Hello Hello

Good morning to you, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. It's been such a hectic weekend with all the Christmas fiascos. So many bright lights and so many people at the mall. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no snow yet and I am a bit sad since Christmas day is just around the corner. Oh well, it will come.

For those of you who don't know me quite well yet, I am a huge fan of baking meringue. When ever I bring this baby out to the dining room table, I get all these stunned looks and questions about "what is that?!" Haha.

It was a recipe that I found off of Jamie Oliver that got me started. His way of baking meringue is so simple and leaves a lot of room for you to play with. He was the only person that I ever got around to believing that meringues don't have to be crunchy and can be a little bit gooey chewy on the inside.

Although no one really likes him, he was the first person that I ever bought a cookbook from. Probably because it was on sale or something. Haha. If you want to check out his book I would suggest "Cook with Jamie."  

I get a lot of questions regarding when to know when you meringue is ready for baking. The answer lies in the stiffness of your meringue. Turn your batter upside down, if it falls off then it is no good.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Here we go Ultimate Fruit Meringue:

Meringue:
6 egg whites
1 cup plus 5 tablespoons of sugar

Toppings:
500 ml 35% cream
2 tablespoons of icing sugar
10 ml vanilla extract
Handfuls of strawberries, blueberries and fruit of your choice.

Preheat 300F
Whip the egg whites till it starts to foam. Gradually add in the sugar until it starts to turn glossy white. Whip it for about 7-8 minutes until it is stiff enough for your to hold it upside down above your head and won't fall down (It never fell on me ever haha).

Optional:
You can add in any flavours you want to enhance the meringue taste by adding lemon or orange zest.

Pour the meringue batter on a prepared baking pan either as one big round blob or several blobs on the pan.
Bake in the center for about an hour until the outside is crispy and the inside is still a bit gooy and chewy.

Take it out and set aside to cool.

Whip the 35% cream, add vanilla extract and sugar until it starts to come together. Do not over whip or the cream would turn chunky and you do not want it to be like that.

Assemble your cake by putting the whipping cream on top, shower the cream with a handful of fruits of your choice. You can additionally garnish your cake by add crushed walnuts, small mint leaves and if you are feeling very fancy, caramelized sugar would be a great choice.

Eat immediately!

 Hello!

Like the new look? I'd figure that after a year and a bit of the old stuff, its time for a change. If you don't like it please comment and I will make sure I make this as user friendly as possible. I have been holding back on the posts for a bit ever since but today was my favourite woman or all time's birthday!

That means that I had to shake off the dust and work my butt off in the kitchen. The recipe that I came up with was inspired by Anna Olson and Jamie Oliver.

The filling was from Anna's side, her list of ingredient was just so perfect. With a little tweaking and modifications, I made a perfect adult dessert that will leave your hungry hungry hippos wanting more.

The crust was from Jamie. Every time I bake the crust, I always get punched in the face with "Oh my God, the crust is what makes me want a second piece."

Bailey's Chocolate Cheesecake

Filling:
6 oz bitter sweet chocolate
3 oz dark chocolate
3 pkg cream cheese
1 cup of sugar
125 ml sour cream
5 ml vanilla extract
4 eggs at room temperature
125 ml Bailey's Irish cream

Crust:
9 oz digestive biscuits
10 tablespoons of melted butter

Pre-heat oven to 350F

• Crush the biscuits and mix the melted butter in. 
• Pack it in a round 9 inch spring form pan, making sure you get the side walls too. Grease the sides and bake it for 10 mins. Set a side to cool. 
• Melt the chocolate with the double boiler technique and set aside to cool. Beat the cream cheese until fluffy and add the sugar, scrape the sides every so often. Beat in sour cream, vanilla, Bailey's Irish Cream. Beat in the melted chocolate, then add the eggs one at a time. Remember to scrape the sides. 
• Pour the mixture into the cooled crust. 
• Bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes, until the outside is set but the centre still has a little jiggle to it. Allow the cake to cool down fully before putting it in the fridge over night. 
• Garnish the cake with chocolate shavings. 

The balance between chocolate and cream cheese was just perfect. Everyone loves chocolate and I wanted the cake to be more chocolate dominant. The hint of Bailey's was sensational and having seconds was mandatory.

 I still feel that there could be some more improvements because as cheesey as it made sound, design is always a process. So give me a shout. =)