Junior's [New York] Cheesecake [紐約芝士蛋糕]

I really miss New York and the Junior's original cheesecake I tried there, so I made the cake. Let's be honest, it's NOT the exact Junior's cheesecake slice. There are many variations I added such as baking in a small loaf pan (hence, the slice came out rectangular and the bottom layer so thick), not wrapping the pan with aluminum foil (whoops, forgot to follow the instructions!), and using regular sized eggs (not extra large). I ended up making a double layer chiffon + cheese cake! Nonetheless, it was so yummy and not too sweet. It was truly a taste of New York all the way in Cali.

Anyways, here's what I did. I wanted a smaller cake so I halved the recipe and added some variations:

Ingredients for Thin Sponge Cake (bottom layer)

1/4 cup sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs, separated

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 drops pure lemon extract

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

Part A. How to make the Thin Sponge Cake (bottom layer)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

2. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl.

3. Beat the egg yolks in an electric mixer on high for 3 minutes, gradually adding the 1/4 cup of sugar. Continue beating until thick light-yellow ribbons form in the bowl, about 5 minutes more.

4. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extract.

5. Stir in the flour/ baking powder/ salt. 

6. Blend the butter.

7. In a separate bowl using the electric mixer, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high until frothy.

8. Gradually add the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.

9. Stir about 1/3 cup of the egg whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining egg whites.

10. Place in pan.

11. Bake for about 10 minutes, until center of cake springs back when lightly touched.

12. Cool the cake while making Part B, the Cheesecake Filling (upper layer). Do not remove cake from pan.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Filling (upper layer)

(2) 8 ounce packages cream cheese (regular with fat, preferably Philadelphia brand) at room temperature

½ cup + 1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp corn starch

½ tablespoon (1 1/2 tsp) pure vanilla extract

2 extra large eggs

6 tbsp heavy whipping cream

Part B. How to make the Cheesecake Filling (upper layer)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare the baking pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with foil, covering the bottom and extending up the sides. 

2. Place one 8-ounce package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and 2 tbsp cornstarch in a large bowl.

3. Beat with an electric mixer ON LOW until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally.

4. Beat in the remaining one 8-ounce package of cream cheese.

5. Increase the mixer speed ON HIGH and beat in the remaining 1/2 cups of sugar, then beat in the vanilla.

6. Blend in the eggs.

7. Blend in the heavy cream.

8. At this point, mix the filling only until completely blended. Don't overmix.

9. Place baking pan in a hot (not boiling) water bath- fill a larger pan than the one you're baking in with hot water about 1 inch deep (or about half the height of the baking pan).

10. Bake for about 1 hour or until light brown. (the recipe tells you to bake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan).

11. Cool outside completely before placing in the refrigerator. Let cool overnight before serving.

Flan

I finally got to make this flan! So smooth, fragrant, and yummy!

I followed the recipe on http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spanish-flan/ but added a hot water bath for baking the flan.

Ingredients:

Group A:

3 eggs

1 can evaporated milk

1 can condensed milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Group B:

1 cup white sugar

Directions:

1. Mix Group A (3 eggs + 1 can evaporated milk + 1 can condensed milk + 1 tbsp vanilla extract) together in an electric mixer or a blender for the flan mixture.

2. Heat Group B (1 cup white sugar) on a stove, medium heat to make caramel layer.

3. IMMEDIATELY pour caramel into ramekins/ ceramic bowls/ glass bowls before the caramel hardens.

4. After the caramel hardens, pour the flan mixture into the bowls.

5. Prepare a HOT water bath in a larger baking pan that can hold all the bowls like this:

*Pour hot water about 1 inch deep. (I used a large casserole pan).

6. Place in oven 350 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 50-60 minutes. (Mine was done in 50 minutes).

7. Remove from oven and INVERT the flan- may need to run a knife along the edges of the flan to invert it easier. Serve hot or place in fridge.

Next time, I want to learn to make "Impossible" Cake, or Chocoflan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teaW5-8CmUE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJHK9sm6WLY

Hibiscus Tea [Jamaica]

Hibiscus Tea Flowers (Dried)

How it turned out!

I love drinking this agua fresca, or "fresh water," on a hot summer day or when I'm eating really spicy Mexican food. The taste is tangy, sweet, and refreshing. I usually buy a cup of jamaica, or "hibiscus tea," for around $2 dollars at a Mexican restaurant or fast-food place such as Gordo Taqueria. I squandered my money on this drink, until I realized I could make jamaica on my own! It is super easy!

