Cooked Buttercream Icing

Assalamualaikum

I was looking for a delicious icing recipe that won’t give us cavity and obesity. SO my friend introduced me to cooked buttercream icing. Oh my. It requires less butter and less sugar and it tastes like a pudding. PUDDING IN BETWEEN CAKE LAYERS.*cries*

Anyhoot, here is the recipe...

Cooked Buttercream Icing

1 cup of milk

4 tablespoon of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1 cup softened butter

1. Place the milk in a saucepan and whisk in the flour.
2. Cook over medium high heat, stirring continuously, until it becomes a very thick smooth paste. This can take 3-4 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and let cool completely.
4. Beat the cooled flour/milk mixture vanilla on high speed for 4 minutes. It will become a smooth paste again.
5. In a separate bowl combine sugar and butter together with an electric mixer.
6. Blend on high for 4 minutes.
7. Combine both mixtures together and beat on high speed with an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes until super fluffy.

Note: if making Cooked Chocolate Butter cream, add ¼ cup of chopped chocolate that is melted in the buttercream.

You could also tint the buttercream with coloring if you like.

Original recipe from here

I don’t have a proper picture but I used cooked chocolate buttercream in this cake.Soooo delicious that you could eat it on its own.

Wasalam.

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Cream puffs/ Profiteroles

Assalamualaikum!

God! I have been away for so long! I missssss blogging. Sharing my kitchen experiments and recipes.Oh hello world. I realized that I kept on writing about how busy I am in EVERY SINGLE POST..oh well.I am,  after all a student. Finals and deadlines came and went and now summer school. Another round of deadlines, quizzes and finals. Oh joy! 

Since the last time I blogged, which  was ages ago I actually have quite a number of recipes to blog about. To me, blog is not just for sharing recipes but it is my online recipe book. Often times I forget what I put in what, so you’ll find me engrossed with my phone in the middle of the grocery store trying to figure out which fruit/veg/flour to buy to make something.All hail technology!

Anyhoots, I have been wanting to make cream puffs/profiteroles for the longest time. I don’t know why but I just never did. So Deana who is my baking Guru (hello Deana!), gave me her extremely easy and delicious cream puff recipe. I made these babies for the South East Asian Night. It was a blast!

The cream puffs were easy to make and you could make anyyyy kind of fillings!Really. ANY KIND.So I made Strawberry Cheesecake filling , Chocolate Butter Cream filling and the Classic Custard filling.

Cream puffs

250 ml water (or milk for richer taste!)

100 g butter

1/2  teaspoon salt

1/2  teaspoon sugar

150 g all-purpose flour

4 to 5 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 425 degree Fahrenheit
2. Put milk/water, salt, sugar and butter that is cut into small pieces into a pot .Place pot on medium high heat.
3. When the mixture is boiling, quickly take off the heat, and add the flour one shot. Stir vigorously (to avoid flour lumps!)
4. Put the pot back on the heat and continue stirring until it forms a ball that doesn’t stick to the sides or the wooden spoon
5.  Transfer to dough into another bowl, and let it cool for a second, by stirring it. (an electric mixer is nice here, but its do-able by hand as well)
6. Using an electric mixer, start adding the eggs. Add one, mix thoroughly before adding the next. At the 4th egg, you'll start adding the fifth egg in small quantities until you get the right consistency*.
7. line a pan with parchment paper
8. Bake for about 10~15 min, or until it rises and becomes a golden color. After that reduce the temp to 350 degrees for another 10 minutes or so.
9. You know they are ready when you knock them and they sound hollow.
10. Once they are cool use a serrated knife to cut the shells in half. Fill cream puffs with your favorite fillings!
11. Feel free to dust them with some powdered sugar!

 

 

*Note: right consistency is when you make a line through the batter with the wooden spoon, it closes on itself slowly. Or if you take a blob of it on your finger, it shouldn't be too stiff, or too runny. It should for a soft "hook" (kinda looks like soft ice cream)

Classic custard filling (pastry cream) : recipe here

Strawberry cream cheese filling: recipe here.

Please try this recipe. It’ll be amazing with a good cup of tea or coffee. I know it’s raining outside and kinda cold for a summer day. But still..the air feels fresh and clean. Open your windows or balcony doors and let the cold wind in. Any kind of weather is a blessing.

Wasalam.

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Fruit Tart

Assalamualaikum!

Spring is finally here Alhamdulillah! I could finally take out my dresses and skirts from storage!Woot woot. Soon would be the barbecue season!Ahhh can’t wait! I miss those days when I don’t have to worry whether my coat is thick enough to last me the whole day or having to put lotions in my bag for reapplications through out the day.Bliss!

It's funny how I’ve been meaning to blog for the past couple of weeks but I was too busy with school work. Now when I actually have time to sit down..I sat here in front of may laptop..and my mind went completely blank. Which recipe should I write first?Which photos do I have to edit first?oh wait..where are the photos?=.=’ Not cool Soffy. Not Cool...

A couple of weeks back our lovely Kak Isma wanted to learn how to make a fruit tart. It sure brought back memories!When I first came to Montreal, fruit tart was the first dessert I made. That was THREE years ago!How time flies!So here is the recipe for fruit tart to which kak Isma said.. "sedap sangat rasa nak nangis”.AWWWW!

 

Sugar Crust/Pâté Sucree

1 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter(cold)

2 to 3 teaspoon cold water (or more depending on the consistency of the dough)

1 tablespoon of sugar

1. Cut the cold butter into chunks.
2. In a big bowl, put in the flour, sugar and chunks of cold butter.
3. Using your fingers or fork, combine the flour,butter and sugar until crumbly
4. Add in water little by little until the crumbs come together to form a ball of dough.
5. Wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and leave in the fridge for 15-20 minutes
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit in the mean time.
7. Place the dough on a well floured surface after removing it from the fridge.
8. Roll it out using a rolling pin or simply press them using your palms.(no one is judging!)
9. Place the rolled dough on a 9 inch pie pan.
10. Cut off the excess dough.
11. Using a fork make small holes on the bottom of the pie crust
12. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown

Pastry Cream

1 1/4 cups

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. In a bowl beat the eggs with sugar until combined
2. Sift the flour and corn starch into the mixture and continue mixing until a paste is formed. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan, bring the milk to just boiling (foams up). Remove from heat.
4. Add the milk to the egg sugar mixture a few tablespoons at a time to avoid the curdling of the eggs.
5. Once the egg sugar mixture is warm enough, pour in all of the milk and mix well
6. Put the mixture back into the saucepan on low heat and stir continuously.
7. Once it thickness, wait for a about 2-3 minutes   and remove from heat.
8. Stir in the vanilla

Fruit Tart

Pate Sucree/ Sugar Crust

Pastry Cream

Fruits of your choice

1. Spread the pastry cream evenly on the crust
2. Slice the fruits of your choice into small pieces.
3. Arrange the fruits on the pastry cream to your liking.
4. Chill the fruit tart for at least half an hour in the fridge before serving

Give it a try!=D

Sorry for the bad pictures.It was dark and we were...well...impatient?=p

Original pastry cream recipe from: here

Take care!Wasalam

Till then, Love,

Sofhan Hasni 

Black Diamond

Assalamualaikum

The break is over! NOOO! Back to reality baby! No more waking up late. No more brunches and dinners and gossips. Oh no!

One of the highlights of my break..or wait..one of the highlights of 2013 is…. I did it! I told you I’m going to challenge myself to ski down the Black Diamond slope..and that’s what I did! Alhamdulillah. It was crazy! Surprisingly it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. My nerves got to me the first time around as I somersaulted, slided, rolled in different ways down. The second time however, it was better! Last year I was scared of the height and speed. 

Alhamdulillah, I overcame those fears and REALLY REALLY enjoyed skiing. I was thinking of joining another trip to the slopes to which my mum was like..”op..op..dah dah la tu”. My mum was just worried. The day after the trip every inch of my body hurts. The next day I got myself a massage and yeap..my back was bruised. It was crazy and is much fun. 

So.. Bungee Jumping next? We’ll see…

Take care and stay safe!

Wasalam.

Till then, Love.Sofhan Hasni

Tiramisu Charlotte Cake

Assalamualaikum.

The girls and I decided to have an all girls lunch/dinner/gossip/bonding session last Wednesday. We feasted on Nasi Lemak, Rendang, Fruit Tart , Chocolate Cake, Tiramisu and bottles and bottles of Barbicans. It was a fun day to let loose. Sit around and just chat like nobody’s business.

