Cotton cheesecake (IESP)

From this earlier post that compared cheesecake recipes, I decided to try out the very detailed recipe from I Eat I Shoot I Post that uses the bain marie method because the previous recipe that I tried has a very high failure rate - 66% failure (2 out of 3 attempts). Even with the 1 successful attempt, the cheese still sank to the bottom of the cake on the 3rd day as it it separated. Strange. I thought maybe putting the cheese in a bain marie to 'melt' it might help it to amalgamate better with the milk than just putting in warm milk and butter.

This recipe has about half the amount of liquid and everything else remains almost the same except there is 20g more sugar and uses 1 tbsp of lemon juice instead of 1 tsp.

However, the cake hardly rose. At first I thought that my tin was too big (I used 9" instead of 8") but Craft Passion followed his recipe and also mentions that a 9" tin can be used if the 8" tin doesn't have a 3" height. So I can only surmise that my cake didn't rise because 

1) I had to take it out of the oven about 2 mins after it first went in when I realised that the oven temp was about 150 deg C!

2) The sides were TOO non-stick - is that possible? And it had nothing to cling to. I used oil rather than butter which seemed to be less dense compared to butter and very slick. I had attempted to use corn starch to coat the sides but so much stuck on and I gave up. Maybe if I use non-stick spray/oil, I will have to use corn starch but not if I only use butter.

3) Oven temp? Did I cause the temp to fall too suddenly during the 160 deg C baking round?

Craft Passion suggests 200 deg C for 12 mins, 140 for 30 mins, off for 30 mins, open door and remove water bath for last 30 mins. 

Also with the same recipe, Chinadoll uses a 8" pan and suggests 200 deg C for 15 mins, 160 for 30 mins (tented), off for 20 mins, 120 for 10 mins with bottom grill only, open for 30 mins.

4) Somehow my springform pan (even though it is PushPan) may have 'caught' the cake because I had inserted the bottom in wrong way around in my haste?

5) Did not beat it enough. I was told to beat to just before soft peaks and under beating was better than over beating. But this occurred! I don't think it rose much, not that it deflated (ie reason #1).

Anyway, might have to try again and at least eliminate most of the reasons above.

Looked ok in the tin

Ingredients

250g cream cheese (Philadelphia brand only)

6 yolks, separated

140g caster sugar (not fine or super fine)

100ml full cream milk

60g butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest (optional)

Method

1) Separate the eggs just out of the fridge. 

2) Do all the other prep work: line the pan with a base of parchment and butter the sides. Weigh out all the ingredients. Boil the kettle. Prepare a tin with a cloth at the bottom. Melt the butter until ¾ way (1 minute on 80% power) and then pour in fridge cold milk. Microwave till about finger warmth (about 1 minute 80% power).

3) Boil a pot of water and insert a glass bowl that will sit on the pot but not touch the water. Use a scissors to cut the cream cheese into cubes and set aside to melt. 

4) Once liquidy, remove from the heat and add in the yolks 2 at a time and whisk. Add half of the sugar. Whisk till smooth. Add the milk and butter mixture and whisk again.

5) Add in the vanilla, salt, zest, and juice and whisk. Set aside. The batter temp should be between 50 to 60 deg C now.

6) Beat the egg whites, adding ⅓ of the sugar at a time after it turns foamy opaque. Whisk till just before soft peaks. 

7) In the yolk batter, fold in the sifted flours. Try not to beat too vigorously as you don't want to form gluten.

8) Pour in ⅓ of the meringue into the yolk batter and incorporate with a whisk. Next, transfer in another ⅓ of the meringue and folk in carefully. Finally, pour everything back into the meringue bowl and this time, very carefully folk through until no whites remain.

9) Pour into the prepared tin. The batter should be very pourable and liquid, like pancake batter. Using spatula, run zig zag strokes through the batter to burst big bubbles. Place in the bigger tin with the cloth, and pour in the boiled kettle water. Place everything at the bottom ⅓ of the oven.

