Berry Crostata

I know I haven't posted in ages, and I apologize for that! April has been such a terribly busy month for me with exams and assignments piling up... :( 

Moving on, today I decided to make a berry crostata. If you are wondering what a crostata is, it is essentially an Italian baked tart. At first, I was afraid to attempt making my own pie crust, but since everything tastes better when you make it from scratch (to me anyway), I was willing to give it a try.

Boy oh boy, did it pay off!! In fact the crust is perhaps the best part of this crostata, as it is flaky and buttery and oh-so-good. It has the perfect texture - tender, yet does not fall apart easily. The filling which consists primarily of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries provide nice contrast to the buttery crust, and its tangy-sweet flavor is further enhanced by wonderful citrusy tones from the zest and juice of the orange.

This crostata is a great alternative to a regular pie that is baked in a tart/pie tinl, as it requires less work and you do NOT need any special equipment for this at all! No need for a tart/pie tin - just a rolling pin will do! 

Enjoy!

RECIPE:Laura Vitale's Berry Crostata

Chocolate Soufflés

What could possibly be more rewarding than a warm soufflé, with it's risen tops and almost spongy interior, oh yes, not forgetting a light dust of icing sugar to top it off!

Last week I made chocolate soufflés, and it was a rather spontaneous decision, considering my mum had just purchased some new ramekins for me!! Cute small yellow ones and classic white ones, to be precise. I was delighted, as I had been wanting to make soufflés ever since I was introduced to them by a friend. 

I would have to say that my biggest challenge was probably the technique of making soufflés, as it is tricky!! There are several crucial steps/ rules you have to adhere to STRICTLY, or else your soufflés won't rise. Ultimately it is all worth the effort, and to be honest, it isn't that difficult!! 

1. When buttering your ramekins with a brush, ensure that you brush the butter on in an upward motion. This way, your soufflés will be "encouraged" to rise upwards!

2. Make sure you preheat your oven in advance, to ensure it's HOT when you put your soufflés in.

3. When folding the stiff egg whites into the other mixture [varies with the recipe] (this combination of two mixtures is a standard across all types of soufflés - be it sweet or savory), be careful not to be too vigorous in incorporating them! You do NOT want to beat all (or fold) all the air out of the mixture - if you do, your soufflés won't rise.

This is a picture of my chocolate soufflés:

I was very happy with the result!! After all, it was my first attempt :)

As you may have read in the introductory paragraph, these soufflés were oh-so-yummy, all fluffy and risen! The tops were slightly crunchy (??) and provided a nice contrast to the spongy centre of the rest of the soufflé. p.s. A TIP FOR YOU: Make sure your guests who are going to be eating the soufflés are all ready to eat BEFORE the soufflés are done in the oven. Serve immediately after a quick dusting of icing sugar.

Thanks for reading!! 

- J

Lemon Cupcakes

I love lemons. And what could be better than lemons in a cake? Lemons are one of those ingredients that you could use in most dishes because it simply brings out the best in everything you make! Be it a subtle undertone or an in-your-face burst of flavor, lemons taste great (when used appropriately and in moderation of course) ;) 

Moving on! These cupcakes that I made using this recipe is delightful - everything you might want in a cupcake and more. It's light on the palate, has a hint of lemony goodness and (fortunately or unfortunately), is something you could very well wipe out at one go - so do remember to share!!

Thanks for reading! :)

-J

Vanilla Buttermilk cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting

Hi everyone! Firstly, I'd like to apologize for not posting for a while now, been awfully busy with school work... Secondly, I'd like to mention that the occasion for baking this oh-so-yummy cake is because it's my birthday! Woopie!

The crumb-coat:

The frosting - look at that texture!!

 The finished product:

The cake is something I will definitely be making again, as the vanilla cake was light, and so was the chocolate frosting (surprisingly)! A favorite on my list, that's for sure! :)

Recipe - http://sweetapolita.com/2011/05/vanilla-buttermilk-cake-with-instant-fudge-frosting/

-J

Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting!

So today I felt like eating something light, preferably vanilla-flavoured too, so I whipped up this fluffy vanilla cake with vanilla bean buttercream!! I'm just going to cut to the chase and show you some pictures, because this cake was simply too awesome!

This delicate cake was so delightfully delicious! The crumb was really fine and tender, perhaps the fluffiest cake I've ever eaten. This was probably due to the reverse creaming method used in the recipe - it yields such a cloud-like cake! Also, the cake was really vanilla-ey (duh!) and overall, this cake was the bomb! Here's the recipe: Fluffy Vanilla Cake with Whipped Vanilla Bean Frosting

p.s. sorry for over-using the exclamation mark today!!! 

Love,

- J

Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Hi everybody!! Happy Valentines' Day, hope you all had a great one like I did. I'm so excited to share photos and these recipes with you so here it goes!!

So yesterday I baked two kinds of cupcakes for Valentines' Day today: Chocolate cupcakes and Vanilla Cupcakes. The recipes are simple, but are soooo worth it. I can't get enough cupcakes!!

I'm really thankful for such wonderful friends who received these cupcakes so well, I love you guys to bits! And to all readers out there, I wish you all could have one right now. Once again, Happy Valentines' Day and I'll be back with more soon!

Love,
-J

Oreo Cheesecake!

Hi everyone! I'm back with one of my all-time favorite desserts, oreo cheesecake!! I love all kinds of cheesecakes, especially oreo cheesecake. To me they represent a grown-up version of oreos dunked in milk - strange thought but it's true! As I have mentioned in my previous post, I love anything to do with cream cheese - cream cheese pound cake, cream cheese frosting, cheesecakes... and the list goes on... 

Anyway, without further ado, I present to you my (first ever) oreo cheesecake!

You may ask - why the random chocolate ganache? Well, besides the fact that chocolate makes everything taste better, I decided to use chocolate ganache to cover the top of the cheesecake because it wasn't the best top of a cheesecake I had ever seen. Which is completely okay, considering it was my first time baking a whole cheesecake!! 

Taste-wise: creamy and smooth, with chunks of oreo in each bite. The crust was nice and crisp; and the chocolate complimented the cake rather well! :) In conclusion, a great cake for any occasion!

BE WARNED: This is not a "light" cake. Eat in moderation!!

Stay tuned for more Valentine's Day specials! I guarantee that your Valentine's will be sweet as ever with the recipes coming your way ;)