Recipe: Taro Cheesecake

Mothers' Day cake.

My mum is a super lover of yam, I on the other hand loves pumpkin more. So after seeing maameemoomoo's taro cheesecake recipe, I knew I have to bake it for my mum. 

Crust

Oreo Cookies 140g, without the cream (I use Marie biscuits)
Butter, melted 70g

Finely ground the biscuit. Pour warm butter over biscuit. Toss well to coat mixture with butter. Press firmly into an even layer on the bottom of pan. Freeze for at least half an hour.

Filling
500g cream cheese
120g castor sugarng 
2 1/2 eggs
150ml whipping cream
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup mashed yam, peeled, steamed, pureed
few drops of purple colour (optional)

Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated. Gradually add cream, alternate it with mashed yam and lastly, add salt. Be careful not to over mix because we want to incorporate as little air as possible (to prevent cracking).

Bake* at 150C for 60-75 minutes or till the edge of filling is set and center is slightly wobbly. Cool on rack for 5 minutes.

Topping:
1 cup sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp coconut milk

Using hand, whisk together (very gently to prevent air bubbles) sour cream, sugar, and coconut milk in a bowl, then spread on top of cheesecake and bake 5 minutes at 150C.

Cool cheesecake completely in pan on rack, about 1-2 hours.

Cover and chill until cold, for at least 4 hours.

* feel free to bake the cake in water bath but if you are using spring form pan, be sure to wrap the bottom of the pan in 2 layers of foil to prevent any water from seeping into the cheesecake. alternately, you can just slide in a tray filled with water just beneath the rack.

I decorated the surface with ginkgo nuts and hearts decor bought from Phoon Huat. 

Close up. 

Interior. 

For the woman who bought me to this World,

who tormented all my nonsense,

who still loves me despite all. 

I love you mom. 

.xoxo.

Lirong.

Review: Nana's Green Tea Cafe

Continuing from our feast at Tim Ho Wan. As the saying goes, a meal is never completed without some desserts. So we headed over to Nana's Green Tea to sum up the night. :) 

Side track a little, Singapore in recent years in terms of eateries has certainly been flourishing. That's really a very good thing. I remembered gathering with friends has always been Swensen/pizza hut etc. But look at now, who still goes to these places when there are so many interesting cafes popping out every now and then? 

Ok, so back to Nana's Green Tea. 

Matcha Anmitsu 

A very decent dessert for individuals who doesn't fancy those super sweet, sweet desserts. Good for weight-watchers I would say. 

Matcha parfait

Chocolate parfait. 

Parfaits are just so pretty aren't they? Definitely a much more sinful treat, but come on life is short. 

Alright, for the rest of the photos they were all taken using my Samsung galaxy, thus better quality. :D 

The-behind-the-scene-of-instagrammers. 

Paula, the professional camera user, started playing with the galaxy and 'discovered' that it's kinda like a semi-pro. #okcan. Good-camera-put-to-waste-by-me. 

An awesome photo, which is not taken by me. :P

The boys. 

The girls.

We were joking it was almost like a 'meet your SP' session. 

LOL!

Nana’s Green Tea Cafe
Plaza Singapura 68 Orchard Road #03-80/82 Singapore 238839 

Tel: +65 6684 4312
Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm

.xoxo.

Lirong. 

Recipe: Nigella's chocolate chocolate chips muffin

Muffins as compared to cupcakes, are so underrated don't you think so? 

Call me weird or what, but I never really fancy cupcakes (Thank god! Otherwise I'll be spending like mad on 12 cupcakes:P) I much prefer muffins anytime! 

I think there's always a constant debate on, what makes muffin and what makes cupcake? How do we differentiate between the two? Wells, some says cupcakes have beautiful toppings. That's not entirely true because there are in fact 'naked' cupcakes. In my opinion, it is a muffin if the baking only requires simple mixing and stirring. Unlike cupcakes which require more tedious work like a cake (beating etc.). 

So I'm pretty sure I'm baking muffins, because the recipe simply requires stirring and mixing. 

In short, easy job = muffin. 

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins) (source)

250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp best quality cocoa powder
175g caster sugar
150g chocolate chips (save 1/4 of the chips for sprinkling)
250ml milk
90ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.
2. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and 3/4 of the chocolate chips into a large bowl and mix well.
3. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug and mix well.
4. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together with slow and gentle strokes. Stop stirring once the last traces of flour disappear. Do not overmix. A lumpy batter will ensure the muffins stay moist and fluffy.
5. Spoon the batter into paper muffin cases.
6. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 chocolate chips on top and bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy.