10) Bake at 200 deg C for 17 mins to brown the top (mine only took 17 mins to achieve the browness I liked but the original recipe was 18 mins), then lower to 160 deg C for 12 mins (this means letting the temp lower gradually until it reaches 160 deg C in the oven at the end of the 29/30 minutes. I had to tweak my controls between 100 to 150 deg C to achieve this effect.) Switch off the oven but don't open it and the temp should fall to 110 deg C in 25 to 30 mins. 

11) Remove the tin from the water bath to prevent condensation at the bottom. Leave the oven door ajar and leave the cake inside for a further 30 minutes to cool. Unmould when still warm but cool enough to handle. Only put in the fridge after it is completely cool and it is nice served chilled.

Why so flat?

Update Attempt 2 

using CraftPassion's timings of 200 deg C for 12 minutes, 140 (i did 150) for ½ hour, off for ½ hour, and open oven for ½ hour. The cake developed a waist! It rose beautifully initially but then seemed to shrink. See how the top seems to have hardened but only on 1 side, the side that browned the most - dried out? Also, it developed a slight crack, but only after the 30 minutes of closed oven door, huh? I surmise that having a high temp and then turning down and eventually cooling by residual heat seem like a bad idea. Much better to cook for a long time at a lower heat.

Tangzong red bean bun

Updated: Tried Christine's tangzong method: https://simmetra.blogspot.com/2020/12/hk-red-bean-bun.html

Using last night's tsubuan (recipe :http://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-anko-red-bean-paste/ ) The bun recipe is taken from here: http://www.chinasichuanfood.com/char-siu-bao-baked-buns-recipe/  

Not sure how I feel about this recipe. It took me 2 days to make it if you count the hour for the anko the night before. Actual time was about 3 hours active time and with another 3 hours proving time. The next morning, I started at 10am to make the tangzong and it had to cool down. I restarted at 1.30pm by placing all the ingredients into the mixer and this took 2 hours to prove, then an hour to form the dough (including 15 mins rest time in between), another 40 minutes to prove, and another 20 minutes to bake. I only ended at 6.30pm. The end result is that the bun was less dense (only ⅔ the vol of flour) but felt drier than the JOC two flours recipe which had equivalent volume of liquid and slightly more equivalent volume of butter. The tangzong didn't seem to have made any discernible difference. Maybe I'm not putting enough - this would be equivalent to 9% of the total flour weight.

Ingredients

Tangzong

20g regular flour (recipe didn't specify what flour so since the recipe called for cake and bread flours, I decided to go halfway with regular flour)

100g/ml water

Buns (Makes 12 buns)

195g bread flour

90g cake flour

6g instant yeast

25g sugar (reduced from 30g)

3g salt 

1 egg, beaten

45g butter, softened and cubed

Filling

280 to 300g anko (either tsubuan or koshian)

Topping

2 tsp black or white sesame seeds, raw

1 beaten egg

1 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Method

1) Make the roux. Add the flour to the water into a small saucepan and use a whisk to combine till no lumps remain. Turn on a medium flame and keep whisking. The mixture should thicken up. Stop when the temp reaches 65 deg C, or you see lines in the mixture. Let it cool slightly then transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with cling film and ensure that the cling film touches the surface. This prevents a skin from forming.

2) In a mixer (I used my trusty food processor with dough hook), add the flours, salt, yeast on the opposite side, and sugar. Combine. Add the beaten egg, milk, and tangzong and beat till combined. If it doesn't come together, add slightly more milk (I need about another 5ml or a splash). Beat till elastic and stop to scrape down the bowl periodically.

3) Add the cubed butter and beat. The dough will suddenly get very sticky and but if you continue beating, it will slowly relax. After a while, it gets very elastic and becomes smooth and shiny. Check using the window pane test.

4) Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to proof in a warm place for about 2 hours until it has doubled to 2.5x its original size.

5) Beat down the dough and ensure that all air pockets have been kneaded out. Separate into 12 balls. Cover and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

6) Flatten out each ball using the palm of your hand. Using a French or Asian rolling pin, roll the disc about 3 inches wide, leaving it thicker at the centre than the edges.

