Yummylicious Pavlova

Hellooo, readers!! It's May 2013 and I just feel like updating the blog with a pavlova recipe that I've tried out yesterday,, It came out really nice ;)

Pavlova is a very famous delish dessert which you cannot resist, especially during one of those hot days. I've been wanting to try out baking pavlova long time ago but I had a difficult time contemplating about which recipe is best used.. And after doing some reading and blogwalking, I did some adaptations and came out with this recipe. Well, let's check it out!

Ingredients :

Meringue 

4 eggs (large size)

160g @ 3/4 cup of castor sugar 

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

Topping  

250ml non-dairy whipping cream (I used Rich's brand)

Any sour fruits (strawberry, kiwi, peach, blueberry, grapes, etc)

Method :

1) Separate the egg yolks and egg whites since we'll only use egg whites. 

2) Using hand mixer, beat the egg whites until it becomes foamy.

3) Add in sugar and beat well (1 spoon at a time, until it finishes)

4) Beat the mixture until it forms soft peaks and becomes shiny and thick. By the way, there are two ways to test whether this meringue is well done or not. Firstly, try rubbing a little meringue in between you thumb and fore finger - it should feel smooth, not grainy. Secondly, if you turn over the container, the meringue shall not fall off.
5) Add in corn flour, vanilla essence and vinegar and beat SLOWLY in one direction by just using spatula (no hand mixer, please!) 

6) Draw a circle on a piece of parchment/baking paper using a cake container of any size you would like it to be, preferably 9". Flip the paper over and use the circle drawing as a guide to form a perfect circle shape for your meringue.

This is how the meringue should look like on your parchment paper :)

7) Pre-heat your oven at 150 degree celcius for 15 minutes. Then, just before you bake the meringue, decrease the heat to 140 degree celcius and bake it for about 60 - 75 minutes (or until the outside is crisp and appears shell-like).  When it's done, open the oven door and leave it slightly ajar for about 10-20 minutes to make sure it's perfectly baked inside and to prevent it from severe cracking (Never, ever take it out immediately or it will definitely collapse!)

8) Using hand mixer, beat the whipping cream at a high speed until it becomes thick and firm.

9) Spread the whipping cream generously and garnish with the fruits, however you like it. It's now done!

Snow Cheesecake / Cotton Soft Japanese Cheesecake with Cream Cheese topping

ASSALAMUALAIKUM AND HI !!! :)))

Pheww... It's been a while.*Wait up, I don't think it has only been a while. It's been SO LONG, since I last updated anything here. 2010 was the year where I last posted a recipe in this blog. I thought of stopping to blog a while during my last semester (January 2011-May 2011), but what had happened was the other way around. I started working at Maxis after I finished my study, and I totally forgot about this blog of mine which was once a place where I shared all the dishes I prepared. 

Despite of not being able to update the blog like I used to back then in year 2010, I'm quite touched when I got messages from peers and acquaintances asking me to update the blog and share other recipes that I've tried out. I'm so glad and happy to know that there are ppl who actually benefited from this blog and have actually tried out the recipes. Thanks a lot! :') 

And here we go... I'm gonna share an awesome CAKE recipe! I guess this is my first time sharing a cake recipe in this blog :) The recipe is originally named Cotton Soft Japanese cheesecake and is meant to be enjoyed without topping, but since I am an extreme cheese lover, I did an alteration in which I added topping for the cake :D So, for those who do not favour having the topping, you might as well bake the cake only since it's gonna be so delicious on its own, and moist too!

The beautiful and cottony cake - hot from the oven! Naked without the topping yet, though :P

Ingredients :

Mixture A :

250g cream cheese (I used Kraft's Philadelphia Cheese)

50g butter (I used Buttercup)

100ml fresh milk

6 egg yolks

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

60g superfine flour (sifted)

20g corn starch

Mixture B :

130g granulated sugar

6 egg whites

4 tsp lemon juice

Topping :

250g cream cheese

1/2 tin of sweetened condensed milk

Cheddar cheese (Block) Amount? Up to liking :)

Method :

1) Melt cream cheese, butter and fresh milk using double boiler technique. When the mixture completely melts, let it cool down.

2) Mix the melted mixture with all other ingredients of Mixture A. Stir them well by just using a wooden spoon. Set aside.

3) In a separate bowl, using hand mixture, beat  the white eggs well together with lemon juice until the mixture becomes frothy/ foamy. Then, add in sugar and beat well until it forms soft peaks.

4) Mix Mixture A with Mixture B and beat them SLOWLY by just using a spatula in only one direction. I repeat, SLOWWWLY. This part will determine whether your cake will turn out cottony soft or vice versa. Prepare a 9" cake pan, grease the bottom and side parts. Then, pour the batter into the cake container/springform pan.

5) Preheat oven for 10-15 minutes. Bake the batter in the preheated oven of 160 degree celcius for about 55 minutes - 1 hour. Bake using waterbath technique. 

6) If you aren't sure what is waterbath technique, you can refer to the video below. Waterbath is a technique used to ensure the cheesecake doesn't crack since any types of cheesecakes has the tendency to crack if not baked properly.

7) As shown in the video, don't forget to cover at least half of the cake pan using aluminium foil! (esp. for those who are using springforms, and this is to avoid water from leaking in to the pan).

8) As for the topping, beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk well. Apply the mixture onto the cooled-down cake. Then, grate the cheddar cheese onto the cake thoroughly :)

9) Keep the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours before enjoying it. Your cheese cake is all ready! 

Memo : I got the cake recipe from a friend of mine, Kak Nor Kartina. Thank you so much Kak Nor! Thanks to my sister Yanty too for the awesome topping recipe ;) 

Tips : If you want more cheese, what you can do is after the cake has cooled down, slice the cake into halves and spread the topping mixture (without grated cheddar cheese) in between before combining the halves back ;) 

LET'S DO THE BAKINGGGG ;)

Thanks for reading ya!