Strawberry Pudding

It has been more than three weeks that I haven't updated this little blog of mine. It's not that I haven't been baking that much, I still do. I still take pictures, although not every single one of them. Have you ever thought that sometimes, taking the picture gets in the way of everything? For me, most of the time, I finished decorating a cake in the morning right before I go to work. By the time I finished, I would rush things so that I can go to work ASAP, and to be honest, sometimes I don't feel like taking pictures of it, but I know if I don't, I will regret it later. Those hours and hours of baking, folding, mixing,refrigerating, and decorating need to be captured in the final form so that we can look at it and be proud of it no matter how the result turned out :).

I wouldn't say that my life is going in a slow pace. Even when I have some spare time, I will always think of something to use the time to do something productive, such as cleaning up (and I have lots of that really), folding the laundry, and baking of course! I feel like the time is too precious to just go by unused, although I do feel exhausted here and there, but I'm trying to enjoy every second of it.

Now back to the baking world! This pudding is not actually a result of baking, but the term "baking" somehow and sometime is used to describe anything related to dessert :). It's nothing special, just a strawberry pudding with lots of fresh strawberries inside (and more in the center). It's a request from a friend for her to bring to a gathering that she went. She requested putu ayu too along with the pudding. I thought the pudding was a little too firm though, I guess I need to add more liquid next time. There is actually chocolate creme anglaise accompanied this lovely pudding, but not shown here in the picture. I have never made strawberry pudding with chocolate creme anglaise before but it's what she had requested, and you can never go wrong with chocolate-strawberry combination, can you?

You will see lots of strawberry post coming :D. I just love summer, California summer that is! although I have only experienced summer in a few states, CA, TX and MI (for a short period), but I think everybody will agree that CA has the best summer ever!! too bad I can't find red currants here in bay area :(. Although summer has officially ended yesterday, but the spirit of summer will still be there as long as I still see strawberries in farmers' market :). It seems like it was just yesterday that summer just started and I was just getting excited to welcome the warm weather and the gorgeous produce. I haven't even gotten any chance to bake with cherries (it was gone so fast), peaches, nectarines, plums :(. I guess I was blinded and got hypnotized by those shiny red plump berries lying around everywhere and you know exactly how hard it is to resist them. But I'll try to use some of the last peach and plum this year to make something before they're gone :).

Baby Shower Cake

It seems like everybody is pregnant nowadays in our church (notice a little hyperbolic here), and it's a good thing because that means I get to play with more cute babies, yay!
It was one of our church's friends, Silvi's baby shower party a week after baby Max's birthday! I was going to take a break from fondant cake after Max's cake, but how can I say no to the opportunity to create a cute baby shower cake?? Since I was in a figurine mode, I planned on using baby figurine as well. Now, when I was in the middle of Ma'x birthday cake madness, I heard that a few of my friends are actually quite good in playing with playdough. I was really excited when I found this out as I can use their help for the cake!! So, when we had a dinner together at one of our friends' house, I brought the fondant and the tools for them to play around. They were having so much fun with it and I was too watching them, hohoho.... (evil laugh).

Afterwards, I got a few baby figurines, there's baby with mohawk, sitting baby, and the sleeping baby that I decided to use on the cake. This figurine along with the tiny teddy bear is a courtesy of my friend Cecyl. I was going to put a smile on the teddy bear but the fondant has hardened. But it was okay since it was supposedly to be a stuffed animal anyway. I went with the clean and simple design for the cake. I knew I wanted baby blue color, so here's what I came up with.
The cake inside was vanilla cake with a layer of fragrant blueberry filling and cream cheese frosting. I love the combination of blueberry and cream cheese, it's one of those things that compliments each other.

Anyways, big CONGRATULATIONS and HUGS for Silvi and Ronald! :)

Happy 1st Birthday Baby Max!

