Non-baked

Strawberry Hearts

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Strawberry Hearts

This is my first attempt at making Strawberry Hearts. I have always wanted to make this dessert for the longest time but somehow never got down to it.

I guess it is partly due to the fact that baking is more tedious than cooking. The amount of layering required for this recipe is quite insane, and you have to get each step correct. You can taste your way to perfection for cooking but with baking (or no bake) recipes, you can’t make any mistakes. Each misstep can lead to undesired outcomes.

So someone posted on Singapore Baking Facebook that they made their own Strawberry Hearts. And then someone else posted another recipe and from the looks of it, it is rather authentic. Immediately I knew I had to try it. So I went about buying all the ingredients, and alas, the supermarket near my place had sold out on gelatin. Incredible.

That’s like the stabilizing factor in the no-bake cake industry. I was so close, having already gotten the bulk of the ingredients in another earlier purchase. Then I still vaguely remember having already purchased gelatin. After returning home I realized it had already expired and my wife disposed of it.

So this is my gelatin-less version of the Strawberry Hearts.

Recipe

Ingredients

Biscuit base

200 grams of Digestive Biscuits (the other recipe started 300 grams, but I felt it was too thick)
100 grams Unsalted Butter (best to use unsalted butter as you won’t want your biscuit base to taste too salty)

Cream Cheese Layer

2 x 250 grams Philadelphia Cream Cheese (you can buy bigger blocks from Phoon Huat)
2/3 cups Castor Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
1 1/2 tbsp Gelatin Powder (I substituted magnolia full cream milk instead, 1/4 cup)
1 1/4 cup of Boiling Water (didn’t use water but used milk)

Jelly Layer

160 grams of Strawberry Tortelly Jelly Powder

Lastly – 1 punnet of Strawberries (make sure you check the sizes are similar, korean strawberries are the best)

Method

(I gleaned off the recipe from Ms Karen Lim aka “Bing” ‘s recipe and adapted it to what I think would work for me)

1. Bing’s recipe was done on a glass pan or casserole dish. I think I have that same glass dish as well, also about the same size. Pretty standard. But the 300 grams of digestive was a little too much. So if I were to do it again, I would reduce to 200 grams (as indicated above) and also reduce the butter correspondingly from her 150 grams to 100 grams.

2. I crushed the biscuits in a Kenwood Food Processor, for this, you could try the biscuits in a ziplock bag and whack it with a rolling pin approach, but seriously, it is not the same. Bing’s biscuit crushing appliance is also a tad too small. You want to crush the biscuits until they are fine grains. Follow her photos and recipe process, but take into consideration my pointers here.

3. Gelatin is an absolute must. You can’t just pretend that it is not there. I pretended of course (read the story above as to why I didn’t have gelatin in my bakery warchest) and used Magnolia Full Cream Milk to fake the presence of Gelatin. I am taking this calculated risk because I want to create liquid but not make it too solvent (get it?!). So I added a 1/4 cup of Milk to reduce the density of the cheese mixture but yet not too much so that it still retains structure (also I don’t quite like the taste of gelatin in my cakes). My plan worked. Of course if you are still not sure what I am doing, follow Bing’s recipe with the gelatin, cannot go wrong.

4. Once the biscuit is set, I did the fork-poke-holes in biscuit crust thing as what Bing suggested. I think it is to allow the cheese mixture to fill into the tiny holes so that they can retain the structure. In my case it was kind of redundant because my cream cheese mixture was like molten lava texture. There was very little liquid to begin with.

5. I bought Driscoll’s (US) Strawberries, which upon hindsight was a bit of a mistake. These US strawberry farmers usually like to pack in all different sizes. The Korean guys are better in that they pack the same sizes. Korean strawberries are pretty to look at (like korean pop groups) and they are perfect if you want your strawberry hearts to look cookie cutter.

6. I got Philadelphia Cream Cheese which was made in Australia. Of course if you can find the ones produced in the US, then that is better. I find the Australian versions not as nice. But limited choice so bo pian. You may buy the bigger slabs from places like Phoon Huat but the quality would again differ.

7. I used Tortelly Jelly because I couldn’t find the brand of jelly that Bing used, then after reading her blog, realised that she lives in New Zealand (haha!!). So naturally I need to find my substitute here. It’s not the best, Konnyaku would have been better. 160 grams of jelly was just nice for what I did, so that’s a keeper.

8. Her note about setting the cream cheese with the strawberries is not without reason. I did my fake-gelatin method and set it for 3 hours only before scooping in the liquid strawberry jelly mixture. Even then the bits of cheese mixture floated (a bit only, cannot really see), so you might need to set it at least 4 hours or longer. Thankfully none of the strawberries floated, so that was good.

