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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Red Bean Dessert Soup

 

            

Ingredients:

Japanese Red beans 250g

Dried Lotus seeds

Fresh lily bulbs - must rinse under tap water to remove all mud and dirt.

Tangerine peel x 1 pc

Cane sugar x 3-4 sticks

How to make:

1. The night before your cooking, rinse the red beans and soak in water overnight.

2. Similarly, rinse the lotus seeds and soak it in water overnight.

3. On the day of cooking, rinse 1 piece of tangerine peel. Once soft, use back of knife to scrap inside of the tangerine peel.

4. Drain the red beans. For the Lotus seeds, after draining water, check every lotus seeds to ensure nothing inside the middle. The black thing inside the centre of the lotus seeds taste very bitter. So must remove.

5. Put all red beans,  lotus seeds, tangerine peel to a cooking pot. Then add 3000ml water and 3.5 sticks of cane sugar. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook for 1 hour.

6. Remove all lotus seeds from the pot. Save it for later use. Discard the tangerine peel.

7. Blend the red beans with the soup inside in a few times. Will suggest add more beans in the beginning, so in case it's too thick if you can add the soup to mix to reach a right consistency of the blended sweet soup. After each blend, pass through a sieve to another pot.

8. Once the blending and sieving, the red bean soup should be silky smooth. Add back the lotus seeds in this pot. Also add the cleaned lily bulbs, and bring to a boil. Check taste accordingly and serve.

** fresh lily bulbs add a very nice fragrance to the red bean soup. Add this at the last step as it get broken down and dissovled if cook too long.

Enjoy!

Any leftover, save in fridge and eat it cold with vanilla ice cream.

Brownie

* recipe adopted from Donna Hay

Ingredients:
200g Dark Chocolate, chopped
250g Butter, chopped
1 3/4 cups (310g) Brown Sugar (or use the Nativa Palm sugar as a healthier alternative)

4 Eggs
1/3 cup (35g) Cocoa Powder, sifted
1 1/4 cups (185g) Plain (all-Purpose) flour, sifted
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
Peanut Butter (try use the 50/50 Brand as a healthier alternative)

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 160'C. Line a 20cm square tin and line it up with baking paper.

2. Place Dark Chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

3.Beat eggs in a big mixing bowl, then add sugar, cocoa powder, flour and baking flour until all mix well.

4. Pour chocolate and butter mixture to the egg mixture until mix and well combined. Smooth up the top using a spatula.

5. Dab some peanut butter on top of the mixture here and there and use a toothpick or skewer to swirl around.

6. Bake in oven for 50 mins or until skewer withdraws clean.

Allow to cool slightly in tin before slicing. Serve warm or cold. Best with ice-cream!

Enjoy!

古早蛋糕 Taiwan Sponge Cake

Ingredients:
6 eggs - egg whites and egg yolks in separate bowls
100g cake flour - sieved
100g butter
100g milk
100g caster sugar
approx 2 tbsp vanilla essence or pandan essence

How to Make:

1. Preheat Oven to 150'C.

2. Line your cake tin with baking paper inside. I used a 18 x 18cm. Then use foil paper to wrap the outside of the tin. You will need to prepare a bigger tin which you can place this cake tin inside while baking.

3. Use a small pot and melt butter with the milk at low heat - around 50'C, keep stirring until butter melted and mixed well in the milk. Remove from heat.

4. Pour the butter milk mixture to the bowl containing the sieved flour. Use a hand whisk and whisk and mix them well.

5. Then add egg yolk one-by-one to the flour mixture and continue to use the whisk to whisk and mix them well. Add either vanilla essence or as me, pandan essence and mix well until all smooth.

6. In the bowl containing the egg whites, use an electric whisk to whisk, adding sugar little by little until the egg white mixture is meringue like and you can see ribbons like shapes in the mixture - eg. if you take up the whisk, the mixture stays on the whisk...

