Tiramisu-Oreo Gourmet Cake for hubby's birthday!

Oh my it has been a while since my last post hasn't it? I can not believe that it is nearly half way through 2013! gosh time sure flies...

I do admit that I have been a slack in updating the blog and I apologise...I have been really busy with a lot of things...cakes, family, life, etc...

Since november last year till early this year, I was busy renovating a new kitchen site for Bake-a-boo. After all the stress and hard work...few months ago it was done and finished! yay!!

So now Bake-a-boo Cakes is officially up and running as a professional cakery...I am proud to say that Bake-a-boo's kitchen has an A grade council approved!!

I will try to post some pictures of the kitchen when I have spare time.

Anyway, last Monday was hubby's birthday. Last year I made him the Neapolitan chocolate cake...this year I didn't have any plan of what to make for him. Mainly because this year I am super busy so I don't have much spare time anymore..poor hubby :(

However..because I love him so much..I had to make time to make him something! lol

The idea of the cake came up the last minute...Superhero theme!

Because he is the superhero in our lives and because of him I can do what I do now...I can pursue my dream of having my own cake business and not only that..I can do it from home!

(yes he bought me this house that we live now so I could open up a commercial kitchen at our residential home!)

The concept of the cake is simple...Minion as Batman theme and because I didn't have time to decorate the cake..I let the boys drew on the cake! They had a blast!
The orange colour drawing was done by Koda and the green one by Zac my baby.

I chose The Minion because my hubby is bald and cute as Minion lol!

For the dessert, I have been craving for Tiramisu...but I wanted to be a bit more adventurous and tried something a bit different.
I came up with the idea of combining Tiramisu and Oreos...thinking that my idea was original and it was so not after I googled it! lol

Anyway..original or not original ...it was super delicious!!

Here is the recipe:

Tiramisu-Oreo Gourmet Cake

1x Store bought sponge cake, cut into 2 layers.

1 packet of Italian sponge finger biscuits

3 eggs, separated

1TBS sugar

250g mascarpone

300ml cream

1 cup espresso or strong instant coffee, cooled 

4TBS brandy

Combine liquid together.

1 packet of Oreos, separate the biscuits and fillings ( Crush half packet of Oreo biscuits and keep the half whole)

Method:

- Beat egg yolks, sugar and Oreo fillings until light and smooth.

- Fold in the mascarpone and then the egg whites (which have been beaten until stiff). Set aside.

- Whip the cream until set but don't over beat. Set aside

- Using springform pan, place 1st layer of sponge cake on the middle bottom of the pan.

Note: I did not use the cake pan plate, only the ring and place it directly on to the serving plate.

The size cake pan I used is 7".

- Brush enough coffee and brandy mixture on to the sponge cake (the amount you want to put in the cake depends to your liking..but if you do put too much then the cake base will be watery the next day)

- Place the sponge finger biscuits around the sponge cake ( see pic )
- Cover the cake with the approx 1/3 of mascarpone mixture.
- Dip oreo biscuits in the coffee and brandy.
- Place Oreo biscuits and top with 1/2 of the whipped cream.

- Place 2nd layer of sponge cake on top of the whipped cream layer.

- Repeat the layers again to use the remaining mixtures.

- Sprinkle over Oreo crush biscuits to decorate.

- Chill for at least 3 hours or overnight.

If you don't have a springform cake pan or if you just want to do it the simpler way..you can just skip the sponge finger biscuits and do it in a regular dish :)

Happy baking!
Elina

Oreo & Strawberry-Vanilla layers Cheesecake

 

Okay so my previous post of rainbow cheesecake was a hit...no actually more correctly it went viral! I absolutely can't believe it! I'm just over the moon that you guys like it :)

Ever since I did the Rainbow cheesecake..I kept thinking about different flavour. The recipe is so versatile and easy...you can change to any flavour you like and the only limitation is your imagination!

My 3 year old boy Zac loves Oreo with strawberry filling...and I thought that would be a good cheesecake flavour and I was right!...here it is Oreo & Strawberry-Vanilla layers cheesecake.. It was YUM!

