Meringue Filled Coffee Cake : March Daring Bakers Challenge

I have never experienced so much stress in school. My team and I have been working on a business plan and it literally has forced me to put everything else on hold. I kind of had to squeeze making this Daring Baker's Challenge between making financial statements! It took me a while to make because of the rising time, but honestly, it was very worth it!

I've been having an obsession for anything hazelnut, so I decided to add chopped toasted hazelnuts to the sugar, cinnamon and chocolate for the filling. I followed everything else according to the directions Jamie and Ria had posted and was very impressed with the result: a brioche-like coffee cake with chocolate and hazelnut filling, perfect for a breakfast, brunch or any other time of the day! This is a keeper :)

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake

Adapted from America's Test Kitchens

Makes one 9-inch cake

Ingredients

Bottom Layer

• 6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, plus more for greasing pan
• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
• 3/4 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs, separated
• Pinch table salt
• 1/3 cup packed (about 2-1/2 oz) light brown sugar, crumbled with fingers to remove lumps

Middle Layer

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed
• 5 tbsp hot water
• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
• 1-1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt

Top Layer

• 3/4 tsp powdered gelatin
• 1 tbsp water
• 6 oz white chocolate chips or chopped white chocolate
• 1-1/2 cups cold heavy cream
• Shaved chocolate or cocoa powder for serving (optional)

• 1. FOR THE BOTTOM LAYER: Place oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter bottom and sides of 9-1/2-inch springform pan. Melt butter, chocolate, and espresso powder in a large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water (double boiler), stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool mixture slightly, about 5 min. Whisk in vanilla and egg yolks and set aside.
• 2. In stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites and salt at medium speed until frothy, about 30 sec. Add half of the brown sugar and beat until combined, about 15 sec. Add remaining brown sugar and beat at high speed until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, about 1 min. longer, scraping down sides halfway through. Using whisk, fold 1/3 of beaten egg whites into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining egg whites until no white streaks remain. Carefully transfer batter to prepared springform pan, gently smoothing top with offset spatula.
• 3. Bake until cake has risen, is firm around edges, and center has just set but is still soft (center of cake will spring back after pressing gently with finger), between 13 to 18 minutes. Transfer cake to wire rack to cool completely for about 1 hour. (Cake will collapse as it cools.) Do not remove cake from pan.
• 4. FOR THE MIDDLE LAYER: Combine cocoa powder and hot water in small bowl and set aside. Melt chocolate in large heatproof bowl set over saucepan filled with 1 inch of barely simmering water (double boiler), stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and cool slightly, 2 to 5 min.
• 5. In a clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip cream, granulated sugar, and salt at medium speed until mixture begins to thicken, about 30 sec. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 seconds.
• 6. Whisk cocoa powder mixture into melted chocolate until smooth. Using whisk, fold 1/3 of whipped cream into chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold in remaining whipped cream until no white streaks remain. Spoon mousse into springform pan over cooled cake and gently tap pan on counter 3 times to remove any large air bubbles; gently smooth top with offset spatula. Wipe inside edge of pan with damp cloth to remove any drips. Refrigerate cake at least 15 minutes while preparing top layer.
• 7. FOR THE TOP LAYER: In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over water; let stand at least 5 min. Place white chocolate in medium bowl. Bring ½ cup cream to simmer in small saucepan over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until fully dissolved. Pour cream mixture over white chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth, about 30 seconds. Cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally, 5 to 8 minutes (mixture will thicken slightly).
• 8. In a clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip remaining cup cream at medium speed until it begins to thicken, about 30 sec. Increase speed to high and whip until soft peaks form when whisk is lifted, 15 to 60 sec. Using whisk, fold 1/3 of whipped cream into white chocolate mixture to lighten. Using rubber spatula, fold remaining whipped cream into white chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Spoon white chocolate mousse into pan over middle layer. Smooth top with offset spatula. Return cake to refrigerator and chill until set, at least 2½ hours (best chilled overnight)
• 9. TO SERVE: If using, garnish top of cake with chocolate curls or dust with cocoa. Run thin knife between cake and side of spring form pan; remove side of pan. Run cleaned knife along outside of cake to smooth sides. Cut into slices and serve.

Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberry Swirl

After making the marble cheesecake, I got into a cheesecake craze and decided to try that cheesecake recipe I've been wanting to make. The ingredients are exactly like in a real cheesecake, except you just freeze it! The only thing I would change is to use less lemon zest because I found that there was a pronounced lemon tastes that stood out, but it didn't really bother me. This ice cream didn't last so long and I would definitely remake this using David Lebovitz's suggested blueberry swirl!

Last week I first heard about Theicecreamists. I didn't know if I should be shocked or interested about their gaga breast milk ice cream... Being an ice cream fanatic, I decided to check out their Facebook page (which you can visit by clicking here) and looked through their pictures. There's also a lot of talk about the fact that Lady Gaga is suing them for calling one of flavors "Baby Gaga". It doesn't seem as their main goal is to sell ice cream, but more about their events, partying and publicity. What do you guys think? Have you heard about Theicecreamists?

Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Last week was our "Reading Week" from school. I did everything except read, isn't that was a week off from school is for?

A friend of mine and I were really looking forward to this week because we wanted to bake together. I usually bake alone, so it was fun to have someone to share my worries with! Like after we spent all night baking, cooling and trying to speed up the chilling process (by putting it in the freezer!) of this delicious-looking marble cheesecake, we had to have a tiny slice. But it was still warm and creamy inside, kind of like a mousse! We were a bit disappointed! I had a hunch though that it really needed to be overnight in the fridge, at the least. The next morning, I sneaked a bite and yes, it was an absolute success!

The original recipe asked for crushed graham cookies for the crust which we substituted for Oreo crumbs and also made a marble on the top for a chocolate twist to the New York-Style cheesecake!

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Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Adapted from Ricardo, Volume 8 Number 5

Crust

1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

2 sheets aluminium foil, 46-cm (18-inch) wide

Filling

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

4 containers (250 g/8 oz each) of cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup sour cream

4 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the bottom of a 20-cm (8-inch) spring form pan with parchment paper.

Crust

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crust. Press lightly into the bottom on the spring form pan and bake for about 12 minutes. Let it cool.

2. Brush in the inner sides of the spring form pan with some melted butter. Wrap the base and the outer sides of the spring form pan with the aluminium foil, making sure it's watertight. Double the aluminium foil.

3. Turn the oven's temperature down to 325 degrees F.

Filling

1. Place the sugar and flour in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and pulse just until the mixture is smooth. Pour onto the crust, reserving about 1/4 cup of the filling.

2. Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler and pour into the reserved filling. Mix well and with a teaspoon, dollop the chocolate mixture in a few dots on top of the filling in the spring form pan. Swirl the chocolate mixture into the filling with a knife.

3. Prepare a bain marie: place the spring form pan in a large baking dish. Fill the baking dish with boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides of the spring form pan.

4. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour and 50 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the middle of the cheesecake shows 150 degrees F. Remove the spring form pan from the bain marie as well as from the aluminium foil. Let cool for about 1 hour. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours, or until completely chilled (best left overnight). To remove the cheesecake from the pan, run a thin knife all around, between the spring form pan and the cheesecake.