I adapted the recipe to make these rainbow muffins. 

Ingredients (makes 12 muffins) 

250g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp milk powder

175g caster sugar250ml milk

90ml vegetable oil

1 large egg

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

some rainbow rice to sprinkle

Method is as above. :) 

***

Anyhow this will be my last post before I fly to Seoul tonight! So exciting I know! :D But don't worry the blog will still be updated. Not that I'm so hardworking to write during my vacation, but I've scheduled posts (to clear my recipe debts. :X) 

Oh yes, stay tune to my instagram, @lirong, as I will be posting live updates from Korea. :D

.xoxo.

Lirong.

Recipe: Low fat Banana chocolate loaf

I hate banana, yes you read it right. I dislike eating the fruit itself, yet I adore banana cake very very much. I don't know about you, but banana, chocolate and flour is probably one of the best cake combination for me. Somehow banana has this magic to make the cake so moist and little sugar is needed due to the natural sweetness of the fruit. 

Ingredients:

300 g self raising flour

60 g brown sugar

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup mashed banana

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla essence

250 ml low milk fat

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C. 

2. Sift flour and baking soda into a large bowl.

3. Add brown sugar and chocolate chips, mix well. 

4. Add milk, eggs and mashed banana. Gently fold the batter until well combined. **Do not over mixed the batter, lumps are totally fine.

5. Spoon batter into a lined tin and top with almond slices or anything as desire. (I have extra batters  leftover so I pour the remaining to make 3 muffins)

6. Bake in preheated oven for 30 mins.

7. Serve warm. 

A pretty easy recipe isn't it? Definitely good for a quick breakfast in the morning or even as afternoon tea! :) 

No oil was added in this recipe but the loaf was still moist as hell! 

The magic of banana. :') 

.xoxo.

Lirong.

Recipe: Pumpkin mixed fruits bread

I actually have no intention of writing a recipe for this (thus the lack of photos), but some of you requested, so here you go. :)

Pumpkin pre-dough:

200g pumpkin, peeled, steamed and smashed

35g bread flour

100ml water

1. Mix all the ingredients, cook on a sauce pan on low heat until the mixture thickens.

2. Let it cool completely. 

Main dough:

Pre dough

300g bread flour

30g brown sugar

mixed dried fruits (amount is up to your preference)

1 egg (reserve some for egg wash)

1 tsp instant yeast

150ml milk

30g oil/butter

pinch of salt

Icing glaze (dissolve 120g of icing sugar with 2/3 tbsp water

1. In a large bowl, combine all the above ingredients (except butter) and knead everything together until the dough is not sticky.

2. Add butter, knead until it forms an elastic dough.

3. Cover dough with a damp towel and let it proof for an hr.

4. Punch out the air and cover dough to rest for another 10 mins.

5. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to rectangular. Spread mixed fruits all over and roll up like a swiss roll.
6. Join the ends of the roll, cover the roll generously with more mixed fruits, arrange on a greased tray.

7. Cover with a damp towel and leave to  proof for an hr.

8. Preheat oven to 190C.

9. Lightly brush all over with egg 

10. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 mins or till the bread is brown.
11.Remove bread from tray and cool on a wire rack.

12. When cooled, drizzle with icing glaze.

Of course this recipe goes out for pumpkin lovers, like me. *grins*

.xoxo.

Lirong.

Review: Tim Ho Wan

The cheapest One Michelin starred restaurant in the World, Tim Ho Wan, has finally landed itself in our Island just last month. 

Definitely there was a huge anticipation, especially for their 4 heavenly kings (the Baked Bun with BBQ pork, Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver, Pan Fried Carrot Cake and Steamed Egg Cake) which totally blew me away when I first had them in Hong Kong last year. So I wasn't surprised when there was long queues outside the restaurant when it first opened. Well, in the first place we Singaporeans love to queue don't we? :P However, the queue was just too insane. 4 hours of queuing just for a meal? Nope, I'm not going to do that. 

Thus, we waited till the hype has died (slightly) before heading down. Well, it was still a slightly more than an hour queue (thank you Chun Wei!). 

