Finally...... Raspberry & Passionfruit Tarts

Finally submitted my thesis yesterday night, though it’s not completely over, awaiting viva in a few weeks.

I have no ideas what to do for the rest of the week apart from all those writing & editing.

My mind is still about writing thesis, need something to divert my mind & focus.

I think it’s a great time to start baking again & updating my blog.

The recipe I’m sharing now is from a while back in summer.

A request from my sister, I’d asked her what she’d like to have for desserts the day before we went picking raspberries.

Cheesecake was on the list but passionfruit & raspberry tart sounded wonderful, plus it wasn't difficult to make at all.

We’ve had tart passion framboise from Laduree, it’s amazingly delicious.

Although my sister has the cookbook, it’s not at hand so I simply googled the recipe for it & found a recipe from Bertha’s blog.

Crunchy tart crust, rich yet exotic passionfruit cream & tangy raspberries, just a wonderful combination.

Just to say hi.... with a recipe

 Hello readers.

I’ve been away from baking & blogging for a while as I’m writing up my thesis for my Ph.D.

I'm not even halfway yet with my writing…

Writing up is such a long & boring process, sometimes I wish someone can write it up for me, which is totally impossible...

To break it from my boring writing, I thought I should update the blog & let you know that I haven’t abandoned this site.

Just that I can only focus at my thesis, it’s probably one of the most important piece of writing in my life.

I hope next time when I blog, I would already submit my thesis :)

Also a quick update of the recipe, I baked this for my niece’s 1st birthday in early February.

It’s gorgeous yet simple & easy to bake.

Whisky & Raspberry Cheesecake

At one weekend, I went back to Basildon as usual by train.

At the station, the train was delayed so I went to the bookshop nearby & flipped through some food magazines.

I wanted to baked a cheesecake when I got home so when I saw there was a section on cheesecake in Food & Travel.

I bought the magazine without second thought.

All the cheesecakes in the magazine seem great & I baked the easiest recipe which I omitted the baked flapjack base.

The cheesecake wasn't overly sweet, so I drizzled some honey on top & served it with some tangy raspberries.

Bon appétit!

Cranberry Caramel Madeleines

Hi all, I have to apologise for my absence for the last few weeks.

I was injured on a hiking trip in Wales & took a week resting.

After that, I'm busy with my Ph.D project so I don't really have time for baking & I'll do my best to keep this blog running.

I've never used a madeleine pan to bake madeleines… because I didn't think there's a need for it.

However, when Jenny baked some vanilla madeleines at home, I couldn't forget the moist & crumbly madeleines when they're freshly baked.

So, I decided baked some myself & continued my obsession with caramel I've baked some caramel madeleines using Pierre Hermé's recipe.

The recipe requires inverted sugar which retains moisture & softness.

However, I didn't bother with that & used honey instead.

Also, I didn't have dried apricot so I used dried cranberries soaked in Kirsch.

The madeleines are tender & moist. Yummy!

Barcelona & A Recipe for Poire Vin Blanc

Last week, I went to Barcelona for a short  break with my sister.

I walked around the city just exploring & taking photos.

After the break, I made these pear & caramel entremets.

I saw the red wine pear entremets posted on Evan's Kitchen Ramblings & that reminds me of this recipe which I've designed a while back.

Finally got the chance to make these & it tastes absolutely gorgeous!

I really love the white wine poached pears & the caramel mousse.

Refreshingly tangy, fragrant yet rich & creamy.

I was regret that I didn't have another piece before heading back to London...

Chocolate & Passionfruit Mousse Cake

I have to apologize for abandon this site for a month…

Things get a bit hectic in my work & I got a bit demotivated recently.

Of course, one of the reason was that my new camera was sent back to Fuji for servicing.

I got my camera back so there was no excuse not to bake & photograph.

Last weekend, I went to Basildon & took the chance to make this chocolate & passionfruit mousse cake.

Since I hadn't baked for a while, I thought I would make something easier to get starting again.

I love passionfruit & chocolate combo, passionfruit is tangy & refreshing, taming down the richness of chocolate.

For the decoration, I simply copied from the previous cake design & used white chocolate pieces.

I also tied it with a red ribbon & it looks great & delicious after all :)

30min Wholemeal Cream Scones with Homemade Strawberry Conserve

Stop baking cakes for a while, I’ve been looking for new breakfast ideas as I’m bored with muffins & pancakes…

I recently have afternoon tea with scones & pies so I thought it shouldn’t be too difficult to make scones.

The most interesting recipe is 30-min scone & the recipe I used only needs 3 ingredients: whipping cream, wholemeal self-raising flour & sugar.

Scone is plain really, but when it’s freshly baked from the oven, it’s soft & tastes great with clotted cream & strawberry conserve.