7) Place about 1.5 tbsp (I used my size 40 cookie dough scoop) of filling in the centre. Gather up the edges and pinch tightly closed. Carefully re-form into a ball and try not to flatten it out. 

8) Place the formed buns onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with cling film and cloth and leave to prove for 40 minutes.

9) I was a bit disappointed to see that the buns had spread out rather than risen. (Luckily they do rise in the oven) Glaze with egg wash. Using the bottom of my rolling pin, I coated it with beaten egg, stamped it into the sesame seeds and stamped that onto my bun for the perfect round shape.

10) Bake at 180 deg C for 18 to 20 minutes (20 mins is what I had in the picture, which seems a bit too dark for my liking). I rotated and switched the trays at the 12 minute mark.

Tsubuan anko Instant Pot

Recipe from JOC: http://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-anko-red-bean-paste/

She recommends proportion of 1½ C red bean: 5 C water : 1¼ C sugar. She had water left over which she criminally drained away!). It doesn't even come ⅓ up my pressure cooker! What a waste of time. Cook for 25 mins using the Bean/Chilli function. She recommends the ratio of 1C bean : 4C water.

I've decided to go with 2 C red bean: 7C water (not directly proportional): 1½ C sugar with less water drained away. Reaches the 4C mark (out of max 10C) in my Instant Pot. Cook for 30 minutes using the Bean/Chilli function.

Makes 1172g anko

Updated: This is Christine's Chinese version

https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2018/06/sweetened-red-beans-instant-pot-recipe.html

Ratio: 1 cup bean: 4 cups (1 l) water: 120g sugar

- Bean/Chilli function 25 mins, natural release. No pre-soaking needed.

- Drain excess water and stir in sugar until dissolved.

Pork bao (in milk bun)

My pleats are now more regular

I've tried various bao recipes. These include using cake or bao flour which was very hard to shape, original recipe using flour only, and this one that uses a mix of cake and normal flour and milk.

This recipe uses normal flour and milk and so far, gives the best result in terms of soft and spongey bun that still retains distinctive pleats. The speciality of her recipe is rising 3 times. However, it is strange because there's a lot more yeast than other recipes and leaves a slightly 'winey' taste. I'm wondering if the extra yeast has reacted with the milk. On a side note, I must say my bao wrapping skills have improved after watching the video, at least my pleats are more regular but now I just have to learn to make the goldfish lip. The dough is also great; it's not sticky at all and didn't even require additional flour and it held its shape.

Bun recipe: http://seonkyounglongest.com/chinese-steamed-buns-mantou/

The only change in upsizing to 3 cups of flour.

Ingredients (makes 12)

3 cups of flour

¾ cup warm milk

⅓ cup warm water (may not use all)

2 ½ tbsp oil

1 tbsp yeast

¼ cup sugar

1 ½ tsp salt

Filling

500g minced pork

2 carrots, diced finely

2 spring onions, chopped

2 tbsp soya sauce

2 tbsp water

Method

1) To the dry flour, add the yeast, salt (on the opposite side), and sugar. Combine.

2) Create a well and add the warm milk, oil, and enough water for the dough to come together. (I actually needed a tsp more water)

3) Knead for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the parchment pieces.

4) Place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Let it prove for 1 hr.

5) After 1 hr, beat out the air, reform into a ball, and let it prove for another hour.

6) Knead and divide out into 12 balls. Cover half of the balls with cling film and place in the fridge.

7) Prepare the filling. Combine the minced pork, soya sauce, spring onions, and carrot. Knead the meat or use a chopstick and stir in 1 direction. Add the water and continue stirring. The mince should be sticky.

8) Roll out the each balled dough into 3 inch diameter rounds. Form the bao: Best video I've found. 

9) Let the buns prove for another 25 to 30 minutes.

