Jelly Hearts

Made some jelly hearts with my friend the other day, and even though it is very time consuming, but the jelly hearts are such a delight to eat! Love how the different layers complement one another! We also made a blueberry version with blackcurrant jelly, and it tasted just as good as well.




Shall not post the recipe here because StoryOfBing.com has great pictorial guide! So head over to that website to have a look! :D

Good Luck!

Blackcurrant Cheese Tarts

Hello everyone, in case you might be wondering if I made a mistake in the title, that I typed blackcurrant instead of blueberry (blueberry cheese tarts are the more commonly found ones). Nope, I did not! Reason why I tweaked this recipe from blueberry to blackcurrant is because I only have blackcurrant jam at home! :P Thus, you can do the same too if you do not have blueberry/blackcurrant jam. Just use whatever jam that you like! Hopefully it turns out as nice as mine :D


Adapted from ReeseKitchen.

(This recipe yields about 16 middle sized tarts)

Pastry:
125g butter
60g fine granulated sugar
250g all purpose flour (plain flour)
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp COLD water (may need more than that)

Method:
1. Sift flour and sugar into mixing bowl
2. Rub butter into flour until resembles coarse crumbs (rubbing method)

this method is similar to pineapple tarts!3. Add in egg yolk, vanilla and water
4. Shape dough into ball and refrigerate (20-30 minutes) before using
** (before using, take out fr fridge, wait for awhile until dough soften)
5. Place dough onto tart shells, and poke the base with fork (this is to let the air comes out while baking)
6. Bake at 160-170'C for 10-15 minutes or until brown

Filling:
250g cream cheese
20g butter
60g fine granulated sugar
1 egg

Method:
1. Beat cheese, butter and sugar together until fluffy
2. Add in egg and beat till well mix
3. Spoon some jam on the baked tart shells then fill it up with cream cheese mixture. Use toothpick or fork to create swirl effect!
4. Bake at 170-180'C for 10 minutes


Used a diabetic-friendly jam!

The inside of my tart and look at my cute minion nails! :D :D
Additional notes:
- Of course, I reduced the amount of sugar in both tart and filling! Reduced each by about 20g.
- I extended both baking durations by 10 min (not sure if it is the problem of my oven or what)

Strawberry cheesecake cupcakes

Finally back to updating this blog after such a long hiatus! This afternoon I finally got the lazy me to start baking again. Maiden attempt to bake cupcakes and they were a success, lookwise.

Came across the recipe on yankaykay's blog, was so attracted to it, it looks soooo delicious. As usual I went on to search for other versions of this recipe and I found the original recipe at joylicious. Upon reading the first sentence of the post I was totally sold and I knew that I have to try out this recipe. It goes: I always tell girlfriends who can't cook -- "Ladies, there's only 3 recipes you'll ever have to learn to win over any man's heart: the perfectly seared steak, killer mashed potatoes and these Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes."

I modified the recipe quite a bit, maybe that is the reason why mine didn't turn out really delicious (but still yummy!). This recipe yields 18 cupcakes for me.



What I need!!
Recipe (crust, batter & cream cheese)

for crust:
15 digestive crackers, crumbed (I only used 8!!)
125g (or less) butter
3 tbsp sugar (I omitted this to cut down sugar)

1. Preheat oven to 170 degree Celsius.
2. Crush up the digestive crackers and mix in sugar and butter until it holds together when pressed down.
3. Spoon about 1 tablespoon of it into cupcake liner and press down with finger/spoon.
4. Bake for 3-5 minutes.



For batter:
4 egg whites and 2 tbs of sugar
1 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp of salt
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.5 cup sour cream/plain yogurt
2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and diced

1. Beat egg whites and 2tbs of sugar until stiff, glossy peaks appear. Be careful not to overbeat. Set aside.
2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar until soft and fluffy, add in vanilla extract and beat on low speed. Then add half the flour mixture until incorporated then mix in the sour cream or yogurt. Add remaining flour & mix until just blended.
4. Gently fold 1/3 of the egg into the batter until combined, do not over mix the egg whites or the cake will fall flat. Add remaining egg and fold in the chopped strawberries.
5. Fill each muffin tin about 3/4 of the way and bake for about 20-25 minutes depending on your oven.




For cheese cream:
250g cream cheese
125g of butter
300g (or less) of icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar slowly in small batches, beating on low speed until incorporated. Once all sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and mix until light and fluffy. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

I omitted the cream cheese because after baking the cake I was very exhausted. Furthermore my family doesn't have much liking for cream stuffs, hence... Hahaha, coming up with too many excuses for my laziness :P