Original Swiss Roll with Mascarpone Cream

One roll closer..

Making a swiss roll has been a daunting task to me. I was traumatized in the early days when I've failed miserably at it (Check out first attempt here). Cracks, uneven sheet, melting cream. I've been though it all. Every new year resolution since is to perfect a swiss roll, and years have passed with no new attempts. This year will be swiss roll year I promise.

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!

Black Sesame Petit Fours with Honey Cream

While most fear the making of macarons, I intensely fear the seemingly simple but extremely difficult swiss rolls.

I love swiss rolls. Growing up, swiss roll was one of the more indulgent items I get to have from Asian bakeries. It's cake in a portable and breakfast-friendly form. Swiss roll has a special place in my heart. It brings me back to the middle school days, and also recent years when I would go to the bakery with my mom and buy swiss rolls scraps at a discounted price.

So far, my attempts at swiss rolls have led to THREE fails and ONE success. That's a pretty low success rate, and the one time success was barely passable. Why does youtube make it everything look so easy?

Let me tell you what happened and also keep this as a reminder to myself to not make the same mistakes.

Black Sesame Swiss Roll (Petit Fours) 

recipe adapted from le jus d`orange

makes one roll or many petit fours

1 cup cake flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
pinch sea salt
5 eggs, separated into yolks and whites
3/4 cup - 1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tbsp black sesame paste ( 2 tbsp black sesame ground up + 2 tbsp honey)

1. Line a jelly roll pan or deep baking dish with parchment paper. Prepare a clean tea towel and sprinkle powdered sugar over it. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
3. Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, black sesame paste, and milk until pale yellow and thicker.
4. Whisk egg whites until foamy but stiff peaks form and stay in shape.
5. Add flour mixture to yolk mixture and fold until combined. 

6. Add 1/3 of the egg whites and fold until just combined. Add another 1/3 and fold. Add the final 1/3 and fold. The texture should be light but not fluid like water. It should be thick.
7. Spread batter into prepared baking sheet.
8. Bake for 7-8 minutes, until toothpick test comes out clean.
9. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake. Invert onto your prepared tea towel. Gently remove parchment paper. Gently roll, starting from the shorter edge, to create a loose roll. This shapes the cake without causing any cracks. 

10. Cool completely to room temperature.

Whipped Cream Filling (Frosting)
1 cup heavy cream, cold
2 tbsp honey

1. In a cold bowl, whip cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in honey. Cover and chill in fridge.

To assemble roll cake,
1. Gently unroll cake roll when it is at room temperature,  Spread whipped cream across the surface.
2. Tightly roll starting from the shorter edge. 

3. Wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. 

Whisk yolk and sugar until pale and thick.

Whisk/fold dry mixture in yolk.

Whisk whites until stiff peaks form.
*Note to self: start at low speed or whites will separate ):

Fold whites into yolk mixture 1/3 at a time.

Things usually goes wrong as I spread the batter onto the baking sheet. Either my baking sheets are never the right size, or the batter is always suppose to be paper thin.. Anxiety kicks in and doubts about whether just turning it into a chiffon cake surfaces.

The cake still managed to rise despite the thin layer and excess handling. However, the center was noticeably thicker than the sides. Being super careful not to overbake, I checked for doneness with a toothpick every minute after the 5min mark. Clean toothpicks and a light spring to touch were the cues that the cake was finally done at 7min.

Some suggest flipping the cake on a tea towel dusted with powdered sugar after it's done, as well as rolling it to prevent cracks after it's cooled. I decided to deviate and just let my cake cool in the pan covered with a bigger pan to not lose moisture. I went on to make my whipped cream while the cake was left to cool.

Feeling excited that everything was promising thus far, I flipped the cake onto a separate parchment paper and rolled it in to a log. The cake was flexible and did not crack!

I took my chilled cream out, dropped the first dollop on the cake, then realized I forgot to flip back the cake. "Oh wells, it's just aesthetic right?" was the passing thought. 

The top side which was now facing down on the parchment paper was.. STUCK! It was so moist that as I attempted to roll, it cracked. Worst nightmare.. so close to finishing yet one little thing ruined it all.

Swiss roll 1 - Me 0.

Lessons to be learned:

• Start off in low speed when beating egg whites.
• Check pan size. When in doubt, use smaller pan.
• Even out batter because it will not spread and become even in the oven.
• Follow tea towel and powdered sugar step.
• Flip back to have top side spread with cream.

At least, I don't think I am making the same mistakes with each attempt. The very first time I spread cream on a hot cake..