Originally I wanted to make 6 layers of strawberry and vanilla. Unfortunately I ruined the first 2 layers..the reason was because the first layer wasn't set enough when I poured the second layer in.
Silly me eh? so make sure you don't make the same mistake I did :p

Oh one more thing,  it was diabetic friendly too. I used Splenda instead of sugar, except the base..I had to use oreo cookies base. Unfortunately it's not easy to get sugar-free oreo here, otherwise I would have use that.

Tempted to try, here goes the recipe..

Basically the cheesecake recipe is exactly the same as Rainbow cheesecake except the base.
I made mine diabetic friendly, so instead of sugar I replaced it with Splenda.
The recipe I posted here is the original recipe.


Oreo & Strawberry-Vanilla layers Cheesecake:

Cheesecake base:
225gr oreo cookies (take the filling out or not, up to your liking)
100gr butter, melted

Process oreo cookies until fine. Transfer oreo crumbs to a bowl and stir in melted butter. Press oreo mixture evenly over the base. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

Note: I used 7" spring form cake pan. This recipe will make a thick base because I like it thick :)
I also used all the fillings in the oreo because I don't have the time and patience to do it lol!

Cheese Layer
120ml fresh milk
2 egg yolks
350gr cream cheese
80gr caster sugar
1 tbsp gelatine powder
400gr fresh cream (whipped )

Flavors and colourings
1 tsp strawberry essence and red food colouring (feel free to add more essence, 1/4 tsp at a time.. if you think the flavour is not strong enough)
1tsp vanilla extract or 1/4tsp vanilla bean paste.

Method:
- To make cheese cake layer, bring fresh milk, egg yolks, cream cheese, sugar and gelatine powder to heat in  double boiler. Stirring over simmering water until mixture is melted.
- Remove and leave to cool
- Fold in whipped cream until blended
- Divide cheese mixture into 2 portions and combine with difference flavour.
- Choose whichever cheesecake mixture you want to go in first for the bottom layer. Spread it in the tin. place it freezer for about 10min. Once you see the layer is shiny and set, pour the next cheese cake mixture in. Repeat this process until finish.

Cover and refrigerate until set for about 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Happy baking!

Elina xx

Thank you!

 

Today Bake-a-boo's facebook likes has reached over 5000 likes..never in a million years would I have thought this could happen. I feel truly blessed! I never fuss about how many number of likes I have.....everything that I have posted or shared is my love on a plate...and I just want to thank you SO much for all the likes, support and appreciation! They mean a lot to me!!

Have a wonderful day and happy baking!!

Elina xx

I {heart} rainbow cheesecake!

Oh how gorgeous is this cheesecake! I have always love cheesecake but I LOVE this cheesecake! It is not only looked beautiful but it also tasted beautiful!

The story began when I had free time last week and I was feeling adventurous to try something new in baking. So I did some googling and I found Kevin Chai's Dainty cheesecake...first thing that popped into my mind was..Wow I gotta try this!
.....and ta da! look at this beautiful cheesecake! I can't stop saying beautiful can I? LOL
I am just so happy with the result!

 

As usual I like to adjust the recipe to my liking...I changed the colours and flavourings because I wanted to make Rainbow cheesecake that have similar flavour to Rainbow ice cream.
My kids like Tip Top rainbow surprise ice cream so I base the flavourings on that, which has: banana, strawberries and bubble gum flavours.

However that ice cream only have 3 flavours and I wanted to make 5 layers of colours in my cheese cake, so I added orange and lime.

Here is what you need:

1 slice bought sponge cake and cut to about 2cm height.
or
you can also make your own and this is the recipe that I used on my cheesecake.
You do need to bake it in a larger cake tin and trim it down to fit the cheesecake pan, I used 8" cake tin and for the cheese cake I used 7" spring-form cake tin.

