper.

3. Mix cream cheese with sugar until fluffy and smooth with no lumps.

4. Whisky eggs in a separate bowl until smooth with no lumps.

5. Egg whisked eggs to cheese mixture until smooth and all blend well.

6. Add lemon juice to the mixture.

7. Add sieved flour and salt to the mixture little by little until all is smooth with no lumps with a spatula.

8. Add cream and mix well.

9. Pour mixture to cake tray in one go to avoid air-pockets. Tap the tray to counter top a few times.

10. Place to oven and cook for approx 25-30 min for a more creamy and fluffy texture. Approx 30-35 min for a firmer/dense texture. But keep your watch. We want to make the top a "burnt" effect. But how burnt is good for you, you need to keep your watch!

* when you take out cake, you can feel it wobble a bit. It's totally fine and just let it rest and cool down in room temperature around 2-3 hrs then serve. OR chill in fridge after cooling down directly.

** for Matcha version:

1 tbsp green tea powder (must use freshly bought one)

1/2 to 1 cup batter

Sift the green tea powder little by little as you stir and blend with the batter (from step 6 above). Then add to the big batter little by little until all mix well together. Then continue with the flour and salt steps.

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Orange Duck Breast

 

* adapted from Thomas Keller Masterclass lesson. 

Ingredients:

French Duck Breast

Endives

Orange Juice - around 30ml to soak endives. around 100ml to cook sauce

Orange Zest

Honey - around 60-80ml

Veal/Beef Gravy - around 60-80ml

How to Make:

3 days before cooking:

1. Clean the duck breast and use tweezer to remove all hair from skin carefully.

2. Gently remove the silver skin underneath the meat.

3. Wipe dry and put to fridge (uncovered) for 2-3 nights before cooking to allow the skin to dry up.

On the day of cooking:

1. Clean endives, halve it lengthwise and soak in orange juice. 

2. Take out duck breast from fridge 1-2 hours before cooking.

3. Wipe dry and use a knife to gently trim the skin edge. Use a skewer to poke poles on skin gently.

4. Gently use your knife to score the skin in a crosshatch diamond pattern.

5. Season lightly with salt and black pepper.

6. Heat up a flat frying pan in medium high fire. Add a few drops of olive or canola oil. Then put in duck breast, skin side down. As you need to brown and crisp the skin and then have the meat cooked (say around 8-10 mins), be careful of the heat. Should not go too high to avoid the skin burning. Try press down the skin as much as possible to achieve crispy skin. Always use your hands or a palette knife to do this and to move the duck breast around the pan to avoid it sticking to the pan. Don't use tongs to avoid tearing the skin or the meat.

7. When the duck breast is around 80% done, baste it with the oil in the pan. Add the endives to the side of the pan, cutting side facing down. 

8. When it is around 90% done (or internal temperature reaches around 123'F, flip the meat side down to the pan for a short while. Then transfer duck breast to a wire rack or a plate lined with kitchen towel, skin side down and rest for 5 mins before carving.

9. Check if endives brown enough and if so, remove from pan too.

** you can use the oil in the pan to cook veggies and potatoes.

Orange Sauce (you can make this in advance)

1. Add orange juice and honey to a pot and heat it up. Once you see small bubbles on the side, turn to medium to medium high heat until you see big bubbles.

2. Add gravy of your choice to the orange honey sauce and adjust tasting to your liking and cook until it reaches a consistency you like. 

3. Lastly, grate some orange zest inside the sauce.

Enjoy!