No-Bake Mango Yogurt Cheesecake

No bake desserts are perfect in this heat! This mango yogurt cheesecake does not require turning on your oven, and it's super quick and easy from start to finish.

The mango yogurt and whipped cream in the cream cheese mix lighten the cheesecake and make it an indulgent yet refreshing treat. I doubled the amount of mango cubes called for in the original recipe and loved how each bite has the perfect ratio of sweet mango cubes to cream. I used "1/3 less fat" Philadelphia cream cheese and Chobani mango yogurt to lessen the guilt and to intensify the mango-ness of it all, respectively. Butter was also lowered in the graham crust to have just enough moistness to hold the crumbs together and to not be too oily.

I am very pleased with how tasty and pretty this turned out (if you look past the gaps on the sides). Next time to give it a clean and even side, I will place the mango cubes toward the center and tap the pan after layering the top cream layer.

No-Bake Mango Yogurt Cheesecake

recipe adapted from Anncoo Journal (with step by step photos)
makes one 8" cake

Crust:

100g graham cracker crumbs
50g melted butter

1. Grease sides of a 8 inch removable cake pan and line the bottom.
2. Mix together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter.
3. Press onto bottom of lined cake pan.
4.Chill in the fridge for later use.

Cheese filling:

226g "1/3 less fat" cream cheese, room temperature
3 tbsp milk
2 tbsp cane  sugar or to taste
2 small tubs mango yogurt (meiji brand), about 280g
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
150g fresh topping cream/non-dairy whipping cream
2 fresh mango, cut to cubes
1 1/2 tbsp gelatin + 2 tbsp water

1. Put gelatin and water in a bowl and soak for a while. Then place it in a double boiler until gelatin dissolved. Keep warm.
2. Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium speed with 3 tablespoon of fresh milk until smooth.

3. Pour in dissolved gelatin and mix well. 

4. Add mango yogurt and lemon juice into cheese mixture, continue beating until combined.
5. Whisk fresh topping cream until soft peak and pour into the cheese mixture, fold well.

6. Pour half of the cheese mixture into the prepared cake pan; add in mango cubes, followed by the remaining cheese mixture. 

7.  Set aside in the refrigerator.

Mango Topping:

2 fresh mangoes, chopped , about 194g
1 tbsp sugar or to taste
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp gelatin + 1 tbsp water

1. Put gelatin and water in a bowl and soak for awhile. Then place it in a double boiler until gelatin dissolved. Keep warm.
2. Blend chopped mangoes, lemon juice and sugar till smooth. 

3. Pour in dissolved gelatin and mix well.
4. Pour over cheesecake, gently shake the cake pan to distribute the mango puree and smooth the top with a palette knife. 

5. Chill the cake for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, and milk.

Add gelatin, mango yogurt, and lemon juice and continue beating.

Fold whipped cream into cheese mixture.

Layer half of cheese mixture onto prepared crust.

Layer mango cubes on top.

Top with rest of cheese mixture.

Note: layer mango cubes closer to center to minimize gaps on the sides.

Taste: 5 stars out of 5

Great balance of rich cream cheese and tangy yogurt flavor. Love how the mildly sweetened cheese mixture pairs with the sweet mango cubes! Tip: use ripe mangoes!

Texture: 5 stars out of 5

Creamy, fluffy, and not overly rich!

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Bread

Super moist cream cheese filled banana bread with cacao nibs.
So moist I am doubting myself if I have under- baked this. 

To date, I have baked a good amount and variety of banana bread. But, baking a layer of cream cheese into the banana bread is totally new to me. I was expecting a creamy, lava-flow like, tangy cheese layer but was met with a more solid, flour-y, sweet layer. On hindsight, I should've incorporated some graham crackers in (or on?) this banana bread to make it a full-on fusion of cheesecake and banana bread.

Cream Cheese Filled Banana Bread
recipe adapted from Averie Cooks
makes one 9x5" loaf

Bread
1 large egg
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed *used a little less brown sugar and filled to 1/2 cup with granulated sugar/cinnamon mix
1/4 cup liquid-state coconut oil
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt

Optional: 1/4 cup cacao nibs or nuts

Cream Cheese Filling
1 large egg
4oz cream cheese, softened
1/4cup granulated sugar
3tbsp AP flour

bread batter and cream cheese filling

ready to bake!