7. Add the egg yolk mixture to the egg white mixture. Using the hand whisk to fold them evenly.

8. Pour mixture to the cake tin. Put cake tin inside a bigger tin or tray. Then add hot water to the bigger tin or tray until it's around 1 inch high outside the cake tin.

9. Place the bigger tin or tray with the cake tin to the lower 1/3 of the oven and cook for around 60 mins.

10. test with a skewer. If nothing stick to skewer, it's ready. Remove from oven, then carefully, take out cake tin from the bigger tin or tray with water inside. Carefully, remove cake from the cake tin and tear away the baking paper.

Rest, then serve and enjoy with your favourite tea!

Plain cake 鷄蛋糕

Ingredients:

Eggs x 6 - separate egg whites and egg yolks to 2 bowls
Flour 100g - sifted
Unsalted butter 100G
Milk 200g
Vanilla essence - 2 tsp
1 square cake tin tray
1 bigger tin tray which can fit the square cake tin inside and with space to pour in some water

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 150'C.

2. Heat up butter with milk in a pot until mixed evenly  and around 50'C. Remove from heat.

3. Add butter mixture to the sifted flour and whisk until smooth.

4. Add eye yolk to the butter and flour mixture one by one and whisk until smooth. Then add 2 tsp vanilla essence and mix well.

5. Whisk the egg whites in another bowl until it looks like meuringe like, i.e. when holding the whisk, the egg white mixture can hold.

6. Pour the egg pour mixture to the whisked egg white bowl slowly and mix them well.

7. Pour into the square tin tray lined with baking paper. smooth up the top and bang against table top to ensure all air bubbles come out from the mixture.

8. Put the square tin tray to the bigger tin tray. Add water of around 80'C to the bigger tin tray until it is around 1-2cm high.

8. Carefully put inside oven and bake for 1 hour until top is golden.

Rest in room temperature and enjoy with your favourite cup of tea or coffee.

Fading Color Strawberry Cheesecake

* recipe from 肥妈！Not difficult to make at all. Taste great without a very sweet taste and looks great! Worthwhile to giving it a try.

Ingredients:

Cake Base:

McVite Digestive Biscuits x 1 pack (can choose the Light version)

Butter x 60g - melted

Fillings:

Part (A)

Milk x 200ml

Gelatine Sheets x 20g (soaked till soft in ice water for 5-10 mins, remove from ice water and squeeze out extra water)

Caster Sugar x 150g

Part (B)

Philadelphia Cream Cheese x 1 pack

Srtawberry paste 200 g (just wash and wip dry strawberries and place in blender until it becomes paste like. You can sieve it for a finer texture)

Whipping Cream 150g (whip it up with an electric mixer up to 70% firm)

Rose Essense a few drops

Red Colorings

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 200'C.

2. Place gelatine sheet to ice water to soften for 5-10 min.

3. Crunch digestive biscuits with a rolling pin in a zip loc bag until biscuits have turned into fine crumbles.

4. Oil the base and side of the cake tin with some melted butter with a kitchen towel.

5. Mix biscuits crumbles and press into base of a cake tin and bake in oven for 5 mins. Then take out to cool down.

6. Heat up Part A in a pot until sugar and gelatine all melted. Gentle heat will do.

5. Beat Whipping Cream with electric mixer until 70% firm.

6. Beat Cream Cheese with an electric mixer until all soft. Then add strawberry paste and rose essence. Then add Part (A) and the Whipping Cream and mix well together with a spatula.

7. Pour the above mixture to 3-4 containers with varying quantity, eg. 150g, 120g, 90g, 60g. The biggest portion one just pour directly into cake tin above biscuits base. The rest of the containers, add varying degrees of colorings from a little to more, then pour each mixture to a jug. Then pour the mixture from the jug to the cake tin at the centre slowly, with the last one with the most colourings. 

8. Wrap cake tin with cling wrap and chill in fridge for a few hours before serving.

9. Decorate the cake top with fresh strawberries and even whipped cream as per your liking.

Enjoy! 

