Tiramisu [with ladyfingers and no bake]

I am overjoyed with two successful cakes in a row.
Blueberry Crumble Cake for my birthday..
and now this yummy Tiramisu for my mom's birthday!

No more resorting to the safe (but delicious) route to make chiffon or asian sponge cakes with cream, and just in time to check this no bake tiramisu off my to bake list before 2015 comes to an end. I definitely want to tackle a mousse or some stunning looking naked cakes for the next big occasion. Stay tuned in 2016!

Tiramisu 
recipe adapted from Inspired Taste
makes 2- 6" round (7 slices per 6") or 1 9" square

1/2 cup (120 ml) brewed espresso or very strong coffee, room temperature*
*1 Tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water
1/4 cup (60 ml) kahlua, divided
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 large egg yolks
1/8 cup (25 g) sugar
8 oz (225 g) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (175 ml) heavy cream
18 to 20 (1-7 oz package) Savoiardi Italian ladyfingers
cocoa powder for dusting

Ingredients for Tiramisu.

Coffee mixture-
1. Combine espresso (or coffee), 2 Tbsp Kahlua, vanilla extract in a wide, small bowl. Set aside.  

Filling-
1. On medium speed, beat egg yolks, 2 Tbsp Kahlua, and sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water until tripled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes.
2. Remove bowl from heat then beat in mascarpone cheese until just combined.
3. Whip heavy cream in a bowl until it holds stiff peaks.
4. Once yolk-mascarpone mixture has cooled a little, gently fold in half of the whipped cream into the yolk-mascarpone mixture, then the remaining half just until fully incorporated. 

Beat yolks, kahlua and sugar until slightly thickened and tripled in volume. 

Recipe calls for exactly one 8oz tub of mascarpone.

Beat mascarpone with yolk mixture until just combined.

Left: stiff whipped cream, Right: mascarpone + yolk mixture

Gently fold cream half at a time into mascarpone/yolk.

Assembly-
1. Cut ladyfingers in half or to desired height and line around sides of pan.
2. Dip ladyfingers very quickly into coffee and arrange in bottom of pan.
3. Evenly spread half of mascarpone filling over ladyfingers.
4. Repeat for second layer.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 to 6 hours. *I left mine set overnight.
6. Dust with cocoa powder and leave out at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
*Tiramisu can be chilled up to 2 days, but no longer or else the ladyfingers will break down too much.

Arrange ladyfingers around sides of pan.

1st layer: soak ladyfingers in coffee mixture and arrange on bottom of pan.
Evenly spread mascarpone filling on top.

2nd layer: repeat.

Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours or overnight.

Decorative touches..

Dust with cocoa powder.

&now, birthday sign and candle!

All ready!

Happy Birthday Mama!

Cheers to another year..

and a yummy slice of tiramisu!

Taste: 4.5 stars out of 5

Good as is. Would try espresso or stronger coffee for a more prominent flavor next time. 

Texture: 5 stars out of 5

Rich and decadent cream with just moistened ladyfingers!

Appearance: 5 stars out of 5

Blueberry Crumble Cake + Quarter Century Birthday Celebration

I am very happy with how this cake turned out, and seriously there could not be a better cake to have on my Quarter Century birthday! What a risk baking something for the first time last minute for a birthday! Well, at least it's my own birthday that I will ruin if the cake didn't turn out.

This cake was quick to put together, and the result is unbelievably amazing. That streusel is probably the best streusel I have ever made in my life. A crunchy nutty streusel top with that moist light cake base studded with tart blueberries- NOM! Who wants a typical birthday cake with whipped cream and frosting when you can have streusel?! Streusel >>>>> Cream.

Blueberry Crumble Cake
recipe adapted from Cupcake Jemma
makes one 8" cake

Streusel topping:
50g unsalted butter, melted
80g demerera sugar *used reg caster sugar
50g plain flour
1 round tsp cinnamon
1 cup walnuts, chopped 

Cake:
80g caster sugar
4 Tbsp (60g) vegetable oil
1 large egg
120ml whole milk
225g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
225g blueberries

Combine all the ingredients for streusel.

Set aside and work on the cake next!

Beat sugar, oil, and egg until combined and fluffy.

Toss blueberries in dry mixture.
*I tossed blueberries into all of the dry mixture and folded it all at once with the wet.

Smooth batter into lined pan.

Can't stop picking at the streusel!

Cooled completed and remove from pan.

1. Make streusel topping first- combine melted butter, sugar, flour, cinnamon, and walnuts. Set aside.
2. Beat sugar, oil, and egg on medium speed for 3 minutes until fluffy.
3. Add milk and beat briefly to combine.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Take a 1/4 cup or so of the dry mixture and toss with blueberries to coat.
6. Fold in dry mixture with wet until just combined.
7. Gently fold in flour coated blueberries.
8. Pour into greased/lined 8" round pan with removable bottom.
9. Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
10. Cool completely. Run knife around edge of cake and remove from pan.
ENJOY!

Cheers! Thank you mama and papa for the yummy meal!

Cake time!

My dearest mom and dad cooked up a feast featuring rosemary lamb racks, scallops with asparagus and mushroom, roasted chicken with carrots and potatoes, steamed fish, veggies, and their successful experiment- pumpkin cream soup! A lovely meal concluded with the loveliest crumble cake of all.

The cake was well received by all. Flavor and sweetness were on point. And texture was just on fleek! The Fatty said it's possibly better than my latest yummy bake- blueberry scones!