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line one 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, set aside.
2. In large bowl, add the egg, sugars, coconut oil, greek yogurt, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
3. Add mashed bananas and stir to incorporate.
4. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, optional salt, and fold with spatula or stir gently with a spoon until just combined; don't overmix; set aside.
5. Turn about two-thirds of the batter out into the prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into corners and sides as necessary; set aside.
6. In another large bowl, add egg, cream cheese, sugar, flour, and whisk until smooth and no large lumps. Alternatively, mix with a hand mixer.
7. Evenly pour filling mixture over the bread batter, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula and pushing it into corners and sides as necessary.
8. Top with remaining batter, smoothing the top very lightly with a spatula as to not disturb cream cheese layer and pushing batter into corners and sides as necessary.
9. Bake for about 48 to 50 minutes or until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
10. Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving. 

*Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

To be honest, I am disappointed with how this bread turned out. I had great expectations after seeing the photos of them and imaging the taste and texture in my head. 

First of all, the top is not domed. A domed top makes all the difference.. At least to me, the bread is thousand times more appealing. I love a toasty hard crust. Next time, I want to try this recipe from Entertaining with Beth. Ah, just look at that domed top.. 

The sweetness was also a bit overwhelming and one noted to me. I omitted the original 1/4 cup granulated sugar in the batter and still found this cake to be too sweet for my liking. I should've taken into account of the over ripen (sweeter) bananas and the additional 1/4 cup in the cream cheese layer. If I ever make this again, I would need to reduce it more to make it breakfast appropriate and mom friendly. In addition, the cream cheese layer needed a bit more tang to highlight it. Some lemon juice or zest would help.

The spontaneous addition of cacao nibs, suggested by Ip Man, was nice and toned down the sweetness a bit (but not enough).

The texture of this bread was between moist and mush. The top half of the cake was a bit soggy and mushy, while the lower half was just right. I sprinkled turbinado raw sugar on top prior to baking hoping for a nice crispy crusty domed top, but well,, it didn't turn out quite as planned. 

Taste: 3 stars out of 5

Too sweet; cream cheese layer lacked tang and a pop of flavor

Texture: 3 stars out of 5

Good moist bottom layer, but soggy/mushy on top; cream cheese layer too dense and dough-y. 

Japanese Cheesecake

Japanese Cheesecake
recipe adapted and translated from Kelly's Palace
-makes one 6 inch round cake

100g cream cheese, room temperature
60g heavy cream
12g sugar
22g unsalted butter
15g cake flour, sifted
10g corn flour, sifted
2 yolk

2 white
22g sugar
1/4tsp cream of tartar

1. Put a pan filled with water in the oven and preheat to 350F. Line pan with parchment paper
2. Melt butter in microwave or double boiler
3. On slow, beat cream cheese till soft and creamy
4. Beat sugar to cream cheese in 2 batches till no bumps/ sugar dissolves
5. Beat in yolk
6. Beat in heavy cream in 3 batches
7. Add melted butter and beat till well mixed
8. Sift in cake and corn flour and fold with wooden spatula till no bumps
9. On high, beat egg white till no big air bubble
10. Add in cream of tartar and continue beating
11. Add sugar in 3 batches and beat till stiff
12. Mix 1/3 white to cream cheese/ four batter
13. Fold rest of the whites in lightly till no visible streaks
14. Pour into pan and gently tap pan on counter to get rid of large bubbles
15. Bake on hot water bath at 338F for 40 minutes.
16. Cool on wire rack and run knife around rims of pan to allow a even shrinking of the cake


^The cake was almost gone before I could snap a nicer picture of it!

Japanese cheesecakes are one of my favorite things to bake. They taste sso-ooo good no matter how bad you messed up the cooling or how ugly and wrinkly they came out looking. :p

The reason why I chose this particular Japanese cheesecake recipe is mainly because it makes a 6inch cake instead of the usual 8 or 9. (too lazy to convert the recipe I regularly use) I am in love with mini- anything. Mini cream puffs, mini eclairs& etc. And making mini's are perfect because I get to have a variety of different mini's instead of one big cheesecake that I have to finish before baking more. Hahaha.. not sure if that made any sense. But anyways, this cake was gone before my eyes. Actually that happens a lot with Japanese styled desserts. They are so light and fluffy that you won't feel like you ate at all.

Comparatively, this cheesecake turned out average. The taste and texture are nothing spectacular. However, I am disappointed with the looks. The top just could not brown. I am suspecting that something is wrong with my big oven. I would've gave it a more toasty look if I had put it in the small oven for a couple minutes extra. But then again, I was lazy and told myself that taste> look!


