For my Love ( Toblerone Cheesecake)

This post is for the one I love. My husband would always ask me why I am blogging? and if there is something I get or what benefits I get from doing it? I just answered him with a smile and would tell him that blogging is my way of expressing myself. My blog is my online recipe diary where I explore and showcase dishes .  Anyway, as for the benefits I guess blogging makes me happy and keeps me sane harhar. Before my only purpose was just to document and post all the recipes that I’ve tried but suddenly there were fellow bloggers and followers recognized or appreciated what I’m doing and that motivates me to never stop blogging and just keep my journey in discovering new recipes that I can share with you all 🙂

The title post says for my love it’s because this recipe is  for my husband who loves eating toblerone.  At first he tried to stop me to touch his chocolates but I insisted because my cream cheese would be out of date soon and just promised him that I will just transform his Toblerone into something delectable .:) He loves it of course!

 

Ingredients

• 150 g digestive biscuit crumbs
• 50 g butter
• 300 g Philadelphia  cream cheese
• 175 g Toblerone Milk, melted
• 200 ml whipping cream, lightly whipped
• 25 g Toblerone Milk, for shavings

Instructions

Combine the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter and press into the base of a lightly greased  springform tin. Chill

Beat the Philadelphia until smooth, quickly fold in the lightly whipped cream and melted Toblerone until well combined.

Pour onto the prepared crumb base and refrigerate for 2-3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with Toblerone shavings.

Recipe from Philadelphia.co.uk

Luscious lemon squares…

I am always on the search for a new dessert or dish that I can try on. Luckily, as I browse the page of one of my favorite blogger she got a new post which really captures my heart. The way she describe her lemon bars is just really enticing that after reading it I want to bake it at that very moment. And so I search for more recipes and know more about this famous lemon bars. I admit I don’t know lemon bars and had never tried it.  I also found this..

A proverbial phrase used to encourage optimism and a can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune.

So yeah, when life will give me lemons I would definitely make it into luscious lemon bars :). I would say this recipe is just perfect for me not that tangy and it  melts in the mouth and it’s heavenly as Heart of Mary describe it in her post.

LEMON SQUARES

Ingredients:
Note: I did some substitution on  some ingredients as it  is not available in my pantry.
For the pastry:
1 cup salted butter, cut into cubes ( I used unsalted butter and just added pinch of salt)
½ cup powdered/icing sugar
2 cups plain flour

For the filling:
½ cup plus 2 tbsp plain flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp Salt
5 large eggs
1 ½ cup plus 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
1 tsp lemon extract( I used 1 tsp lemon zest )

zest of one lemon (optional, if you prefer it to be more tangy) I didn’t put mine more zest as I don’t like very tangy.
powdered/icing sugar for dusting

Procedure:

1.  Preheat oven to 180 deg C (350F)  Line a 9×13 baking pan with baking paper. (I use a rectangular springform pan which makes it so easy to remove the lemon squares.)
2.  In a medium bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the pastry until it forms a dough.  Gather dough into a ball.
3.  Press the dough onto your baking pan. Spread it as evenly as possible.

4.  Chill in the fridge for about 15 minutes then bake in the oven for 25 minutes.  After the pastry is baked, take it out but leave the oven on.
5.  While the pastry is baking, prepare your filling.  In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
6.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until foamy, starting from a low speed gradually increasing to high.
7.  Slowly add in the sugar.  Beat the mixture until it is very light yellow in colour and it has quadrupled in volume.
8.  With mixer on lowest speed, add in the lemon juice, lemon extract and zest, if using.  Lastly, add in the flour.  Mix only until everything is combined.
9.  Pour the filling on top of the warm, baked pastry.  Place pan back in the oven, lower the temperature to 160 deg C (325F) and bake for about 30-40 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched.  Baked filling should be very light golden brown.
10.  Move pan to a wire rack.  Let cool completely before slicing into squares.  Dust top generously with icing sugar.

Let’s get the ball rolling for 2014!

