Blueberry Rare Cheesecake

Making Rare cheesecake is so easy, and you can create endless variation of it ^^.
Because you don't have to bake it, you can make it without an oven. The base of rare cheesecake can be digestive biscuits or sponge cake. For me I think using digestive biscuit crumbs give interesting texture to the cake and it's easier too ^^.
This time to intensify the taste of the blueberry I add blueberry fruit spread into the base of the cake but you can use blueberry jam too if you like. 
Mitte blueberry flavoured syrup give enough blueberry flavour to the cake, but if you want using food colouring make the cake prettier and more blueberry colour, hehe.
Serve this cute little cake with a cup of hot black tea is recommended as the richness of the cake goes well with lightly bitterness of the black tea.

Blueberry Rare Cheesecake

Makes 18cm cake

Base 
100g .................... Digestive biscuits
50g ...................... Salted butter

Filling
100g .................... Blueberry fruit spread (or blueberry jam)

Cheesecake
200g .................... Cream cheese
100g .................... Whipping cream
50g ...................... Granulated sugar 
20g ...................... Lemon juice
60ml .................... Mitte blueberry flavoured syrup
.............................. Purple food colouring (optional) 
5g ......................... Gelatin sheets (or powder)
30g ....................... Water

Topping
150g ...................... Whipping cream
15g ........................ Icing sugar

Ingredients for Base: Butter and Digestive biscuits.

Put the digestive biscuits into a plastic bag and crush with your hand into fine crumbs.
Melt the butter in a microwave for 40 seconds (600w), then mix the melted butter with the biscuit crumbs.
Pour into the base of 18cm round cake pan with removable bottom, and press until smooth.
Refrigerate for 10 minutes. 

Spread the jam over the biscuits, return to the refrigerator until ready.

Ingredients for cheesecake: Mitte blueberry flavoured syrup, Lemon juice, Gelatin sheets, cream cheese, whipping cream (for cheese part), granulated sugar, whipping cream and icing sugar for topping.

Beat the cream cheese and granulated sugar until smooth.

Put the gelatin into the 30ml water, bloom for at least 5 minutes.
Warm in the microwave for 20-30 seconds (600w), stir until fully melt.

Pour the melted gelatin mixture into the cream cheese bowl, mix to combine, follow by Mitte blueberry flavoured syrup (and food colouring if using), mix to combine.
Pour whipping cream and lemon juice into the bowl and mix to combine.

Pour into the cake pan, and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Whip the whipping cream and icing sugar until soft peaks formed.
Pour the whipped cream over the cheesecake and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Blueberry Rare Cheesecake

Sunday Sabayon with Strawberries

I went to Hilton Sukumvit Hotel with my sister for Italian cooking class on August 26th. ^^

 The name of the class is "Cucina Academy by Scalini" (Scalini is Italian restaurant in this Hotel). Chef Egidio Latorraca (Executive Sou Chef of Scalini restaurant) is the one who taught us the secret of Italian home cooking ^^, because all the recipes that we learned can be made at home. His teaching style is so relaxing, but full of useful technique and information (and laughter, haha, Thank you so much Chef).  

There were three menus that I learned, Signature Scalini "Ceasar salad", Pan-fried Sea Bass Sicilian style and Grand mom's sunday sabayon with strawberries. Because Chef Egidio  worked in many countries before coming to work at Scalini, some of his menus are fusion, Ceasar salad is not born in Italy but created by Italian man name Caesar Cardini, while he lived in Mexico and when Chef Egidio adds teriyaki sauce to the chicken breast for marinating, it makes everything more confusing, haha, but the truth is it's delicious. 
Because he taught us to cook at home, there were no measuring step, taste then season is the key for home cooking. After the class, we really enjoyed the meal at the restaurant (eating the menus that we learned).
As I love to make sweet thing, the menu that I want to create at home is Grand mom's sunday sabayon with strawberries. Chef Egidio use Moscato for making his traditional sabayon (the recipe comes from his grand mom ^^), and I had a chance to taste the wine, it's so delicious, so I bought the same wine to make this dessert. Actually, you can use any sweet wine that you like, the key is use the one that you love to drink and it will make the sabayon delicious too. 
This traditional dessert is easy to make, but you need to serve it immediately or the sabayon will lose its volume, if it waits too long.

Note: If you interest in cooking class you can contact 02-620 6666 for more information, the class will start from September 13th (6 classes 18 menus, you will get cute black apron when joining the class, hehe).  

 Sunday Sabayon with Strawberries

Serves 4

4 ......................................... Egg yolks
20-30 ml ............................ Moscato (or other sweet wine)
15g ...................................... Icing sugar
100g .................................... Fresh strawberries
............................................. Icing sugar for sweetened the strawberries
............................................. Mint leaves for decorating

Adaptation from: Cucina Academy by Scalini "GRAND MOM’S SUNDAY SABAYON WITH STRAWBERRIES"

My secret ingredient ^^ : Moscato D'Asti

Boil water in saucepan (size of the saucepan depends on  your egg bowl, you will place the bowl over the saucepan), then lower the heat, the water should be lightly simmer.
Put egg yolks, icing sugar and sweet wine into a bowl, then place the bowl over the saucepan, whisk until the mixture is very thick (the temperature is about 64°C., don't stop whisking or you will get scramble egg instead, hehe, anyway don't whisk too fast or the sabayon will lose it volume faster).