Maximillan Christopher Tan, or whom we usually called Max turned one on August 4th a few weeks ago! He's the son of dear friends of mine, Chris and Kiki, and he's definitely the cutest, the most handsome, or you can just say the best baby ever! He LOVES fruits! His eyes are widened super wide when he sees strawberries in particular, he loves plum and can chow down on it for a long time. When he was only a few months old last year, I told Kiki that I would love to make Max's first birthday cake as my gift for him. It was still a long way to go that I really never planned it. I always thought that, "ah, it's still in August, way way too early too plan" until probably a little more than a week before the D-day that Kiki actually reminded me!!

Being a planner, I couldn't be more nervous about it. The parents requested a CuriousGeorge themed cake, a simple one will do as long as there is curious george on it, since baby Max is a super curious baby just like George :). They even offered me their big Curious George porcelain bank and suggested me to just put that on top of a plain cake @_@. I really appreciate the offer, but how could I possibly make something like that. I would be a really mean aunty if I do that to baby Max for his first birthday cake.

So I began my search for inspiration on the cake, realizing that I only have a week to do it. It seems long but not if you only have very few hours to spare on that week, but thankfully I have the whole Saturday, since the party was actually on Sunday. I had a couple of ideas, but nothing really stuck on my head nor I was a fan of the idea until I saw this cutest cake. I browsed through the album and Kylie Lambert is truly one talented lady. I love her cow figurines, they look so cute and funny. So I decided on making "Curious George in a Farm" themed cake, perfect!! The only problem is, how can I find the time to make all those figurines?

If you know me, I'm not a very creative nor I'm an artsy kind of person (I didn't even like cartoons when I was little), I usually freaked out when I have to make fondant figurines before actually do it. It wouldn't help too with such a time crunch. Luckily, I'm blessed with lots of supportive and encouraging friends. Nana offered to help me with the figurines, and she's so good at it! She has the patience that I will never imagine of having! In the end, I have a few other great friends to help me with. Nana helped make the super cute piggy and the ducky, Yanni made the froggy, Fonda helped with the bee, Joana made the cow, and the rabbit actually made by Yossi and Nana (Nana brought it back to CA when she was visiting Yossi). I'm so thankful being surrounded by these wonderful people. So I'll just have to do the rest. I made some more bees, a set of royal icing butterfly (I only used two in the cake), the caterpillar, the yellow hat, and the curious george. I spent hours on curious george alone, hahaha.... the fondant was tooo soft after I added some amount of brown food coloring to get the color I wanted. The hot and humid weather didn't help either. This is the chubbiest george I've ever seen. You can also probably see some nail marks. Yes, I have long nails and after making this george, I decided to sacrifice and cut my nails on four fingers total (and yes, it will look weird if you look at it :D)

Once all the figurines are all set, I spent the whole Saturday making the cake, covering it, and decorating it. The parents love Indonesian-type of cakes so I decided to make Indonesian cheese layer cake for the top tier and lapis surabaya for the bottom tier. I used almost 50 egg yolks to make the cake total!!! and please don't get me started on the butter :P. And finally, the cake is done!!!!! I was super relieved when I saw the finished cake. It may looked simple enough for some of you, but to me, this is a very special cake. Not only that this is for baby Max and the fact that this cake has the love from the loving aunties, but also that I've never spent so many hours on cake like this before. I knew that I needed to give myself plenty of time so that I won't mess it up and I was really happy with how it turned out really. More importantly, the parent liked it too! Too bad baby Max is not old enough to give me his opinion about it :(. The pictures are courtesy of my talented photographer friend San San

The birthday boy and his parents, happily munching on the plums

Frasier with Pistachio Creme Mousseline

At least this time, it's not a raspberry post, but I won't be far from all things berry at least until summer ends :D.