First of all I wanna greet all of you a HAPPY HAPPY NEW  YEAR!!!! May 2014 be  a year of health and happiness,a year of  wealth and wisdom, a year of peace and prosperity, a year of glee  and glow, and of course a year of LOVE & Laughter for all of us!!:)

I miss the blogging world but the last few months of last year was just too busy for me.  There are lots of parties and gathering and so my kitchen is also busy from cooking to baking:)Anyway, the first   recipe that  I  would be posting for 2014 is the one that I have baked for a the celebration of 10 years of Filipino-Irish Community here in Ireland. Eating these cupcakes gives us a nostalgic feeling, could bring back wonderful  memories of childhood. Cheese  cupcakes  has  always  been  a part of my student  years and even when I started working this has still been my favorite cupcake.

pinoy cheese cupcake

Cheese Cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Yield: 18 Servings

Ingredients

• 1-3/4 cups flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup quick-melt cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Note: I used my favorite  Hochland  Gouda cheese in this recipe. It’s very creamy  and yummy just like Eden Cheese of Philippines:)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.
2. In a medium bowl, beat butter, sugar and eggs.
3. Beginning and ending with flour mixture, add flour mixture in thirds and 1/2 of sweetened condensed milk in between. Beat at low speed with every addition.
4. Add quick-melt cheese and stir to combine.
5. Using a scoop or spoon, fill paper-lined muffin cups to 3/4 full. Top with cheddar cheese and bake in a 350 F oven for about 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and top is golden. Allow to cool.

Thank  you  Kawaling Pinoy for sharing the  recipe 🙂

quezo chiffon cupcakes

During one of the Filipino gatherings  I tasted this kind of dessert that really captured my taste buds. From then on I fell in love with it and tried to search for a  recipe. I tried asking the one who made it but I think she doesn’t want to share 😦 . I have found a recipe from sweetcherriepie.com and another one from HerWord.  But for now  I am sharing  the recipe from sweetcherriepie.  The cheese really goes  well with the butter icing and it really compliments the flavor of the cupcake too.It’s yummy and my Irish friend really loves it ☺

Ingredients for cupcakes

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp of self raising flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 eggs, separated
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup oil
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp sugar

Butter icing
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup icing sugar or adjust according to your preferred sweetness 

grated cheese for toppings or quezo de bola if you have one.

Procedure:

1.  Preheat the oven to 180’C and line 12 hole mini muffin pan.
2.  Place in a large bowl, flour, salt, sugar and baking powder.  Using a whisk, stir until there are no lumps.  Make a well in the center and add the egg yolks, water, vanilla and oil.  Blend till smooth.
3.  In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peak form.  Gradually add the 2 tbs of sugar and continue beating till stiff.
4.  Fold a third of the egg whites into the cake mixture then gently fold in the rest.  Do not over mix the batter.
5.  Fill the cupcake cups 3/4 full and bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely on a wire rack.
6.  Make the butter icing by combining the butter and icing sugar in a bowl and mix till light and fluffy
7.  Once the cupcakes are cooled, spread the butter icing on top and sprinkle with the grated cheese.

Next time I’ll try HerWord recipe for comparison ☺

Soft & cheesy

It’s summertime  and happy days are here again. This is the best time to have fun in the beach . Time to go out, play outdoors and do everything that can be done under the sun.  Yes, I’ve been away from the house this past weeks so I did not have the chance to bake or cook something to share  here.  I just want to enjoy the sunny days as it won’t last. But yesterday was not a good day so I decided to try this recipe that I have been eyeing for a while now.  This kind of  bread reminds me back home and bring back some memories during my younger years. I used to buy this kind of bread in our local bakery. We call it cheese bread. I can recall the creaminess of the cheese inside the bread and that’s one I wanted to achieve in making this Cheese Rolls and it didn’t fail me. I am very happy as the bread came out soft,creamy and cheesy. 

 

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup lukewarm water

For the dough
2 eggs
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup melted butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 teaspoon salt

softened butter for greasing and spreading
500 grams Cheddar cheese, sliced into 40 sticks
sugar for sprinkling

 

PROCEDURE:

1  In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and lukewarm water. Let stand for 5 minutes to let bubbles form on top.

2  In a large bowl, mix together eggs, yolks, water, and butter. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix.

3  In another large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, powdered milk, and salt. Pour in the liquid mixture; mix. (Dough will be quite sticky.)

4  Grease your work area with butter. Knead the dough until smooth. (To check for the right consistency, dough should be easily stretched into a thin film without breaking.)

5  Form dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl; cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

6  Remove plastic and punch down dough to release air.

7  Form dough into a log and divide equally into 40 (50-gram) pieces.

8  Using a rolling pin, flatten each piece; spread with softened butter.

9  Place a cheese stick in the center of each piece; roll. Pinch ends to seal.

10  Arrange rolls on a greased baking sheet and proof until they double in size. Bake at 325ºF for 15 minutes.

11  Brush cheese rolls with butter and sprinkle with sugar.

 

Time- and energy-saving tip  Make it effortless! In Step 4, you can also use an electric mixer with the dough hook attachment to mix and knead the dough. To get a darker crust, brush top with milk before baking.

Recipe from Yummy.ph

A sweet treat

Yesterday, my son keeps telling me that he wants to eat chocolate cake apparently I ran out of milk. Then I remember brownies doesn’t need milk and  so  for being good in play school I made him this sweet treat.

moist brownies

MOIST BROWNIES

Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter, cubed
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup granulated sugar
2 pieces eggs
1 teaspoon vanila extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and line an 8×8 inch square pan.

2  Place butter and bittersweet chocolate in a medium bowl and set it over a pot of simmering water. Gradually melt the butter and chocolate. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat once completely melted. Set aside.

3  In another mixing bowl, place sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix gradually until sugar is melted.Add the chocolate mixture and stir with a wire whisk.

4  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and salt.Gradually add the flour mixture in the egg mixture. Whisk just until combined. Do not over beat—stop mixing as soon as ingredients look well combined and no lumps are visible.

 5.Pour batter onto prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

6. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

moist brownies

Recipe from Gourmet Goodies

Cinnamon Rolls

My husband wants some bread to pair with his cup of coffee so even if I am not a big fan of cinnamon I still want to give it a try.  I don’t like the smell of cinnamon but I am sure that it taste heaven. Making bread is tedious and time consuming so it really requires a lot of patience.  I chose Aileen S Cinnamon Rolls recipe. As she said ” Be patient—you’ll need to let the dough rise, roll it, let it rise again…but it will all be worth it. As soon as they come out of the oven, a sweet, buttery cinnamon scent will fill your kitchen.” The bread came out soft and delicious.These cinnamon rolls are truly heavenly!

cinnamon rolls

cinnamon rolls

 

Makes 12 rolls
Prep Time 45 minutes (excluding proofing time)
Baking Time 12 to 15 minutes

For the dough
1 (1/4-ounce) package dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
4 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt

For the filling
1 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cubed and softened

For the glaze
1/2 cup butter, cubed and softened
1/3 cup cream cheese, cubed and softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1  In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Leave for 5 minutes.

2  Add sugar, butter, and eggs. Run the mixer on low speed to stir the mixture.

3  Gradually add bread flour and salt, and knead until mixture forms a smooth, elastic dough, about 20 to 30 minutes.

4  Place dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a damp towel and leave in a warm place. Allow dough to rise until double in size; about 1 hour.

5  Punch dough then transfer to a work surface. Roll dough into a rectangle (24-inch- long, 16-inch-wide, about 1/4-inch-thick).

6  Make the filling: Combine brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well.

7  Using a spatula, spread softened butter evenly over the dough then sprinkle the surface with the cinnamon-sugar filling.

8  Roll dough tightly into a log. With the seam side down, cut the dough into 2-inch slices. Place on a greased baking pan, 2 inches apart. Allow dough to rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.

9  Bake the rolls in an oven preheated to 375ºF for about 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Place on a wire rack to cool slightly.

10  Make the glaze: Cream butter and cream cheese together. Gradually add confectioners’ sugar then add vanilla.

11  Spread some icing over the rolls and serve warm.

Glazing tip: Allow the rolls to cool a bit before spreading the tops with the yummy cream cheese glaze.

Make-ahead tip:  These rolls are freezer-friendly! Just pop them in the toaster oven when ready to eat.

failed egg pie

It’s been years I have not eaten an egg pie. I just missed it and I am craving for it badly:( .Egg pie was on my wishlist to make for a long time too so the other day I decided to bake it anyway. Sad to say it was not successful 😦 I don’t know what went wrong but my pie was too watery. I bake it  for an hour or more and chilled for 3 hours but it didn’t firm up 😦 I don’t know. But I suspect my oven temperature is not right maybe. But nevertheless I will still post my failed egg pie. The egg pie turned out delicious.:)

egg pie

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp  unsalted butter , cut into cubes
• ¼ cup cold water

Filling:

• 1 -12oz. can evaporated milk
• 3 pcs. eggs
• 1 pc. egg, white and yolk separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh kalamansi or lemon juice
• 1 cup sugar

. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar,baking powder and salt. Mix well. Add butter and mix thoroughly with other ingredients using a pastry mixer.

Gradually add the cold water to the mixture. Continue mixing until all the ingredients are well combined.

Gather and shape the dough into a large ball. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

On a clean flat surface sprinkled with flour, flatten the dough using a rolling pin into about ½centimeter thick and wide enough to cover a 9″ pie pan/dish

Arrange and press the flattened dough on the baking pan or pie dish. Use kitchen shears to trim the dough to about a half-inch overhang. Save the scraps. You can use those to bulk up thin areas of the crust when you’re fluting the edges.

Crimp the edges either with a fork or by pinching around the edge with your fingers. I did the latter.Keep the dough in the refrigerator while making the filling.

For the filling:

1. Heat the evaporated milk in the microwave oven for 1 minute.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine and whisk the 3 eggs and the separated egg yolk.

3. Gradually add the sugar while whisking. Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice, and  continue whisking until all ingredients are well combined.

4. Add the milk and mix well with other ingredients.

5. Using an electric mixer, beat the egg white until it forms soft peaks.

6. Fold the beaten egg white into the mixture. (The beaten egg white will give the top of the egg pie a brown colour after baking.) 

Baking the Pie:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pour the filling on the refrigerated pie crust.

2. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees F then lower the heat to 325 degrees F and continue baking for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the filling comes out clean.

3. Remove the egg pie from oven and allow to cool down.

I was torn between Pinay In Texas Cooking Corner and Our Awesome Planet  recipe. I don’t know which one to follow so I ended up using  the goldilocks pie crust recipe and pinaycookingcorner for the filling recipe:) 

Chantilly Bars

I  accidentally came across this video on YouTube  making  Chantilly bars.  I really don’t have any idea what it taste like so I search more about this kind of dessert unfortunately there were only few post about it. One blogger  says it is mind blowing dessert and that makes me more interested and eager to try it. The video on YouTube  didn’t give the complete  details on how long   and what temperature of the oven I could bake it so I just followed the procedure here Kookie Cooks!

The verdict, well as it was my first time to taste it honestly I  don’t like it 😦 . I mean maybe because I don’t usually eat oatmeal and I think that would be my normal reaction as the dessert is not familiar with my taste buds too, but  after eating it a few days  I think I have come to like it somehow specially if eaten with hot coffee. My husband likes it too and our family friend had the chance to eat it too and she said it’s yummy. So if you are an oatmeal lover then maybe this dessert is for you 🙂  My husband is allergic to nuts so the other one has no toppings. 🙂

chantilly bars

Ingredients for the bar:

2 1/2 cup flour

3 cups oatmeal

2 Tbsp baking powder

1 Tbsp baking soda

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter (1 bar)

3 pieces eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

pinch of salt

for the filling

1/4 cup hot water

1 cup cocoa

1 can condensed milk

1/2 cup butter

chopped cashew nuts & peanuts for toppings

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
• Greased the baking pan with butter.
• In a medium sized bowl, cream  the butter and sugar ,
• Add the eggs one at a time . Set aside
• In another bowl mix the flour,baking powder,baking soda, and salt.
• Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter-sugar-egg mixture until fully incorporated.
• Lastly, pour the oatmeal into the mixture. Fold in the oatmeal cup by cup as the batter gets thicker and harder.

For the filling:

In a pot mix the cocoa ,water and   condensed milk . Cook in medium heat for about five minutes. Turn off the fire and add the butter.

• Pour half of the oatmeal batter in the baking pan and flatten it using a spatula.
• Make sure that the entire bed of the pan is covered with the batter.
• Pour the filling as the second layer. Set aside about a tablespoon of mixture for decoration.
• Tilt to each corner for an equal distribution.
• Here’s the tricky part, putting the remaining oatmeal batter flat on the top layer.
•  Used the palm of your hands to flatten it.
  • Get a about a tablespoonful of the batter at a time and press it against your palms.
  • You don’t normally get an exact shape and size to cover at least one eighth of the pan.
  • You really need to be patient until you get it all covered up.
  • Sprinkle peanuts on top.
  • Get the remaining cocoa mixture and just drizzle it around the pan.

Sweet Chili Garlic Mussels

Sweet chili garlic mussels

Instead of cooking your usual recipe for mussels why not try this new way of cooking it. The combination of sweetness & a little bit of spiciness is surely a hit! :)Recipe from Yummy Hunt’s

Ingredients

• 1 kilo mussels, boiled in water
• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 pc onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1-2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp chili garlic sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp rice wine or brandy, optional
• 1 pack Hunt’s Tomato Sauce with LycoFiber 200g

Procedure

1. Boil mussels in salted water until they open. Strain and set aside.

2. In a wok, heat butter then sauté garlic until brown. Add in onions, ginger, and half of cilantro.

3. Add in oyster sauce, chili garlic sauce, sugar, rice wine, and Hunts Tomato Sauce with LycoFiber. Simmer until sauce is a bit thick.

4. Toss in mussels and the rest of cilantro.