Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars

I don't know what's got into me. Even before the holiday started, I had a list of things that I want to do but now, almost two months have passed by and nothing has been crossed off the list yet. I am EXTREMELY lazy. Sigh.

There's only over a week left of Ramadhan, I can't believe it went by so fast. As always, I am not that looking forward to Syawal as I used to be when I was small. It's a grown-up thing I guess. I remembered how excited I was when Umi started making her deliciously-sweet-and-chocolatey chocolate chip cookies because it acted as an indication that Eid was nearing. Then, she would hide the cookies in a 'safe' place that she thought we wouldn't know, so as not to let us finish them. Oh, sweet childhood memories.

Now that she doesn't bake them anymore, I've been trying to find the recipe which she kept in one of the pile-high old recipe books for years. :( Once I found that recipe, I will surely share it here but in the mean time, let's enjoy a slice of this lemony cake which I made quite a while ago. I think this is a great and easy recipe that would be loved by many.

Recipe (Lemon blueberry cheesecake bars):

Crust:

• 18-20 pieces of digestive biscuits
• A pinch of ground cinnamon
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9x9-inch baking tray with butter and line it with a parchment paper.

2. In a food processor, process the biscuits and ground cinnamon until you have the texture of fine bread crumbs. 

2. Add the butter and process again until everything is thoroughly mixed.

3. Press the mixture onto the lined baking tray and bake for 12 minutes before letting it cool.

Cheesecake filling:

• 500g cream cheese
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• zest and juice of 1 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Put everything, except for the blueberries, into the food processor and process until well combined. 

2. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust and sprinkle the blueberries over the top. The blueberries would sink slightly, but should still be half exposed.

3. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until the center only slightly jiggles.

4. Remove from the oven and cool completely at room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

Adapted from: Brown Eyed Baker

Light Apricot Cheesecake

Yesterday was Abah's birthday and few days back was Umi's. So happy birthday to you both! May your lives will be filled with joy and laughter! :)

My sister and I were tired of thinking of what to bake for them (every year we would make them something and I guess this year was the simplest). Since I bake almost every day, now that I am still having my break, I ran out of ideas. We ate everything, I mean everything that we felt like eating. So when their birthdays came, we just couldn't think of any recipes. I asked Umi what she wanted and she said she only wanted a trifle. So that was what I made her, a dark chocolate cake layered with softly whipped cream and strawberries. It was simple yet very delicious!

When Abah's birthday came a few days later (which was yesterday), again, I asked Abah what he wanted. Does he want a cake or pudding or anything? 

And then he said, "a cheesecake, a New York Cheesecake!"

I was like, "you want a New York Cheesecake? Are you sure? That's a very dense cake." I have never baked New York Cheesecake but I know that we are going to have a hard time finishing the cake, because that's what always happen when we buy this kind of cheesecake from Secret Recipe.

Then he changed his mind and said he wanted something light and not very cheesy.

I then started thinking about the Japanese Cheesecake but that would be too simple for his birthday - or so I thought. So I decided to make this light apricot cheesecake, inspired by my grandmother's cake that she baked last Eid. She did tell me the recipe for her cake but I couldn't remember it. All I know is that she boiled the dried apricots before turning them into puree. However, I didn't bother doing that, so I just blend it with some milk and greek yogurt. 

I tweaked this recipe and made use of what I have. I didn't have sour cream so I just used greek yogurt instead. And I did change the measurements because I wanted to add the apricots. In this recipe, I used dried apricots which we bought when we went for Umrah the other day. I am not very sure whether fresh apricots could be used or not. Perhaps, it needs to be a very ripe one. 

Recipe (Light Apricot Cheesecake) :

Crust

• 120g biscuits (I used Speculoos), crushed
• 3 tbsp melted butter

Method:

1. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan.

2. Mix the butter and biscuits together. Press onto the base of the pan. Refrigerate.

Filling

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 120g dried apricots, cut into smaller pieces
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2/3 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 3 egg whites

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C. Pour some water in a pan to be put onto the lower rack of the oven which will help to prevent cracks in the cake.

2. Blend the apricots together with the milk and greek yogurt. Set aside. I was left with little chunks of apricots, and I like it that way.

3. Beat the cream cheese, 1/2 cup caster sugar and vanilla. Beat the egg yolks, cornflour and the mixture of apricot yogurt. Set aside.

