Hokkaido Cheese Tart

We haven't tasted the real thing before but this is definitely a nice recipe to keep caused my no 1 princess love it.

Each tart is sold at $4+ here and being someone that won't pay for such price, I decided I need make this myself and when is the best time, when Woolies is selling each block of Philly at $2.

Few notes before proceeding to the recipe:
* try to use mould that's smooth and not the traditional egg tart mould, it is easier to remove.
* although a thinner pastry will get you more of the cheese and taste better, but it breaks easily too. So make a thicker pastry.

Ingredients:
Pastry:

• 160g plain flour
• 35g icing sugar
• 10g ground almond
• ⅛ tsp salt
• 90g unsalted butter, cubed
• 2 XL egg yolks

Pastry:

• 150g cream cheese
• 70g mascarpone cheese
• 40g salted butter
• 70g cream
• 20g evaporated milk
• 40g sugar
• 1 XL egg
• 10g cornflour
• 2tbsp lemon juice
• a pinch of salt

Egg Wash

• 1tsp milk
• 1 xl egg yolk

Methods:

1. For the pastry, first combine the flour, ground almond, salt and icing sugar together in a bowl.
2. Add in butter and rub with fingertips till the mixture becomes crumbly.
3. Add in egg yolk and mix till dough form. Wrap in cling wrap or in a ziplock bag, store in fridge to rest for 15mins.
4. Next take enough to press over the mould. Remember note 2, try to be generous and not use too little otherwise the pastry will crumble and makes it very hard to unmould.
5. Prick the base and do with more mould till all pastry used up. Bake at 160c for 10mins. Set aside to cool.
6. For the filling, place the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, butter, evaporated milk, sugar and cream in a bowl. Place the bowl over a water bath and stir till the mixture mix well and smooth.
7. Add in the egg cornflour, lemon juice and salt and whisk till even.
8. Transfer the mixture into a piping bag. Pipe it into the bake and cool tartlets. Set to chill in the fridge for 30mins.
9. Brush the top of the tarts with the egg wash.
10. Bake the tarts using top grill fan function for 6-8mins. Do keep an eye to prevent the top from burning. If required, at 5-6mins, give the tray a turn.

Red Wine Oxtail Stew

I had adapted Jamie Oliver's insanely good oxtail stew to my own very version due to availability of ingredients in the kitchen and it is way better than insanely good, it is smack good... hehehe...

Ingredients :

• 500-600g of oxtail (scrub with salt and flour, rinse till clean)
• 500ml red wine
• 3tbsp Lea Perrin worchester sauce
• 1/2 cup of 4 mixed beans
• 1/2 cup tomato paste
• 1 onion cut to 12pcs
• 3pcs celery cut to small pieces
• 1 carrot cut to small pieces
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2pcs of bay leave
• 3tbsp olive oil
• 3tbsp flour
• 3tbsp chicken powder (I used my fresh home made one, no beef stock use this as sub)
• 1/2 tsp salt to season (adjust to your preference)
• 500ml water
• 1 big handful of chopped parsley to sprinkle after cooking.

Method :

1. Use high saute mode, heat up the olive oil (half of it). Brown the oxtail, all sides. Sprinkle with 1.5tbsp flour, give it a stir. Take about 10-15mins. Remove and set aside.
2. Add a little more olive oil, saute the herbs and veggies. Do this for bout 5-7mins, then sprinkle with the rest of the flour and stir for another 1-2mins till well coated and the flour dissolve.
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients, give it a stir. Change to bake mode, lid on, valve to bake mode and bake for 45mins.
4. I wanted a more brown effect, so I dish them out and place in oven, 20mins at 160c. If you don't have an oven or find this too troublesome, continue to bake in the PPC for another 15-20mins, till the sauce thicken to your preference.
5. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Smoked Salted Black Tea Chicken

Typical menu for whole chicken will be either to do the Western style roast or Hainanese Chicken rice and I'm sort of bored with that. So when I open up the kitchen cabinet and saw the big basket of black tea there... well.. ok, I'm gonna try smoking the chicken.

Tools Required:

• Oven
• grill tray with the rack
• aluminium foil

Ingredients:

• whole free range chicken (mine 1.2kg)
• 1cup black tea
• 1/4 water
• 2tbsp coarse salt
• 2tsp himalayan salt
• 1/2tsp pepper

Steps:

1. Pat dry the chicken, rub it all over with the himalayan salt and pepper.
2. Mix the black tea with water and salt.
3. Place the tea mixture on the tray before placing the rack over it.
4. Place the chicken on top of the rack. Cover loosely with the aluminium foil to create smoke effect in inside the tray, allowing some smoke to escape.
5. Preheat oven at 100c for 10mins, then place the tray in. Reduce temp to 70c. Use the bottom heat function only
6. Smoke the chicken for roughly an hour to 1.5hrs.
7. Remove the aluminium foil and change to fan forced at 180c. Roast the chicken for another 25mins.
8. Once done, remove to cool for bout 10-15mins before cutting it up.

Condensed Milk Cheese Cake

It has been a while since I last updated the blog, time to start recording down all the recipes that I think is good and worth keeping.

To start with, today I just baked condensed milk cheese cake.

The big boss bought and open up the condensed milk, so got to make something with it before it spoil. And since Philly cheese is on sale, $2 per block from Woolies, hence google turn up with condensed milk cheese cake.

Ingredients:

• 5 yolks
• 1 egg
• 84g cake flour - sieved
• 84g condensed milk
• 200g cream cheese
• 58g canola oil
• Pinch of salt
• 4tsp lemon juice

• 5 egg whites
• 75g castor sugar
• 1tsp lemon juice

Method:
*Note: I had used the 24cm push up round cake pan.. lined inside with paper, bottom and side. Then wrapped the outer bottom with 3 layers of aluminium foil to prevent the water from the water bath from getting in.

1. Melt cream cheese  by double boiling over stove.  Once melted,  whisk lightly to a smooth consistency.  Set aside.
2. Sieved flour, then add in salt, stir well and set. 
3. Mix yolks, 1 egg and condensed milk until well combined and set aside.
4. Heat oil over stove or microwave on high for 10seconds. Once done, drizzle over sieved flour and quickly mix to a smooth paste.  Set aside.
5. Pour the yolk mixture into the cream cheese, mix well. Then add into the flour mixture, mix well. Next add in 4tsp lemon juice, whisk until well combined.  Set aside.
6. Pre-heat the oven at 170c. Prepare the outer tin for the water bath, boil roughly 1.5l water
7. Beat egg whites until foamy, add in 1tsp lemon juice, then add sugar in 3 batches.  Continue beating until attain firm peak.
8. Fold in meringue to the yolk mixture in 3 batches.  Be sure to fold till you don't see any streaks of meringue.
9. Pour in batter to baking tin, tap few times on table top to release air bubbles.
10. Place the baking tin on the outer tin, fill up the outer tin with the boiling water.
11. Send to bake by waterbath method. 170C for 20min, then 160C for another 45min (adjust according to your oven temperature. I had reduce temp to 140c for the last 10mins to avoid the top from over browning.
12. Once done, invert to cool for 5min and remove mould.  Then revert back upright to cool completely.