Tart Pomegranate Frozen Yogurt

When I was in Paris the other day, I found POM in one of their very few super marches. I remembered that I saw a recipe which uses this in their frozen yogurt recipes, so I bought a bottle of its pomegranate juice. At first, I thought it was a concentrated juice but it's not. It's just like any normal fruit juice minus the sugar and preservatives (I think). I haven't found it here in Malaysia. Maybe there is, maybe there isn't. It was almost 5 euros per bottle, so I'm sure it would be even more expensive if Malaysia were to import it.

Anyways, I really like this fro-yo. I have been wanting to make pomegranate frozen yogurt for ages (a little bit of exaggeration is fine) and now that I have made it, it is really good! The fro-yo is tart with a hint of sweetness. Perfect combination - I can assure you that! I reduced the juice down into a thick syrup prior to mixing it with the greek yogurt, so that the flavour concentrates and would not be too runny. I'd give this recipe another try using whatever pomegranate juice that is available here. I wonder if it tastes the same.

Recipe - Adapted from here.

Ingredients :

• 1kg greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup pomegranate syrup (recipe follows)
• 1/2 cup sugar

Method :

1. Mix all the ingredients together and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Serve it immediately or place it in the freezer before serving.

Ingredients (pomengranate syrup) :

• 3 cups 100% pomegranate juice, such as POM Wonderful
• 1 1/2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Method :

1. Combine pomegranate juice and maple syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.

2. Cook until the mixture has thickened slightly and has reduced to approximately 3/4 cup, about 1 hour.

3. Set aside to cool.

Bread Pudding

Mom got home from work with some bread that one of patients gave her. It was a sweet bread with cinnamon and lots of dried fruits (raisins, dried orange peel, dried cranberries etc) in it. Though I don't celebrate Christmas, but somehow the bread reminded me of Christmas. I know that my siblings would not eat this kind of bread. We don't fancy anything with dried fruits in it. Not just our cup of tea.

Then my mom had this idea of turning it into bread pudding. And I was like, "Mmmm.. Why not?" It has got fruits in it and it tasted sweet. That would make a good bread pudding - or so I thought. And off I went to look for a new bread pudding recipe. I found one in one of my mom's cookbooks and adapted from that recipe.

The bread pudding would have been superb, only if the bread has less fruits in it. I had to dig out all of the fruits before I eat which involves a lot of messy work. Another thing is, I think I would make a custard sauce to go with the bread pudding next time, maybe a less sweet one would work best with this kind of bread.

Bread Pudding - serves 4-6

Ingredients :

• Sweet bread, toasted
• Butter
• 250 ml fresh milk
• 250 ml cream
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp rose water

Method :
1. Put some butter on the toasted bread and put them in a baking dish.
2. Combine all the wet ingredients and pour over the bread. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
3. Put the baking dish in a water bath (with hot water in another tray) and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for about 45-55 minutes. If using individual size dish, it will bake in about 20-30 minutes.

You could certainly use this recipe using a normal stale bread. But be sure to add some cinnamon  or nutmeg and some sugar to sweeten it up a little bit. You could also put raisins or sultanas if desired.

Sweet Buns

In these past few days, I've been cruising through some food blogs that I stumble upon on foodgawker and tastespotting. They have tons of amazing photos of their food on the blog. How I wish one day I could take equally good photos. I guess I need to learn from the experts and just practice more. For now, I'm just going to share this recipe I got from jintanmanis.com.

Half of the dough, I put some chocolate bits in the buns when I shape them and then put some granulated sugar and grated cheddar cheese on the other half of the dough. I like the cheese buns even more but overall, the sweet buns are great, with fluffy and soft texture. Am submitting this to Yeastspotting.

Ingredients :

• 350g bread flour
• 3 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg (leave 1/3 + some milk to make eggwash)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 180ml warm milk
• 2 tsp yeast
• 2 tbsp water roux

Method :

1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and knead until a soft and elastic dough is formed. 

2. Leave it to proof for about an hour.

3. After it has doubled in size, punch down the dough. And shape into 16 buns. You can put the chocolate chips/ bits when shaping.

4. Leave the dough to rest again for about an hour until it has double in size.

5. Brush the buns with the egg and milk mixture. Put the toppings now if needed. 

6. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 18-20 minutes.