I wanted to make Tiramisu for awhile now. The last time I made it was a year ago. That time I made a Tiramisu trifle so this time I decided to my hands on a Tiramisu cake. It wasn't a complete success but wasn't a complete disaster either. My friends liked it. But it wasn't as coffee-ish as I would like it to be. But then again, they are not coffee crazy like I am. If it is a coffee flavored cake…it BETTER taste like coffee. So next time, I’ll be sure to drench my vanilla sponge cakes in coffee. DRENCH DRIPPING COFFEE GOODNESS NEXT TIME!

Making Tiramisu is not hard AT ALL. You could simply make an easier version buy substituting the vanilla sponge cakes to ladyfingers or savoiardi which is not even expensive. Mine was a  dollar for a humongous packet of cookies. Also, Mascarpone can be quite pricey especially in Malaysia. So for this recipe, I usually use cream cheese. It’s cheaper and STILL delicious. It’s easy, its delicious and its pretty. What could go wrong?

original recipe from: here

Vanilla Sponge Cake

2 cups cake flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F
2. Sift the dry ingredient i.e. cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside
3. In a big bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and well combined.
4. Beat in the egg yolk, eggs and vanilla into the butter mixture, one at a time.
5. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the butter mixture alternately. Starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
6. Divide cake batter in two 9-inch lined and oiled springforms.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean after being inserted in the middle of the cake.

Coffee mixture

1 cup of hot water

1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder

2 tablespoon of sugar

1. Mix everything together and set aside

Filling and frosting

1 cup of cream cheese

2 cups of heavy cream

¾ cup of icing sugar

1. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until light and well mixed. Set aside
2. In another bowl, whip the heavy cream until stiff peaks form.
3. Using a spatula slowly fold in the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.

Tiramisu Charlotte Cake

2 Vanilla cakes

Filling and frosting

Coffee mixture

Ladyfingers or savoiardi

1. Place one of the vanilla sponge cakes on a serving plate.
2. Using a knife, stab and make holes in the cake.
3. Using a spoon, slowly pour coffee on the top of the cake. Use as much as you need.
4. Cover the top of the cake with half of the filling and frosting mixture.
5. Repeat the same steps with the other cake layer. However, save some of the filling and frosting mixture to cover the sides of the cake.
6. Once the sides of the cake is iced, cut (if needed) about 1 cm-2 cm of the ladyfingers and arrange them on the side of the cake.
7. Refrigerate overnight to let the cakes and ladyfingers to soak in the flavors.
8. Cover the top of the Tiramisu cake with chocolate powder or shaved chocolate.

 

 tie a ribbon around it and sprinkle some chocolate powder :)

The ladyfingers-around-the-cake makes this Tiramisu cake a Charlotte cake. It’s a “decorating” technique where cakes/pudding/tarts are surrounded with a wall of ladyfingers or breads. It’s easy to do and works perfectly as a gift. Just tie a ribbon around it! No hassle and PUFF, a sophisticated and decent looking cake is created.

There are a few changes that I would make next time.

First, THE COFFEE FLAVOR  I need more of it! I’ll definitely take my time to make sure every inch of my cakes is filled with coffee. Also, I’d add some coffee mixture on the filling and frosting mixture as well. Oh wait..maybe I could put some coffee powder in my cake too? Ehehehe.

Second thing is, I need a better ribbon and learn a better way to tie a proper ribbon.

Third thing that I may or perhaps YOU may want to change is the ratio of the cream cheese and heavy cream.  I used more cream in this recipe, it is a lot lighter and less cream cheese concentrated. If you want a heavier and cheesier taste, feel free to switch the ratios of the two.

Since kak Isma’s birthday is next week , we decided to use this cake as her birthday cake. Yeay!

Thank you for being a great kakak to all of us here! HUGS!

Okay I need to make dinner and continue studying. Meehun Sup for dinner. Yeay! 

Take care! Wasalam.

Till then, 

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Classic New York Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Topping/ Marble Chocolate Cheesecake

Assalamualaikum!

I remembered the first time I made cheesecake. It was for Eid when I first got here. When I first got here I didn't really know how to cook. I would go on Google and search for recipes (still do) and go to Loblaws after school and try make a decent meal out whatever I bought. We were ambitious. I was at least. Kuew Teaw (I still don’t know how to spell it) Hong Kong la, Tomyam from scratch la, apple strudles  la..and of course..cheesecake. I finally tried making a cheesecake again about a month ago and made another two on Thursday and Friday. Again, these cakes are made for a birthday. A special someone who is devoting her life for charity work. She is none other than our bonda in Montreal, Auntie Sabria. Illya and I stayed at her place when we first got here. She is always on her feet cooking for shelters, homeless people, weddings, iftars, Islamic gatherings and the list goes on. She is well known in Montreal for her contribution and of course, her big heart!