Pavlova Swirl

Ingredients:

6 eggwhites (225ml) at room temperature
1.5 cup (330g) caster sugar
1.5 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp cornflour
1.5 cup (375ml) whipping cream
250g fresh raspberries or strawberries or a mixture of both
2 tbsp pistachios, finely chopped
1 tbsp freeze dried raspberries or strawberries, finely crushed (optional)

Raspberry Swirl:
1/2 cup (75g) frozen raspberries
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

How to Make:

1. For the Raspberry Swirl, place the frozen raspberries, sugar and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring ocassionally for 3-4 min or until slightly reduced. Strain, discard the seeds, and refrigerate to cool completely.

2. Preheat oven to 150'C.

3. Place eggwhites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form.

4. Gradually add the sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, waiting 30 seconds between each addition.

5. Once all sugar has been added, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and whisk for a further 6 mins or until the mixture is stiff and glossy.

6. Place the vinegar and cornflour in a small bowl and mix to combine.

7. Add to the eggwhite mixture and whisk for 2 mins or until glossy and combined.

8. Draw a 22cm circle on a sheet of baking paper and place pencil side down, on a large baking tray. 

9. Place 12 heaped spoonfuls of the meringue mixture around the inside of the circle to create a ring. 

10. Place in oven, reduce temperature to 120'F and cook fore 1 hr.

11. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.

12. To serve, , drizzle the raspberry mixture over each meringue and use a teaspoon to swirl. Top with cream, the raspberries/strawberries/freeze dried fruits, pistachio, and icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Green Tea Red Bean Roll

Ingredients:

100g Caster Sugar + some extra for dusting
100g Plain Flour + some extra for dusting
10g Matcha (Green Tea Powder)
4 large eggs
100-200ml whipping cream
100g sweet red bean paste
icing sugar for dusting
strawberries or fruits for decoration

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 180'C.

2. Line a baking tin with baking paper. Dust the baking paper with caster sugar and plain flour.

3. Sieve the flour to a mixing bowl.

4. Sieve the green tea powder a few times and then add to the mixing bowl with the flour. Mix well.

5. Boil a small pot of water. Once boiled, turn to low heat so the water keep simmering.

6. Mix eggs and caster sugar in a bowl which is large enough to sit safely on top of the water pot. Mix with electric hand held whisk on top of the simmering water pot (without the base of the bowl touching the water) until the mixture becomes creamy and thick and leaves a trail on the surface when the whisk is lifted.

7. Remove the egg mixture from the water pot. Add half of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and fold in gently. Then repeat with the rest of the flour mixture. Once done, lightly stir in 1 tbsp of hot water.

8. Pour the mixture to the baking tray. Tilt the tray backwards and forwards to spread the mixture as even as possible in a rectangular shape.

7. Put tray to oven and bake for approx 12 min until well risen and the top is firm to touch.

8. Meanwhile, place a sheet of baking paper on top of a clean damp tea towel. Sprinkle caster sugar on top of the baking paper.

9. Working quickly, turn the sponge you take out from the oven onto the new baking paper sprinkled with caster sugar. Then gently remove the baking paper from the sponge without breaking or tearing the sponge. Leave to cool.

10. Once the sponge is cool, whisky the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Then spread the cream over the cake sponge. Then add a thick line of red bean paste on top of the cream along the long edge of the sponge nearest to you.

11. Roll up the sponge from the edge nearest to you, with the aid of pulling the baking paper gently. Wrap the roll with the baking paper and place in a air tight box and place to fridge until serving time.

12. Upon serving, dust with icing sugar and decorate with fruits around the roll.


Enjoy!

Biscotti

* this biscotti is not the traditional hard type but the crumpier and softer type. Feel free to replace pistachio and cranberries with almonds or your favourite dried fruits.