Caramel Cheesecake

 Semester 1 in KMB has officially ended and I have a month break now. I was really looking forward to the holiday because this semester exam has made me feel mentally and physically exhausted. I just need some good rest.

What are my plans for the break? Nothing much really. My family and I will be going to Paris next week. And guess what are the things that I've planned to do in Paris?? Going to Disneyland and shop for baking supplies and such. :D Then, after coming back from Paris, I'll be having my hospital attachment, along with my three other friends. I hope I get to learn something valuable from it.

Anyways, another thing that I'd sure be doing is baking, and some cooking (I guess). There are so many things that I want to do and I hope I have enough time to do all of them including posting it here on my blog. In the meantime, I'm just going to share this yummy cheesecake recipe, adapted from myresipi.com.

The cheesecake has a light texture, not dense, perhaps due to the amount of cream cheese used as well as the method of baking it. However, I think I'm going to reduce the amount of sugar in the batter by half (or less) and double the amount of caramel instead. I think it'll taste much better that way.

Ingredients :

        Cream :

• 400g cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 210ml sour cream
• 200ml whipping cream
• 120g sugar - might reduce this next time
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• few drops of vanilla essence

        Base :

• 250g digestive biscuits
• 90g melted butter

        Caramel : 

• 50ml low fat milk
• 80g granulated sugar

Method :

1. Put the biscuits into food processor and process them until fine. Mix with melted butter. Then press the butter-biscuits mixture onto the base of your pan.

2. Prepare the caramel by cooking/melting the sugar with 1 tbsp of water. Once it has changed colour, turn off the heat and pour in the milk. Set aside.

3. Cream the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, add the sour cream and vanilla essence. Add in the eggs, one at time and mix it well.

4. Mix in the cornstarch and the whipping/fresh cream. 

5. Pour the batter into the pan. Then, pour the caramel over the batter.

6. Bake (in a bain-marie) in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 160C and bake for another 30 minutes. Cool the cheesecake for several hours before serving.

Scones

During my childhood years, my parents would always take us to Cameron Highlands for a short holiday even though it might take us four to five hours to reach there. Once all of us have grown up, going to Cameron Highlands has only been an annual day trip. To me, Cameron Highlands back then was much better that what it is now. Yes, lots of hotels have been built, better facilities (maybe), but the weather is not as cool as it was before. Pollutions here and there, and everywhere. We've changed, the weather has changed and so does Cameron Highlands.

One thing that has never changed is the fact that we all love scones! Eating flaky, buttery scones with some sweet strawberry jam and soft cream, taking a sip of the masala tea while enjoying the breathtaking scenery is definitely our cup of tea. Ahhhh, we're on cloud nine! 

We have never failed to get our hands on the scones and tea whenever we are in Cameron. But there's another thing that has changed ever since I started baking, which is, we enjoy homemade scones more than the store bought ones. I admit, my first time making scones, few years back, was not much of a success. Instead of making scones, I made stones. The scones were stone hard. Something definitely went wrong but I did not know what it was. 

I have not been making scones for quite some time after that incident, until I saw Rachel Allen on television, two years ago, making this light sweet scones. I was intrigued by how easy it was and without any hesitation, I gave the recipe a try. And it was an ultimate success! From that day on, her recipe has always been my favourite.

Light Sweet Scones by Rachel Allen.

Ingredients :

• 500g of light Italian or plain flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 125g of chilled unsalted butter, cubed
• 25g of caster sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 275ml buttermilk
• 50g of caster sugar (optional)

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the caster sugar and mix well.

3. Set aside about a third of the beaten egg and combine the rest with the buttermilk, then add to the flour mixture. Mix briefly to combine into a moist dough. 

4. Place on a lightly floured surface, and knead ever so lightly just to bring them together. (Do not knead like you knead your bread or the scones will be hard) 

5. Press to a thickness of 2cm and using a round cutter, cut out approximately 12-18 scones (depending on the size) and place on a floured baking tray.

6. Add about a teaspoon of buttermilk to the remainder of the beaten egg to make the egg wash. Brush the scones with the egg wash and dip the scones into the sugar, if you want to.

7. Bake in the oven for about 12-13 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve with some clotted cream.

KMB, here I come!

Less than 24 hours from now I'll be heading to KMB and spend a couple of my college years there. I am quite anxious as I don't know how my life would be within those 2 years. I know I've been to a college before but it was a private college and there were not much rules. I didn't have to do my own laundry as I went home every weekend and I didn't have to clean up my room so much because every fortnight there would be people cleaning up the room.

In fact, KMB is situated on the outskirt of Selangor, somewhere in the plam oil estate (is that what you call them?) whereas Taylor's College is situated in the city itself. They don't have malls or anything there. Not that I'm going to need one but seriously, we're going to be all alone in that place. It's just us ; teachers, students, staffs and God knows what. What scares me the most is the fact that many people said IB is a lot harder than A-level!

Anyways, let's look at the bright side and stop whining about the negative side of it. It's only going to be 2 years and I have my friends with me - Zareen, Syabana and a few others from Kelantan. Besides, I have to admit that I am lucky enough to get this scholarship as many other people wanted the scholarship as well but failed to secure one. Let's just hope I get enough pointer to go to oversea to do my medicine later.

p/s : I'm sure going to miss my baking tools. :(

Macarons with Passionfruit Curd

I remember my very first macarons which I made a few months ago, they were gorgeous! Well, maybe not perfect for the experts but I think they're perfect enough for a first timer. I was just thrilled to see the feet. :D

Thanks to Tartelette for the amazing macaron recipe. I made passionfruit curd in place of dark chocolate ganache to go with the macarons because of the Mactweet Attack challenge which was to include fruits in your macarons. The curd was amazing on its own - tart and sweet. However, when eaten with macarons, they were just a tad too sweet for me and my family. I guess those who have sweet tooth and like passionfruit would love these macarons. 

So here goes my macarons for Mac Attack #20.

Recipe (Macarons) 

Ingredients :

• 90g aged egg whites at room temperature (use egg whites that have been left in the fridge for 3-5 days)
• 25g granulated sugar
• 180g powdered sugar sifted
• 130g almond powder/flour sifted 

Method : 

1. In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam and gradually add the granulated sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue which doesn't fall when you invert the mixing bowl. (think shaving cream)

2. Fold in carefully the powdered sugar, almond powder and powdered food colouring until you obtain the batter which falls back onto itself after counting to 10. The process should not take more than 50 strokes.

3. Test a small amount on a plate : if the top flattens on its own, you are good to go. If it forms a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns. 

4. Fill the batter into a pastry bag fitted plain tip and pipe small rounds (1.5inch in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheets. Then, tap the baking sheets a couple of time to remove the air bubbles.

5. Let the macarons sit out for about 30 minutes to an hour to harden the shells a little bit. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 280F.

6. When ready, bake for about 18-20 minutes, depending on their sizes. Let it cool. Once baked and if you're not using them straight away, store in an airtight container out of the fridge. 

7. If you have filled the macarons with the filling, let the macarons mature for at least 24 hours in the fridge. 

Recipe (Passionfruit Curd) - makes about 1 cup

Ingredients :

• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• 1/2 cup passionfruit pulp
• 2 tbsp caster sugar - use less if the passionfruit is sweet and more if it is sour
• 42g butter

Method : 

1. Put the egg yolks, whole egg and sugar into a bowl and stir to combine. Put in the passionfruit pulp and stir again. Put in the butter.

2. Place the bowl over a simmering water and stir until the butter has melted and the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon which takes about 6 minutes.

3. Let it cool, transfer into a sterilized container and refrigerate. 

Adapted from Taste.com.au.

Apple Crumble

Do you know everyone in the apple's family? Well, I know I don't - not all, at least. I know and I've heard of a few names but to tell their names by the look is rather hard for me. I guess I can only tell which is Granny Smith and which is Fuji. Other than that, nope!

The Apple's Family

Whenever we do open house for Eid in Kelantan, there will be people requesting us to do apple crumbles. This recipe is from Umi's Canadian (if I'm not mistaken) friend. The crispy golden sand of crumbles with a hint of peanuts makes a perfect compliment to the soft bed of stewed apple underneath it. But sometimes I like the crumbles to be on the larger/coarse side which form golden small stones or clumped sands when baked.

The Granny Smith

 Recipe (Apple Crumble) :

• 4 Granny Smith Apples
• 1 stick of cinnamon
• 3-4 cloves
• 2 tbsp sugar 

1. Peel the apples and core them. Each apple is cut into 8 wedges which later be cut into 3 pieces for each wedge. 

2. Put them in cold water to prevent oxidation.

3. When the apples are cut, pour out the water and put the apples along with the cinnamon, cloves and sugar in a pot or a medium saucepan.  

4. Cover with a lid and cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent burning. I cook them for about 12 minutes whereby some of the apples have turned a little mushy (not pureed though) and some still hold their shapes. If you like them to be quite firm, then cook for a lesser time.

5. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

6. Later, put the apples (throw away the cinnamon stick and cloves) in a lightly greased dish.

• 1 cup of flour
• 100-120 g of cold butter, cubed
• 4-6 tbsp of caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 4-6 tbsp of ground peanuts/almonds

1. Put the flour in a bowl and rub in the butter until it takes on a breadcrumb consistency. I like them to be coarse (Some are fine like sand and some are quite chunky).

2.  Put in the sugar, vanilla essence and ground peanuts and mix until just combined. 

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 25-30 minutes or until it turns crispy and golden. Serve warm with some whipping cream or vanilla ice-cream.

Chicken Pie

Reminiscing back to my childhood days, I realized how lucky I was to have both my parents and grandparents with me. Even though parents were busy with work most of the time but they would still be there for me when I needed them. I still remember how I would go to my grandparents' house after school and my parents would pick me up on their way home from work.

My grandmother was a very good cook. She can just cook without a recipe and turn 'nothing' into something that wows us all. And I guess that's how my mother became a good cook too - by learning from her mother. My grandmother passed down this chicken pie recipe (and many others) to my mother and here I was, cooking up a dish that has been passed down to me by my mother. 

When I was small and we were still in Kelantan, my mother would make this chicken pie a few times in a year (2 or 3 times a year) just because it was hard to get our hands on the puff pastry. My mother would normally stock up our frozen puff pastries when she goes to Kuala Lumpur for conference or work. But now that we're in Seremban and Kuala Lumpur is just like a stone's throw away, we would be making this chicken pie whenever we feel like eating them. 

Back then, it would be my mother and our maid who prepared the chicken pie. Now that all of us have grown up, me and my sister would be making this chicken pie together. It takes quite some time to make this as you have to marinate the chicken, fry them and the fries etc. But it's definitely worth the effort.

Recipe (Chicken Pie) - makes 2 pies :

• 16 pieces of chicken drumsticks
• 1 inch of fresh ginger
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tbsp salt
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• oil for frying

1. Blend the ginger, garlic and salt into a paste. 

2. Marinate the chicken with the paste for at least 5 hours.

3. Prepare 2 plates/dishes. One with the eggs and the other with the flour. 

4. Heat up the oil.

5. Dip the drumsticks into the egg mixture first, then coat them with flour.

6. Fry the drumsticks until they turn golden brown.

• 3 medium potatoes

1. Cut the potatoes into wedges and fry them until golden brown.

• 5 eggs

1. Boil the eggs until you get hard-boiled eggs.

2. Remove the shells and cut into halves.

• 2 carrots, cut into quite small pieces
• 2 ripe tomatoes, cut them into wedges
• 1 bell pepper/capsicum, cut into small, thin pieces
• 150g snow peas
• 1.5 litre of beef stock 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1. Heat up the oil on medium heat and put in the onions. When the onions have wilted a little bit, add in the garlics and fry for 1 minute.

2. Stir in the flour and cook for about 3-4 minutes. Then, add in the beef stock.

3. Put in the carrots, capsicum and snow peas. Once the carrots are slightly tender, add in the tomatoes. 

4. Season with some salt and pepper. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and let it cool.

• 2 (375g) frozen puff pastry, thawed

1. Prepare two deep pie dishes and put everything in them ; chicken, vegetables (and the soup), potatoes and eggs. 

2.  Wet the rim of the dishes by putting a little bit of water before putting the rolled puff pastry on it. Prick some holes using a fork and glaze with a beaten egg.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 45 minutes - 1 hour. 

I could not take a proper picture because everyone else was hungry.

Half A Century

I know this looks messy but it is very delicious :D

Last Sunday was Umi's 50th birthday and tomorrow is Abah's. Since both of them are in Pattaya right now, we could not celebrate Abah's birthday together until Sunday. So I still have two days to plan for the menu which I still have not had a clue about it. I just don't know what to cook or bake for him. 

What I baked for Umi was a carrot cake. Not just any ordinary carrot cake. But a moist and delicious carrot cake topped with the best cream cheese frosting ever. I did not cook her anything since we went out for lunch at a hotel. I did make the carrot cake in a cupcake form for her friends as well which I think is the best size to eat this cake.

