Quark Cheesecake cups

I was craving for cheese cake at the same time being aware how rich the calories actually are in the regular cheese cake. As I always do, is to experiment with new ingredients. In Germany there are plentiful recipes for cheese cake BUT they do not have the twang or the New York flavor I was longing. This is my version of adaptation of New York and German style cheese cake without crust. you can make it in cute little munchkin cups or in spring cake form - you need to butter the cake form before put in the cake mix. I prefer the cute version as it is more elegant and personal.

Quark Cheesecake cups
for 4 munchkin cups

Ingredients:

2 eggs - room temparature

1 1/2 cups Quark or Yogurt cheese – see below

1/2 cup Raw Sugar

2 Tbsp Whole Milk or Double Cream

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Lemon Juice of Half Organic Lemon

Grated Lemon Zest of 1 Lemon

Very small pinch of Sea Salt

Topping

Frozen mixed Berried or

mixed fresh fruits

Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 170 c
2. Whisk eggs. Using a spoon, mix in Quark, Whole Milk or Double Cream, Sugar, Lemon Juice, Grated Lemon Zest, Small Pinch of Sea Salt and vanilla.
3. Pour mixture into 4 Munchkin dishes. Bake until the mixture is set in the middle, about 1 hour. Let it cool.
4. Serve chilled and top with Frozen Berries or mixed fresh fruits

The chocolate fever..

Again...I inspired by a film. This time is “It's Complicated!” Meryl Steep got in the kitchen one more time. This time she got me longing for Chocolate Cake. Recently I have been playing around ...trying to create hot chocolate something in the direction of a marvelous chocolate chaud I drank at Jean-Paul Hevin locates in the basement of Department Store Isetan in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It was so incredible that I some time get this luscious chocolate taste in my mouth. I have been researching and reading about Chocolate and how to make a good cup of hot chocolate not hot cacao . I remade and experimented many recipes. After I went through couple bars of dark chocolate (70-85%) and almost a box of fine cacao powder. One Evening my batch turn into something like velvet creamy chocolate sauce. I added a little hot water and a shot of spiced rum, served in a small espresso cup. It was i rich and creamy that I enjoyed it by sipping. I did not use any cream just little bit of lactose free milk.  My system does not tolerate well with dairy product. So I am very conscious about it and substitutes with other ingredients if I can.

After I watched the film I determined to bake a very chocolate cake with very chocolate topping or frosting. I wanted to add a fresh flavor to my very chocolate cake using basic cake recipe. Orange … yes I am a fan of citrus fruit! I don’t want to be complicate(d) so I borrowed orange cake recipe I posted last December just added almost 3 generous tablespoons of fine cacao powder to flour.

While the cake was baking I prepared the sauce. I added Cointreau to match up the orange flavor in the cake.

Maxie’s Cointreau Chocolate sauce recipe

Ingredients

50 gram Dark Chocolate bar 70-85% of pure chocolate, break into small pieces – I used 85%

¾  cup of Milk or Cream – I use lactose free milk

½ cup of Raw Sugar

¼ cup of fine cacao powder

1 ½ table spoon of unsalted butter

¼ cup of Cointreau

1 tablespoon of light vegetable – to add the shine

Instruction

1. In a small sauce pan over low heat melt broken Chocolate pieces with Milk. Stir well until it blends
2. Add sugar and Cacao powder. Mix until smooth. Add little more milk if the paste is too thick
3. Add Butter and Vegetable Oil. Mix well
4. Taste and check consistence and flavor. Add more sugar if you like more sweet. Take off the heat.
5. Add Cointreau and Mix well. If you want to get rid of alcohol add this over the heat and stir well to evaporate alcohol.

Finishing the cake

1. Cut the cake horizontal with long sharp knife in half
2. Pour about 1/3 of sauce over the bottom half
3. Assemble back the cake with the other half. Try to match it.
   