Ingredients:
Sugar x 1 cup
Unsalted butter x 100g (1 small stick) - soften at room temperature or melted
Almond extract x 2 tsp
Vanilla extract x 1 tsp
Pistachio x 100g - remove shells and roughly chopped
Cranberries x 100g - roughly chopped
Eggs x 3
All purpose flour - 2 and 3/4 cups
Baking powder - 1 and 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

How to Make:

1. Put sugar, butter, almond extract, vanilla extract to a mixing bowl and mix well with an electric mixer.

2. Then add the eggs and salt and beat well.

3. Sift the flour and baking powder and fold into the egg batter using a spatula.

4. Add the chopped pistachio and cranberries and mix evenly using a big spoon or fork.

5. Wrap the mixing bowl wig cling wrap and chill in fridge for 30 min.

6. Preheat oven to 180'c.

7. Take out dough from fridge, using moistened hands, divide the dough into 4 loaves on an un-greased baking sheet on top of a baking tray.

8. Lengthen each loaf into a long rectangular shape with the height not more than 1 to 1.5cm. Shape them up using some flour on your hand or your spatula.

9. Bake for 30 mins or until golden.

10. Cool on rack before slicing them with a bread knife.

Store in air tight jars and enjoy with your favourite coffee or tea!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

225 (8oz) self raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
150g (5oz) light muscovado sugar (if you prefer a sweet cake, then you can add 10-20g sugar here)
50g (2oz) chopped walnuts
100g 94oz) grated carrots
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
150ml (5 fl oz) sunflower or veg oil (if you prefer a more moist cake, then you can add 10-20 ml oil here)

For the topping:

175g (6oz) soft cream cheese
50g (2oz) softened better
100g (4oz) sifted icing sugar
vanilla extract
walnuts and carrot pieces to decorate

How to Make:

1. Preheat oven to 180'C. 

2. Grease a 20 cm (8 inches) deep round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.

3. Measure all ingredients for a the cake into a large bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended and smooth. Turn into the prepared tin and level the surface.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 50-60 minutes until cake is well risen and shrinking away from sides of the tin.

5. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out, peel off baking paper and finish cooling in a wire rack.

6. For the topping, measure all ingredients, except the walnuts, into a bowl or into a food processor and blitz until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake with a spatula. Decorate the top with walnuts and carrot pieces. Chill a little before serving and store in the fridge as the topping is soft.

** Can try slice the cake horizontally into half. Then spread the topping both as topping and in the middle of the cake like sandwich to make it more rich.

Strawberry Cheesecake

* recipe adopted from Tastemade Japan

Ingredients:

Cake Base:
Digestive Biscuit - 1 normal pack
butter 30-40g

Cake:
Strawberries - approx 150g - cut into quarters
Philadelphia cream cheese 100g
Yoghurt 100g
Cream 200g
Caster sugar 30g
Gelatin Powder 8g - dissolved in 30ml warm water (about 80'C)
Lemon Juice 20ml

Cake Top:
Strawberry - approx 150g - cut into halves
Strawberry Juice from "A"
Gelatin Powder approx 3-4g - dissolved in the above strawberry juice being heated
Mint Leaves and Icing Sugar

How to Make:

1. Butter your cake tin.

2. Finely grate the biscuit and mix well with melted butter and press to bottom of cake tin and chill at fridge.

3. Cake: put strawberries, caster sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, then place in microwave 600W for 3 minutes.

4. Sieve the strawberries mixture after microwave into a pan. Save the juice in the pan as "A".

5. Mix well the cream cheese and yoghurt with a electric mixer, then add the sieved strawberries mixture and the gelatin solution to the cheese mixture.

6. Pour to the cake tin and chill back at fridge for approx 30 min.

7. Heat up the "A" juice, check tasting. If not sweet enough, add some caster sugar. Dont boil it. Melt the gelatin powder in this heated juice until all dissolved. Once not so hot, pour it on top of the cake. Then decorate with the  cut strawberries on top. Then chill back at fridge.

8. When ready to serve, add mint leaves and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Enjoy!

Banana Hazelnut Chocolate Cake

* easy to make and will surely satisfy your baking & snacking desire! Pls try!

