“There are only three things in life that matter – good friends, good chocolate and…
… oh dear, what was that other one?”
Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake … does sound like quite a mouthful, but believe me it is A M A Z I N G! Orange and chocolate were made to walk hand in hand, side by side. Baked into a cheesecake, they are even happier! Yesterday I thought of the white, orange and green in my pictures … time to post this special cheesecake!
I was thrilled with the earlier success of the Cherry Yogurt Tart I blogged about not so long ago. Surprisingly enough, it turned out in colours that fitted into the 4th of July, the day I baked it. So, it was posted then. Then a few days later I ventured out in the same direction, now a little more confident.
I added flavours to the recipe, changing it to make it better. A dash of this, a layer of that. Yesterday I noticed that the Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake has colours of the Indian flag! So this is for our Independence Day, August 15th, that is today!!
I was quite pleased with how it turned out {… out of the pan too, so cleanly}. It was for the hosts at a party to see off the dear friend who is finally leaving town. The ifs and buts have been going on forever, and now suddenly the time is here. It’s been one goodbye after another. Somewhere deep down we hope we can hang on to the wings of time!Possible that is obviously not …and farewell day looms larger than life. It’s just round the corner. To cut a long story short, I took the cheesecake for the wonderful hosts that night. I was happy they loved it, and thought it was ‘exquisite‘. It’s nice when you bake something for someone and they appreciate it.This is one recipe that just keeps getting better and better. Immense possibilities, and infinite combinations. I was tempted into ‘orange‘ thanks to a few last kumquats hanging on my tree shrub. They are difficult to ignore, the one bright spot of fruit & foliage in the hot summer. It wasn’t long before I was stirring a TINY batch of marmalade.
So many jars of bitter kumquat marmalade later, you just know that if you throw in this and that, you will end up with marmalade. From a few precious kumquats to kilos of them, I have endlessly enjoyed this tart citrus fruit. You would find several recipes with them on PAB.
That ten minutes of baking two ingredients can result in something like this, is quite amazing. This time around I added a layer of dark chocolate ganache between the biscuit crust and yogurt filling. I remember from last time that the yogurt had made the base slightly moist. I baked the base minimally too. It worked quite well. Ten minutes into the oven, cooled and then chilled, these are great make ahead desserts. Whether you like eggs, or you don’t, this is a wonderful fast track and economical cheesecake. Tastes scrumptious too. Flavour it as you like. Or don’t. Doesn’t matter. The heart is good and full of flavour. A little ‘sugar high’ thanks to the condensed milk, but then thats happiness! I made one large cheesecake and a few small ones for home {for a taste check}. Left us H A P P Y! Some things are so worth it … these Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecakes were just that! Hope you enjoy the recipe. I’ll be working another version sometime soon. Have a Happy Independence Day India!
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Recipe: Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake
Summary: This is one recipe that just keeps getting better and better. Immense possibilities, and infinite combinations. Ten minutes into the oven, cooled and then chilled, these are great make ahead desserts. The Dark Chocolate Orange Yogurt Eggless Cheesecake is a wonderful fast track and economical cheesecake. Scrumptious too.
Kumquat, white and dark chocolate shavings for garnish
Method:
Biscuit Base
Mix the melted butter and the crushed biscuits. Turn into the bottom of the prepared tin and press to form base. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a rectangular 4″ X 14″loose bottomed tart tin {or a 9″ round loose bottomed tart tin}
Choc ganache
Place chocolate and cream in a heatproof bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir well until smooth. Stir in honey and 1 tbsp liqueur {optional}. Leave to cool.
Yogurt filling
Place both yogurts, liqueur and condensed milk in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
Assembling
Spread the ganache over the biscuit base.
Pour the yogurt filling over the ganache and bake in the oven at 180C for 10 minutes only.
Take out of the oven, allow to cool. Then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, or overnight.
“Ice cream is happiness condensed.”
Jessie Lane Adams
Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream… nothing screams more comfort in summer than frozen fruit dessert! I do loads of frozen yogurt every summer. The last week I looked at my fridge full of mangoes and peaches and just knew an ice cream was in the future. There are days when fro yo will satisfy the craving, and then there are days when I want to ‘up the luxury‘. Just a teeny bit. A little cream can do no harm!It was one of those days where a creamy ice cream craving was developing. It began with the trappings of a fro yo, and ended up being a low-fat ice cream. This was such fun to make and absolutely delicious. Maybe next time, we’ll see a nice, rich, full fat ice cream. Maybe!