Light & soft cream scones served with a cup of coffee that wakes me up in the morning :)

Crémeux aux Framboise

I baked this cake for my friend’s birthday.

I first saw the recipe from cake chef, which is a Japanese website showcasing Japanese patisserie.

It’s called Cremeux, meaning creamy & smooth.

The cake is composed of 3 layers: almond genoise, white chocolate yogurt mousse & mascarpone mousse.

I really like the mascarpone mousse & white chocolate yogurt mousse combo, but I was thinking it would be overly sweet so I added a raspberry jelly layer.

I renamed this cake ‘Crémeux aux Framboise’.

The mousse is smooth & creamy, the raspberry adds a tangy freshness.

For the decoration, I wrapped the mousse ring with bubble wrap & made the cake from upside down so that the top mascarpone mousse would pick up the pattern.

It worked out really well & I simply garnished with fresh fruits.

Happy baking!

Chocolate Genoise with Berries

I was quite excited last week as I bought a new camera, Fujifilm X-Pro 1.

As much as I like my old camera GF1, I think it’s time to upgrade.

I took a few shoots in the front garden, it’s bright & sunny so flowers are blooming.

To celebrate my sister’s birthday, I baked a chocolate genoise filled with layers of berries.

We had an incredible tea time, we had freshly baked scones, hazelnut macaroons with fruity & tangy berry tea.

A great way to enjoy the spring.

Jasmin

I have to admit I was delighted when I completed the challenge to make this lovely dome-shaped cake.

I’ve had an urge to make this cake as it had been in my mind for 2 weeks.

I could have made this earlier but I didn’t really have times, plus this would make a lovely birthday cake for my mum.

I made a red wine poached pear mousse cake for my mum’s birthday last year & she wasn’t fond of it but this time she really likes this.

I wasn’t settled for the design even though I had the recipes & decorations drawn up.

I changed them as I was making it, that’s why I’d spent a whole day & it’s great I didn’t mess up the decoration, phew…

I almost did with the glaze, can’t really see it from the photos as I’d it covered by the strawberry lace tuiles.

The cake is composed of 6 components: 

1. white genoise

2. jasmine creme brûlée

3. jasmine & lychee jelly

4. jasmine & white chocolate mousse

5. lychee milk glaze

6. strawberry lace tuiles

Original design (bottom) & composition (above).

I named this cake Jasmin as there is a base note of jasmine with fragrant & sweet lychee, they work wonderfully together.

My mum loves it, my sister loves it  & I love it :)

There was one suggestion from my sister that I could use nappage neutre instead of the milk glaze, it might be easier to work with but I bet I still make a mess with that…

One Apple, Two Blueberry Cheesecakes & Three A Trip to Lewes

It’s my friend’s birthday and she had special request for a baked cheesecake.

So, the night before I met her, I baked, not one but two small cheesecakes.

The recipe was actually for a 8” cake but we’re going to a historical & lovely town called Lewes.

It’s not a good idea to bring a giant 8” cake around.

The little cheesecake turned out great with simple arrangement of poached apples & my friend loved it :)

I cooked some blueberry jam & simply spread over the other cheesecake which I brought to my mum the next day when we had lunch together.

Lewes was an adorable town, full of antique shops, cozy cafe & cute crafts stores.

There is also a big flea market & it's like treasure hunting :)

Floral tea cups & saucers bought from Lewes.

Blackberry & White Chocolate Mousse

The mousse was very easy to make, I almost always have the ingredients in hands.

It just happened that I had some white chocolate & blackberries, not very usual as I always stock dark chocolate & raspberry.

Anyway, I whipped them up in the morning, piped in a silicon mould & freeze.

Later, I popped them out & simply arranged with some rose syrup & blueberry jam I made sometimes ago.

It turned out to be gorgeous :)

Asian Pear & Oolong Mousse Cake

This lovely mousse cake is when East meets West.

The subtle, sweet & fragrant oolong mousse with crispy Asian pears coupled with the chewy & moist pecan brownie.

When it melts in the mouth, I can feel the delicacy & sweetness, gradually overtaken by the rich & nutty chocolate brownie.

I've chosen to use Asian pear over William pear.

William pear usually go tender after poaching, but I wanted crunchy bits in the mousse & Asian pear retains its crisp texture.

Plus, Asian pear is very juicy with a delicate & refreshing fragrant.

It is one of my favourite fruit.

Oolong tea varies in taste & the tea I used is originated from China which is sweet & fruity.

The taste of oolong tea is vital so I would recommend to get the best oolong tea you can get hold of.

I really like it, especially the mousse & I'll definitely make it again :)

You can also make a 'West meets West' version, simply replacing the oolong tea with black tea like earl grey, Asian pear with William pear.