Ingredients:
110g butter - melted
3 bananas - ripe ones, and mashed with a fork
2 eggs
110g maple syrup
85g caster sugar
250g plain flour - sifted
1/4 tsp salt
2tsp baking powder
85g hazelnuts - gently chopped or pulsed in food processor (or you can always use almonds or omit nuts altogether)
60g chocolate chips

How to Make:
1. Preheat oven to 160'C.

2. Grease a 32 x 12cm loaf tin with little butter then line it up with baking paper.

3. Put mash bananas in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter, eggs and maple syrup and mix well with the fork until the eggs are really well broken up.

4. Mix the sifted flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in another bowl, then add to the banana mixture. Using a spatula, fold in flour mixture to make a smooth batter. Lastly, fold in nuts and chocolate chips, saving some as toppings though.

5. Pour cake batter to tin. Gently tap it a few times to make batter even on the lid. Sprinkle remaining nuts and chocolate chips on top of cake batter and bake in over for 1 hr 10 minutes or until cake if golden and skewer comes out clean. Best to put it in the bottom 1/3 of the oven.

Enjoy with a warm of tea!

Rocky Road Chocolate Dessert

Ingredients:
55g butter - cut into small pieces, plus extra for greasing
400g dark chocolate (around 60% cocoa solids) - break into pieces
2 tbsp golden syrup
a pinch of salt
125g mixed nuts (eg. pistachio, hazelnuts)
175g crunchy biscuits (eg. digestives)
100g marshmallows (if they come in big size, cut it into smaller pieces)
85g raisins (optional)
1tbsp icing sugar 

How to Make:
1. Grease a 23cm shallow square tin or brownie pan with butter. Then line it up with baking paper.

2.To melt the chocolate - bring a pot of water to simmer. Sit a bowl on top of the pot with simmering water, but the base of the bowl shall not be touching the water. Place the chocolate pieces, butter and the salt on the bowl and keep stirring until chocolate is melted and silky smooth.

3. Add the syrup to the chocolate mixture, stir well and remove from heat.

4. Reserve approx 1/3 of the chocolate in the bowl. Mix the other 2/3 chocolate with the biscuits, nuts, raisins and marshmallow.

5. Pour the chocolate mixture to the tin, then pour the reserved chocolate on top. Just use a spatula to smooth out the top. Once cool down, chill in fridge.

6. Before serving, take out from tin, cut into small squares and dust it with icing sugar (over a sieve).

enjoy!

P.S. what you mix in the chocolate is all personal choice and it is always ok to use more chocolate than the qty as stated!

Mixed Berries & White Chocolate Trifle

* recipe adopted from Donna Hay

Ingredients:

Jelly:
1.5L Cranberry Juice (the brand i use is "Ocean Spray" which is lighter)
Gelatine Powder (i use "Vahine" brand, basically 6g per sachet. For 1.5L juice, you need 6 sachet)s
1 cup (220g) caster sugar
500g frozen mixed berries

White chocolate Ganache:
180g white chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup (250ml) whipping cream

Mascarpone Cream Topping:
1/2 cup (140g) mascarpone 
1/2 cup (80g) icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1.5 cup (375ml) whipping cream

Toppings:
Fresh Mixed Berries of your choice
Icing sugar

How to Make:
<Jelly>
1. To make the jelly, place the 125ml cranberry juice and the gelatine poweder into a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 min or until the gelatine is absorbed.

2. Place the remaining juice  and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Bring to boil and cook for 1 min.

3. Pour the boiled juice to the bowl of gelatine mixture and stir to combine. Set aside to cool down for 20 min.

4. Once cool, pour the jelly mixture into your serving bowl and top with the frozen berries. Refrigerate 4-5 hrs or overnight until set.

<White Chocolate Ganache>
5. Place chopped white chocolate in a stainless steel bowl on top of the hot of boiling hot water. Stir the chocolate until melted and smooth, then remove from heat.