 Meanwhile, cut the strawberries into small dices and mix with just enough icing sugar to make it lightly sweet.
Divide the strawberries into glasses.

Pour the sabayon over the strawberries then burn the top with blowtorch.
Decorate with mint leave and serve immediately.

Sunday Sabayon with Strawberries

Strawberry crumble bars

 I was really busy last week, so many things to do, so little time ^^". Most of the things that I had to do was related to house renovation. 

 But everything is almost done, I can use my kitchen now (not fully function but almost!!!). So start from this week I have to put all my things into places. 
I miss baking, cooking, and taking photo, ^^ plus posting the recipe and taking with you (my reader, hehe). I hope that I can get back to my routine soon. 
Now we can stop taking about my hectic life, and start talking about this cute little crumble bar instead. This bar is very, very, very easy to make, but the look is so lovely. You just bake the crumble and put it in the mold then boil the strawberry and put onto the top of the crumble, decorate it and Voila! you get super cute crumble bar.

 Strawberry crumble bars

Makes 8 (9x3.5 cm)

400g .............................. Fresh strawberries, diced
40g ................................. Granulated sugar
4g .................................... Agar agar

Crumble
85g .................................. Unsalted butter
75g .................................. Almond powder
75g .................................. Granulated sugar
75g .................................. All purpose flour
......................................... Pinch of salt

Sweetened whipped cream
150g ................................ Whipping cream
15g ................................... Icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Line the baking sheet with baking paper.

 Mix together the salt, the sugar, the almond powder and the all purpose flour in a bowl. Put the butter into the bowl, use your finger tips to mix all the ingredients together until crumbs formed. Press the dough until the dough is fully combine.
Press the dough onto the prepared baking sheet.
Bake for 15 minutes then remove the baking sheet from the oven and lower the temperature to 150°C. , use two fork to crumble the dough into small pieces.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Let the crumble cool complete.

Line baking sheet with baking paper, place rectangular molds over the baking paper.  
After the crumble cool, press into the molds.

Put the strawberry, the sugar, and the agar agar into a saucepan, and bring to boil over low heat.
Remove from the heat and divide into the prepared molds, press to smooth the top.
Let them cool to room temperature then refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
Just before serving, whip the whipping cream with the icing sugar until soft peak formed.
Decorate with the whipped cream before serving.

Strawberry crumble bars

Peanut butter chocolate cups

Imagine that you eat peanut butter cookie dipped in the dark chocolate ^^, it is what you get from this little cup.

Peanut and chocolate are great combination, the richness of peanut, the sweetness of the cookie and the bitterness from the chocolate make this treat so special.
I love using brown sugar in the cookie dough, the sweetness is mellow and it gives the dough extra moisture.
When dividing the dough it depends on the size of your mini muffin tins, don't put the dough too much or the cookie dough will overflow, and you won't get cute cookie cups.
I think decorating makes this cups more adorable but it won't effect the taste so you can do it or skip, it's up to you.
  

Peanut butter chocolate cups 

Makes 30-35 pieces

Cookies
115g ............................... Unsalted butter
85g ................................ Chunky peanut butter
90g ................................ Granulated sugar
100g .............................. Brown sugar
1 ..................................... Egg
165g ............................... All purpose flour
1/2tsp ............................ Baking soda
1/2tsp ............................ Salt

Filling
50g ................................. Dark chocolate (I use 60%)
45g ................................ Whipping cream
17g ................................. Unsalted butter
1tsp ............................... Vanilla extract

Decoration
2tsp .............................. Smooth peanut butter (optional)

Ingredients for cookie: Unsalted butter, salt, all purpose flour, baking soda, granulated sugar, egg, chunky peanut butter, and brown sugar
Preheat the oven to 165°C.
Sift the flour and baking soda together.
Butter the muffin tins.

Beat the butter with salt until soft, add both granulated sugar and brown sugar, then beat until combine.
Add the peanut butter, beat to combine, add the egg and beat to combine.

Pour the sifted flour mixture into the bowl, fold to combine.

Divide into the mini muffin tins (about 2tsp- 1tbsp per piece), bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and press teaspoon measuring spoon on the top.
Let the cookie cool completely before removing from the tins.

Ingredients for chocolate filling: whipping cream, butter, dark chocolate and vanilla extract

Put the whipping cream in microwavable cup, warm in the microwave for 50 seconds (600w). Pour the dark chocolate into the cup, stir slowly then add the vanilla extract and butter into the cup, stir until smooth.

Let the filling cool and pour into the piping bag. Pipe the filling into the cookies.
If you want to decorate, warm the smooth peanut butter until soft, put the peanut butter into the piping bag and pipe over the chocolate filling. 
Refrigerate until firm before serving, keep in the fridge.

Peanut butter chocolate cups