Lemon coconut mini cheesecakes

I’ve read that “Monk” is about to end – its last season is about to start here in Brazil. Can’t say I’m sad – I’ve tried watching the show several times, but it’s really not my cup of tea; I don’t see what all the fuss is about – or all the awards, for that matter.

I used to feel the same way about cheesecakes, until I made this recipe – now I want to try each and every cheesecake flavor out there. :)

Lemon coconut mini cheesecakes
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

Base:
75g digestive cookies
1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
175g ricotta
175g cream cheese
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (162g) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160°C/300°F.
To make the base, process the cookies in a food processor until finely crushed. Add the coconut and butter and process until combined.
Butter fourteen 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity mini cheesecake pans (with removable bottoms). Press the mixture over the base of each pan and refrigerate.
Process the ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and juice and process until combined. Pour the mixture over the bases and bake for 15-20 minutes or until set.
Allow to cool, then refrigerate. Carefully remove from the pans and top with coconut curls to serve.

Makes 14

Cinnamon tea cakes

Let’s play a game? Think of something tender. Now something three times more tender – there, you have these cakes.

I must be honest with you: I only made these cakes because I wanted to bake something right away and my butter was cold; I remembered that this recipe from DH mag #29 called for melted butter and gave it a try – it was a really good surprise.

Cinnamon tea cakes
from Donna Hay magazine

2 eggs, separated
1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) caster sugar
1 cup (240ml) milk
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cinnamon topping:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; butter two 15cm (6in) round cake pans, line the bottoms with baking paper and butter the paper*.

Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until stiff peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar until thick and glossy. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well to combine. Gradually add the milk then the flour, baking powder, butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Divide the mixture between prepared pans and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Turn out onto wire racks.
In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. While the cakes are still hot, brush with the butter and dust with the combined brown sugar and cinnamon.

* I halved the recipe and used four 1-cup (240ml) capacity mini bundt pans; I generously buttered the pans and unmolded the cakes right after taking them out of the oven;

UPDATE: my blogger friend Rita made this exact recipe (the one posted here, not half as I did) and used a 20cm (8in) round cake pan

Makes 2

Crispy salted oatmeal white chocolate cookies

Oatmeal haters, please, hear me out: these cookies are going to change the way you feel about oats. Trust me and Deb on that – they are absolutely delicious.

And since I don’t want the other readers to feel left out: the oatmeal lovers like me will adore them, too. :)

Crispy salted oatmeal white chocolate cookies

1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon table salt
14 tablespoons (196g/1 ¾ sticks) unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 cup (200g) sugar
¼ cup (44g) packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups (288g) old-fashioned rolled oats
168g (6oz) good-quality white chocolate bar, chopped
½ teaspoon flaky sea salt (like Maldon or fleur de sel) for sprinkling on top

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpat. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and table salt in a medium bowl.
Beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula, then add egg and vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl again. Add flour mixture gradually and mix until just incorporated and smooth. Gradually add oats and white chocolate and mix until well incorporated.

Divide dough into 24 equal portions, each about 2 tablespoons. Roll between palms into balls, then place on lined baking sheets 5cm (2in) apart. Using fingertips, gently press down each ball to about 2cm (3/4-in) thickness.
Sprinkle a flake or two of sea salt on each cookie.
Bake until cookies are deep golden brown, about 13 to 16 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack to cool.

Makes 24 - I halved the recipe, used 1 rounded tablespoon of dough per cookie and got 19

Roasted pumpkin and marjoram soup

I’m feeling a bit guilty – here I am, posting cherry recipes, sorbets and ice creams while my dear readers on the Northern Hemisphere are covered in snow...

I thought you deserved something warm, comforting and full of flavor – I hope the vivid color cheers you up!
xx

Roasted pumpkin and marjoram soup
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

800g Japanese pumpkin (kabocha)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon olive oil, extra
1 large onion, chopped
3 cups (720ml) chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
marjoram leaves, to serve

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Divide the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds, then chop each half in 6 or so smaller pieces. Place the pumpkin in a roasting pan, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt and roast for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool until easy to handle. With a spoon or small knife, remove all the pumpkin flesh, discarding the skins.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the extra olive oil and onion and cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender. Add the pumpkin and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the stock, cover and bring to a boil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat and blitz with a handheld mixer until smooth (or use a food processor) - be careful because you are dealing with hot liquid. Make sure you hold the cap down on the top of the blender while puréeing.
Add the salt, pepper and cream and stir to combine.
Ladle into serving bowls and sprinkle with marjoram leaves to serve.

Serves 4

Cherry friands

I am so disappointed: I used to watch Bill Granger’s videos on You Tube but they are all gone now. :(
At least that reminded me of how little I’d been using his books – this recipe comes from Simply Bill


I thought of my blogger friend Tatiane while baking these friands: like me, she’s mad for ice cream and is always searching for new ways to use her stash of egg whites – Tati, I hope you like these!

Cherry friands
from Simply Bill

1 1/3 cups (134g) ground almonds
1 ½ cups + 1 tablespoon (218g) icing sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (85g) all purpose flour, sifted
8 egg whites
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
210g cherries

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Grease and flour a nonstick 12-hole friand pan*.
Mix together the ground almonds, icing sugar and flour. Stir in the egg whites until just combined. Stir in the melted butter.
Pour the batter in the pans. Pit the cherries and cut in half. Arrange a few cherry halves on top of each friand.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden - the friands should spring back when touched. Remove from the oven and leave in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
Dust with icing sugar and store in an airtight container.

* I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity muffin pans and got 8 friands

Makes 12

Watermelon sorbet

I used to think that brownies were the easiest dessert in the world but I was wrong – sorbets are easier! What a wonderful discovery. :)

The only “but” is that there is no bowl-covered-in-chocolate-goo to lick at the end. ;)

Watermelon sorbet
from Donna Hay magazine


1 cup + 1 ½ tablespoons (218g) caster sugar
½ cup (120ml) water
900g peeled watermelon
1/3 cup (80ml) lemon juice

Place the sugar and water in a saucepan over low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.
Process the watermelon in a food processor or blender to get 2 ½ cups (600ml) juice. Place in a large bowl, add the sugar syrup and the lemon juice and stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker* and follow the manufacturer’s instructions until the sorbet is firm. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and put in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

*My ice cream maker would not hold all the mixture so I removed 2/3 cup of it prior to pouring into the machine

Makes 3 ½ cups

Lemon shortbread

If you take a look at my now organized bookshelf – I’m so proud of myself! – will see that every single book and magazine have several bookmarked pages; a closer look and you’ll see that most of those pages hold citrus recipes – what can I do? If there are lemons, limes or oranges involved, I’m in.

My obsessions are not restricted to food, only – ask my husband how he feels about watching “Eastern Promises” once again. :)

Lemon shortbread
from Donna Hay magazine

2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (55g) icing sugar, sifted
¼ cup (60ml) lemon juice
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups + 1 tablespoon (255g) all purpose flour, sifted
2 tablespoons corn starch, sifted
2/3 cup (94g) icing sugar, extra, sifted

Place the butter and icing sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 8 minutes or until pale and creamy. Add the lemon juice, zest and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the flour and corn starch and beat just until a smooth dough forms. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Place each half onto a large piece of baking paper form into a 20cm (8in) long log. Wrap well in the paper and refrigerate for 1 ½ hours or until firm.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Unwrap one of the dough logs (keep the other in the fridge) and slice it into 1cm-thick rounds. Place onto the prepared baking sheets 5cm (2in) apart and bake for 15-18 minutes or until light golden. Remove from the oven and cool in the sheets for 5 minutes.
Gently toss the warm shortbreads in the extra icing sugar and allow to cool completely on wire racks.

Makes 40 – I got 38

Cinnamon marshmallows

I’ve been watching my SATC DVDs again and am surprised by how differently I feel about the show now: I still love it, Samantha continues to be my favorite girl, but Carrie is the biggest pain in the neck ever – my goodness, the woman is annoying!

