Ounces and Grams

Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake

I love recipes that are complex and unique. I had leftover bananas and decided to have a look through Foodgawker to see what it had to offer and found this gorgeous recipe by The Candid Appetite, whom I now love and find his photography fantastic. It kinda makes me sad that my photos are nothing compared to his however maybe I can excuse myself as I’m only a beginner. But only for so long! I will improve, both in photography and in baking. 

My first impression of this cheesecake is that it tasted like banana bread or its batter; not a bad thing. But the slice I served myself was too much and couldn’t finish it. You should cut them a little thinner to appreciate the flavour without being overwhelmed. I craved (and ate) this cheesecake for the rest of the week; it really excites me now just thinking about it. I thought I wasn’t going to try another flavoured cheesecake after the Nutella Cheesecake Bars because I didn’t personally enjoy them, however I suppose it makes sense that banana and cream cheese work better than Nutella and cream cheese. Granted, everyone else quite enjoyed them. I will definitely be making this cheesecake again and be delving into the realm of flavoured cheesecakes. :D  

Bourbon Banana Pudding Cheesecake

Makes 8-10 servings, depending on the size of the slices. 

For the Cheesecake:

• 2 cups finely crushed graham cracker crackers or ginger snaps
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I didn’t have any but used some oatmeal)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 tbsp lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon bourbon whiskey (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
• 900 g/32 ounces packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tbsp bourbon whiskey (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)

For the Whipped Cream:

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon bourbon whiskey (or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

For the garnish:

• 1 banana, sliced/dried sliced bananas

Make sure you have a roasting pan bigger than your spring-form pan.

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Apple Pie Layer Cake

For this cake assembly, you are going to require a 6 inch cake ring and acetate sheets. I found a nifty adjustable cake ring and plastic sheets from an office supply store which looked like this. I basically cut two long strips and fit them into the cake ring by using two of them and it worked perfectly. I realize the recipes reads forever, but it’s simple! Pinky promise.

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Black Bean Burgers

Flipping Frying Patties! February’s Daring Cooks Challenge gave me the opportunity to make Black Bean Burgers. Not that I couldn’t have made them otherwise, I just get a bit lazy sometimes when it comes to a new recipe. If no one else will eat it, it’s difficult that I will make it and at the mention of Black Bean Burgers, Lefti started gagging. I had to convince him he would be eating beef burgers. Sam, on the other hand, was more than happy to join me for lunch and we both had seconds. 

Black Bean Burgers

• 2 x 400g/14 oz cans black beans
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup  plain breadcrumbs
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
• 3 tbsp olive oil

I can’t say I didn’t miss the meat. It was tasty though and I would probably do it again but not as a substitute for a hamburger. Maybe for something more Tex Mex!

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Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Cheesecake Chocolate Cake

When I asked my boyfriend which cake he wanted for his birthday, he chose this Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Cake Cheesecake. Greaaaat. Anything else? How about a light saber?? Oh, wait; he got one of those too. I read through the recipe several times, I made sure I had everything I needed and bought all my ingredients. I don’t even know how many times Sam and went to the supermarket having forgotten something the previous time. It took three days to make this cake but it was relatively “easy”.

I had lost Sprinkle Bakes’ recipe when I needed it and started to look through Foodgawker hoping to find it again and found this recipe which is based on Sprinkle Bakes’ and linked back to it. Making Life Delicious has used SB’s post as a base but made changes to the individual recipes. This gave me options and I used the cheesecakes and caramel from MLD and kinda went back and forth between both for the rest. At some point, I forgot whose recipe I was using. Thanks to both, it was a great cake. Epic.

This picture is of the cake right out of the freezer - hence the frost. :D

Oh, I had to make the peanut butter “cups”. I have made them before and since they were meant to be cut into quarters I just poured chocolate into a pan, covered with the peanut butter filling and left it at that! If you plan to do the same, just cut them into 2,5cm/1inch squares and use according to the recipe.  

Peanut Butter Cup Caramel Cheesecake Chocolate Cake

For the crustless cheesecake layers:

• 40 peanut butter cups
• 900g/32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 5 large eggs, room temperature

For the caramel sauce:

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup heavy cream
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup salted peanuts

For the chocolate cake layers

• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder, unsweetened
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup of hot coffee

For the chocolate ganache frosting

• 370g semisweet chocolate
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 tbsp corn syrup

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Mini Cheesecake Bites

If you love cheesecake, you will love these little gems. It was a lot easier than I expected. Honestly, I thought it would be a pain in backside but I may say this was easier than making a cheesecake. Also, these are easier to share and tote along. However, I did miss the big bite of filling but if you like crust, the ratio in these little suckers will be perfect. It is basically a smaller version of this cheesecake recipe and I used my silicone mini cupcake tray. For cheesecake, this tray was excellent. No fuss with liners and they came right out; I would say only 2 or 3 out of 24 didn’t come out as easily as the rest. I have seen other posts with liners but I don’t have the patience. If you do then props! They probably look even cuter! 