The restaurant itself wasn't very big I have to say. 

Serving was prone though, which was good for the hungry souls as well as though waiting eagerly outside. 

Baked bun with BBQ pork. 

This is definitely the reason for the queue, crumble skin with ozzing bbq pork. Best serve hot. 

The Hong Kong version seriously 'wow-ed' me. However, this was good, but no where near it's counterpart in Hong Kong. I feel that the bun lacks the fragrance needed to impress.   

Steamed egg cake.

I need to confess that, I actually love this cake more than the BBQ bun when I had it in HK. Died serious. So you could imagine my excitement when I know I could meet with it again! ZOMG! *hug self and cry* 

BUT!

Le sigh.. Again, it failed to impress. That love at first taste reminds in HK. :/ 

Those were the chee cheong fun that were available which I shall not comment since I'm not a fan of cck with fillings. 

Hargow.

I'm never a fan of this dimsum. I just don't understand why so many people like a simple prawn wrapped with skin? Not until I tasted this hargow I realised all along I was fooled by all the other restaurants which served hargow to me. So a good hargow tasted this good?! Well, better late then never. 

Glutinous rice in lotus leaf. 

This was not bad, however I remembered having better ones from HK itself. 

Siew Mai.

I have a personal love for siew mai so this siew mai is awesome to me! 

Carrot cake. 

Definitely an above average attempt, however I felt it was a little to oily for my liking. 

Spring rolls.

Deep fried to perfection. *thumbs up*

Sorry I could't really the exact name. But THIS IS A MUST ORDER! Another deep-fried perfection! Seems like their deep-fried items are all not bad eh? 

Steam beacurd sheets with prawns filling.

This is a personal favorite of mine. 

Beef balls were kinda mehz, both in HK and locally. I guess we just don't like it. :/

Dumplings which was the same case as the beef balls.

Osmanthus cake, the only item on the menu which we felt was comparable to the original branch. 

Yam sago. 

I don't remember having this in HK, I guess this was specially catered for the local? Nonetheless I love it, well you have to be a yam lover to appreciate this dessert. :)

So these were roughly the variety of food served in Singapore's THW, which is like maybe half of the branch in HK. So little isn't it? :( We have to like order 2/3 of each items in order to cater to our hungry stomach (6 of us)

Overall, I would say Tim Wan Ho in Singapore is good, but we definitely have other better dim sum venues which don't require us to queue insanely. Well, the story of THW best explains the word 'authentic', if you get me. :) 

Hong Kong anyone? :P

Tim Ho Wan

#01-29 Plaza Singapura

The Atrium @ Orchard

68 Orchard Road

Tel: +65 6251 2000

.xoxo.

Lirong. 

Recipe: Roast pumpkin soup

I guess most of you should know that I, Lirong, is a pumpkin freak. Anything pumpkin just GIVE IT TO ME. So after seeing a friend's instagram post on roasted pumpkin soup, I told myself I NEED! 

Here's 2 huge pumpkin, I thought why not use the pumpkin as a 'bowl' as well? 

Pumpkin bowl recipe:

1. Cut off the top of the pumpkin  and scoop out the seeds with a sharp-edged spoon.

2. Once the insides are removed, season with salt and pepper and insert into a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes, long enough to take some of the raw edge off the pumpkin. 

3. Once cooked, fill the cavity with soup. 

Ingredients:
 1 large pumpkin (mine was 2kg)

1 tbsp oil

shallots, diced

garlic, chopped

4 cups oyster (may substitute with chicken) broth (vegetarian may use vegetable stock)

Salt and pepper to taste (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Skin the pumpkin and using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin into smaller pieces and place on a baking sheet; bake for 1 hours.

2. When the pumpkin is cooked, smash it using a spoon. 

3. Heat up a large pot with oil, add shallots and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook an additional minute. Add pumpkin and broth to the pot, along with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Simmer, covered for about 15 minutes.

4. Blend in a blender and blend the soup until smooth.

5. Scoop into the pumpkin bowl, serve hot. 

Roasted pumpkin soup. 

I'm so proud of myself! LOL!

:P

  

The soup was super smooth and tasty!!

 I died and went to pumpkin heaven! :')

You could have the fresh and soup eaten together. :') OMG~ *stomach growls*  Pumpkin lovers, I swear you need to try this. 

:') :') :') 

.xoxo.

Lirong.