10) Cover the lid with a cloth to prevent condensation from dripping on the bao and ruining its surface. When the water has come to a rolling boil, steam bao for 10 minutes. DO NOT open the lid to peak. Switch off the heat and let the bao sit for another 5 minutes so that the shape stabilises.

11) Serve hot. Uneaten baos keep very well in the freezer.

Yuzu 유자 chiffon

The weather has finally cooled down and out comes the chiffons again. I wanted to finish my leftover cake flour and found the perfect recipe that utilises all the leftover flour. There was a bit of tweaking because my yuzu was really thick so I had to add an extra splash of warm water into the batter otherwise it still had dry flour spots!

As usual, I used my favourite chiffon blogger whose recipes are always spot on

http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2014/12/yuzu-유자-chiffon-cake/

Ingredients

8 eggs, separated

40g sugar (reduced from 48g; for the yolks)

184g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

96ml oil

5 tbsp yuzu + warm water = 144ml liquid in total

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

70g sugar (reduced from 80g; for whites)

Method

1) Make the yuzu liquid.

2) Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk till the yolks are pale.

3) Add in the oil and continue whisking till pale.

4) Add the yuzu liquid and combine.

5) Sift the cake flour, salt, and baking powder. Sift into the yolk mixture and use the whisk to mix until just combined. Set aside.

6) In a separate very clean bowl, beat the egg whites on low until opaque. Add the sugar in 3 batches. The first batch should be added after the egg whites have just turned opaque and then in another 2 further additions. Once all the sugar has been added, beat at high speed until just before stiff peaks.

7) Add the meringue in 3 additions. Add the first third of the meringue to the yolks and mix. You don't have to be too gentle.

8) For the second batch, carefully fold the meringue into the yolk mixture using a whisk and rotating motion.

9) For the final batch, pour the yolk mixture into the remaining meringue and very carefully fold in using the whisk, rotating the bowl as you go along.

10) Pour into the tin, making sure to keep the batter on the outer edge. I rotated the tin to ensure more even distribution.

11) Using a spatula, slash the batter and especially trace around the outer and inner rims to break up the big bubbles.

12) Bake at 160 deg C for 80 minutes.

My most perfect chiffon 'top': no cracks because the temp remained stable!

Yuzu specks not noticeable

13) Invert the tin onto an elevated surface e.g. I placed the tin on top of a tin of canned food. Let it cool completely. 

14) Once cool, use a butter knife or offset spatula and trace around the rims to loosen the cake.

15) Serve immediately and store in an airtight box for up to 3 days.

Steamed eggs (Instant pot)

Was looking for how to 'boil' eggs in the IP and came across these useful links:

1) 'Experiment' of cooking eggs in IP with minute by minute picture using low pressure (because high pressure turned whites chalky) quite a hard core experiment http://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/pressure-cooker-soft-hard-boiled-eggs/

2) Method is described for pressure cookers in general, not just IP but timings are consistent with the first article https://www.hippressurecooking.com/cracked-soft-medium-and-hard-boiled-eggs-in-the-pressure-cooker/

3) Also as minute by minute pictures but uses high pressure. Uses ice bath to help with removal of shell.

https://omnivorescookbook.com/instant-pot-eggs/

To summarize: steam at low pressure
: 3 - 4 mins: soft boiled eggs
: 5 - 7 mins: onsen tamago (runny yolk)
: 8 - 10 mins: medium boiled eggs (yolks squidy but not runny)
: 11 - 14 mins: hard boiled eggs   

Steam at high pressure

: 3-5 mins: soft boiled eggs

: 5-6 mins: medium boiled

: 8-10 mins: hard boiled (8 is just set)  

Method
1) Starting with a cold pot, add 1 cup of room temp water. Set the trivet provided (or a steaming basket) into the pot for steaming, and place between 1 to 12 eggs (straight from the fridge) into the trivet.
2) Use STEAM and adjust to LOW pressure. Set the desired time.
3) Use immediate quick release and transfer eggs into cold running water or an ice bath to stop cooking.
4) Tap the top and bottom of the shell and peel carefully.  