4. Pour the rest of the sauce on top. Spread the sauce evenly but let it drips down on the side. Let it cool before serving

This cake is very rich and very chocolate with a fine fresh tang to it.It was a really yummy!
Here is a nice book about Chocolate 

Orange Cake with Caramelized Citrus Sauce

Clementine and oranges are in season during the holiday. The Japanese always eat these citrus fruits during their New Year celebration. The smell of orange and cinnamon makes me feel warm and cozy. We bought a whole bunch of organic orange the other day. I wanted to bake a cake and am too lazy to go outside at minus 2 degree. I love baking with fruits, vegetables and herbs. So it was one of those days when I gather ingredients around my pantry and fruits bowl. I starred at the oranges for some idea. Pound cake I thought at first… well that requires too many eggs – so no! How about make something similar that uses less egg. A classic cake recipe with citrus flavor with something adds to it to rid off the dullness of just plain cake. I found slices of dried Blood Orange in my pantry – I use them for cooking Daube, sauces or making Mulled wine. My tasted buds started to work – sweet buttery cake with sticky tangy chewy topping! It sent signal to my brain and I came up with a recipe below. My genie pig husband loves the cake – he thinks it was the best I baked in a long time. Is that a complement with a hint to improve my baking !?! The plus point of making cake is natural room fragrance - the whole apartment smelled after fresh baked cake and fresh citrus (I used Lemon and Orange zest). If you cannot find dried orange slice, substitute it with thinly sliced of fresh orange. I want to share this recipe with you and please feel free to share your thought or your variations.

Orange Cake with Caramelized Citrus Sauce - make 8 slices

185g (3/4 cup) Butter, softened
190g (3/4 cup + 5 teaspoons) Raw Sugar

A small pinch teaspoon of Sea Salt
3 large Eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon finely grated zest  of Organic Lemon and/or Orange
185g (1 1/4 cups) Self-Raising flour can be subsituted - for each cup of all-purpose flour, add 11/2 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon ofsalt
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) fresh squeezed Citrus Juice from Orange and/or Lemon

Caramelized Citrus sauce

4 slices of dried Orange or Blood Orange - you can purchase it in gourmet food shop

150g (1 cup + 1 tablespoon) Raw sugar
2 Tables spoon Lemon juice

1 1/2Tablespoon of grated zest of Organic Orange and Lemon

Very tiny pinch of sea salt to smooth the tangy tart flavor

Instruction- Cake:

1.       Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius (150 degrees Celsius fan-forced).

2.       Grease the side and base of a 20cm diameter round cake pan.

3.       Add Butter to mixing bowl and slowly add Sugar about 1/4 cup at a time. Use electric mixer or electric hand-held beaters and beat Butter and Sugar until very pale and creamy. This could take up to 10-15 minutes

4.       Add the Eggs one at a time, beating for a few minutes after each addition. Do not rush the addition of the eggs otherwise the mixture will be more likely to separate and develop a curdled appearance. Add the Zest with the last Egg

5.       Add half the flour and stir until just combined. Repeat with remaining flour

6.       Mix in juice

7.       Spoon mixture into prepared cake pan and spread evenly

8.       Bake for about 50-55 minutes- it can be longer depend upon your oven, or until a thin-bladed knife or wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. The cake should spring back when lightly pressed in the centre

9.       Let cool

Instruction- Caramelized Citrus Sauce

1.       Add sugar, Lemon juice and dried Orange slices in a small sauce pan and cook over low – keep stirring over the heat for about 5 minutes– do not let the sauce boil just bubble

2.       Add zest of Orange and Lemon and Salt to sauce and cook for another 3 minutes. Make sure the sauce is not too thick or too thin. It should have the same thickness as honey - If it too thick adds little water and when it is too thin boil it down.

The sauce should have sweet and sour citrus flavor. Let sauce cools down to warm temperature

Finishing the cake – put cake on a cake plate and pour the warm sauce over the cake and decorate the top caramelized dried orange slices. Scrape the extra syrup upward toward the cake to make sure all the side of the cake is evenly covered with sauce. Let cool completely before serving. Enjoy!