Vanilla Sponge Cake (Asian style)

Ingredients:
3 eggs
125g caster sugar
1/4tsp salt
100g flour
22g vegetable oil
22g milk
1/4tsp vanilla essence

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Sift the flour and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs, salt, vanilla essence and sugar until very thick and fluffy.
4. Take the sifted flour and fold flour into the egg mixture.
5. In another bowl, mix milk and oil together. Pour into the flour batter, mix well using a spatula.
6. Pour batter in 8 inch round tin and bake in preheated oven for 25-30mins. (Note, there is no need to grease the cake pan or line with baking paper)
7. Remove cake tin from oven and invert the tin (with the cake still intact) on a wire rack and let cool. Once cooled, remove cake from tin.

 
Rainbow Cheesecake (my version):

Cheese Layer
120ml fresh milk
2 egg yolks
350gr cream cheese
80gr caster sugar
1 tbsp gelatine powder
400gr fresh cream (whipped )

Flavors and colourings
1/8 tsp strawberry essence and red food colouring
1/8 tsp lime essence and green food colouring
1/8 tsp orange essence and orange food colouring
1/8 tsp banana essence and yellow food colouring
1/4 tsp bubble gum flavour, I used LorAnn Oils - Concentrated Flavours (I used less because these are concentrated flavours) and blue food coluring.

You can also change these flavours and colours to your liking.

Method:
- Cut sponge cake to fit 7" cake tin and place it into a 7" spring-form tin. Keep aside
- To make cheese cake layer, bring fresh milk, egg yolks, cream cheese, sugar and gelatine powder to heat in  double boiler. Stirring over simmering water until mixture is melted.
- Remove and leave to cool
- Fold in whipped cream until blended
- Divide cheese mixture into 5 portions and combine with difference flavour.
- Choose whichever cheesecake mixture you want to go in first for the bottom layer. Spread it in the tin. place it freezer for about 10min. Once you see the layer is shiny and set, pour the next cheese cake mixture in. Repeat this process until finish.

Cover and refrigerate until set for about 3 hours or preferably overnight.

Once set, take lots of pictures because it is too darn beautiful, cut and... here comes the best part..eating it!

Easy as!

Happy baking!
Elina xx

Indonesian steamed cupcake - dairy free (aka Bolu Kukus)

Hi folks! can't you believe that it's August already? gosh time sure flies.. My little boy is turning 3 in few more days I just can't believe how fast he grows! way too fast and it feels that I'm aging fast too lol!

Anyway the other day I wanted to make something for the kids for their afternoon snacks and I wanted to make something light and sweet..so I thought of this steamed cake.

There is no dairy and oil/butter in this cake and that is gooood isn't it? less guilt eating it!

If you like to try making these steamed cakes/cupcakes, the original recipe I used is from here, J's kitchen blog but I made few amendments to it and here is my version:

200gr caster sugar
2 eggs
200gr standard flour
200ml any flavour soft drink, e.g Sprite
1tsp cake emulsifier 

1. Prepare steamer. Line bolu kukus moulds with parchment paper.
2. Beat egg, caster sugar and emulsifier until thick and pale.
3. Fold in 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the sprite. Gently mix. Repeat with remaining flour and sprite, ending with flour. Mix thoroughly until batter is free from lumps.
4. Divide batter into 3 portion into small bowls and add flavourings and colours. Whisk until thoroughly combined.
5. Spoon batter into moulds. Fill each mold with batter until almost full. Alternate the color to your liking. Steam for 20 minutes on high heat.

The great thing about this steamed cake is that you can add whatever essence/flavouring and colour you want.

These are the flavours and colours I used in my steamed cake:Strawberry essence + one drop of red colour
Few drops of Pandan essence
1-2 tsp cocoa powder

Extra notes:
-You can omit emulsifier (not an easy ingredient to find here), you just need to beat the egg and sugar batter longer until it is very thick for about 10-15 min.
-You can also use standard muffin tin if you don't have bolu kukus moulds
-Here is more tips for making these yummy steam cakes from talented Gourmet baking.

Happy baking!
Elina