4. In another clean bowl, beat the egg whites with 1 tbsp sugar until stiff peaks. 

5. Fold in the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture.

6. Pour over the crust in the springform pan. Put the pan in the middle rack of the oven. 

7. Bake for 40 minutes and let it cool in the oven (door closed) for one hour.

8. Then, let it stay in the oven with the door slightly ajar until it has cooled completely.

9. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

Dark Chocolate Tart

Few more days to go before holiday starts! I seriously can't wait for holidays, I've been aching for it long enough. My body is tired, my mind is exhausted. I'm in a serious need of a break. Oh Wednesday, do come fast!

I had a very packed schedule last week, with the Minggu Bahasa Antarabangsa going on, in which our class had to join 3 competitions. To our disappointment, we didn't win anything. But it's alright, at least we had fun and we got to eat Big Apple doughnuts in the end. :P

So today I made dark chocolate tart which I adapted from this website. It's weird that my sister didn't like it so much because it would always be her who loves and finishes what I cook or bake. But she still ate 2 slices of it. Guess it wasn't that bad huh? :D *Update : It tasted even better (my sister agreed on this) after it has been sitting in the fridge for a night* My mom likes it though. Only chocoholic would appreciate this rich and chocolatey tart! :)

Dark Chocolate Tart - 9 inch

For the crust :

• 1 cup digestive biscuit crumbs
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp caster sugar

1. Preheat oven at 180C.
2. Process everything in a food processor and press it onto a 9-inch tart pan.
3. Bake for 10 minutes until slightly puffed up and let it cool for 15-20 minutes.

For the filling :

• 227g dark chocolate, chopped (not more than 65% cocoa)
• 1 1/4 cup of heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.

2. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk gently. Then, let it cool slightly.

3. Add the vanilla, eggs and salt to the chocolate mixture.

4. Pour over the slightly cooled crust and bake for 22-28 minutes. I baked for 28 minutes and it burnt a little bit, so I would reduce the cooking time in another try. But remember, it all depends on the oven. 

5. After it has baked, let it cool for at least an hour.

For the glaze :

• 50g dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tbsp of heavy cream
• 1 tbsp of water
• 1 tsp of golden syrup

1. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.

2. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir.

3. Mix in the water and golden syrup.

4. Pour over the tart, tilt around to even out the glaze.

5. Let it set for another hour or refrigerate for at least 4 hours and remove at least 2 hours before serving.

Pick Me Up

Last week seemed like a very long week. I've been waiting for weekends to come since Monday. And now we have actually come to a new Monday. Time just flies..

I really want to update my blog as often as I could. However, I just can't seem to put my words right when constructing a sentence. Then I would simply hit the red button at the left corner of the window and start doing something else instead. I'm not sure when will I be able to write a good post, a very descriptive explanation on whatever I baked or cooked. I guess one can only dream.

Yesterday, I made some tiramisu which my youngest sister have been requested since last month! I have got everything in the fridge, ready to be turned into tiramisu. But oh well, I will always be me. I'm quite a procrastinator, everybody knows that.

Since there are two days of chinese new year holiday, which makes up to four days free of school, I decided to make the tiramisu with the help of my sister. She only helped me with the assembling part but hey, at least she helped! :)

This is a non-alcoholic version, which is hard to find if you were to look for it in restaurants. And since I'm using coffee that has been sweetened up a little bit, I reduced the sugar in the custard. One is never enough for my sister and a second helping is a must.

Recipe (tiramisu) :

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 250g mascarpone
• 220g cream cheese
• 180 ml coffee
• Ladyfingers/ savoiardi biscuits

Method :

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together egg, sugar and milk over medium heat until it boils. Let it boil for 1 minute, remove from heat and refrigerate for one hour once it has cooled down a little.

2. In a medium bowl, whip heavy cream with vanilla until stiff.

3. Combine mascarpone, cream cheese with the custard (egg yolk mixture).

4. Carefully fold in the whipped cream.

5. Soak the ladyfingers in the coffee and start layering.

6. Dust with some cocoa powder and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serves 8.

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.

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.

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

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.

Chocolate Pavlova with Strawberries

This week, I decided to make pavlova since I have four egg whites in the fridge which I haven't use. Pavlova is said to be named after the Russian ballet Anna Pavlova. It is actually a cake of meringue with a crispy crust and a marshmallowy interior.

I've never eaten pavlova before but I know it would be very sweet, looking at the amount of sugar in it. However, I have to say that this recipe is not very sweet at all. Well, it is a little sweet but the dark chocolate sort of balance out the sweetness in it, making it a perfect dessert for any special occasions.