Auntie Sabria loves cheesecake, so for her birthday celebration with MSA McGill, I decided to make her a cheesecake. Since a lot of people were coming, I was told to make two cakes. Mind you, I have NOT mastered the art of making a crack-less cheesecake. My springform pan is too big for my roasting dish thus I can’t use the water bath system. Oh well.. I’m not sure if that would stop these cheesecakes from cracking. It’s really puzzling when a website tells you NOT to open the oven door as the cold air would somehow make the cake crack while other sites tells you that you should take it out immediately or some would say use water bath, some say you don't, some say check your oven….Whaaa? I really think we should have a Global Cheesecake Conference to actually come to an agreement and stop confusing clueless newbie baker like I am. Oh stahp!

I made a classic new York cheesecake with two different variations! Yeay!

Original recipe here

Classic New York Cheesecake

1 ¼ cup of finely crushed graham crackers

¼ cup of melted butter

¾ cup sugar

1 kg of creamcheese (4 packages)

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 325 degree Fahrenheit (300 degrees if using a dark nonstick springform)
2. Spray the insides of a 9-inch springform. Set aside
3.  In a bowl, mix the crushed graham crackers and melted butter together. Press firmly on the bottom of spring form.
4. Bake for 10 minutes and set aside.
5. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well combined.
6. Add in the sour cream and vanilla and continue mixing.
7. Add in the eggs into the mixture. One at a time.
8. Pour the mixture on to the baked crust and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour.
9. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake rest in the oven for another hour with the oven door slightly ajar.
10. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

 You’ll see that by this time, the middle part of the cheesecake would still be jiggly. But really, it’s done. It’ll firm up once it cools. And yes. I kid you. You are DEFINETLY welcomed to dig right innnn!Do it..I won't judge..

   

Mixed Berry Topping

¼ cup of strawberry jam (or any berries)

1 tablespoon of water

Strawberries and blueberries (Or any of your choice)

1. Mix the jam with water and heat it in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
2. Spread the jam over the top of the cheesecake.
3. Arrange the berries on the jam.

 Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

½ cup of melted chocolate

1. At step 8 (refer to NY cheesecake above), add dollops of melted chocolate in the cheesecake batter.
2. Using a knife or bamboo skewer, swirl the melted chocolate around the batter to create a marble effect.
3. Put in oven as stated in previous recipe.

  

Oh hello Grand Canyon!

Err.could this pass as art?=P

Sorry this photo is extra bad. had to rush to deliver these babies!

 

Since the marble cheesecake cracked, I melted some more chocolate and filled in the cracks. I then refrigerate it for about an hour to let the chocolate set. Teehee.

The cheesecakes were absolutely delicious! Oh wait! I didn't try the marble chocolate one. Oh well, I hope it tested great too. Hihi. Making cheesecake are definitely easy BUT, tedious if you want to make it EXACTLY perfect! If I’m eating on my own, I wouldn't mind if there’s a Grand Canyon in the middle of my cheesecake. HECK! It’s cheesecake for God sake!

Okay. Now I’m hungry..=.=’

Goodnight Lovelies!

Wasalam.

Till then,

Love,

Sofhan Hasni

Giant Oreo Cheesecake

Assalamualaikum!

I haven’t been able to blog for the past week. Three midterms down, two more to go! I decided to stay home and have a spa night for myself tonight. My body deserves to be pampered. I bought some masks at a Korean beauty store and I wanted to give them a try. Yeay! I’m currently listening to 2002,my favorite new age musicians, with two candles burning by my side. This is life…

Last night in kick boxing class, half of the class had to stand in the middle of a circle and take turns being punched in the abs by the other half of the class.  Later on we got to do the same to the other group. Heehee. Bad ass I tell ya.  “I give ‘er a ha! And a hayyya’…and I kick ‘er sir.” =P

So last time I blogged about Chocolate Cake and Nutella Mousse Filling for Safaa’s birthday and now I’m sharing with you the recipe for the other cake I made for the same party. This cake is for Omar Abdelkader or we call him Omar A or little Omar =)

I saw this Giant Oreo Cheesecake awhile ago on Youtube and I knew I just had to make it.. I’ve already decided to make this cake for Omar since neither I nor anyone else knows his favorite cake flavor. Somehow I don’t think guys talk about their favorite flavors as much as girls do. I mean..I don’t know if guys even…care? To think about it, I still don’t know what kind of desserts my brothers like…Hurmmm..