Taste: 5 stars out of 5
As great as it is, next time, I will try demerera sugar for the topping and lower the sugar a teeny bit more both in the streusel and cake. 

Texture: 5 stars out of 5
Perfect as is!

Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

Cookies without the butta! Slightly crisp. Tender and Moist. And a hint of tropical coconuty-ness.

These are great for spontaneous sweets cravings because you don't need to bring the butter to room temperature for creaming nor chill the dough at all before baking. Woohoo.. From start to taking a bite out of the soft fudgy fresh out of the oven cookies, I'd say 30 minutes?

So if you got 30 minutes and are craving some delicious cookies, keep reading!

Coconut Oil Chocolate Chips Walnut Cookies

recipe adapted from Oh Lady Cakes

makes about 21 cookies

2/3 cup (148g) light brown sugar, packed *reduced to 140g
2 tablespoons (20g) potato starch *used cornstarch
1/3 cup (75g) refined coconut oil, melted (but not hot) *used TJ's organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup (56g) unsweetened almond milk, room temperature *used 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt *used 1/4 tsp of table salt
1 1/3 cups (185g) all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 ounces semi sweet chocolate chips
2/3 cups walnuts, chopped and toasted

After milk and vanilla extract are added, mixture was curdled and weird.

Proceeded with dry mixture, and mixture was a bit dry.. Uh oh!

Rolling with it.. Mixed in chocolate chips and walnuts.

Scooped 1.5 Tbsp and rolled into balls.

Flattened slightly before baking.

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. Line large baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper; set aside.
3. In large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and potato starch until evenly combined.
4. Stir in melted coconut oil and whisk for 30-45 seconds, just until the mixture starts to thicken.
5. Add milk and vanilla extract; whisk until combined then let set for about 1 minute to thicken, before mixing again.
6. Add flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt; mix with a wooden spoon or spatula, just until combined then quickly/gently mix in the dark chocolate and walnuts.
7. Using a 1.5 Tbsp cookie scoop, drop the dough onto the prepared baking sheet then roll into round balls and flatten slightly.
8. Bake at 350˚F for 10-11 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool on baking sheet for ten minutes.
9. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
*Cookies can be kept in an air tight container, at room temperature, for up to five days. 

I almost thought these cookies weren't coming together when my dough looked absolutely nothing like the ones on Oh Lady Cakes. First of all, the coconut oil didn't seem to incorporate evenly and looked terrible. Then, the addition of milk and vanilla extract made it looked even worse.. The liquid ingredients didn't seem to bind well with the sugar/cornstarch. And finally, the dough was dry and crumbly. 

I am suspecting the cold weather and my freezing kitchen might have solidified the coconut oil during mixing? But oh well, after rolling and baking, these cookies turned out decent! They didn't look perfectly round and flat, but taste matters more imo.

The cookies didn't spread much.

Puffy and very fudgy when eaten fresh out of the oven.

My first sheet was rolled and baked, while my second sheet was flattened prior to baking. If you like more of a soft fudgy center, go unflattened. I preferred the second sheet where the cookies were overall crisp.

I used TJ's Organic Virgin coconut oil which lends a more prominent coconut taste in these cookies. I loved that and would have been great if I thew in some toasted coconut chips as well.

Taste: 4 stars out of 5

A bit sweet for my taste but nice subtle coconut flavor.

Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5

These cookies were sturdy and firm which makes them perfect for holiday cooking gifting. Crisp bite and the center sort of melts away. Walnuts added a nice extra crunch too.

Update: after a day, the cookies lost the initial crisp and were overall tender, moist and chewy. 

Sourdough Bread Pudding

Got old bread? Or just came back from SF with a round of sourdough?

Make bread pudding!

I love the use of sourdough in these (or any) bread pudding. The texture turned out amazing. The center of the bread was custardy with a slight chewy bite, and those crusts.. emmerrgad! They got so toasty and crispy in the oven and contrasted nicely with the moist parts.

Bread Pudding
recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman
makes one 6" ramekin and 1 small ramekin

1 egg
1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp vanilla *- a little + grand marnier
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup to 2 1/2 cup sourdough bread, cut into 1" cubes
1/6 cup pecans, chopped

Arrange the bread cubes tightly in the dish with some crusts facing up.

Basic ingredients.

+ Grand Marnier.

Pour enough liquid to submerge the cubes. (not shown in photo)

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Beat together eggs, coconut oil, vanilla, and milk.
3. Add sugar and mix until sugar is dissoved.
4. Arrange bread cubes tightly in baking dish, keeping the crust facing up around the edges and scattered within the dish.
5. Pour liquid over bread cubes. Sprinkle pecans all over and bake for 30 to 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown all over the top.

My small sampler ramekin.

The sweetness of the custard was just right with only 1/4 cup of sugar. I skipped out on the Whiskey Cream Sauce and instead added a splash of Grand Marnier to the liquid mixture. The flavor was subtle and delicious!

I also had leftover liquid mix since I feared a soggy bread pudding. Most of the liquid soaked up into the bread and disappeared during baking. Next time, I will fill them all the way submerging the bread cubes. My small ramekin that I filled 3/4th up turned out well.

This recipe is a wonderful use of old bread and feels really versatile. I can't wait for my next round of sourdough to play with different combinations.

Flavor: 4.5 stars out of 5
Texture: 4.5 stars out of 5