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Baked Baileys Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

This Baked Baileys Cheesecake is literally the BEST cheesecake that I’ve ever tasted! It has the smoothest and creamiest Baileys mascarpone and cream cheese filling with an Oreo Crust. The buttery Oreo cookies base complement perfectly with velvety taste of Baileys. And the best thing is – this baked cheesecake doesn’t require a water bath and is super easy to make!

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base6

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base



I am always, ALWAYS, keen to add alcohol into my desserts to make them a little bit naughty and sexy to eat. Click on the links below to check them out:

– Guinness Double Chocolate Brownie 
– Milk Chocolate Banana Mousse Cake with Rum 
– Lemon Curd Limoncelle Eclair 
– Coffee liqueur Double Chocolate Hazelnut Muffin 
– Tiramisu Mille Crepe Cake

Baileys is one of my favourite liqueur (to kill my sweet cravings at night) and it goes perfectly with a cheesecake. You might want to check out my Baileys Hazelnut Dark Chocolate Mousse Cup for a party dessert idea.

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base2

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base7

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base

Tips of making the perfect baked cheesecake!

To perfect a baked cheesecake, there’re a couple things to take note of:

  1. Bake at LOWER temperature for a LONGER period of time – baking cheesecake at a low temperature is crucial to cooking the filling steadily and evenly, which achieves the creamy and smooth texture. Last thing that we want is to overcook the filling or to burn the top.  I baked my cheesecake at 140C for 90 mins  and I think it is a good setting that cooks the cheesecake nicely and still achieve that golden colour top crust.
  2. Cream the cheese and sugar well. To make your cheesecake smooth and creamy, you don’t want to have cream cheese lumps or undissolved sugar in the batter. Therefore, do take the time to beat the cheese and sugar on medium high speed (while scraping the side of the mixing bowl once in a while) to attain a pale, fluffy cheese sugar mixture before adding the eggs.
  3. Do NOT over-aerate the eggs when mixing. One big difference between a chilled cheesecake  and a baked cheesecake, is that while gelatine usually is the setting agent, there’re eggs in a baked cheesecake to set. But make sure that you only gently fold in the eggs in the cheesecake with a spatula (not a whisk), because you don’t want to over-aerate the eggs or the cheesecake will expand too much during baking.
  4. Cool the baked cheesecake slowly after baked. When it comes to baked cheesecake, we are all so scared that the cheesecake is going to crack during the cool down process. But don’t worry! To avoid the cheesecake from cracking, you simply have to avoid sudden temperature change and cool the cake gradually. I usually would turn off the oven and leave the cake inside the oven to cool down for 30 mins, before taking it out to room temperature for another 30 mins, before putting it in the fridge.

Baked Bailyes Cheesecake with Oreo Base4



Ingredients:

For the cheesecake

  • 500g cream cheese
  • 250g mascarpone cheese
  • 250g caster sugar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp baileys
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 360ml sour cream

Oreo Cookie Base

  • 250g crushed Oreo (after filling removed)
  • 100g melted unsalted butter

Instructions :

  1. Put a parchment paper on a baking tray. Put a 8inch cake ring on the baking tray and set aside to use.
  2. Take out the fillings from the Oreo cookies with a butter knife (you can keep the filling for other uses), and process the cookies in a food process into fine crumbs.
  3. Melt butter in the microwave (carefully, butter explores very quickly if left unattended).
  4. Mix the butter and the Oreo crumbs well. Press it inside the cake ring as the cake base with the back of a spoon until even and flat. Put in the fridge to set.
  5. Preheat Oven to 140C
  6. Using an electrical mixer, beat cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, salt, and sugar with a paddle attachment on medium high speed (while scraping the side of the bowl occasionally) for around 5-8 mins until smooth and fluffy.
  7. Add in baileys and vanilla bean paste and beat for 30 seconds.
  8. Put the eggs and egg yolk in a bowl, use a whisk to lightly break them down. Then pour it over the cheese mixture, fold the eggs in with a spatula until incorporated.
  9. Fold in the sour cream with a spatula until incorporated.
  10. Pour the batter into the prepared cake ring and bake at 140C for approximately 90mins. Time may vary depending on your oven and other factors. A baked cheesecake is ready when the side is puffed up and turned golden brown, while the centre would slightly jiggle when you shake the baking tray. When it is ready, turn off the oven, open the oven door for 15 seconds, then close the door and leave the cake inside the oven for 30 mins. Take it out from the oven and let cool in room temperature for another 30 mins. Keep it in the fridge for at least 3 hour s for it to fully set. Enjoy!
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Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope all the mothers in the world get the love that they deserve and feel extra special today. I cannot be physically be there with my family so this banana milk chocolate mousse cake is dedicated to my mum who has been loving, caring and supportive to her children.