Anyways, one of our friends was sneaky enough to get Omar to tell us his favorite dessert/cake and whaddaya know! He loves cheesecake AND anything chocolate. So he would DEFINITELY love this cake!

Originally the cake is supposed to be a no-bake cheesecake. However, I couldn’t find any flavorless agar strips/powders in the grocery stores near my apartment. So I had to make a baked crust-less cheesecake instead. Not that it’s a bad thing or anything.. I’ve always preferred baked cheesecakes over no-bake ones.

So here you go, my version of Giant Oreo Cheesecake!

Crustless Oreo Cheesecake

10 Oreo Cookies, divided

 3 (250 g) packages PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, room temperature

 3/4 cup sugar

 1 teaspoon vanilla

 3 eggs

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line an 8 inch cake/springform pan with parchment paper and set aside.
3. If you are using a springform pan, make sure to wrap the bottom of the pan with a few layers of aluminum foil to avoid water from seeping in.
4. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until well blended.
5. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
6. Separate the cookie from the cream (we only need the cookies)
7. Chop or crush cookies. Gently stir the chopped cookies into cream cheese batter.
8. Pour the cream cheese batter in the cake pan. Put the cake pan in a bigger baking dish or a roasting pan.
9. Fill the outer baking dish with boiling water. The water should come about 2/3 of the way up the cake/springform pan.
10. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until centre is almost set.
11. Let cool completely before removing it from the cake/springform pan.
12. Store in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight

Brownies or Big “cookie” layers

6 Oreo cookies, divided

½ cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup self raising flour or (3/4 cup all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder and ¼ teaspoon salt)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

1. Preheat your oven to 356 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease and line two9 inch springforms parchment paper.
3. Place the cookie part of the Oreos into a ziplock bag and crush into fine crumbs
4. Put the butter into a bowl and melt it in the microwave.
5. Beat in the eggs into the melted butter.
6. Add the sugar and mix well.
7. Add the cocoa powder and self raising flour until well incorporated
8. Fold in the chocolate chips and cookie crumbs.
9. Divide the batter evenly into both springforms.
10. Bake in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the knife/ toothpick inserted in the middle of the brownie comes out clean.

 Now….If you want to make it funkier, add more details on your giant cookie!  I made chocolate sugar cookies for decoration. I halved the recipe below.

Chocolate Sugar cookies

(Makes 36)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/4 cups white sugar

1 egg

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside.
2. In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.
3. Beat in the egg.
4. Gradually stir in the sifted ingredients to form soft dough.
5. Divide dough into 2 pieces, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
7. Flour your kitchen counter or chopping mat with cocoa powder.
8. Roll the dough out to 1/8 inch in thickness.
9. Cut many 1 cm by 3 cm strips, 2 mini triangles and letter for your word of choice.
10. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: I printed out a template of the word on a piece of paper and cut out the letters. I simply pout the cut out letters and ran a knife around them.

To assemble

1. Place one layer of the brownie on a plate followed by the cheesecake and the other layer of brownie.
2. Arrange the sugar cookies on the brownie with the mini strips as a boarder and the letters in the middle.
3. Use melted chocolate as a glue to secure the decorations in place.

  

One of the things that I’ve learned while making this cake is that, brownies hardens really really fast. Two reasons why I never knew this..1) I’m not a big brownie lover 2) I never made one from scratch.

Since I baked this a day or two ahead, I wrapped these brownies in cling wrap with two slices of bread and kept in a big (if possible) air tight container. The magic of bread! This trick works for most cakes and cupcakes too. Somehow the moisture from the bread would moisten the air in the container thus keeping your baked goods from drying. The bread on the other hand would lose its moisture and harden. But hey! You could always make croutons or bread crumbs from that!:D

The other thing that I learned or I actually forgot to do was to use cocoa powder instead of flour while rolling my cookies out. That's why my cookies had white specks on them!=P

Original idea and brownie recipe from here

Original Oreo cheesecake recipe from here

Original chocolate sugar cookie recipe from here

Phew!That was a longggggg one!! I better sleep soon. I need to start studying for my Linguistics midterm next week!AYAYAYYY!

Take care everyone!

Wasalam

Love, 

Sofhan Hasni