Apple & Ricotta Pastry Squares - MasterChef Australia

Lately I have been following MasterChef Australia Session 2. This show has inspired me to be more creative in my cooking and baking. Unfortunately the long hours at work has been keeping me away from pursuing that creativity.

I found this Apple & Ricotta Pastry Squares recipe from the official MasterChef website. A quick and easy dessert which only takes 30 minutes to prepare. I have slightly improvised the recipe by replacing a few of the ingredients. Instead of using mixed spice, I use cinnamon as it goes really well with apple and covers the honey taste which I dislike. The ricotta cheese itself taste very bland and only provides an added texture to the dessert. As for the jam, feel free to use any flavoured jam or you can even replace it with cream/vanilla ice-cream/yogurt. 

Makes 4

Ingredients
125g Ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 sheet puff pastry, cut into 4 squares
1 pink lady apple, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon mango, passionfruit & paw paw jam (can be replaced with your own favourite jam)

Method
1. Combine ricotta cheese, honey and cinnamon.
2. Divide between each pastry square.
3. Place the ricotta mix in the centre of each pastry square.
4. Top with thin slices of apple and brush with jam.
5. Bake at 190 degree C for 10-15 minutes until golden.

Black Star Pastry, Newtown

Newtown, a funky & lively suburb filled with a lot of hidden treasures waiting to be discovered. Black Star Pastry is definitely on that list. The owner, Christopher Thé is a former pastry chef at Woollahra's award winning restaurant Claude's. This tiny pâtisserie is bustling with the locals enjoying their Saturday morning coffee and breakfast, sitting on one of the stools scattered outside on the footpath. As I enter the cafe there is a short queue, however within less than three(3) minutes I am immediately served by one of the friendly staff.

While waiting for my cakes to be carefully packed in a box, I take the opportunity to snap some pictures of the cafe. To my surprise, this friendly barista suddenly turn towards me and put on his best smile for my camera.

The hardest part after buying cakes is always the journey home. I will carefully put the box of cakes on my lap, open the lid every once in while and salivate over them! To torture myself even further, I seem to take the longest time ever to photograph each of the individual cake. I guess I'm just building up the momentum for my sweet indulgence. 

Lemon Meringue with Basil Jelly

The lemon meringue with basil jelly is my cake of the day. A beautiful pentagonal pyramid shaped like cake with a solid and crunchy pastry base. It is topped with a smooth, creamy and citrusy lemon meringue. Once you get to the middle of the cake, you'll find the partially transparent basil jelly. Like any jelly, its texture is soft with a resilient consistency and full of basil flavour.

Strawberry, Rose & Watermelon Cake

An interesting layered sponge cake with a slice of fresh and juicy watermelon, strawberries and cream. Unlike the typical vanilla sponge cake with strawberries, this cake is layered with almond dacquoise sponge. The nutty almond dacquoise sponge is light and the crunchiness compliments the juicy watermelon. A refreshing cake that is neither too sweet nor heavy, perfect for your lazy afternoon tea-time indulgence. 

Hazelnut & Chocolate Cake

Nothing can ever go wrong with a hazelnut and chocolate cake. To me, these two ingredients combined together is like a match made in heaven. This cake is layered with rich chocolate sponge and hazelnut-crunch mix, and topped with a thick layer of chocolate plaque and gold leaf. 

Chocolate Gingerbread Ninja

My last treat of the day is the chocolate gingerbread ninja. A cute and almost crazy-like gingerbread looking ninja coated in rich chocolate. It is gingery and just the right consistency of crumbliness as you bite through it. 

Black Star Pastry

277 Australia Street, Newtown
Tel: (02) 9557 8656
0700 - 1700 Tues-Sun

Bills, Darlinghurst

After a long, tiring and endless week at work, all I want is a simple and hearty breakfast to start my weekend.

My husband & I finally decided to try Bills after years of living & calling Sydney 'our home'. Bills is located on a quite, trendy suburb Darlinghurst. It is a bright, open-space and stylish dining place; a place that feels like home to me.

We start by ordering the regular size Sunrise drink of orange juice, banana, yoghurt and berries to share. A refreshing drink that is rich in banana & berries flavour and just a hint of the orange juice.

We decided on the two(2) of Bills Classics breakfast: Scrambled organic eggs with sourdough toast $13.50 and Ricotta hotcakes, fresh banana and honeycomb butter $17.50.

The scrambled eggs look so ordinary yet the taste is extraordinary. I have never taste scrambled eggs so smooth, light and creamy until this morning. You only need a simple sourdough toast to go with this exceptional eggs.

Another one of Bills reputed breakfast, the ricotta hotcakes that is amazingly delicious. Soft & fluffy in texture and it comes with a generous serving of honeycomb butter & fresh banana. The hotcakes will not be complete without pouring some of the maple syrup that comes on the side.

Do try and get there early to secure yourself a table as it starts to get busy by 9am!

Bills

433 Liverpool Street

Darlinghurst NSW

2000 Australia 

T: (02) 9360 9631

0730 - 1500 Mon-Sat

0830 - 1500 Sun

Apple Tart for Our Beloved Mom

Happy Mother's Day!

"Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever." Anonymous

A special day dedicated to all moms for their unconditional love, who never ask for anything in return. Thanks for being through the tears, laughter and sleepless nights.

My mom and I live in a different country, so every mother's day all I can do is wish her Happy Mother's Day over the phone. However, I am fortunate enough to have my mom-in-law here in Australia with us. Today we made her breakfast and I baked this apple tart (recipe from here) as it is one of her favourite all-time dessert.

The recipe is quite easy to follow and I fancy the idea of using cream cheese as the filling. A touch of cinnamon adds a spicy-sweet taste to the sliced apples. A delicious apple tart topped with almond flakes that will leave you wanting more with every single bite.

Recipe

Crust:
1 cup (140 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (35 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar
12 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Filling:
One 8-ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:
1/4 cup (grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
4 cups (50 ml) Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch (.6 cm) slices (about 3-4 large apples)
1/3 cup (35 grams) sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease (or spray with Pam) a 9 inch (22 cm) springform pan.

Crust: In the bowl of your food processor place the flour and sugar. Pulse to blend together. Add butter and pulse until dough just begins to come together. Pat the dough onto the bottom and once inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while you make the filling.

Filling: In a food processor process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Blend in the egg and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling. Return to refrigerator while you prepare the topping.

Topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Toss the sliced apples in the sugar mixture. Spoon the apples evenly over the cream cheese layer and sprinkle with almonds. Place the springform pan on a larger baking sheet to catch the drips.

Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown (apples are soft when pierced with a fork), and filling is almost set. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve at room temperature. Leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.

Mixed Berries with Honey Crème Fraîche Martini

What do you do when you are down with the flu and still craving for something sweet?

A lot of people said that honey is good for your health and some even recommend that you take it daily. I am one of those people who does not like honey. I find the taste very peculiar, but to be honest since I rarely have it I can barely remember how it taste like.

So here I am trying to make my dessert (or should I say 'myself') feeling less guilty by adding a touch of honey to it. To make this heavenly dessert you need a good French Crème Fraîche.

I love berries and you can easily get the mixed frozen berries from your local shops. The sourness of the berries covers that peculiar honey taste which I am still not accustomed to. Add a sprinkle of crushed almonds for a crunchy finishing touch.

Makes 2

3 tbs Crème Fraîche
1 tsp honey
1/4 cup of frozen mixed berries
1 tbs crushed almonds

In a bowl, mix the crème fraîche with honey and whip it lightly until combined.
Place the crème mix on your preferred choice of glass or bowl.
Add the mixed berries and sprinkle some crushed almonds.
Ready to serve!

Happy Nutella Day!

Nutella, you can spread it over a slice of bread, crêpes, pancakes or have it on its own - it's a guilty pleasure! Thank you Mr. Pietro Ferrero for your sweet hazelnut invention.

Over the weekend, I was at Eveleigh Market for my usual weekly grocery and decided to have nutella crêpes from Blini Bar for breakfast. Blini Bar serves freshly made savoury and sweet crêpes. There are eight(8) choices to choose from the savoury and sweet crêpes, or an option to create your own savoury crêpes.

Your name will be requested upon ordering and they will chirpily call your name out once the crêpes is ready. Therefore you don't have to worry about your order getting mixed up and you can focus on the more important task, i.e salivating over the crêpes that are being made.

Unfortunately the picture below does not do any justice to my warm and irresistible nutella crêpes. The crêpes is smooth and almost chewy in texture with a generous spread of nutella. 

If you ever need a hazelnut fix, head over to Blini Bar at Eveleigh Market.

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes

I recently purchased the Delicious Magazine, Sweet edition 'The Ultimate Collection'. This is definitely the ultimate collection of recipes for me to indulge and devour in.

Being a clumsy and lazy cook, I picked one of the easiest recipe which is the Raspberry Swirl Cheesecakes. It is really easy to follow and you only need a few ingredients. However, ensure that your muffin pan is bigger than the paper base or else the cheesecakes will end up like mine (see photo below).
The cheesecake is light with a sour raspberry twist and the oreo base (quoting my friend's comment) "is a delightful surprise".

Here's the recipe, enjoy!

Makes 12

10 Oreo biscuits (with filling)

40g unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup frozen raspberries, thawed

2 tbs icing sugar, sifted

375 cream cheese

1 cup (220g) caster sugar - I replaced it with brown sugar, hence my cheesecakes look more brown

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases. 

Finely crush the Oreo biscuits in a food processor, then add the melted butter and stir to combine. Press into the bases of paper cases.

Bake for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.

Mash the raspberries to a pulp with the back of a fork. Strain through a sieve into  a bowl, pressing down well, then discard seeds. Stir in the icing sugar.

Place the cream cheese in a bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth.

Add the caster sugar in a slow, steady stream, beating until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each, then beat in vanilla. Pour the cheese mixture over the biscuit bases.

Place about 1/2 teaspoon berry puree on top of cakes and use a wooden skewer to swirl through cheese mixture. Bake for 10-15 minutes until just set, then leave in the switched-off oven to cool completely.