Whipped Cream Cupcakes

Long long long overdue.
I swear though.. I have been baking and spending a lot of time around food. (:



Whipped Cream Cupcakes
recipe adapted from Sea Salt with Food who originally adapted it from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes by Rose Levy Beranbaum
-makes 24 mini cupcakes + a mini tube cake & a mini loaf cake
(original recipe used a 10-cup fluted metal tube pan)

225 g (2 cups) cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt or 3/4 tsp sea salt
348 g (1 and 1/2 cups) cold heavy cream
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
201 g (1 cup) sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚F/190˚C. Coat a 10-cup fluted metal tube pan or whatever pan you are using* with baking spray and flour. Shake off the excess flour.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and sea salt.
3. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk batter, whip the cream, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form.
4. In another bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla until just combined.
5. On medium-high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency. Gradually beat in the sugar. It should take about 30 seconds to incorporate it.
6. Then add half the flour mixture into the cream and, with a large spatula, stir and fold in the flour until most of it disappears. Add the rest of the flour and continue folding and mixing until all traces of flour have disappeared.
7. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a small metal spatula through the batter to prevent large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan. Smooth the surface evenly.
8. Bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted between the tube and the side comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. With a small metal spatula, loosen the top edges of the cake and invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Cool completely. Lightly dust the cake with icing sugar, if desired.



I am happy to present to you... *drum roll* whipped cream cupcakes! These are delicious. Words cannot describe how much I liked these cakes. The ultimate humble looking cake that tastes oh-so wonderful! The sweetness is right on the mark and the texture is crusty on the outside and moist and crumbly soft on the inside. I highly recommend this recipe to those those who also love Sara Lee's Pound Cake. These remind me so much of them!

And personally, I much much much preferred them in mini cupcakes form over using the tube, loaf or fluted pans. I like how much crust the mini cupcakes have and ohmy.. they are the perfect bite size! You can eat one whole cupcake without making a ton of mess.

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

Tofu Cheesecake

Uh oh. I made this tofu cheesecake way back in March.. and I forgot which recipe I used. I am 60% sure I used the following recipe. And I am not sure which website I got it from.. I might've translated it from an Asian blog though. However, I tweaked it so much that I don't think it resembles the original anymore. So Here's my "original" tofu cheesecake recipe!

Tofu Cheesecake
-makes one 8" round

For the graham cracker crust:
17 graham crackers
5tbsp butter

1. Finely crush the crackers
2. Melt butter and mix with the graham crumbs
3. Put in mold and press firmly
4. Bake in oven at around 300F for 5 mins or until toasty (You can also skip this step and just put it in the fridge)

For the tofu cheese part:
80g cream cheese
130g whipping cream
220-225g silken tofu, drained (*the silkier the better!)
50g sugar
6g gelatin
50g/ 3tbsp cold water


^failed. At this stage, I think the mixture should be flow-y and lava like..

1. Beat cream to 60% firm (a frozen yogurt/ ice cream- like texture)
2. Mesh and beat tofu
3. Put gelatin in cold water. Mix and put on double boiler until gelatin is dissolved
4. Beat cream cheese with sugar
5. Add tofu 1/3 at a time into cream cheese/ sugar mixture
6. Add gelatin 1/3 at a time into tofu/ cream cheese mixture
7. Mix/ fold with cream
8. Pour into mold
9. Fridge for at least 6 hours before un- molding

This recipe attempt didn't work too well for me. My "cheesecake" turned out lumpy and tasted like a giant glob of whipped cream.. with a hint of soybean-yness and chunks of jello-y stuff! Important note to self: I need to take extra caution when I work with gelatin next time. My gelatin solidified before I incorporated it into the tofu/ cream cheese.. And I mindlessly beat it in the the cream cheese mixture thinking it will magically incorporated. Big no-no! Next time, I should keep the gelatin on the double boiler so it doesn't solidify too early.

Aside from the strange texture of the tofu cheesecake, I am pleasantly pleased with the crust I made. At first, I did try to convert the exact measurement I got from the website.. But I got lazy and just eyeballed everything. It turned out great. I think I ended up using less butter( : Slightly healthier?



Taste: 3.5 stars out of 5 (I didn't mind the whippped cream taste/texture too much)
Texture: 2.5 stars out of 5 (other than the chunks of jello in the cake, I think the texture was ok.. just some fluffy whipped cream)

I am determined to get this tofu cheesecake right next time! Keep an eye out( :

Felt Food 3: Vanilla Whipped Cream with Strawberry Tart

Yep! Another tart. I like the design of this one very mucho. I can't wait to see lots of them line up like an army! At the moment, I am just sewing tons of toppings ( strawberries, whipped cream and wafers) with the limited color felts I have. I am thinking that later on I would make the edible version of each felt tart I made and take photos with them side by side! Hehe(: