Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

I loooove cheesecake! Seldom made 'em coz I ended up eating 90% of the cake coz hubby and kids are not really crazy about dessert or cake for that matter. From experience, cheesecake is so easy to make. A tad expensive, yes, but totally worth it. This one is from my entry in MR, enjoy!


Kek Keju Coklat Beroren (baked)



Bahan-bahan ( Saiz kek 22 cm )

KULIT
150g biskut digestive
90g mentega, dicairkan
INTI
120g coklat gelap - suhu bilik
125ml krim (whipping cream atau fresh cream)
500g keju krim (saya pakai 2 kotak Philadelphia creamcheese) – suhu bilik
180g gula halus (castor sugar)
2 sudu teh parutan kulit oren
Secubit garam
3 biji telur
1 sudu besar jus oren

Cara-cara :
Griskan acuan springform (loyang cheesecake) berukuran 22 cm dengan sedikit mentega. Panaskan oven pada 160 darjah Celcius.
Hancurkan biskut (gambar tu brand yg I gunakan) hingga menyerupai serbuk roti, kemudian masukkan butter cair, kacau rata (sy guna food processor, blitz 2-3 kali, masuk butter cair n blitz lagi sampai rata).
Tekan kulit biskut ke dalam loyang sampai padat (macam dalam gambar nih). Masukkan dalam peti sejuk sementara menyediakan inti.
Cairkan coklat samada menggunakan cara double boiler ( dalam mangkuk atas periuk berisi air mendidih dimasak guna api kecil) atau pakai microwave. Jika guna microwave, anggaran 1-2 minit, mesti jenguk selalu takut hangus. Keluarkan dan campur sedikit butter untuk bantu coklat tu cair.
Bila coklat dah cair, masukkan krim, kacau hingga sebati. Ketepikan hingga sejuk.
Pukul keju krim hingga lembut dan gebu. Masukkan gula, kulit oren dan garam, pukul sebati. Masukkan pula adunan coklat sikit demi sikit, akhir sekali masuk jus oren, pukul rata.
Tuang adunan inti ke dalam acuan yang berisi kulit kek yang dah disejukkan tadi. Bakar dalam oven selama 50-60 minit sehingga bahagian tengahnya agak keras tapi masih bergoyang (wobbly).
Tutup api oven, dan biarkan sejuk di dalamnya dengan pintu oven terbuka sedikit. Kemudian, sejukkan dalam peti sejuk selama dua jam atau semalaman (for best results).

TIPS 1 : Resepi asal kata kena pakai ‘coklat gelap’. I hentam pakai cooking chocolate Vochelle je, bila siap I rasa terlebih manis, walaupun gula dah ikut sukatan. So, moral of the story, ‘coklat gelap’ tu bukan le cooking/baking chocolate yang biasa didapati di supermarket kita ni. Mesti jenis bittersweet yang ada at least 70% cocoa solids. If nak pakai jugak cooking chocolate biasa, saya sarankan kurangkan sukatan gula kepada 150-160 gram sahaja sebab cooking chocolate tu agak manis.

TIPS 2 : Hasil cubaan kali ni agak lembik (terlebih creamy) sebabnya I sayang nak buang whipping cream (sekotak 200ml, resepi cuma perlukan 125ml je), so I masuk semua hehe...again, moral of the story, kena ikut sukatan resepi betul-betul ya puan-puan…:-)

TIPS 3 : Kalau pakai loyang kecil, boleh cuba separuh sahaja sukatan bahan dalam resipi ini.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Buttercream Topping

As mentioned in an entry in my family blog, these gems were made on a holiday. Had a really fun time preparing it, the icing part is a perfect activity for your kids to get involved with. Original cupcake recipe by Betty Saw and the custard-ly topping is adapted fromNigella's recipe in her book Feast. Yummy!

Ingredients :

125 gram castor sugar

4 large eggs

225 ml sour cream

225g good quality chocolate

150g self raising flour (sifted)

Line muffin tin with papercups. Preheat oven at 200 degree Celcius. Beat sugar and eggs until white and thick. Melt chocolate using double boiler method and mix in the sour cream. Add the chocolate into the egg mixture. Add in the sifted flour, mix till well combined. Spoon mixture into the cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. When cupcakes are ready, let it cool on wire rack before icing it.

For Buttercream Topping :

250g icing sugar

8 teaspoons Bird's custard powder

150g soft unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

3 teaspoon boiling water

Process the icing sugar and custard powder to get rid of any lumps, and then add the butter, processing again to make the buttercream come together. Add the lemon zest. Feed the boiling water down the funnel with the motor running to make the topping easier to spread. Divide into 3 parts and mix with food colouring of choice. Spread or pipe on cooled cupcakes.

Bubur Pulut Hitam

I rarely cook bubur for the reason that darling hubby don't really favor any form of dessert. But being a dessert lover myself, I tried this simple but delicious traditional dessert dish just to see if I can make it taste as good as Mama's. Turned out pretty easy to make and very tasty too!



Bahan-bahan :

250 gram beras pulut hitam
1 1/2 keping gula nira (gula merah Kelantan)- boleh juga guna brown sugar atau gula Melaka
1/4 sudu garam
1 helai daun pandan - optional
Santan dari sebiji kelapa
1 liter air

Cara-caranya :

Cuci beras pulut hitam terlebih dahulu, pastikan tiada sekam di dalamnya.
Rebus dengan air selama 30-40 minit, hingga nampak pulut telah pecah-pecah.
Masukkan gula, garam dan daun pandan.
Apabila gula telah cair, masukkan santan. Kacau agar santan tidak pecah minyak hingga mendidih dan agak pekat. Tutup api dan hidangkan.