Ever since I started going to farmers' market two years ago, after I moved back to California, it was an instant love. I don't know how many times I've been saying this, but I'll say it again, once you buy fruits from farmers' market, you won't go back to grocery store. Especially in summer, where we're blessed with abundant ripe and sweet berries, fragrant stone fruits, deep-purple cherry, and so many other things. I used to think that berries are all tart and they're just pretty, not good to be eaten just like that, but obviously I was wrong!! I tasted my first SWEET raspberries and strawberries at farmers' market and I was really surprised that I can munch on them just like that without adding any sugar. Since then, I have been a firm believer that you shouldn't buy your berries or fruits in season at grocery store. Plus, you can find fresh produce, great food, and much more depending on how big the farmers' market is. When berries is this sweet, you gotta make a cake with it!

Anyways, onto the cake now. It was one of my dearest friend's birthday a month ago (yes I know, I need to update sooner :D), and he requested a birthday cake for his birthday about a week in advance so that I could have enough time to prepare everything. He understands me well enough to know that I need plenty of time or notice way in advance to make a cake. So, he gave me what he thought was enough time so that I won't have one of those "oh no, I don't have time to make it" kinda excuse, smart guy :P. And without a doubt, I used this opportunity to try out some things new and I decided on this fraisier.

Fraisier is not new to me actually as I made it a few times before. It's like a French style of American strawberry shortcake. Traditional fraisier has two layers of genoise, soaked with Kirsch syrup, filled with creme mousseline (a combination of pastry cream and buttercream), and finally topped off with green/pink marzipan. The version of the fraisier I made before did not have this exact components though. I used Cointreau or Grand Marnier instead of Kirsch (not a big fan of it), and I used vanilla bean creme diplomat (combination of pastry cream and whipped cream) as I like everything light texturewise, and I skipped the marzipan too. There is another version of modern fraisier, which I saw in Pierre Herme's book and some French websites., which uses pistachio-flavored creme mousseline as the filling. Pistachio and strawberry is one of those pair that you cant go wrong with, they go really well with each other. Some version also uses blow-torched italian meringue to decorate the top instead of marzipan.

I've never made creme mousseline before and so I didn't exactly know what is the ratio between the pastry cream and the butter. I read some books and website but they're all suggesting completely different proportion. So, there I was creating my own ratio, which suits my taste. I started with my usual vanilla bean pastry cream, added pistachio paste and weighed it as I kept on tasting it until it tasted strong enough (it is easily overpowered by other flavor, so need to make sure that the flavor is pronounced enough). Same thing with the butter, I kept adding it a little at a time and weighed it until I got the right consistency and taste. I also made italian meringue that I burned with blow torch to create the burnt effect for the top part, while the pattern was created using a metal spatula. I got a little bored with glaze and wanted to do something different :D.

The final result was a success, although I think it's a little bit on the sweet side for me. I guess it's predictable from the syrup (I made it sweeter than usual unpurposedly), the mousseline was also a tad too sweet (an experiment, remember?), but it adds up to the sweetness too, and lastly the italian meringue. Italian meringue has always been too sweet for me and that's why I don't use it that often. I reduced the amount of the sugar in this from my previously reduced-sugar recipe, but it still contribute to the sweetness level. Sadly, I forgot to write down the recipe while it was fresh in my memory :(, and now I have to do it all over again to get the right proportions. Oh well, I guess it's another reason to bake another cake!

Raspberry Mascarpone Gratin

I'm a little scared when I typed the title of this post. It seems like I posted too many raspberry stuff lately and most of them are paired with mascarpone (raspberry tiramisu, raspberry mascarpone cheesecake, raspberry charlotte with mascarpone, raspberry and white chocolate cheesecake, and now this). I apologize, I hope you can bear with me to get through this summer season with lots of raspberry desserts/cakes, plus I think I warned you before that this is coming, right? :P

Anyways, I've gotta tell you about this dessert as I love it so much. The first time I read Helen's post on Tartelette , I fell in love with it. Well in fact, I would easily fall in love with anything that has these two words on it. I kept postponing trying the recipe as somehow either I don't have the perfect opportunity/occassion to make it, or I just don't have everything ready. Until a few weeks ago, I wanted to bring something to work for a couple of friends to say thank you. Cake was definitely out of my options as there are only so many of us, and so I finally found the perfect time to give this recipe a try. Fortunately, I have everything in the fridge.