This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's recipe. Since it is hard to find fresh raspberry here, I simply replace the raspberries with strawberries. The sweetness of the pavlova is further reduced by the sourness of the strawberries.

Recipe (Chocolate Pavlova) :

Ingredients :

• 4 large egg whites
• 1 cup superfine sugar - I think I used less than this
• 2/3 tsp vinegar
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 40g dark chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• strawberries

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 175C and line the baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Beat the egg whites until satiny peaks form and slowly add in one tablespoon of sugar at a time until the meringue is stiff and shiny.

3. Sprinkle the cocoa powder, vinegar and chocolate chips. Gently fold in everything until the cocoa powder is thoroughly mixed in.

4. Mount the meringue onto the baking parchment and smooth out the top and sides.

5. Place in the oven and immediately turn down the temperature to 150C. Bake for one to one and a quarter hours. The crust should be crispy and the interior should still be a little gooey. 

6. Leave the meringue with the oven door slightly ajar until it has cooled completely.

7. When you are ready to serve, invert it onto a big, flat-bottomed serving dish.  

8. Whisk the cream until thick but still soft and mount it onto the meringue. Put strawberries (or other fruits) on top of it.

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

Blueberry and Cinnamon Frozen Yogurt

The weather has been so hot lately that I feel like I just want to have an ice shower. Ahhhh.. It would be so good. In fact, making your own ice cream would be equally good. And that was why I decided to make fro-yo again today. :D

One of the fro-yos available here is the Tutti Frutti and I have to admit that they do have quite vast selection of flavours. The bad news is that it can be a little bit pricey. When I eat Tutti Frutti, I would avoid taking too much toppings so that I won't have to pay much. :P

Anyways, we have bought an ice-cream maker about two years ago. However, we have only started using it last month. And this is one of the recipes that I love the most.

 Ingredients (blueberry and cinnamon yogurt) :

• 1kg Greek-style yogurt
• 1/3 cup sugar + a little bit of warm water to dissolve the sugar
• 2 1/4 cup frozen blueberries
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• cinnamon

Method :

1. Put the blueberries, sugar, water and cinnamon into a saucepan. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the berries pop and the mix reduces to semi-thick syrup. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. Dissolve 1/3 cup of sugar with enough water and mix with the yogurt.

3. Add the yogurt mix to the ice-cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions which normally takes about 20-25 minutes. 

4. You can add the blueberry syrup 10 minutes before the ice cream is done churning (This is what I did). You can also add the blueberry syrup together with the yogurt from the beginning.

Blueberry and Nectarine Flougnarde

Since the northern hemisphere is experiencing spring right now, the flowers in Malaysia, our roses, are blooming too. Sooo beautiful. Anyways, I'm on a short holiday right now. Class starts back on the 18th. So what else I can do when I'm on a holiday other than baking? :D

We went to Jaya yesterday to buy some fruits. The only fruit that we normally buy from Jaya is the seedless grapes. But yesterday, we took home some nectarines too. After browsing through many websites, I finally decided to make this blueberry and nectarine flougnarde, adapting a recipe from here.

According to Wikipedia, the clafoutis comes from the Limousin region of France and while black cherries are traditional, there are numerous variations using other fruits. When other kinds of fruits are used instead of cherries, the dish is properly called a flaugnarde. 

This is my first time baking and eating flougnarde/clafoutis. Therefore, I didn't know what to expect. I have to agree to what Ann said that the texture is dense and light at the same time. It tastes pretty much like a pancake too. 

Ingredients :

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup castor sugar - if you like it sweet, just add more sugar
• pinch of salt
• 2 eggs
• 5 tbsp butter, melted
• 200 ml fresh milk
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 nectarine

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 200C and generously butter a 9-inch tart pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Incorporate the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. 

3. Mix in the butter and milk. Make sure there's no lump in the batter.

4. Cut the nectarine into 1/4-inch thick wedges. Scatter the nectarine wedges and blueberries onto the prepared pan. Gently pour the batter over the fruits.

5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown, but firm on top. The center may be slightly wobbly but a tester inserted in the middle should come out clean.

You can serve this with some vanilla yogurt, ice cream or whipped cream. From what I read, flougnarde is a actually a dessert but can also be eaten as breakfast. To me, this would actually make the perfect breakfast.

p.s : I finally bought Little Big Planet 2. :D