6 minutes

Recipe feedback
Not quite sure what went wrong but I set the timer for 6 minutes and instead of getting onsen tomago eggs, I ended up with medium hard boiled eggs (but my yolks were not very squidy either)? I followed all the instructions ie fridge cold eggs, immediate release, and transfer into cold (altho not ice cold) water. I started with 8 eggs, am not sure if that affected the result. Next time I will experiment with 5 minutes instead.

Updated: 15 Sep 17
This is what a 4 minute egg looks like. I steamed 8 eggs and although 1 burst and this one looks as set as the 6 minute one, there was another egg which still had a spot of orange in the centre.

Updated 20 June 18

I have previously tried steaming at 2 minutes and 3 minutes. There was only a slight difference but both were set yolks. 2 minutes having a slightly less set than 3 minutes but both were orange in the centre. None were liquidy.

Instead of using the Steam function, I decided to try Manual but at low pressure for 2 minutes and voila! Finally successful.

Buttermilk pancakes

Was quite dissatisfied after the last pancake recipe which took too long to cook and was difficult to tell when it was cooked. I've since renamed that recipe as hotcakes since it's so thick and this one as pancakes since it's much thinner. Generally very happy with this recipe which is also much easier to remember in terms of ingredient ratios. Unlike other pancake recipes, this crumb is decidedly light and fluffy rather than chewy, so the buttermilk definitely makes a difference.

Source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/ButtermilkPancakes.html

Ingredients (8*4" pancakes)

1 C flour

1 C (240ml) buttermilk (1C milk + 1 tbsp acid, stir and leave to settle)

3 tbsp (40g) butter, melted

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

2 tbsp sugar

¼ tsp salt

Method

1) In a bowl, sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add in the salt and sugar and whisk together.

2) In pitcher, add the melted butter, and egg to the buttermilk.

3) Create a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet, whisking gently to incorporate. Don't beat vigorously but some whisking is needed to get rid of the lumps. This produces a thin batter.

4) Into an oiled pan (pour in some oil and wipe off excess with kitchen towel), pour in 1 scoop of batter from 10cm above to produce the round shape. Use medium high heat.

5) Like any pancake, once bubbles appear on the top (about a minute), flip over and cook until the bottom is brown.

6) Serve immediately.

Update: Remade a year later with the addition of banana.

Lemon chiffon

I had a lemon leftover and had no idea what to do with it. Since the orange chiffon was so successful, I decided to adapt it for the lemon recipe. The only difference I made was to increase the sugar.

Ingredients (for 26cm pan)

8 eggs

77g sugar (increased by 20g or 1 tbsp; for yolks)

68.5 ml (¼ C or approx ½ lemon) freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp grated lemon rind (approx 1 lemon)

68.5 ml (¼ C) oil

½ tsp salt

126g cake flour

140g sugar (no change from orange chiffon recipe; for whites)

Method

1) In a medium bowl, beat the yolks and sugar until pale yellow. Add oil and beat till pale.

2) Add the rind and salt. Whisk till distributed.

3) Add the juice and whisk. Add the flour in 2 batches and fold in gently. Set aside.

4) In a very clean big bowl, whisk the eggs till stiff peaks.

5) Add the meringue in 3 batches. The first batch, it is used to loosen the yolk mixture so you don't have to worry about knocking out the air. Ensure no white streaks remain. With the second batch, fold in carefully with the whisk. For the final batch, pour the yolk mixture back into the leftover third of meringue. This time, very carefully fold in using the whisk. Ensure no white streaks remain.

6) Pour from a 10cm height into the prepared pan. Use the spatula to trace around the inner and outer rims to dispel air bubbles. Smooth the top. (Do not drop on the counter top)

7) Bake in 180 deg C oven for 80 minutes. I reduced to 175 deg C after 30 minutes and still tented with foil for the last 20 minutes as it was still browning too fast, maybe because of the extra sugar?

8) Invert out of the oven to cool completely. Unmould once completely cool.