With stone fruit a plenty this summer, now the monsoon showers are literally drowning North India. As we wade through the streets, I think we’re looking at the last peaches and plums of the season. Cherries have been bid adieu, and peaches look set to follow! Plums appear to be the hardiest of the lot. Mangoes, of course, will be here for a while longer, another month at least. North India has seen a really good stone fruit crop this year. The Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream is a wonderful and delicious way to celebrate it. Creamy, fruity, slight undertones of almond, it turned out bowl licking good. I froze some in a bowl, and piped the rest into kulfi / popsicle molds. I loved how sweetly the popsicles turned out. So easy to serve this way, and such a treat to see the kids greedily lick the sticks even when there was nothing left on them! Coco got lucky with a few licks too!It’s been a satisfying season and I really love how versatile stone fruit are. We’re looking at the fag-end of the season, so I intend to pack in as much as possible … into our tummies, and hopefully onto the blog too!
You can find a variety of Stone Fruit Recipes on PAB. Do you have a favourite stone fruit recipe? I’d love to know!
[print_this]Recipe: Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream
Summary: A refreshing and delicately flavoured low-fat frozen treat. The addition of almond extract gives this Peach Mango Low Fat Ice Cream a special flavour. This is a nice way to preserve excess fruit of summer for later use.
Prep Time: 5 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes plus freezing time Ingredients:
5 peaches, peeled, stoned, diced
2 mangoes, peeled, stoned, diced
200ml low-fat cream, chilled
200g hung yogurt {thick}, chilled
200g castor sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp vodka
few drops almond extract
Method:
This is a Thermomix recipe. You can make it with the same proportions if you have an ice cream maker or by hand too.
Place chopped fruit in a bowl and freeze overnight.
Place cream, yogurt, frozen fruit, vodka, almond extract, lime juice and sugar in bowl of TM. Process for 1 minute at Speed 10 till thick and smooth. Taste and just sugar if required. Process further, scraping sides with TM spatula, until well blended.
Serve immediately or place in freezer safe bowl or pipe into popsicle molds in freezer.
“What is more mortifying than to feel that you have missed the plum for want of courage to shake the tree?” Logan Pearsall Smith
Petite Whole Wheat Plum Cakes … some desserts are so homey and comforting that they hit the right spot. These little cakes fell straight into that category. Simple, earthy, flavourful and above all whole grain. Nothing spectacular to look at, so I didn’t take many photographs. I didn’t have the time too. A few clicks and we all dived in!
Dorie GreenspansBaking With Julia that sweet Suma gifted me is a book I often leaf through. For inspiration, for entertainment, for sheer reading pleasure, the book works every time. There were some oven roasted plum cakes that have inspired mine.
It isn’t easy to hide my love for stone fruits every summer. Peaches, plums, mangoes, cherries … they charm, then entice, they leap off the shelves at the bazaar, they beg me to take them home. We chomp a few, then toss plenty into smoothies. Summer also means fro yo to tease our palettes, and fruit salads that play with our senses. All light & refreshing!!
Abundance of fresh seasonal produce makes summer more than worthwhile. So much so that just turning the oven on in this blistering heat to see stone fruit juices bubble over is a delight. A virtual treat. I often wait with bated breath for ‘the moment’. The juices ooze over and run down the sides. Baking nirvana. Small things, immense pleasure!
These petite whole wheat plum cakes turned out to be hidden gems. Quite unassuming in appearance, yet packed with flavour and texture, the lad immediately asked if he could have another!
A drizzle of low-fat unsweetened cream added to the deliciousness. Alternatively, you could always try some vanilla ice cream or custard on the side.
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Recipe: Petite Whole Wheat Plum Cakes
Summary:Petite Whole Wheat Plum Cakes … some desserts are so homey and comforting that they hit the right spot. These little cakes fell straight into that category. Simple, earthy, flavourful and above all whole grain. Nothing spectacular to look at yet very delicious! Adapted from Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.
Prep Time: 10 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients:
100g butter, room temperature,
100g brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4-5 drops almond extract
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
50g almond meal
3/4 tsp baking soda
50ml buttermilk
5-6 plums, halved
Low fat cream or ice cream to serve
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly grease 10-12 individual muffin tins, or ramekins.
Beat butter and brown sugar until light and mousse like.
Add eggs, vanilla extract and almond extract and beat again.
On low-speed add both flours and baking soda and mix.
Fold in the buttermilk.
Divide batter between prepared tins. Top each with half a pitted plum, cut side up.
Place on a baking sheet and bake at 190C for about 35 minutes / until done.
Leave to cool in tins.
Loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out on serving platter. Serve with a drizzle of low at cream or vanilla ice cream.
“A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch. ” James Bear
Cherry Yogurt Tart. This was a tart that swept me off my feet. It’s adapted from a recipe that keeps popping up on and off on blogs. With the flood of recipes to try, one tends to get lost and lose priority. Is it just me? Well this tart or pie {not sure which category it fell into} had been kept waiting too long. This turned out to be a tart, not a pie as most blogs call it. The Kitchn has a neat piece on Pie vs Tart…
A pie is a sweet or savory dish with a crust and a filling. The sides of a pie dish or pan are sloped. It can have a just a bottom, just a top, or both a bottom and a top crust. Pies are served straight from the dish in which they were baked.
A tart is a sweet or savory dish with shallow sides and only a bottom crust. The goal is a firm, crumbly crust. Tarts are baked in a pan with a removable bottom, or in pastry ring on top of a baking sheet so that it can be unmolded before serving.
There are several references to the recipe across the net. The origins are quite blurred. Most folk talk about the recipe being handed down from a great aunt and having got it from a friend. The ingredients are the same. Strangely enough all it takes to make it is a pie crust or tart bottom, yogurt and condensed milk. {It’s vegetarian too. No eggs, no gelatin}
I had some yogurt draining in the fridge to make fro yo. It’s the season for frozen goodies but I had a really full freezer that day. So I thought cheesecake with summer fruit. A friend had recently reached out to me for a baked eggless cheesecake recipe. That was still playing in my head. {Hiral, this cherry yogurt tart is very close to a baked eggless cheesecake. We loved it!! I thought of you throughout.}
With muddled thoughts I figured images might inspire me, so I began googling for images … and BINGO! There it was. Just the perfect tart or pie with ingredients that I had on hand, well almost. What ‘clinched’ the deal was that I had a loose bottomed rectangular tart pan that Sous Chef had used. She really turned out a stunner.
Strange tart this. It’s a little unbelievable that you can turn out a set tart with just two basic ingredients with 10 minutes of baking. Defies logic. Yet, my recent tryst with the Simplest & Best Dark Chocolate Mousse that used two ingredients convinced me otherwise. I thought, “If that was sensational, this might well surprise too. ”
And surprise it certainly did! Within 10 minutes of baking, it was a little firm to touch. I gently pulled it out of the oven to cool it on the rack and was scared to spill the filling. It hung on in there. ’twas a long overnight wait and once the kids were on the bus, I RACED to demold it. Looked on in amazement as it was firm.
My only concern is the biscuit base which didn’t remain very crisp. Most recipes refer to ‘tennis biscuits‘ which were new for me. Some more googling pointed towards South Africa where these biscuits are firm favourites. I think graham crackersmight work a little better than the ginger nut cookies I used. So with a tart tin from Sydney {one of my favourite buys to date}, a recipe with two basic ingredients, some balsamic roasted cherries in the fridge, I put together this tart. With my sis visiting from the US, being the 4th today, I thought I’d give the yogurt tart some blue and red too. Frozen blueberries which I bought to try locally {very disappointing} and white sprinkles did the trick!!
The verdict was ‘high fives’ all around. The texture and taste of the Cherry Yogurt Tart is very close to a cheesecake, and leaves you wanting for more. {Very satisfying in Mr PABs words}.
[print_this]Recipe: Cherry Yogurt Tart
Summary: As simple as a tart can get, this Cherry Yogurt Tart is one of the fastest and sweetest ways to a quick dessert. A make ahead tart that sets amazingly, is eggless and uses two basic ingredients for the filling, is quite magical. Adapted from Sous Chef
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 25 minutes plus chilling Ingredients:
200g ginger nut cookies, crushed
100g melted butter
350g hung yogurt, thick
150g regular yogurt
1 tin condensed milk
2 tsp Kirsch {optional}
Method:
Mix the melted butter and the crushed biscuits. Turn into the bottom of the prapared tin and press to form base. Chill for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a rectangular 4″ X 14″loose bottomed tart tin {or a 9″ round loose bottomed tart tin}
Place both yogurts and condensed milk with Kirsch if using in a large bowl and whisk until smooth.
Pour over the chilled biscuit base and place in the oven for 10 minutes only.
Take out of the oven, allow to cool. Then chill in the fridge for a couple of hours, or overnight.
Top with fresh fruit, balsamic cherries, or just serve as is.
“It could be argued that there is an element of entertainment in every pie, as every pie is inherently a surprise by virtue of its crust.”
