Flourless Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake Trial #1

I join a group on Facebook called Baking Wonderland, and people pose all kinds of delicious food photos all the time. This cheesecake recipe comes from Baking Wonderland. What caught my eyes was that it uses only 3 simple ingredients: cream cheese, chocolate and eggs. Yes, very simple. Flourless and oil free too. Original 6-inch cake recipe calls for 3 eggs, 120g cream cheese and 120g chocolate. Since I don’t have 6-inch cake pan, 1 block of cream cheese in U.S. is 220g, and 1 package of chocolate chips is 10 oz, I figure I will just kinda double up the recipe to fit my 9-inch cake pan , and conveniently save my time measuring the amount of cream cheese and chocolate chips.

Why trial #1? Well, because this is a VERY simple recipe (we tend to like simple works don’t we all?). And who doesn’t like chocolate?? Plus, I made a boo boo this time during baking– I was supposed to turn off the oven and let the cake sit in the oven for another 15 minutes after baking at 300°F, but I forgot to turn off the oven heat!! So my cake baked an extra 15 minutes at the end, creating a cracked cake top. 😦

I could hardly wait for the cake to chill so I could try the taste. But… uh oh! The cake was a lot denser than I expected, and it was just too crumbly– I just couldn’t make a nice cut at all.  My mood went straight down to the bottom. The taste was good though– rich creamy chocolaty with a tangy flavor from the cream cheese. At the end, we finished this big piece of “chocolate crumbs”. Consider its simplicity, I might try making it again.

Flourless Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake Trial #1

Flourless Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake Trial #1– crumbs, crumbs, crumbs…

Flourless Chocolate Souffle Cheesecake (makes one 9-inch round cake)

Ingredients:

Egg yolk mixture:
8 oz. (1 block) cream cheese– room temperature
10 oz (1 package) bittersweet chocolate chips
5 egg yolks– room temperature

Egg white mixture:
5 egg whites– room temperature
1/4 tsp cream of tartar or fresh lemon juice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Arrange oven rack to lower 2/3 (so the cake bakes in the middle of the oven). Boil a pot of water.
2. Line the bottom of a  9-inch springform cake pan with parchment paper. Then double wrap the bottom of cake pan with foil (or put cake pan in a larger shallow pan). Prepare another large roasting pan for the water bath.
3. Put cream cheese and chocolate chips in a double boiler over medium heat. Stir until it melts half way. Remove from the heat and continue mixing until all blended well. The mixture will be dense and sticky.
4. Add in egg yolks, one at a time, and mix well to combine. The better will look smoother.
5. Whip egg whites on high speed (KitchenAid Stand Mixer speed 8) until no visible clear egg whites. Add in cream of tartar or lemon juice, continue on high speed (speed 8). When the egg whites become meringue looking, turn down the speed (speed 6) so it whips out big air bubbles, whip for another 2-3 minutes until pointy peak forms.
6. Gently fold in whipped egg whites into egg yolk mixture, in 3 batches, until all blended well. Pour batter into springform pan. Smooth the top.
7. Add boiling water to the roasting pan (water level is about 1-2 inches high), then put cake (if using larger shallow pan: springform cake pan in shallow pan, then together in the roasting pan) in the roasting pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F, for 15 minutes. Then reduce further to 300°F for another 15 minutes. The cake should be done at this point (toothpick/skewer inserted into the cake center should come out clean). Remove from the oven. Cool completely before chilling in the fridge. Served chilled for best flavor.

Read Full Post »

Tiramisu Cake Roll 提拉米蘇蛋糕卷

Tiramisu Cake Roll 提拉米蘇蛋糕卷

Tiramisu Cake Roll 提拉米蘇蛋糕卷

Ingredients:

Four mixture:
6 tbsp cake flour
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp instant espresso coffee powder

Egg yolk mixture:
6 egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp golden rum

