Tiramisu #...9?

Here we have yet another round of tiramisu, which I whipped up for a cousin who was visiting and would be leaving the next day. These were also the tiramisus that confirmed that baking works as a therapy for me when I'm super stressed.

I also confirmed this time that I need 3 layers of spéculoos cookies between cream layers. I got some decaffeinated coffee this time, which helps for my friends who are very sensitive to caffeine.

Want to know how to make it? Head over to my tutorial!

Chocolate Cupcake with Ice Cream

In a spur of the moment, I bought some "Dame Blanche" ice cream (basically vanilla ice cream with some chocolate syrup streaks). Then I left it in the freezer to be forgotten.

Then one day, last month, I thought I should make something to go with it. I had been meaning to improve my recipe for chocolate cake, so I thought it would be a nice opportunity to test it out and pair it with ice cream!

So yeah, my attempt at making the cake better wasn't really great yet, so I'll hold out on sharing the recipe. All I have is this picture to share ^^.

Apple Tart

On the day before I had to return to the university, there was a brunch for one of my cousins. Many people showed up, and each brought something. There were a lot of desserts (passion fruit mousse, chocolate mousse, cakes, etc), and I contributed with an apple tart.

That makes it apple tart number....... 14!!

I won't bore you with the usual details on how I made this... If you're curious, there are plenty of other posts about apple tarts ;)

I had some leftover dough, so I made 2 more mini ones. By then it late, and I was tired, so I didn't bother shaping them into a flower.

Pink Cupcakes

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my cousins' kid's birthday party. I knew there would be cake (and indeed, there was a LOT), but I wasn't sure there would be egg-free cake for my dad and aunt, who don't eat eggs. So just to be safe, I quickly whipped up some cupcakes using my trusty go-to cake recipe (same as this one, minus lemon juice and zest, and plus vanilla sugar).

For topping, I simply beat whipping cream mixed with sugar, then added a few teaspoons of the leftover berry sauce/jam from the cheesecakes I'd made earlier that week. This turned it into a pink whipped cream. Due to me forgetting my piping syringe, and not thinking of asking my cousin to use his piping bag and tip, I just frosted them with a spoon.

"Merci" Sandwich Cookies

I received this awesome cookie stamping set (with a cookbook full of shortbread cookies that I can't wait to try) for Christmas from one of my cousins. As thanks, I made these butter cookies (much like the ones I made for Christmas presents, minus the sugar coating), and stamped them with the French word for "thanks," which is "merci." Due to some mistake on my part, likely due to carelessness, or distraction, these cookies turned out more on the dry side. I had also forgotten to put the 2nd spoon of sugar!

What to do?

Since I had some leftover berry-sauce-turned-jam-ish from the Triple Cheesecakes, I spread some on a cookie, and plopped another on top. I tested a small piece myself (by breaking the leftover cookie in half and sandwiching it like that), and it seemed to have solved the problem.

Triple Cheesecakes

Did I mention that I received some new springform pans for Christmas? I got about 4 of them, around 10.5 cm in diameter. Since with these, I now have a total of 8 mini springform pans, I used the opportunity to test some different recipes for cheesecakes, all in one go! As you can see, I made 3 types, and I made 2 of each type. They all have a butter cookie crust (with a tiny bit of almond).

Let me describe them from left to right:

Classic Cheesecake: This is a twist the "classic" recipe I usually use, with cream cheese and Greek yogurt (as sub for sour cream or fromage blanc that I used to use). I flavored this with rose, and topped with a berry sauce and cinnamon whipped cream.

Ricotta Cheesecake: I read somewhere about a cheesecake made out of ricotta, so I wanted to test it, since ricotta is a much lighter cheese than cream cheese. I flavored this one with lemon zest and lemon juice, topped with somewhat candied lemon slices. Although it was indeed lighter, I felt that the slight grittiness due to the ricotta's texture wasn't what I was looking for in cheesecake.

Greek Yogurt Cheesecake: This recipe was pure Greek yogurt, although I added a bit of starch to stabilize the mix. I really enjoyed the creaminess. I left this one vanilla flavored, and topped with a bit of berry sauce, and cinnamon whipped cream.

Served with more cinnamon whipped cream.

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THREE CHEESECAKE RECIPES (filling only)

  Ingredients

     Classic Cheesecake [2 x 12 cm pan]

• 200 g cream cheese
• 125 g Greek yogurt
• 1 1/3 eggs' worth of egg replacer
• 1/3 lemon's juice
• . rose water
• sugar
• topping

     Ricotta Cheesecake [2 x 10.5 cm pan]

• 250 g ricotta
• 2/3 eggs' worth of egg replacer
• 1/6 cup cream
• 1 lemon's zest
• 1/2 lemon's juice
• sugar
• topping

     Greek Yogurt Cheesecake [2 x 10.5 cm pan]

• 285 g Greek yogurt (~2 cups)
• 1 egg's worth of egg replacer
• 1/2 tbs cornstarch
• 1 pack vanilla sugar
• sugar
• topping

  Procedure

1. Mix all ingredients except the topping.
2. Pour into prepared pan (with prepared crust/base).
3. Bake at 180°C for 15 mins.
4. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
5. Top as desired, and serve.

  Tips

     Put a pan filled with water on a rack underneath the cheesecakes while baking to provide steam and prevent cracking.