Janet Clarkson
Crack Pie … sweet indulgence. This is Momofukus trademark pie, a classic as craveable as the name implies, one that guarantees an instant sugar high. For once, this is just pure decadence in a sweet sort of way. Nothing healthy about it other than the oats in the base maybe. Yet it’s a pie you have to try. It’s one I watched bloggers make and celebrate ecstatically when Momofuku’s Milk came out in 2011.
Rachael frompizzarossa was our lovely June 2013 Daring Bakers’ host and she had us whipping up delicious pies in our kitchens! Cream pies, fruit pies, chocolate pies, even crack pies! There’s nothing like pie!
I had the book on my wish list back then. Somehow never bought it. Had this pie bookmarked. For some reason never made it. Life took over and I forgot about it. Much water flowed under the bridge. Then came this challenge. I was ecstatic when I read “Life of Pie” . What’s not to love?
I made a delicious Strawberry Pie some time back using a pie bird. That was around the time Life of Pi was winning Oscars galore. I really enjoyed making that, yet I enjoyed this challenge more. More so after my recent bout of Smoothie madness, Crack Pie indulgence felt well deserved!
Such an unassuming sweet pie to make. With a name like this, Crack Pie seems enticing. Interpret the name as you like, but the result is the same … an all time delicious sugar high! In the best meaning possible way, {crack adjective. first-rate, splendid} this very rich, chewy, sweet-salty crack pie in an oat cookie crust fits right in!
Bon Appetit says about Crack Pie, “Anyone who has taken a bite of this Milk Bar best seller immediately knows the reason for the sassy name. Once you start eating this rich, salty-sweet pie with its oat cookie crust, you won’t be able to stop.” A thick, chewy crust filled with an outrageously sweet gooey filling, it’s a wicked sugar-rush. You’ll want small servings!
I bookmarked this the minute I saw the DB challenge. I just knew I would make mini crack pies. I had to! But I procrastinated. So much continues to happen and I finally got my oat crust going on the 26th! Of course I didn’t take into account that the pie needs an overnight rest. That might explain this slightly delayed posting, but I loved making it.
The idea of baking a huge giant sized oat cookie for the crust was entirely charming. It seemed like such fun though I was a bit unsure of a crisp cookie as my cookie batter was a bit soft. Happily enough, it baked up a yummy giant crisp cookie. A little nibble and I knew it should be crumbled asap. So addictive that it might not have lasted otherwise.
Most pictures of the pie online are like ugly duckling pies so I knew there was nothing fancy in the looks department. I did manage to make rustic little versions though. I loved them … plain, simple, whimsical, sweet, chewy, quintessentially Momofuku.
The pie i
It’s a simple pie. A little mix here and there and it’s ready for the oven. A few changes? Yes of course. I didn’t have milk powder so added a spoon of cocoa instead. Also a scraped vanilla bean because I feared eggy aromas from the 4 yolks. And as always, low fat cream instead of whipping cream. Everything worked beautifully!
I wasn’t sure the little pies would leave the tins happily the next day, but they obliged sweetly after a little prodding. So here are my little crack pies, ones I absolutely loved making. I waited for the babies to be ‘delivered‘ with a baited breath. This was one of my more fun DB challenges as I had dreamt of making Crack Pie for long. I wish I had more time, but then I’ve made many pies before.
Thank you Rachael for offering us the delicious Life of Pie. I loved the challenge, especially that you chose Crack Pie as one of the four. Thank you as always Lisa ofLa Mia CucinaandIvonne of Cream Puffs in Venicefor hosting this fabkitchen!! Do stop byhere to dig into more sweet pies!
[print_this]Recipe: Crack Pie
Summary: Crack Pie … sweet indulgence. This is Momofukus trademark pie, a classic as craveable as the name implies, one that guarantees an instant sugar high. For once, this is just pure decadence in a sweet sort of way.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes {plus an overnight chill} Ingredients:
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (80 gm) old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup (70 gm) all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Filling
3/4 cup (170 gm) white sugar
1/2 cup (packed) (100 gm) brown sugar
1 tablespoon (8 gm) cocoa {or dry milk powder}
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (115gm) unsalted butter, melted, cooled slightly
6 1/2 tablespoons (100ml) low fat cream
4 large egg yolks
1 vanilla bean scraped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting
Method:
Oat Cookie Crust
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to moderate 180°C. Line a 13x9x2 inch/33x22x5cm metal baking pan with parchment (baking) paper. Lightly spray or butter 8 3″ mini removable base pie dishes {or a 9 inch/22cm diameter glass or ceramic pie dish}.