I gotta say that this dessert tastes like anything I've ever expected and wanted with raspberry and mascarpone combination, not to mention that it's a breeze to make too. Making this is super quick and easy and it tastes heavenly. The floral note of the raspberry and the subtle taste and creaminess of the mascarpone just made me falling in love even more with this two ingredients. I even made another one after this for my nephew and niece as they liked it so much. I had one left from work and gave it to them and turned out that they love it and asked for more. I just gotta make that again. My nephew had 3 ramekins in one sitting! Well, I thought him well to be a dessert snob :P. My niece had 2 and even that surprised me.

I think I would change the direction slightly as when I made this the second time (I didn't pay attention for the first time), the batter looked curdled. the result was okay but I'm still bothered by it. I think it's because the egg is added the last time. Next time, I would whisk the egg and the sugar first, then add the mascarpone and heavy cream. Once the egg is emulsified with the sugar, it'll be easier for the egg to get incorporated with the cheese and cream. The baking time depends on the size and the depth of your ramekins, so watch the texture to know when it's done. Just like creme brulee, you want the center to be slightly jiggly when you move it, and the outside set. It'll firm up in the fridge later on. I like to put pistachio on top as a garnish and as an added texture.

Mascarpone Raspberry Gratins
source: Tartelette

Serves 4-6 depending on the size of your ramequins.

1/2 cup (4 oz) mascarpone, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 vanilla bean, seeded
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup fresh raspberries

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the mascarpone with the sugar until smooth. Add the vanilla, the egg and the egg yolk. Whisk until fully incorporated and add the heavy cream. Make sure everything is well combined and divide between your ramequins, not filling them all the way to the top, about 3/4 full. Divide the raspberries among the gratins and set the dishes in a deep roasting pan. Fill the pan with water, half way up the sides of the dishes and bake at 340 for about 20-25 minutes or until they seem to be barely set: still giggling a little when you move the pan but not completely wobbly. They will continue to bake and set as they cool. Let cool and serve either chilled or at room temperature.

Raspberry Mascarpone Cheesecake

I made this cheesecake once before, here. I don't normally like cheesecake, especially a dense one. I can probably eat one small spoonful and I will be content. But after tasting a mascarpone cheesecake, it has become my favorite. My love for mascarpone is undoubted, and it's really hard for me to resist putting this cheese into anything I make. Everytime I think of mascarpone, I would immediately think of raspberry and raspberry mascarpone cheesecake was one of the results of that.

When my asked me if I could make something for him to bring to a housewarming party, I immediately thought dessert. Although cake is a form of dessert, I just don't think a cake would suit that kind of party and besides, it would be pretty heavy I think. So, I was thinking something that's special, tastes really good, doesn't take long to make (you know me, I'm in a time crunch all the time), and can't be found in any bakery stores (at least around here). This cheesecake is one of the things that came up in mind. Although my friend said that I can even experiment with anything (he knows that I like to do that often in every opportunity :D), I just don't want to take that risk serving something to a group of people that I don't know. So, I must resist that opportunity and decided something that I like instead, this mascarpone cheesecake. I knew that I wanted to make fruit-flavored summer dessert, and not chocolate or coffee flavored.

If you read my first raspberry mascarpone cheesecake post, you would know that this is originally a regular mascarpone cheesecake (you can find the recipe in that post too) that I modified slightly. The cheesecake recipe is very basic and standard actually, but once you added mascarpone, it completely changes the taste and makes it extra special. I always think that mascarpone and raspberry is one of the best pair, flavorwise. In my first cheesecake, I added lots of fresh raspberries in the middle of the cheese batter and topped off with a raspberry glaze, but I wasn't really satisfied in the glaze part. This time, instead of scattering raspberries inside, I made a raspberry filling (I don't know what to call it). Basically, I just puree some raspberries, strain it, and cook it with sugar under low heat until the mixture thickens and reduced to half the original volume. My idea was to have a raspberry lava center, so that when the cheesecake is cut, they would have a surprise in the center. I also think that you would get more raspberry flavor this way instead of just whole raspberry, without getting annoyed with that tiny little seeds going in between your teeth.