6. Add 60ml of whipping cream to the melted chocolate in a thin steady stream stirring constantly until well combined. Set aside to cool down or refrigerate until just cold.

7. Whisk the remaining cream (190ml) until stiff peaks form, then add the cooled chocolate mixture and fold through to combine.

<Mascarpone Cream>
8. Place mascarpone, sugar, vanilla paste and cream in a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.

<Assemble>
9. Take out the set jelly from fridge.

10. Spoon the white chocolate ganache on top of jelly and smooth it out with a palette knife.

11. Quickly dip the sponge fingers with the liquer and line them up on top of the white chocolate ganache.

12. Layer the mascarpone cream on top of the sponge fingers.

13. Top with fresh berries and dust icing sugar over sift and cream.

enjoy!

  

Lemon Souffle

* adopted from Donna Hay's recipe

Ingredients:

melted unsalted butter, for brushing
castersugar, for dusting
180ml lemon juice
55g caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
5 eggwhites, at room temperature
75g extra caster sugar
icing sugar, to serve

How to Make:

1. Lightly brush 6 ramekins with butter and caster sugar and place them on baking tray.

2. Place lemon juice, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan over medium heat and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring for 8 min or until the mixture has thickened. Transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cold.

3. Preheat oven at 180'C. 

4. Place eggwhites in a big bowl and whisk with electric mixer until stiff peaks form.

5 Add extra caster sugar in a thin steam, whisking until thick and glossy.

6. Remove lemon mixture from fridge and beat with a fork until smooth.

7. Gently fold the eggwhites into the lemon mixture in 3 batches (but also quickly), then spoon them into the preared ramekins.

8. Smooth the top of the mixture with a spatula. Run the tip of a knife around the edge of each ramekin, then place them on the baking tray and bake for 12 -14 min or until top has risen and browned.

9. Dust the top with icing sugar and serve immediately.

Enjoy and expect this to be a tangy dessert instead of a sweet sweet dessert!

Chocolate Whisky Cream Pie

* adopted from Donna Hay's recipe

Ingredients:
350g plain chocolate biscuits OR digestive biscuits
120g butter, melted
410ml (1 2/3 cup) milk
250ml (1 cup) single cream
200g 70% dark chocolate, chopped
200g dark chocolate, chopped
60g (1/3 cup) brown sugar
75g (1/3 cup) caster sugar
35g (1/4 cup) cornflour
80ml (1/3 cup) whisky (or double if you like more whisky taste in your cake!)
4 egg yolks
500ml  (2 cups) extra single cream
120g (1/2 cup) sour cream
cocoa, for dusting

How to Make:
1. Place biscuits and butter in a food processor and process until smooth.

2. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased caked tin or ceramic pie dish and smooth it over the base and sides with a spoon. Refrigerate for 30 min.

3. Place milk, cream and both chocolates in a saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until it comes ti the boil. Remove from heat.

4. Place brown sugar, caster sugar, cornflour, egg yolks and whisky in a large bowl and whisky to combine.

5. Pour the chocolate mixture to the eggs mixture and whisky to combine. Then transfer all the mixture back to the chocolate saucepan and cook, whisking, over medium heat until it comes to the boil. Continue whisking for 1-2 min or until thickened.

6. Set aside to cool slightly.

7. Once cooled, pour chocolate mixture to the cake tin on top of the biscuits base layer and smooth out the top. Refrigerate for 3 hrs or until firm.

8. When ready to serve, whisk the extra cream and sour cream together until stiff peaks form, Spoon the cream on top of the chocolate custard and dust with cocoa and serve!


Delightful with a glass of whisky!! Enjoy!

Lemon Tart with Italian Meringe

* combining receipe from Michel Roux "Eggs" on the meringue part and Jane Hornby "What to Cook and How to Cook It" on the lemon tart.