Combine 6 tablespoons (85 gm) of the softened butter, 4 tablespoons (50 gm) of the brown sugar and the white sugar in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add egg and beat until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute.
Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute.
Dump oat mixture into prepared baking pan and press out evenly to edges of pan.
Bake until light golden, 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to wire rack and cool cookie completely, about an hour.
Using your fingertips, crumble the cookie a into large bowl – there should be no identifiable pieces of cookie remaining. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 gm) butter and 1-1/2 tablespoons (20 gm) brown sugar. Rub in with your fingertips until the mixture is moist and sticks together when pressed between your fingers.
Transfer cookie crust mixture to pie dish. Using your fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish (about 1 inch/2.5cm up the sides if your pie dish is deep). If your pie dish is shallow, place it on a baking sheet in case of overflow.
Filling
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to moderate 180°C. If possible, use bottom-only heat, or the filling may brown too quickly.
Whisk both sugars, cocoa {or milk powder if using}, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Add melted butter and whisk until blended.
Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended.
Pour filling into crust.
Bake 20 minutes {30 for 1 big pie}. (filling may begin to bubble up). Reduce oven temperature to 160°C. Continue to bake until filling is brown on top and set around edges but center still jiggles slightly, about 20 minutes longer.
Cool pie completely in pie dish on wire rack. Chill uncovered overnight.
Sift powdered sugar lightly over top of pie. Cut pie into thin wedges and serve cold.
“Only one thing is certain about coffee…. Wherever it is grown, sold, brewed, and consumed, there will be lively controversy, strong opinions, and good conversation.”
Mark Pendergrast
Layered Coffee & Cream Cake. It was that time of the year again. June already here and almost gone. With it, another birthday. Before you know it, the years gallop by. From what was a tiny knee kissing, naughty toddler, to an even naughtier, much taller, cookie & brownie monster cum food loving teenager, time does fly! How they change, the challenges they offer, and yet the smile that seems to make things easier!
Sometimes I wish we could have hung on to those days where life seemed simpler. Then again, teenagers are mixed packages. You never know when the next surprise is going to hit you. In many ways, the challenges keep us on our toes. And in even more ways, quite exhausted.
Nothing can prepare you enough…. nothing! That said, there are good times galore too! Who could have thought ‘he‘ would write poems? Now he has a blogthat pops out a poem, sometimes few and far between, but does! I would have never expected him to play mother to the dog. He does.
My first choice of cake for his summer birthday is always a fruit based one. With summer threatening to singe us as the earth is literally on fire, stone fruit are true saviours. The colours, the lure, the juiciness … You will find a abundance of stone fruit recipes here on PAB.
Unfortunately we flew in really late from Calcutta the evening before his birthday and the loads of laundry took its toll. There was no way I was going grocery shopping. Thought I’d do a Bittersweet Fallen Chocolate Gateau but that wouldn’t offer an element of surprise. I like the air of expectancy around birthday cakes at home. Makes it so much fun!
The lack of time made me think coffee. Cake of any kind, flavour, texture is welcome. Chocolate was my first choice but the Camisoni coffee extract helped me decide. The deep heady aroma of coffee that emanated from the bottle sent me packing to make a coffee genoise. Coffee is something we all LOVE!A four egg cake is never enough for birthdays. Keeping in mind ‘forever hungry for seconds’ teenagers, I whipped up two coffee flavoured genoise sponges. My love for coffee has been inherited by both the kids. Often their natural choice for dessert when we go out is anything with coffee!
What shall I say about the end result? It was so good that we couldn’t get enough of it. It got over before we knew it. Seconds yes, but there was no chance for thirds {as the birthday boy rued!}. If I had had the energy and the ‘get up and go‘ the next day, IF, I would have happily whipped up another.
I’ve done the genoise sponge before for my birthday a few years ago. That is one of my favourite cakes, an Espresso Coffee Cream Cake. A while later there came about anotherdelicious combination with coffee genoise sponge and chocolate quark. The latter sounded strange when I made it, but tasted great!
So here we go, sharing some deliciousness with this coffee laced cake. And in case you’ve missed it, Camisoni has a giveaway of their extracts on Passionate About Baking. Do stop by for a minute if you’d like to be part of it.
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Recipe: Layered Coffee & Cream Cake
Summary: If you love coffee, then this Layered Coffee & Cream Cake is the cake for you. Deep, divine, addictive coffee flavours of the coffee genoise and coffee cream combine with a dark chocolate ganache, promising to make this an unforgettable experience. Prep Time: 15 minutes