9. Once the strawberry hearts were set overnight, I used a sharp knife to cut the pieces out. My gosh, they are huge slabs, measuring about 4cm by 5cm. I am now wondering how in the world the jelly hearts business people manage to create their so thinly. Theirs is truly beautiful. Mine, was just not pretty at all.

10. The only saving grace was that the strawberry hearts tasted fantastic. Really nice. I would definitely do it again, but with gelatin and maybe with 3 tsp of Lemon Juice.

Bon Appetit!

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Setting the cream cheese

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Strawberry Hearts encased in jelly.

Tiramisu

Ho Sim Lang

Tiramisu

I have always loved Tiramisu, and I like making it even more. The problem is, I rarely get a chance to do it these days, other things have become more subtly more important and I also always tend to forget how to make it. Even for this recipe, I was struggling to recall the proportions right up to the minute before I actually remembered how to make this Italian “Pick Me Up” cake.

This beautiful no-bake recipe is da bomb. Once you know how I make it, you can also do likewise. If you don’t like it the way I do it, then please feel free to mutate the recipe to whatever configuration you like. Ultimately it must make sense to you and the taste must be absolutely fantastic.

I took up a class on how to make Tiramisu recently, and the trainer said that due to the presence of unsavoury hygiene habits of some bakers, they have decided to stop using eggs in this no-bake version of the Tiramisu. I thought it could be more like an industry-wide conspiracy to boycott the use of eggs. But then I discarded that thought as there were many other recipes that still called for the use of eggs.

Anyhoo, I think eggs are perfectly fine for Tiramisu and in fact they make the taste uber yummy. But suffice to say, if you’re a parent, you might want to stop your children, especially toddlers from eating this delicious Tiramisu as the eggs are uncooked. But again, your children, you decide. But if they suffer massive LS, don’t say I didn’t warn you. Don’t know what is LS? Ask your Singaporean friends.

Some bakers will opt to whisk the eggs over a boiling pot of water when combining with the Mascarpone. Well, you can do that if you like. I personally think it is kind of silly. But again, it’s a baking technique, and I am not here to change the status quo, if it makes you happy, then do it. I am not doing it that way. In fact if you know what I do for my recipe, you might exclaim in a loud voice “Wah SO EASY ah?”

Yes, it is that easy to make Tiramisu.

Okay, just in case you think I am bragging, take a look above at the rather nondescript photo of my Tiramisu. It’s perfect don’t you think so?

For those of us that cannot visualise my instructions, I found a video on how to make Tiramisu for you to follow. There are plenty of videos with all different concoction of ingredients, but trust me, mine is the best. No alcohol, and no added flavouring. And just in case you think I sound like that on video, well I don’t. I chose the video because the video quality looks quite good. Just imagine that it is me teaching you. Disregard his ingredients and follow mine.

 

Recipe

Ingredients

500 grams Mascarpone Cheese (can buy from NTUC finest or Cold Storage, any brand also can)

100 grams Castor Sugar

4 Eggs

1 and half packets of Ladies Fingers (not the vegetable, but they are also known as sponge fingers biscuits with sugar)

Very Strong Coffee (I use Nescafe Gold Blend)

 

Method:

1. Firstly separate the egg whites from the yolks of the 4 eggs. Make sure the egg yolks don’t drip into the whites otherwise the egg whites won’t be able to achieve the stiff peaks. But I had some egg yolks dripped into my egg whites. Of course, if you ask me what did I do next? I continued to whip it using my super-duper KitchenAid machine. It whacked the egg whites into submission and they all stood stiff at the end of it. So don’t believe what people tell you. Take it from me.

2. Oh, you have to add the 100 grams castor sugar into the egg whites before whipping them. I know some recipes say that you are supposed to add the sugar into the egg yolks and not the egg whites. I think it is the same, so if you want to follow other people’s way of doing it, you can. Whipped it until it it stiff peaks. Then you taste the mixture. It should taste something like candy floss.

3. Next up whip the egg yolks with the Mascarpone cheese until pale yellow and creamy in texture. You generally want to incorporate as much air into your mixture as possible. Once you have done these two steps, you can combine the two together and fold them until they are one.

4. Using a large dish, you are now ready to make your Tiramisu. Make a large cup of extra strong coffee. I use Nescafe Gold Blend and I make it extra strong by adding more coffee grinds and less water. I dip the sugar coated end of the ladies fingers into the strong coffee and quickly take them out and flip them on the reverse side and then place the biscuits into the tray. Basically by doing so the biscuits don’t become soggy too quickly and you still have the basic taste of the biscuits.

