Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake

           The soft & moist texture of the sponge cake used for my Strawberry Shortcake I made two weeks ago reminded me of the cotton cheesecake which I've not baked for sometime. Yesterday, I managed to bake it in the morning. 

            The cake is super delicious! Unlike the regular cheesecake, this cake is spongy, moist & tastes very light. Preparing it is quite similar to preparing chiffon cake. Like the regular cheesecake, it is baked using the water bath method. I thought it would taste better if eaten with chocolate ganache & strawberry. I was right! The rich ganache & fresh strawberry provide a good balance!

Japanese Soft Cotton Cheesecake

Adapted from Diana's Desserts

Ingredients:
250g/9 oz. cream cheese
50g/2 oz. butter
100 ml/3 fluid oz. fresh milk

6 egg yolks
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp vanilla paste (I added.)
60g/2 oz. cake flour /superfine flour (sifted)
20g/1 oz. cornflour (cornstarch)

140g/5 oz. fine granulated sugar
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

Instructions:

1. Melt cream cheese, butter and milk over a double boiler. (I used a hand whisk to stir.) Cool the mixture. 
2. Add in egg yolks, lemon juice & vanilla to the cream cheese mixture & mix well. 
3. Fold in flour. Set aside.
4. Whisk egg whites with cream of tartar until foamy. Add in the sugar and whisk until soft peaks form. 
5. Fold in the egg white mixture into the cheese mixture.   
6. Lightly grease and line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch cake pan with greaseproof baking paper or parchment paper. Wrap bottom of pan with aluminium foil to prevent water from seeping into the pan.
7. Pour cake batter into pan &  bake in a water bath for 1 hour 10 minutes or until set and golden brown at 160 degrees C (325 degrees F). (I baked for 30 minutes in my small oven.)
8. Remove pan from oven & leave to cool slightly for about 10 minutes.
9. Remove cake from pan & leave to cool completely or store in fridge.
10. To serve, slice cake & pour ganache over & serve with sliced fresh strawberry.

Makes 1 (8-inch) cheesecake.

Chocolate Ganache 

Source: Creative Making of Cakes by Alex Goh.

500g chocolate
270ml whipping cream
20g butter

           Melt chocolate over double boiler. Cook whipping cream till boiling. Pour into chocolate & mix till well blended. Add butter & mix till well combined.

Another good time......

           Had another girlfriends fun time yesterday afternoon....... My colleagues & I went out for a lunch treat for 2 colleagues who are leaving for another school. We met at the Singapore's latest shopping mall, Changi City Mall & ate at Manhattan Fish Market. I didn't realise the mall was being built until somebody asked me if  I had checked out the place. It's quite big & I think an expansion of the mall is underway..... need to confirm that. There are many food outlets, so that's good news for workers around the area. Anyway, we had a good time. The food was good & we had a good bargain too since we made use of the discount coupons specially issued for that particular outlet. Of course, we talked & laughed a lot. This time, we talked a lot about workplace politics......hey, what's new.....

          On Tuesday, I made Cinnamon Buns, my family's favourite. I started preparing the night before, so before lunch, the buns were ready for the boys to eat. Between the two boys, they finished 7 pieces within a few hours! I had to stop them from eating more or they would be too full to eat dinner.

          This time, I used the recipe that uses Tangzhong. If you are not aware of this method of preparing bread, you may refer to  Do What I Like for Florence's explanation. I doubled up the recipe to make 2 pans. 1 is just not enough for my family. In fact I have to make more soon for my siblings!

My family likes it with cream cheese frosting. Yummy!!

Cinnamon Buns 

(recipe by Florence of Do What I Like. Makes 1 8x8 inch baking pan.)


Tanzhong:
50g bread flour
250ml water

Method:

1. Mix flour in water to form a smooth mixture. (I used a hand whisk.) Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking. Continue stirring until the mixture becomes thick.
2. Once some 'lines' appear in the mixture for every stir  made with the spoon, remove from heat.
3. Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. Chill in fridge for several hours. (I chill it overnight.) The tangzhong is ready to be used.

Note: When you are ready to use the tangzhong, just weigh the amount required & let it rest in room temperature for a while before adding to other ingredients. The tangzhong can be stored up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, discard and cook some more.)