 Ingredients:

For the Pastry -

egg yolk from 1 medium egg

175g plain flour

1/4tsp flaky sea salt

100g cold unsalted butter

2tbsp golden caster sugar

For the filling:

4 unwaxed lemon (or 3 Italian lemons)

300ml whipping cream

6 medium eggs

200g golden caster sugar

For the Italian Meringue:

360g caster sugar

egg whites from 6 medium eggs

How to Make:

Pastry:

1. Add 2 tbsp of ice water to the egg yolk and mix well.

2. Put flour to a food processor, then add salt. Cut the cold butter into cubes and scatter all over the flour.

3. Blend the butter and flour together for about 10 seconds until mixture resembles very fine breadcrumbs and no flecks of butter remain.

4. Now pulse in the sugar.

5. Add the egg yolk water to the processor then pulse in 1 second bursts for a few times until the dough comes together in big clumps.

6. Tip the dough into the work surface, then shape it into a flat disc. Wrap in clingfilm, then chill in fridge for 30-40min, until firm but not rock hard.

7. Dust the work surface and rolling pin with Flour. Have a 9" loose bottomed tart in ready. Using the rolling pin, press (NOT ROLL) shallow ridges evenly across the pastry, then rotateit by a quarter turn. Repeat this unti the pastry is about 1cm thick.

8. Now roll out the pastrt. Push the rolling pin in ONE DIRECTION only, turning the pastry by a quarter turn for every few rools, until desired thickness is achieved. Using the rolling pin to help, lift the pastry over the tin.

9. Ease the pastry gently to the tin then press it gently into the edge of the tin using your knuckles.

10. Trim the border of the pastry so that it overhands the tin by at least 1cm. Lift the tin with pastry gently into a baking tray and chill in the freezer for 10min until the pastry feels firm.

11. Preheat oven to 180;C.

12. Tear a baking paper large enough to completely cover the tin and the overhanging pastry. On top of the baking paper, pour the baking beans over so that the beans are up to the edge of the tin. Blind bake this pastry for 20min.

13. Take out from oven and gently remove the baking paper with the beans on top, The pastry should be pale but feel dry and be turning gold at the edges.

14. Return it to oven for another 15 min until base is starting to brown. Remove from oven, Turn oven down to 150;C now.

Filling:

1. Finely grate the zest from lemons, and squeeze juice from lemons. Using a fork beat the cream, eggs, sugar into the jiuce. Strain the mix through a sieve into a large jug. Stir in the lemon zest.

2. pour the filling into the pastry gently and bake it for another 45min or until filling is set (i.e. it gives the merest tremble in the middle when the baking tray is shaken).

3. Let the tart cool completely, then store at fridge with clingfilm wrap. Trim any overhanging edges now.

Italian Meringue:

1. pour 80ml water into a heavy-based saucepan, add sugar and set over MEDIUM heat. Bring to boil, stiring occassionally and brushing down any crystals tht form on the side of the pan using a pastry brush moistened with water.

2. Once boil, increase heat and place a sugar thermometer in the boling syrup  until it reaches 110'C.

3. Still keeping an eye on the syrup, beat the egg whites in a standing electric mixer until they hold peaks. 

4. Stop cooking the syrup the moment it reaches 121'C. Take the pan off the heat and let the bubbles subside for 30 seconds.  (If you do not have a sugar thermometer, best to do is once syrup is boiled, continue until for 10-20 seconds. If you cook too long, the sugar syrup becomes rock!)

5.Pour the syrup onto the beaten egg whites in a thin steady stream, continuing whisking at a LOW speed with the mixer until FIRM. This action takes at least 30 min to 40 min! So be patient!

6. Spoon all meringue into a air-tight container and keep in fridge (best to use it within 24 hrs).

Compose:

1. Spoon meringe into piping bag fitted with a flutted nozzle or a nozzle you like.

2. pipe meringue onto top of lemon tart the way you like it.

3 wave a blowtorch over the meringue until it is lightly browned.

Serve! and enjoy!