Recipe feedback

- It wasn't unduly sweet with the extra 20g of sugar but neither was the lemony taste very distinct.

- This is the fifth chiffon I've done. This and the orange seemed to brown much faster, probably because I was using a much higher heat than all other chiffons - 180 deg C. I think 175 might be a more appropriate temperature for both recipes but still 80 mins.

Pouring and shape

I've learnt that in all my chiffons, the centre around the chimney seemed to rise much faster than the outside, leading to a dome shape (see the chocolate chiffon which has the most pronounced dome). This means that after turning it over, the cake slants at an odd angle. Also, one website said not to rotate the pan but I've had one other lop-sided (see the coffee chiffon) chiffon with right side higher than the left. 

To combat this, I've learnt to

a) concentrate pouring my batter at the outer rim and let it flow inwards naturally. 

b) rotate the pan halfway through the batter and start pouring from the opposite edge and let the batter meet in the middle.

c) Smooth out the top. Any little peaks/lumps will burn.

Three egg spinach in superior stock

I have tried this recipe many many times but never managed to get it right. I've tried ikan billis, chicken stock, chicken stock cubes, etc. Nothing worked, it just never tasted as delicious as in the restaurants. However, inspired by Italian and Japanese food, I decided to use canned anchovies. I never liked the dried anchovy in the finished product, so this was perfect.

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic, sliced

1 bunch of washed and prepared spinach (enough to feed 4)

1 salted egg, cubed (try not to cut them too small as they will disintegrate)

1 century egg, cubed

1 egg, beaten

2 anchovies, drained of oil and chopped finely

1 dashi packet

½ C water

Method

1) In a bit of oil, fry the garlic until fragrant.

2) Add the dashi to the water and the anchovies. Add in the stalks and cook for 2 minutes, covered. 

3) Add in the spinach leaves, salted egg, and century egg. Cook partially covered for another 2 minutes. Do not fully cover the lid otherwise the leaves will turn an unattractive brown.

4) Drop in the beaten egg (aka egg drop soup method) and partially cover to cook for another minute. Turn off the flame and let the eggs continue to set in the residual heat. 

5) Serve immediately. 

Buttermilk almond hotcakes

I have heard A LOT about buttermilk pancakes, how it's been touted as the best, softest, fluffiest pancakes ever. However, I think I still prefer hotcakes at least in terms of method. The mouthfeel made little difference to me.

I used this recipe from JOC because her recipes have been pretty foolproof. I don't know whether it's really because I used substitute buttermilk rather than 'real' butter milk but it took a lot longer to cook than expected. In the sweltering summer heat, I don't have the patience to stand there in front of the hot stove and sweat while waiting for it to cook at low flame. 

Update 1: I might try a pan with a cover next time but I still need to wait pretty long for it to cook through). 

Update 2: I have renamed this as 'hotcake' rather than pancake because I have found a recipe that produces a much thinner but less cake-like pancake.

Ingredients (feeds 2 people, makes 6*5 inch pancakes)

1 ¼ C flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 beaten egg

pinch of salt

1 ¼ C buttermilk (substitute ratio of 1 cup milk to 1 tbsp acid e.g. lemon juice)

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp almond essence

2 tbsp sugar (reduced from ¼ C sugar)

Method

1) In a pitcher, beat the egg, add the buttermilk, melted butter, and almond extract.

2) In a bowl, mix the dry: the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3) Sift the dry into the wet and fold in with the whisk. (This prevents lumps unlike the usual method of creating a well in the dry, pouring in the wet, and slowly incorporating). This makes a very very thick batter.

4) Warm up the pan and pour in a little oil. Wipe off excess with a kitchen paper. Pour on 1 scoop of the batter from a height of 10 cm. This creates the round shape.

5) Turn down the flame to medium low heat otherwise the bottom will burn before the inside is cooked. This takes much longer to cook than hotcakes and dorayaki pancakes. 

6) Unlike all the latter but similar to crepes and pancakes, flip when bubbles appear on the top. Do not press down.

7) Serve hot immediately.