Carrot cake (Adapted from Allrecipes)

Ingredients :

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrot, squeezed out the juice
• 1 cup crushed pineapple
• 1 cup freshly grated coconut
• 2 tbsp yogurt

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.

2. In a large bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

3. Stir in carrots, pineapple, coconut and yogurt. 

4. Divide the batter into two greased pan and bake for 30-45 minutes. 

note : Makes about 25 cupcakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients :

• 500g cream cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cup icing sugar 
• 2 tsp vanilla

Method :

1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Mix in the icing sugar and vanilla.

Refreshing and Creamy Avocado Ice Cream

I've been wanting to post this recipe since last week but I was feeling somehow rather lazy to write anything. I just can't believe that it's already June now which means I have less than a month before college starts, again. There's so many things to do; fill in the forms, do medical check-up, buy some stuffs for college etc.

At some point, I feel like just staying at home but I know that it is not what I or even my parents want. Life has to go on. I'm not going to waste my time doing nothing, I have to do something right? And I know that opportunities don't come knocking on my door twice. Therefore, I have to struggle and study hard so that MARA will also sponsor me for my first degree later.

Anyways, this is actually a good recipe to finish up your avocados and egg yolks apart from the avocado smoothie recipe. However, I might reduce the lemon/lime juice if I decide to do this again as I find it a tad too lemony. Nevertheless, I must say that this ice cream is very refreshing and creamy at the same time.

Recipe (Avocado Ice Cream/Froyo) - Makes about 1 quart :

• 1 cup of whipping cream
• 1 cup of milk
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 3 medium, ripe avocados
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp of lime juice 
• zests of 1 lemon and lime
• 1/3 cup of mini chocolate chips

Method :

1. Prepare an ice bath by placing a smaller bowl into a larger bowl with ice and cold water. Put a fine mesh strainer on top of the smaller bowl. Set aside.

2. In a medium saucepan, put in the whipping cream, milk and sugar and cook over medium heat until milk comes to a boil. Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks in a medium bowl. Temper the eggs slowly by adding 1 cup of hot milk into the egg while whisking constantly. 

3. Slowly pour the yolk mixture back into the saucepan, whisking constantly. Cook over a medium heat and stir constantly using a wooden spoon for about 5-8 minutes until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of the spoon. Do not allow the mixture to boil or the eggs will curdle.

4. Pour the mixture through the strainer into the smaller bowl. Stir in the yogurt and zests. 

5. In a blender, puree the avocados with lemon zest, lime zest and a cup of the cooled custard. Fold the avocado mixture back into the remaining custard. 

6. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions. Put in the chocolate chips halfway through the process. Once done, transfer it into a container and freeze it for at least 4 hours. 

Source : Foodess.com

Quick Crusty, 'Holey' Bread

I've been baking bread for almost two years now. I've never been to any baking classes actually but I learned from the internet and books. I believe that it isn't really necessary to take up the classes but if you want to understand further on what you should do (if you don't like to read), then perhaps you might want to attend those classes. However, I prefer to learn from the books and internet but maybe someday, if I decide to open up a bakery, maybe I will go on a short course or something like that.

Today, I finally decided to make a no-knead bread. I've always thought that a good bread needs a good, long kneading process. All these while, I was intimidated by the thoughts of my bread being stone hard if I didn't knead it. But I was wrong. Kneading is not essential to a good bread. You can still get the perfect texture with a no-kneading bread recipe. However, I must say that the texture is different from the kneaded bread. This bread has a very nice crust with a chewy texture on the inside.

Recipe (3 small loaves) :
Source : ShareMyKitchen

• 500g bread flour
• 370ml lukewarm water
• 1 tbsp of honey
• 1 1/4 tsp of yeast
• 1 tsp of salt

Method : 

1. Dissolve honey in the lukewarm water. 

2. Put the bread flour into a big bowl and add yeast. 

3. Pour in the lukewarm water with honey.

3. Mix them together with a fork while adding the salt. The dough will be soft and sticky and not smooth.

4. Let it rise for an hour or so.

5. Line the baking tray with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 220C.

6.  When the dough has doubled, transfer the dough onto a generously floured surface. Shape them into 3 small loaves. 

7. Try to transfer the dough with the flour facing up or you can just sprinkle some flour onto it after it has been transferred to the baking tray.