5. You want to line the dish with the coffee infused ladies fingers so that it forms a bedding for the whipped Tiramisu batter. Once you have arranged a layer of the ladies fingers, you can now dump the batter into the dish and form a layer. After you have done that, you can powder a thin layer of cocoa powder. Repeat the ladies fingers dipping action and form another layer of bedding. After that, dump the remainder of the batter into the dish.

6. Once you have done all that, seal it with cling wrap and throw it into the fridge to set. Some recipes call for overnight freezing for it to set. I think if you have a good fridge, it should set in 2 hours tops. After all, it should be eaten in a soft mushy manner.

7. Once it is set, and sufficiently chilled. Dust it with cocoa powder and you can serve.

Bon Appetit!

 

Peach De’lite Cheesecake (Non-Baked)

Ho Sim Lang p2 p3

 

Peach De’lite Cheesecake (Non-Baked)

Here’s a really delicious cheesecake (non-baked) that I would like to recommend to all. It’s undoubtedly the best non-baked cheesecake recipe in the whole wide world (think fairytale).
Tastes great served chilled with a cup of unsweetened earl grey tea or simply on its own. Serves 8-10 slices and it’s excellent for small group socials or office parties.
Light and creamy like gelato, yet maintaining a fresh fruity zesty flavour on a mildly salted crumbly digestive biscuit base. 
Ingredients:
Biscuit Base:
120 grams Plain Digestive Biscuits
70 grams Unsalted Butter (Room Temperature)
Method:
1. Pulse Digestive Biscuits in the food processor until coarse grains. Remember not to blend it till it is too fine. If you don’t own a food processor, get one. You won’t regret it. Otherwise, you may opt to crush the biscuits into crumbly bits in a ziplock bag and hammering it with a rolling pin.
2. Add the already softened butter into the biscuit and combine. Pulse the mixture again until butter combines into biscuit crumbs evenly. Try not to short-cut the process by melting the butter in the microwave as many are tempted to do. You won’t want to cook your butter. I always use Pure Creamery as the type of butter you use makes a big difference. Never substitute it with low-fat margarine! That’s sacrilegious.
3. Pour the biscuit mixture into a grease-paper lined 20 inch Spring-Form Pan and tamper down the crumbs to compact it. After which, you can put the pan into the freezer to let the biscuit base set for about 30 minutes.
Cream Cheese Filling:
227 grams Philadelphia Cream Cheese (Room Temperature)
1 can of Sliced Peaches
200 ml Heavy Cream
3 tbsp Castor Sugar
3 tsp Gelatin
2 tsp Lemon Juice
rind of half a Lemon
Method:
1. With a wooden spoon break the cream cheese and mix it with the castor sugar. I like to use Philadelphia Cream Cheese especially the ones from USA and that’s why it’s 227 grams, however, these days Philadelphia makes its product in Australia, and it comes in a 250 grams pack. I found the Australian product to not be as smooth.
2. Do not over mix the cheese and the sugars. You just want it to be slightly creamy in texture and not stiff peaks.
3. Pulse the sliced peaches into smaller pieces but at the same time you want to take care you don’t end up turning it into a puree. I like using Sliced Peaches from Hosen because the textures of the peaches are firmer and it has a nicer bite and taste when it is chilled. I have used other brands, but they all cannot make it. Some peaches from other brands tend to become mushy and watery after you pulse it a little. Not nice.
4. Pour the peaches into the creamed cheese mixture along with the lemon juice & rind and combine the peaches with the cream cheese, using a wooden spoon. Again take care not to break the peaches into smaller pieces.
5. Double boil the gelatin in a bowl with half a cup of water and let it dissolve. Once the gelatin is sufficiently dissolved, pour it into the cream cheese filling. Using a metal whisk, gently whisk the mixture while pouring the heavy cream into the mixing bowl.
6. Ensure that there is an even consistency as you combine the ingredients.
7. Pour your cream cheese filling into the chilled Spring-Form Pan and again tamper it down at the bottom of the pan so that the filling sits evenly on the biscuit base.
8. Chill the cheesecake in the fridge for at least 8 hours so that the gelatin will hold the cake together.
Decoration ideas:
Fresh Strawberries
Sliced Peaches
Dark Coverture Chocolate Droplets
Walnuts
Raisins
Kiwifruit
Hope you have fun with the recipe!
Bon Appetit.