Mini Cheesecake Bites

For the crust:

• 70g cookie crumbs (I use either Disgestive, petit beurre or speculoos)
• 1-2 tsp sunflower oil (or other light tasting oil)

For the cheesecake:

• 300g cream cheese 
  
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 large egg (or 1 and a half egg) 
  
• 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1tbsp + 1 tsp flour

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Chocolate Quake Cake

Chocolate cake covered with chocolate frosting and then covered with more chocolate cake? I’m in. Yes, please. I will take two servings. Jokes aside, this cake recipe is fab. As I mentioned here, it’s the right kind of chocolatey being decadent yet not too rich. The cake is uber soft, in fact, the cake is so soft that each time I have made this cake at least one of the cake layers has fallen apart. Either there is a trick I am missing, or it’s just that darned fluffeh. The frosting is thick and delicious, which compliments the cake amazingly. Make it for a party and everyone will love you for it!

Chocolate Quake Cake

Makes about 14 servings

For the frosting:

• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 62.5g/4 tbsp butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup glucose syrup
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the cake:

• 250g/1 cup butter
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup vegetable oil, or other light tasting oil
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 cups flour
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

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Cherry Almond Cupcakes

Cupcakes - fussier than cake because there are several little cakes to fiddle with. But.. somehow.. more fun. So, when I saw this recipe, I knew it had to be in cupcake form since otherwise I would not be able to easily share it with coworkers, etc. Oh, Sam, my dear little sister, I love when you handle spooning the cupcake batter into the liners. It’s my worst! We get along great in the kitchen. I hadn’t realized we had such great chemistry until I tried to bake with someone else. The only thing is, Sam tends not the read through the entire recipe and sometimes tells it to me incorrectly. We have gotten better at that though; probably because recipes are on my phone due to the lack of internet for our laptops so I read them myself… But still. Great chemistry. Pretty good anyway. When making these cupcakes, Sam was actually shooting the wine photos, which is probably why I got to the end and thought, “what is wrong with this recipe!?” only to realize I had yet to add the eggs which she was able to point out. This was okay though, since they come in last. What would I do without her? 

Cherry Almond Cupcakes

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice (I used sour cherry juice)
• 2 tsp almond extract
• 2 tbsp flour for sprinkling over diced cherries
• 10 oz. bottle of maraschino cherries
• 4 egg whites, beaten to stiff peaks
• 2 drops pink food coloring (optional)

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National Drink Wine Day

There is a national day for drinking wine… Like I needed an excuse! To top it off, there are no excuses now with my fancy wine aerator which Sam got me for my birthday. According to Wikihow, if you’re drinking a bottle of tannic red wine that is under 8 years old, chances are that letting it breathe, or aerate, will improve its taste. Tannins are the chemicals that make wine astringent; they are what make your mouth pucker and feel dry after taking a sip. In older vintages, tannins break down in the bottle as the wine’s bouquet evolves. In young, full-bodied reds, however, tannins can overwhelm some of a wine’s more delicate flavors. Aerating wine lessens its astringency; as it is exposed to air, a wine’s tannins break down and its bouquet opens up. You can read more about decanting or aerating wine here, or here, even here. 

I’m not the wealthiest of girls, in fact, it’s a hard-knock life, therefore cheap wine is usually what I’ll buy. Not the cartons (not that I would rule them out), just a more economical bottle and having a fast and easy way to decant the wine makes it all the better. Invest in one today! 

New York Cheesecake

We don’t celebrate Valentine’s Day but we don’t not celebrate it.. Like Valentine Agnostics. It’s kinda up in the air, we are going to make this and maybe this in cupcake form… Or this. We have yet to decide. You, on the other hand, should make a New York cheesecake if you have never done so before. 

I was always afraid of making cheesecake; cracking, water baths, leaving it in the oven for hours.. But it was about time to give it a try, so a couple months ago I looked for a New York cheesecake recipe. Foodgawker was where I went to look and chose one based on the picture and this one was the one that grabbed my attention. Crustabakes actually links to The Repressed Pastry Chef and her fool-proof recipe so that’s the one I chose! I didn’t know how accurate “12 graham crackers” was so I used the crust from Joy of Baking for her New York cheesecake. 

I learned a few key points to a successful cheesecake which are that all wet ingredients should be at room temperature, you do not over-mix the batter, have time set aside for it to be left in the oven after baking and time to set in the fridge after that. The results are absolutely worth it; this cheesecake is creamy, smooth and rich without being too sweet.

New York Cheesecake

For the crust:

• 200g cookie crumbs (I use either Disgestive, petit beurre or speculoos)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 114g melted butter

For the cheesecake:

• 900g cream cheese
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
  
• 1 cup Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
  
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup flour

Make sure you have a roasting pan bigger than your spring-form pan.

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