^light+creamy

Taste: 4 stars out of 5
Texture: 4 stars out of 5

Whoopie Pie

What's a whoopie pie?
a) a cake
b) a pie
c) a cookie
d) all of the above

The answer is..

d!

A whoopie pie is alternatively called a gob, black-and-white, bob, or "BFO" for Big Fat Oreo. It is an American baked good that may be considered either a cookie, pie, or cake. It is made of two round mound-shaped pieces of chocolate cake, sometimes pumpkin cake, with a sweet, creamy filling or frosting sandwiched between them. (Source: Wikipedia)

Whatever whoopie pies are, they are good! I made them on the HUGE side this time. They were the size of a burger! For next time, I would most certainly make them SMALLER (maybe 2 tablespoon-ful dough size instead of 1/4 cup) and sandwich more filling! The more the merrier! It keeps the cake part moist(:

Taste: 4 stars out of 5
Texture: 3.5 stars out of 5 (moist on first day, dried out a little overnight)


Classic Chocolate Whoopie Pies
recipe from King Arthur Flour

Cakes:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon espresso powder, optional
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Filling
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar or glazing sugar
1 1/3 cups Marshmallow Fluff or marshmallow creme
1/4 teaspoon salt dissolved in 1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets.

To make the cakes: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla till smooth. Add the egg, again beating till smooth. Add the cocoa, stirring to combine.

Add the flour to the batter alternately with the milk, beating till smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and beat again briefly to soften and combine any chunky scrapings.

Drop the dough by the 1/4-cupful onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving plenty of room between the cakes; they'll spread. A muffin scoop works well here. For smaller cakes, use a cookie scoop.

Bake the cakes for 15 to 16 minutes, till they're set and firm to the touch. Remove them from the oven, and cool on the pans. While still lukewarm, use a spatula to separate them from the pan or parchment; then allow to cool completely.

To make the filling: Beat together the butter, shortening, sugar, and marshmallow till well combined.

Dissolve the salt in the water, and add to the marshmallow mixture. Add the vanilla, and beat till smooth.

Spread the flat side of half the cakes with the filling. Top with the remaining cakes, flat side towards the filling. Wrap individually, in plastic wrap, till ready to serve.



Note: I actually didn't use the recipe for the filling. I made a filling with cream cheese instead.

Avocado Cream Cheese Cookies

Avocado and cream cheese in a cookie? And poppy seed?!?! The sound of this cookie is intriguing enough. I never thought about combining those ingredients into one cookie. The result? Mm, buttery goodness. A little heavy I should say. But the color green just makes it seem that much healthier. Haha.

I was a bit frustrated when pipping these. Mainly because I don't have any suitable pipping tips. I ended up pipping without the tip and only with the plastic ring, which surprisingly was the size I was aiming for. They came out looking okay. The simple scooped out ones turned out pretty cute too. I had them in the oven for a bit longer for that golden brown toasty look. I love it. Green and brown are such great combination. The poppy seed also adds a nice little touch to them. The dough of this cookie reminded me so much of kiwi<3



Avocado Cream Cheese Cookies
recipe from Angie's recipe
yields around 35 small cookies

100 g Butter
1/2 Avocado, mashed
120 g 0.1% Cream cheese
120 g Sugar
2 tbsp Lemon juice
1 tbsp Poppy seeds
230 g All purpose flour
1/2 tsp Baking soda

1. Line 2-3 baking trays with paper.
2. Cream butter, mashed avocado, cream cheese, and sugar together.
3. Add lemon juice and poppy seeds, and beat until light and fluffy.
4. Add in flour, baking soda and mix until incorporated.
5. Fill your piping bag fitted with a star tip half full with cookie batter and pipe out cookies onto the prepared trays. (Alternatively you can use a cookie gun to press any desired patterned cookies.)
6. Preheat oven to 190C/375F.
7. Bake for 12-15 minutes until the cookies are lightly golden.
8. Transfer them on the wire rack to cool.



Texture-wise, these cookies are more toward the chewy side. I liked that. Sort of a cross between cake and mochi. The outer layer has a slight crunch to them when they were fresh from the oven. Overnight, the ones that I left in the oven for a little longer was still a little crunchy. The other ones were just soft. I give these 4 stars out of 5 for texture( :

Taste-wise, I was expecting more given the name of these. I couldn't taste much of the cream cheese nor avocado. The butter was definitely prominent. I want to say that theses are shortbread-like. 3.5 stars out of 5 for taste.