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake

This Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake is what I call a classic beauty – it has a soft & fluffy chocolate sponge soaked in rum syrup, layered between is a smooth milk chocolate mousse filled with fresh banana pieces and chocolate crumbs. For decorations, I used ladyfingers dipped in Milk Chocolate, Vanilla Beans Chantilly and Pistachio Praline Sprinkles (recipe can be found here). A bite into this cake, you get so many layers of taste and texture. There’s nothing too complicated about it but everything just works well together. Even if you’re just a amateur in baking, I am sure you can nail this cake (if you read the instructions well, haha).

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum
Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum

I created this recipe based on the Banana Chocolate Cake recipe by the Cooking Tree with some personal twists put on it. I have been a big fans of her desserts for a while now, as she has such a clean and simple approach to cakes that I absolutely admire. If you observe closely, there’s a lot to learn even though there isn’t one single spoken instruction in the videos. Her recipes give me a lot of inspirations and I can’t thank enough for her youtube tutorials.

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum

One thing that I want to say is that making the sponge and mousse might seem easy, but they have to treated very carefully and gently. Be sure that you don’t over-mix the cake batter or over-whip the mousse, or they can turn into disaster. I hope you enjoy this Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake and again Happy Mother’s Day!

Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum
Banana Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake with Rum

Ingredients:

Chocolate Sponge:
– 150g whole eggs
– 85g sugar
– 20g honey
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 75g cake flour
– 10g cocoa powder
– 25g melted butter
– 40g milk

Milk Chocolate Mousse:
– 200g pure cream
– 100g milk chocolate, melted
– 1 tbsp dark rum
– 2 bananans

Chocolate Crumbs:
– 100g caster sugar
– 100g all purpose flour
– 60g cocoa powder
– 5g corn starch
– 1 tsp salt
– 85g unsalted butter, melted

Rum Syrup:
– 50g water
– 25g sugar
– 1 tbsp rum

Vanilla Beans Chantilly Cream:
– 200g pure cream
– 20g caster sugar
– 1 tsp vanilla beans paste

Decorations:
– LadyFingers dipped in Milk Chocolate
– Pistachio Praline
– Banana Pieces

Instructions:

Chocolate Sponge:
1. Preheat oven to 170C. Grease and line a 8inch cake pan and set aside.
2. Put eggs, sugar, honey, vanilla, extract in a mixing bowl and heat while whisking continuously on a Bain Marie (double boiler), until the mixture reaches 40C. With an electric mixer, whip the heated egg mixture with a whisk attachment on high speed until pale and fluffy to make sabayon (i.e. ribbon stage).
3. While the egg is whipping, sift cake flour, cocoa powder into a mixing bowl, and set aside.
4. Fold in the flour mixture into whipped egg mixture GENTLY with a spatula, until most four is not visible.
5. Put 2 tbsp of the cake batter into the melted butter, and mix until fully incorporated (this step is to let the butter attain a similar consistency with the cake batter, to ensure better incorporation). Then pour the butter mixture and the milk into the whole cake batter. Fold in gently until incorporated (do not over-mix to avoid knocking out all the air).
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake at 170C for 20-25 mins, until the cake spins back when you press on it gently.

Chocolate Crumbs (recipe by Christina Tosi):
1. Preheat oven to 150C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Put sugar, flour, cocoa powder, corn starch and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed for 3 mins.
3. Pour melted butter into it until buttery crumbs are just formed. Do not over-mix or it will turn into a paste.
4. Spread the crumbs evenly onto the prepared baking tray. Bake at 150C for 20-15 mins. Set aside until ready to use.