8. Bake for about 15-20 minutes before lowering down the temperature of the oven to 160C and bake it for additional 10-15 minutes.

Cheesecake Bars

These cheesecake bars are definitely the best one that I have ever made or tasted. The crust is actually made with Biscoff cookies but since I could not find it here in Malaysia nor when I was in London last year, I decided to use the caramelised biscuit which comes from the same company brand. I served these to Umi's friends who came last night and all of them liked it, especially uncle. They said it is much better than the ones in Hilton. :P

So I bought three packets of these from Sainsbury when I was in London last December. And it was only 99 pence.

For the crust, take about 27 biscuits (1 1/2 cup), put them into the food processor and chop until nice and fine.

Add 6 tablespoon of melted butter to the cookie crumbs. Put them into a 13 X 9 inch pan and press firmly.

Mix up the cheesecake ingredients and pour over the crust.

Bake for about 45 minutes and let it cool. 

Once the cheesecake is cooled, make the chocolate ganache and pour over the cheesecake. Let it set in the fridge.

And it is ready to be served! :D

Recipe (Cheesecake bars) :

Crust

• 27 crushed cookies (about 1 1/2 cups) 
• 6 tbsp of melted butter

1. Mix the cookies and butter together and pack them firmly onto a 13 X 9 inch pan.

Cheesecake 

• 680g (24 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp of flour
• 3 eggs
• 227g (8 oz) sour cream
• 1 tbsp of vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees / 169C.

2. Cream sugar, cream cheese, flour on medium until light and fluffy. 

3. On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

4. Add sour cream and vanilla. Mix until just combined. 

5. Pour over the crust and bake for 45 minutes.

6. Let it cool and prepare the ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

• 227g (8 oz) of heavy whipping cream
• 57g (2 oz) of unsalted butter
• 113g of dark chocolate
• 113g of milk chocolate chips

1. Heat cream and butter on a stove until just before boiling. 

2. Turn off the heat and pour over chocolate until completely combined.

3. Pour over cooled cheesecake.

4. Refrigerate overnight and serve. 

Original recipe can be found here.

I'm submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight (May 2011) by DG from Tested and Tasted.

Mixed Berries Frozen Yogurt

I have finally withdrawn from A-Level programme at Taylor's as I managed to secure a scholarship to do IB in KMB which later they will also pay for my undergraduate course too. Actually I did get Taylor's Scholarship which is The Top Achievers' Award but since that is only for A-level, I decided to accept MARA's. I will certainly miss my friends in Taylor's but I guess I have to start all over again and make another batch of new friends there. I'm really glad that Zareen and a few other friends were also offered to the same place. At least, I know I'm not alone in that place. :)

So now I have a one month break before class starts. Since KMB is in the middle of nowhere, they don't have internet connections in the dorms which makes it hard for me to go online. And yes, I'll be sharing a room with another girl and KMB is like a boarding school. I'm sure it will take some time for me to get used to the surroundings. Anyways, I'll be enjoying this break by cooking and baking as much as I can. :D

I have to admit that I've been addicted to fro-yos ever since I started college. Staying near to Tutti Frutti makes me want to go there at least once a week. And now that I'm back in Seremban with no Tutti Frutti, I have no other choice but to make my own fro-yos. Berries have always been my favourite, be it blueberry, raspberry, blackberry or even strawberry.. I just love them all. However, living in Malaysia makes it quite impossible for me to get cheap fresh berries, except for the strawberries which sometimes can be quite expensive too even though its a local produce. So instead of buying fresh ones, I just buy frozen ones from Cold Storage. 

Recipe (Mixed Berries Frozen Yogurt) :

Ingredients : 

• 4 cups of mixed berries - I used frozen strawberries and blueberries
• 8 tbsp of sugar
• 1/4 cup of water
• 1 1/2 tbsp of cinnamon - use less if you don't like it
• 1 kg (4 cups) of Greek-style yogurt

Method :

1. Put the berries, sugar, water and cinnamon into a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat until it reduces to a thick syrup. 

2. Using a hand blender, blend the berry syrup until the desired texture is achieved. If you don't like the seed, you can strain them. Set aside to let it cool. 

3. Mix the yogurt with the berry syrup/puree. Pour the yogurt mix into the ice-cream and freeze according to the manufacturer's directions which normally takes about 20-25 minutes.