I took a trip to an organic foods market and found hibiscus flowers sold in the bulk foods aisle. I bought 1 cup of dry hibiscus flowers which cost about $1.60.

I adapted the recipe on: http://www.muybuenocookbook.com/2011/03/agua-de-jamaica-hibiscus-tea/ and halved the recipe since I didn't buy enough flowers:

Ingredients:

1 cup dry jamaica/hibiscus flowers

3/8 cup granulated sugar (I found that less sugar tasted better)

3 cups water

How to make:

1. Wash the flowers.

2. Boil the water.

3. When water boils, add the dry hibiscus flowers and sugar.

4. Cook for 1 minute.

5. Turn off heat.

6. Cool & drain the tea.

7. Refrigerate.

8. Ready to drink!

It came out to about 2 glass cups of hibiscus tea, which is cheaper than buying store-made and super easy to make. Next time I will use less sugar because it came out a tad bit sweet/ tasted a little like sweet grape juice. Overall, I am satisfied with the turnout and can't wait to save a little more by making this drink.

Tea Leaf Eggs

I used a combination of recipes:

http://rasamalaysia.com/chinese-tea-eggs-tea-leaf-eggs-recipe/2/

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chinese-tea-leaf-eggs/

Ingredients:

Black tea

Star anise

Cinnamon stick

Black peppercorn

Light & dark soy sauce

I ended up using too much soy sauce (6 tbsp), and after I let the eggs simmer for about 2 hours, most of the liquid became dry. Next time, I will add more water and reduce the amount of soy sauce.

Macarons 馬卡龍- failure

Trial & Error:

My first time making macarons (minus the ganache/ filling).

I followed the recipe on http://www.annies-eats.com/2012/12/28/how-to-make-macarons-step-by-step/, which involves the Italian method. 

I couldn't get the egg whites to form stiff peaks. The batter came out too runny, so there was a lot of spread. 

The overall result was okay- at least there were some feet that formed, and the taste was good.

I'll try again some other time!

Oven cooked yam + beef

For a while, I got so lazy and just wanted to eat out all the time, which is very expensive and unhealthy. I got back to cooking because my friend showed me her friend's Facebook pictures of 100+ meals cooked, and I was totally inspired since I wanted to broaden my cooking menu and try cooking new things.

I also got sick of making claypot rice over and over again as my dinner meal plan, so I started cooking food in the oven. For lunch, I made potato wedges in the oven. For dinner, I continued this trend and cooked some beef and yam in the oven (early Thanksgiving much?) 

Basically, I marinated the beef using salt, cornstarch, oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a little bit of MSG (I know, MSG is bad so I didn't add too much :) I coated the yams in some oil so it didn't stick to the pan (I didn't have any parchment paper). I just tossed everything in the pan and cooked on 350 degrees- the beef took less time (approximately 15-20 minutes) so I took it out first. However, the yams took longer (I even had to add some more oil to get it to ripe faster)- about 35-40 minutes. It took a lot of discretion and patience, but it was SO DELICIOUS! This meal kept me inspired to cook again. My new goal is to cook new savory foods and expand my knowledge of cooking. 

Chocolate Pancake

Pancakes are my NEW OBSESSION! So it all started when my roommate craved pancakes that her mom makes. She then bought this pancake mix called Aunt Jemima and made some pancakes. I got hungry for breakfast one day, so I made it, and although I do prefer making everything from scratch (that is my motto), the mix is amazing! I followed the recipe on the box but I halved everything.

I really craved chocolate pancakes, the ones with chocolate chips inside, but I was too broke to buy chocolate chip morsels at Walgreen's (they were about $5!) so I got an idea: use that Starbucks' Hot Cocoa Mix that was sitting up on the kitchen cabinet and infuse it with the milk.

The end product: I got TWO LARGE CHOCOLATE PANCAKES!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Aunt Jemima pancake mix
3/8 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon oil
1 egg (I didn't halve the egg because it was pretty small and it made the pancakes more moist, which I like)
1 tablespoon hot cocoa mix (I'm pretty sure you can use regular cocoa powder as well) 

How to Make:

1. Heat up the milk a little (not boiling) and mix in the hot cocoa. 
2. Add it to the rest of the ingredients. 
3. Heat up saucepan with a little oil on medium heat. Don't forget to turn it over quick because it heats up pretty fast!
4. Enjoy!