I cried like a baby watching Charlotte and Harry getting together at the synagogue – I’m such a marshmallow... Some things never change. :)

Cinnamon marshmallows
adapted from a Donna Hay magazine vanilla marshmallow

½ cup (120ml) water
1 ½ cinnamon quills
2 tablespoons powdered gelatin
½ cup (120ml) warm water, extra
330g caster sugar
½ cup + 1 ½ tablespoons glucose syrup

For rolling the marshmallows:
¾ cup (105g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon corn starch, sifted
¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon

icing sugar extra, for dusting the pan

Oil a 20cm (8in) square cake pan and dust well with icing sugar.

Combine ½ cup water and cinnamon quills in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, set aside to cool then remove the cinnamon quills.
Place the gelatin and warm water (extra) in the bowl of an electric mixer, stir well to combine and set aside. Place the sugar, glucose and 1/3 cup (80ml) of the cinnamon infusion in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and cook without stirring for 5-6 minutes or until soft ball stage (115°C/240°F) on a sugar thermometer.

With the mixer running at high speed, gradually add the hot syrup to the gelatin mixture. Beat for 10 minutes or until thick and fluffy. Pour into prepared pan, cover loosely with lightly greased non-stick baking paper and set aside to firm overnight.

Place the icing sugar, corn starch and ground cinnamon in a bowl and stir to combine. Turn the marshmallow onto a surface lightly dusted with a little of the icing sugar mixture and carefully from the pan. Cut into squares with a lightly oiled knife and dust with remaining icing sugar mixture.
Store in an airtight container.

Makes 36

Free form cherry and blackberry pies

I got a little carried away with all the beautiful cherries available at this time of the year and ended up buying tons of them: some I ate – delicious! - and some were transformed into baked goods. :)

After some email talk with my friend Ana Elisa – she’d been deciding on whether or not to buy a food processor – I decided to buy one, too. I’ve been using it a lot and even regret not buying it earlier – making the pastry for these tarts was dead easy using my newest toy. :)

Free form cherry and blackberry pies
adapted from Donna Hay magazine

1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, cold and chopped
1 cup + 1 tablespoon (150g) all purpose flour
½ tablespoons caster sugar
1-1 ½ tablespoons iced water

Filling:
1 cup cherries, pitted and halved
1 cup blackberries
1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
2 ½ tablespoons caster sugar
finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
2 tablespoons almond meal
1 tablespoon caster sugar, extra

To make the pastry, process butter, flour and sugar in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. While the motor is still running, add enough iced water to form a soft dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To make the filling, place the cherries and blackberries in a bowl, sift over the corn starch and add the sugar and lemon zest. Toss to combine.
Divide the pastry in half and roll each piece on a lightly floured surface to 3mm thick. Place the pastry on a large baking sheet lined with baking paper and sprinkle with the almond meal. Pile the berry mixture into the middle of each pastry disc and sprinkle with the extra sugar. Fold over the pastry to form an edge, partially enclosing the berries. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until pastry is golden and crisp.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Serves 2

Apple crumble ice cream

In one of my days off I woke up decided to organize my bookshelf – it was a huge mess, you have no idea...
Going through all those books, magazines and recipe prints I ended up finding a CD I thought I’d lost for good – in moments like that I understand why my grandma always told me to be organized... :)

My favorite song on that CD is “Up from under” and from it comes one of my all time favorite song verses: “those days before I met you girl were just ice cream falling down on the shoes of my world” – if that isn’t proof of how important ice cream is to mankind, I don’t know what is. :)

Apple crumble ice cream
from Australian Gourmet Traveller

Custard:
2 ½ cups (600ml) heavy cream
1 ¼ cups (300ml) whole milk
3 cinnamon quills
5 egg yolks
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (74g) caster sugar
¼ cup (44g) brown sugar, packed