Dough:
210g bread flour
50g cake flour
5g yeast (I used instant yeast.)
50g sugar
2 tbsp milk powder (I added.)
1 egg + water = 110g
75g Tangzhong
30g butter
½ tsp salt

Filling:

15g butter (softened)

30g brown sugar

100g mixed dried fruits or raisins (I didn't use.)

cinnamon powder (Preferably, use freshly ground powder instead of store-bought. It's really worth it! Refer here on how I prepare my cinnnamon powder.)

Method:

1. Combine flour, milk powder, yeast & sugar in a mixing bowl & mix to combine.
2. Add water & tangzhong & mix using a dough hook until combine for about 3 mins. (I'm using  Kenwood cake mixer, so I always use speed no 3 for mixing bread dough, as advised by the service centre.)
3. Add butter & keep mixing for another minute.
4. Add salt & mix for another 5 minutes.
5. Remove the dough and mould it into a round dough. Place it in a bowl and cover it with a cling wrap. Leave to prove for about 45-60 minutes.
6. Remove dough from bowl & punch it to remove air. Leave it to rest for about 10 minutes.
7. Then roll dough out to about 1/2 inch thick.
8. Place the rolled-out dough on a pan lined with silicone or grease paper. Then place it in the freezer for about 10 minutes. This way, it's easier to roll up and cut the dough. Remove from the freezer and the pan. Roll out the dough again into a rectangle of about  30 x 20cm (12 x 8 inches). 
9. Spread soft butter evenly on rolled-out dough. Sprinkle  cinnamon powder generously and evenly, followed by dark brown sugar.
10. Roll up the dough tightly and pinch the edge. Then cut the log into 9 equal parts & arrange them on a 20 x 20 cm (8 x 8 inch) pan lined with grease or silicone paper.
11. Leave the dough to rise for 30 to 45 minutes.
12. Bake at 180 deg C for about 35 minutes.

Feeling good..........

           I always feel good after a good work-out at the gym. The whole body  feels really energised! Must be the warm muscles & the blood pumping! Very often, the challenge is to make the time to go to the gym & ignore the excuses not to head there. It always feels good too after spending time with friends & doing  what we love doing; talking, laughing, eating & baking! That's what I did with my friends, Salina & Nura, last week. We talked, laughed, ate, baked & ate again!

          After tasting my Lapis Prune Ice-cream recently, Salina requested that I conduct a lapis- making training session. So  last week, we met at my place. Nura also brought her daughter & 2 nieces along. We made 2 types of lapis, Lapis Legit Betawi & Lapis Strawberry Ice-cream.

The ladies made these.....not bad.......:)

       
            As you can see, my trainees, all 5 of them, did a good job! Although it was their first time, the cake turned out very presentable. They liked eating them too! I had to cut the cake when it was still hot because the girls couldn't wait to taste them as the smell was just so irresistible! It was a day well spent!

The trainees........baking with a smile....

          

          The Lapis Legit Betawi recipe is by Wannah Alshatrie, my weekend baking class instructor & the Lapis Strawberry Ice-cream recipe is by Aini Salim.

Lapis Lengit Betawi

Recipe by Wannah Alshatrie.
Ingredients:
450g butter

20 egg yolk (use large eggs)
8 egg white
300 castor sugar

150g cake flour (sifted with baking powder)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp spekok powder
20g ground almond

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 160 deg C. Use top heat only.
2. Cream butter until white & creamy.
3. If using a big cake mixer, combine eggs & sugar in a clean & dry mixing bowl & beat until thick & fluffy. If using a hand-held whisk,  beat egg white in a dry & clean mixing bowl until soft peak. Then add sugar gradually & beat until stiff peak. Then add egg yolk one at a time. Continue mixing until mixture becomes thick & fluffy.
4. Add butter & mix thoroughly. (I used a hand whisk.)
5. Fold in flour,baking powder & spekok powder. Mix gently but thoroughly.
6. Pour 2 ladles of batter into a 10x7 lined & greased baking pan (Grease & line bottom of pan only). Grill for about 1-2 minutes till cook & top turns golden brown.  (You may need to adjust the temperature of your oven such that the layer will be cooked in about 2 minutes) .Remove baking pan from oven. Press the top of cake gently with a lapis presser (or flat glass) to pop up any bubbles & produce a neat lapis.
7. Repeat step 6 until finished.

NB: Once you are done with mixing batter (step 5), do not stir it anymore. Just scoop the top part of batter when layering the cake. For this recipe, you'll notice watery part of batter at the bottom of bowl. Discard this part. Don't use it.