I also put a sour cream topping on top and baked it for about 10mins, just because I have sour cream leftover in the fridge :P. I didn't taste the cheesecake, but I tasted the crumbs and the cheesecake crumbs that's left in the springform pan, and it tasted as good as I remember it. Too bad I won't really find out how good the combination is with the raspberry lava in the center. I absolutely love the raspberry glaze this time. I just found some leftover raspberry syrup for soaking a cake, and I have a little raspberry puree, so I combined them, add sugar/water as I needed and added enough pectin. I didn't even measure anything, but it came out perfect! The consistency is just right, the flavor is there, and not too sweet at all! The glaze was really shiny that I had a hard time taking picture of it without getting the reflection of the light or anything. I forgot to write down the proportion of the raspberry lava center though. I meant to write it down quickly but I kept on putting it off and by the time I actually want to do it, I forgot already :( (it happens quite often actually), so I'll just have to start over and try out some proportion again next time I make this.

Raspberry and Lychee Charlotte

I always thought raspberry and lychee are a great combination. Both have slightly floral fragrance that's not too strong and I think they compliment each other really well. I like to brainstorm some flavor combination for a cake or dessert, including what components I think it should have, and I write them down in my "brainstorming book" :D. Or sometimes I just browsed through the internet and found some interesting cake combo that I'd like to try. I often eat something that taste interesting (in a good way) and thought that "hmm.....this is gonna be really good in a cake", and started to scribble down my notes. Life is so full of good things that there are so many possibilities of different flavors that I don't think I can make them all in my lifetime.

I made raspberry-lychee cake before a few times, usually with rose (usually called ispahan, introduced by Pierre Herme, my pastry hero :D). I was in a charlotte madness at that time, I wanted to make summer berry charlotte, pear charlotte, you name it, and this raspberry-lychee charlote is one of the charlottes I was dying to make.

So I made this for a quarterly potluck party at work with a group of coworkers. I seem to be the default for the dessert person, I don't know why. They immediately asked what dessert I will bring when the invitation was sent out. Making dessert for coworkers is a little bit pressuring compared to making it for your friends. You always want to impress them, while your friends already know your failed and good cakes :), but I took my chance and used this opportunity to experiment with this flavor.

Usually and traditionally, charlotte is composed of soft lady finger sponge, instead of regular sponge cake and decorated with it as well. But I'm not a huge fan of this lady finger sponge as usually they're dry and the texture is not soft, it soaked up liquid really well though. If you're Asian, then you will understand that we like everything to be soft and moist. Fortunately, I had some cotton-like soft sponge in the freezer and I had two layers! Perfect to make this, and what a time saver! Don't you just love freezer. I soaked the sponge layers with a raspberry solution, filled it with mascarpone bavarian cream flavored with framboise (clear raspberry brandy), lots of chopped lychees and fresh raspberries. Put a thin layer of the cream on top of the second cake layer and decorated it with lots of fruits. I bought the Italian lady finger (hard/cookie-like lady fingers, used for tiramisu mainly), to save the time and becauze I like them better than the soft one.

In the end, it turned out great! I wish I can make some adjustment though next time. There are some area that I want to change, such as, the cream needs to be firmer (need to add more gelatin), use vanilla bean instead of extract, and probably a variation on the filling. Bavarian cream is one of the most common fillings for charlotte, another option is mousse. So I chose bavarian cream and added mascarpone to it. But I don't think the mascarpone added much to the flavor and texture if you added to bavarian cream. Next time, I would probably use vanilla bean bavarian cream, or mascarpone mousse instead. But overall, it tasted lovely :)