Caramelized apple:
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (124g) caster sugar
3 tablespoons vodka
¼ cup (60ml) heavy cream
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1cm dice

Crumble:
½ cup + 1 tablespoon (80g) self-rising flour
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (71g) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (72g) hazelnuts, coarsely ground
¼ cup (56g) cold butter, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Start by making the custard: combine cream, milk and cinnamon quills in a saucepan and bring just to the boil over a medium heat. Remove from heat, cover and stand for 30 minutes to infuse. Whisk egg yolks and sugars in a bowl until thick and pale. Reheat the cream mixture, pour gradually over the yolk cream, whisking to combine. Return to saucepan and cook over a medium heat until mixture coats the back of a spoon, strain into a bowl and cool completely. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

For caramelized apple, combine sugar, 2 tablespoons vodka and ¼ cup (60ml) water in a frying pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and cook for 4-5 minutes or until dark golden, add cream and butter – carefully, the mixture will bubble – and cook for another minute or until combined. Add apple, stir to coat then cook for 5 minutes or until apple is tender. Add the remaining vodka, stir to combine, then remove from heat and cool completely.*

Now, the crumble: preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and, using fingertips, rub together until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs (mixture should have large clusters). Spread over a baking paper-lined large baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden. Cool completely and coarsely crumble.
Freeze the custard in an ice-cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Spoon into a 2 liter-capacity rectangular container, drizzle with the caramelized apple mixture, swirling to combine and form a ripple effect. Scatter the crumble mixture on top and freeze for 3 hours or until required.

* after cooling, the caramel got too hard. So I drizzle it with a little heavy cream, popped it in the microwave oven for 45 seconds and then mixture it all together

Serves 6 – I wasn’t sure my ice cream maker would hold all the custard so I halved the recipe

Ovaltine brownies

You must be thinking I’m crazy for making brownies after all the food indulgence of the holidays, but in my defense these were made especially for my nephew: he loves brownies and I like spoiling him. :)

The recipe comes from DH magazine - oh, what a surprise – and originally called for Horlicks. Since I’ve never seen it here in Brazil, I slightly adapted the recipe to use Ovaltine instead.

I don’t mean to brag but have the feeling that these got me several points towards becoming his favorite auntie. :)

Ovaltine brownies
from Donna Hay magazine

125g dark chocolate, chopped
2/3 cup + ½ tablespoon (157g) unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup (131g) brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (125g) all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
2 ½ tablespoons cocoa powder
½ cup (75g) Ovaltine
½ cup (78g) dark chocolate chips/chunks
Ovaltine extra, for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a square 20cm (8in) baking pan and line it with foil, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) overhang. Butter the foil well.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a medium metal/glass bowl set over simmering water until the mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Add the sugar and eggs and stir to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa over the chocolate mixture, add the Ovaltine and stir until smooth. Mix in the chocolate chunks/chips.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until just set – do not overbake.
Cool the cake in the pan, then carefully remove it using the foil handles. Sprinkle with the extra Ovaltine – it will melt and become a sticky topping – and cut into squares.

Makes 16

Pear and honey cake

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope you had wonderful holidays with your loved ones, with lots of good food. I thought the first post of the year should be something simple yet delicious, and golden, as I hope 2010 will be.

Pear and honey cake
from Donna Hay magazine

3 pears (600g), cut in half, then each half into four wedges, seeds removed
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (184g) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup (116g) light brown sugar, packed
3 eggs
1 ½ cups + 1 ½ tablespoons (225g) all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/3 cup (80ml) whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F; generously butter a deep 23cm (9in) fluted flan/tart pan with a removable bottom.
Combine the pears, honey and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until the pears are just tender. Drain the pears, reserving the poaching liquid.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and creamy. Gradually add the eggs and beat well. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg over the butter mixture, beat in slow speed just to incorporate then fold through the milk.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and arrange the pears on top. Bake for 50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer – you might want to check the cake after 40 minutes.
Carefully remove the cake from the pan while still warm, spoon over the reserved poaching liquid and serve immediately.

Serves 8