Milk Chocolate Mousse:
1. Melt chocolate on bain marie or by microwave. Let cool for 5 mins.
2. Put pure cream and melted chocolate in a mixing bowl, whisk by hand until soft peak. Set aside in fridge.

Rum Syrup:
1. Put water and sugar in a small saucepan and bring it to boil. Off heat and and add in the rum. Set aside until ready to use.

Vanilla beans Chantilly:
1. Put pure cream, caster sugar and vanilla bean paste into a mixing bowl, and whisk until medium peak. This step can be done after the cake has been refrigerated for at least 2 hours.

Assembly:
1. Cut the sponge evenly into two layers with a serrated knife. Use a 6-inch metal cake ring to cut off the edge of the cake and get two 6-inch cake sponge sheets.
2. Put one layer of cake sheet into 6-inch metal cake ring as the base. Brush some rum syrup onto the cake to make it moist.
3. Cut bananas to get 5-7 pieces of the same size (you should determine the length of the banana pieces by putting it onto the cake sheet, the top of the banana piece should be 1cm below the top of the cake ring). Place the bananas, while allowing gaps to insert the chocolate mousse, onto the cake sheet,
4. Fill up the gaps with the milk chocolate mousse and use a off-set spatula to smoothen the top. Sprinkles Chocolate crumbs onto the mousse evenly.
5. Place the second cake sheet on, press slightly to let it stick, and brush rum syrup on.
6. Wrap the cake with plastic and put in refrigerator to set for 2-3 hours.
7. When the cake is set, carefully lift up the meal cake ring. Dip Lady Fingers in melted chocolate and immediately stick on the side of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for 10 mins for the chocolate to set. Pipe chantilly cream and put on banana and pistachio praline to decorate. Enjoy!

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Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache

This ginger lemon naked cake with lemon swiss meringue buttercream frosting, ginger molasses cookies, and caramelised white chocolate ganache is scrumptiously packed with the delightful aroma of ginger and lemon. It’s a treat that shall be enjoyed around the year! 

Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache2Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache6

I made this cake to celebrate my friend’s and my 23rd birthday together. Yes, however reluctant I want to deny it, I just turned 23 and I don’t want time to pass so quickly just yet. Anyway, I had one mission for myself and that is the fact that this cake’s flavour profile had to revolve around her duo favourites: ginger and lemon.  Of course, it would be a crime not to add some soft, chewy ginger molasses cookies to the party. Given the cake’s Christmas vibe, It seems a bit early to make this post but hey, don’t forget there’s “Christmas in July” in Australia so I might as well jump on the bandwagon. That said, my friend, who is always my creative muse, did the cookie antlers and they look absolutely amazing. 

I don’t post pictures of myself here often but I guess birthday is a pretty good excuse huh? 

Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache10

The cake itself is addictively delicious – it is buttery, moist and rich with a hint of freshness. To be honest, it’s hard for this flavour combination to go wrong. Let’s talk about a classic ginger cake with tangy lemon icing that you wouldn’t miss at Christmas time. 

Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache9

Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache4

To make the cake a little bit more interesting, I decided to caramelised white chocolate ganache as the dripping. Why caramelised? I find white chocolate itself too sweet, but caramelising the chocolate makes it taste deeper and toasty. You may want to use a good quality white chocolate with a high cocoa butter percentage for this job. In case you’re wondering, I simply flipped the cake over when the ganache has set on the cake, and you can have this cool reverse drip effect. I hope you all enjoy the cake if you make it! 

Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache5

Ginger Lemon Naked Cake with Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Ginger Molasses Cookies and Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache8

Ingredients:

Ginger Lemon Cake

  • 380g all purpose flour
  • 4 tsp ground ginger 
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon 
  • 1 tsp salt 
  • 2 tsp baking powder 
  • 1 tsp baking soda 
  • 400g unsalted butter, softened 
  • 200g brown sugar
  • 250g molasses
  • 4 eggs, room temperature 
  • 180ml milk
  • 120ml sour cream
  • 1 lemon, zest and juice of

Ginger Molasses Cookie

  • 270g all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger 
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves 
  • 1/2 tsp salt 
  • 170g unsalted butter, softened
  • 150g brown sugar 
  • 80g molasses 
  • 1 egg, room temperature 

Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream 

  • 150g egg white
  • 225g caster sugar 
  • Pinch of cream of tar tar 
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice 
  • 1 Lemon, zest of 
  • 350g unsalted butter, room temperature

Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache 

  • 100g good quality white chocolate, broken into small pieces
  • 150g pure cream 
  • 15g soften unsalted butter 

Instructions:

For the ginger lemon cake
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C)
  2. Line three 6-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
  3. In a mixing bowl, thoroughly sift in and combine flour,   ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This is your dry ingredients.
  4. In another mixing bowl, using an electric beater, beat butter, brown sugar and molasses at a medium-high speed until well combined and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, to the mixture, and continue to beat until well incorporated. Scrap the bowl when necessary. Add lemon zest, lemon juice, sour cream and milk and mix until incorporated. 
  5. Add the prepared dry ingredients into the mixture in three batches. Stir gently with a spatula to combine everything until no flour can be seen. Avoid over-mixing.
  6. Pour the mixture evenly into the three prepared cake tins. Tap the pans several times to break any air bubbles. Bake for around 35 -40  mins, or until a toothpick inserted in the cake’s centre comes out clean.
  7. Cool the cake for 15 minutes in their pans, then take them out and put them onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
  8. When the cakes are cooled completely, use a serrated knife to trim the top of each cake until they are all of the same height (around 2-2.5cm), and the top is levelled and smooth. Set aside until ready to use. 
For the Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream
  1. Add egg whites and sugar to an oil-free bowl. Using a double boiling method, gently heat the egg whites mixture up, while whisking constantly, until temperature reaches 60C (140F).  The sugar should have completely dissolved at this stage.
  2. Add the hot egg white-sugar mixture to your electric mixer mixing bowl (oil-free). Add cream of tar tar to it and whip on high speed until the meringue is thick and glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels cool. This will take about 7-10 mins.
  3. Turn to medium-high speed, gradually add the softened butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated. Scrap the bowl when necessary.The buttercream may split at first but panic, just continue beating until a silky smooth texture is reached. Add lemon juice and zest, and beat until well combined. 
  4. Put the buttercream in a piping bag with a round nozzle until ready to use. 
Ginger Molasses Cookies
  1. Preheat the oven to 175C (350F).
  2. In a mixing bowl, thoroughly sift in and combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt. These are your dry ingredients. 
  3. In another mixing bowl, using an electric beater, beat butter, brown sugar, and molasses on medium high speed for 4-5 mins until pale and creamy. 
  4. Add egg  to the mixture, and continue to beat at medium speed until well mixed. 
  5. Add the prepared dry ingredients. Beat for another 1-2 mins until well incorporated. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 mins until it firms up a bit for easy rolling later. 
  6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  7. After refrigeration, roll the chilled dough into balls, 40g each, and space each one about 2-inches apart on the sheet to allow space for spreading. Flatten the dough a bit with a spoon or your palm. Feel free to reserve some dough to make the butlers or any other shapes to your liking. 
  8. Bake for 8-10 mins (depending on thickness and shape, don’t overbake). The cookies will feel soft when out of the oven but it will account for the chewiness when they cool down. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Caramelised White Chocolate Ganache
  1. Preheat your oven to 120C (250F). 
  2. Break your white chocolate Into small pieces and place them in a baking tray. Bake for 10 mins. Remove from oven and use a spatula to spread the chocolate into an even layer. 
  3. Continue to bake and stir every 10 mins, for around 30-40 mins until the chocolate has turned caramelised and golden brown. 
  4. Transfer the caramelised white chocolate into a mixing bowl. 
  5. Heat cream in a saucepan and bring it to almost boil. Pour the hot cream onto the chocolate. Let it sit for 2 mins, and whisk until the chocolate emulsifies and becomes completely smooth. 
  6. When the ganache has cooled down to 40C. Whisk in the soften butter until fully incorporated. 
  7. Set aside in room temperature until ready to use.
    *Put the ganache into a squeeze bottle if you have one for easier control 
Assemble
  1. Pipe a dollop of buttercream on the centre of the cake stand and place one cake layer on it to secure it. 
  2. Using your piping bag filled with buttercream, pipe a swirl of buttercream on the cake. Using an off set spatula, spread the buttercream carefully to level it out and top it with the second cake layer. 
  3. Repeat Step 2, and top it with the third cake layer. 
  4. Spread the remaining frosting on top and all around the sides using an offset spatular. Use a large bench scraper to smooth out the frosting on the sides of the cake to create the “naked” effect. *Reserve some for frosting the top after you flip the cake and reserve some more to stick the cookies on the cake* 
  5. Refrigerate the cake for 20-30 mins to set.
  6. When the buttercream is set, it’s time to do the dripping. 
  7. If you have prepared the squeeze bottle, apply appropriate pressure to squeeze out ganache on the edge of the cake and let it drop naturally. Alternatively, you can carefully use a spoon for the job. *please check the consistency of ganache at this step – if it’s too firm, microwave for 10 seconds each time until it reaches the right consistency. If it’s too runny, refrigerate until ready to use. *
  8. When the ganache is set on the cake, carefully flip the cake over and use the remaining buttercream to frost the top.
  9. Break the ginger cookies in pieces and stick it on the side of the cake with the reserved buttercream.
  10. Decorate the cake as you like. I painted my ganache drip with gold paint and I used sprinkles, shredded coconut, and shaved chocolate as the toppings. Enjoy! 
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Creamy Avocado Pesto Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto




Avocado_Pesto_Pasta_with_Prosciutto5

This avocado pesto pasta with crispy prosciutto is super creamy, delicious, and full of nutritional values; basically, the addition of avocado takes the pesto game to a whole new level.

This avocado pesto pasta with crispy prosciutto is super creamy, delicious, and full of nutritional values; basically, the addition of avocado takes the pesto game to a whole new level. The buttery, sweet taste of avocado goes incredibly well with the salty parmesan cheese, and of course, a generous amount of basil leaves would freshen up the overall taste. I made this pasta a while ago but never got the chance to photography it properly. Luckily, this Sunday afternoon, I got my own personal space without school and work and simply enjoyed playing with food in the kitchen (although my peace of mind got disrupted when I accidentally broke my wok’s lid and all the all the glass shattered into a million of pieces..). Oh well.



Avocado_Pesto_Pasta_with_Prosciutto

Avocado_Pesto_Pasta_with_Prosciutto4

Avocado_Pesto_Pasta_with_Prosciutto3

When it comes to savoury, I am all about taste and efficiency, and this pasta dish is no exception. To make the avocado pesto sauce, all you have to do is blend all the ingredients in a food processor until it reaches the consistency you want. I personally wouldn’t go too far on that, because I want to have some texture left to bite on. Toss the sauce with the cooked pasta and you are good to go. To give my pasta little bit of crunch, I also made some crispy prosciutto that complements well with the sauce. Yeap, that’s pretty much it. So if you’re quick, this pasta can be done in 15 mins. Try this recipe and let me know about your thoughts! 🙂 Thanks for reading.

Avocado_Pesto_Pasta_with_Prosciutto2

Ingredients:

  • 2 servings of bowtie pasta

Toppings

  • a few pieces of prosciutto
  • Fresh basil leaves to garnish

Pesto

  • 1 avocado
  • 1/2 lemon, juice of
  • 1 garlic cloves
  • 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
  • 1/3 cup toasted pine nut
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water according to package instruction. Reserve some pasta water. Drain and set aside.
  2. While the pasta is cooking, cook the prosciutto in a sauce pan on medium-high heat until fragrant and crispy. Set aside.
  3. Meanwhile, put all the pesto ingredients (except salt and pepper) in a food processor or blender. Blend until generally smooth (you can retain some texture if you want). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Toss the cooked pasta with the sauce in the sauce pan. If the sauce is too thick, thin it out by adding some reserved pasta water. Serve immediately with the crispy prosciutto and some fresh basil leaves.

Yum




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