Egg white mixture:
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

Filling:
3/4 cup tiramisu cream– see note below

for brushing (mix well, optional):
1 tbsp strong coffee
1 tbsp golden rum

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, place a oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line the bottom and 4 sides of a 15 x 10 x 1 inch jelly roll pan. Combine cake flour mixture.
2. In a big bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar with a balloon whisk until it is pale yellow and fluffy, scrape the bowl several times. Add in milk, oil and salt. Mix well.
3. Sift in cake flour in 3 batches, mix well until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add in rum, mix well again.
4. Whip egg whites in a dry clean mixing bowl (I use KitchenAid stand mixer) on high speed (KA speed 8) until bubbles are small and no visible clear egg whites. Add in cream of tartar and continue whipping on high speed (speed 8). Scrape down the bowl if necessary.
5. When egg whites turns white and the bubbles becomes very tiny, slowly pour in sugar. Continue whipping on high speed (speed 8), scraping down the bowl once, until it has a sheen appearance like a pearl. When you lift the whisk upside down, the egg whites will form a soft curl at the end of the tip (this is called soft peak. If the curl is too much then it’s not ready yet– continue whipping). Turn to low speed (speed 4) and whip for another 1-2 minutes. This is to remove any big bubbles in the egg whites so the cake will have a more delicate, fine texture.
6. Gently fold in whipped egg whites into yolk mixture in 3 batches. Slowly pour batter onto the prepared jelly roll pan. Spread and smooth the top. Tap the pan a couple of times and bake at the middle rack of the oven for 15-18 minutes. Lightly press the top of the cake, if it springs back then the cake is done. Remove from the oven.
7. Transfer the cake (with parchment) onto a cooling rack. Flatten out parchment paper on 4 sides of the cake.
8. When the cake is cooled, place another piece of parchment paper (larger than cake) on top of the cake. Carefully and quickly flip cake and 2 sheets of parchment papers over (so the cake crust will face out when rolled up). Now the cake bottom is facing up. Remove parchment paper liner. Brush coffee+rum mixture on the surface if desired.
9. Spread tiramisu cream evenly on the cake. With the short side facing you, roll up the cake like a jelly roll. Wrap the cake roll in the parchment paper and chill in the fridge before serving.  Before slicing each piece, run knife in hot water and wipe dry with a paper towel to ensure a nice clean cut.

Regina’s Note:

• Tiramisu cream— since cake roll only requires 3/4 cup of tiramisu cream, I don’t border making it purposely. I just save some cream when I make tiramisu for the cake roll.

Read Full Post »

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 巧克力蛋糕卷 (檸檬奶霜餡)

We always have chocolate cake roll with sweetened whipped cream filling, so I decided to experimenting on a new flavor– just because I’ve wanting to get rid of the lemons in my fridge since long long ago. I personally like it for its refreshing taste, but the rest of the family are not a fan of the lemon whipped cream. Oh well, it doesn’t mean I won’t make this filling anymore, because when it comes to food in our house, I RULE (that’s right, Queen of the Chennaults!).

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 檸檬奶霜巧克力蛋糕卷

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 檸檬奶霜巧克力蛋糕卷

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 巧克力蛋糕卷 (檸檬奶霜餡)

Ingredients:
Egg yolk mixture:
6 egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp salt
5 tbsp cake flour
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp hot water

Egg white mixture:
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

Filling:
3/4 cup whipping cream– see note below
4 tbsp powder sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, or adjust to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F, place a oven rack in the middle of the oven. Line the bottom and 4 sides of a 15 x 10 x 1 inch jelly roll pan.
2. In a big bowl, whisk egg yolks and sugar with a balloon whisk until it is pale yellow and fluffy, scrape the bowl several times. Add in milk, oil and salt. Mix well.
3. Sift in cake flour and cake flour in 3 batches, mix well until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add in hot water, mix well again.
4. Whip egg whites in a dry clean mixing bowl (I use KitchenAid stand mixer) on high speed (KA speed 8) until bubbles are small and no visible clear egg whites. Add in cream of tartar and continue whipping on high speed (speed 8). Scrape down the bowl if necessary.
5. When egg whites turns white and the bubbles becomes very tiny, slowly pour in sugar. Continue whipping on high speed (speed 8), scraping down the bowl once, until it has a sheen appearance like a pearl. When you lift the whisk upside down, the egg whites will form a soft curl at the end of the tip (this is called soft peak. If the curl is too much then it’s not ready yet– continue whipping). Turn to low speed (speed 4) and whip for another 1-2 minutes. This is to remove any big bubbles in the egg whites so the cake will have a more delicate, fine texture.
6. Gently fold in whipped egg whites into yolk mixture in 3 batches. Slowly pour batter onto the prepared jelly roll pan. Spread and smooth the top. Tap the pan a couple of times and bake at the middle rack of the oven for 15-18 minutes. Lightly press the top of the cake, if it springs back then the cake is done. Remove from the oven.
7. Transfer the cake (with parchment) onto a cooling rack. Flatten out parchment paper on 4 sides of the cake (see picture below). Cool for 5 minutes until the cake is not too hot to touch.
8. Place another piece of parchment paper (larger than cake) on top of the cake. Carefully and quickly flip cake and 2 sheets of parchment papers over (so the cake crust will face out when rolled up). With the long side facing you, roll up the cake like a jelly roll (see picture below). This is to hold the shape while cooling and make rolling up later easier.
9. While the cake is cooling, prepare fillings by whipping cream, powder sugar and lemon juice. Do not over whip (the mixture will start looks clumps) or it will becomes butter (in this case, just add in a little whipping cream and whip again).
10. Unroll cooled cake, spread lemon whipped cream onto the cake, with a very thin layer of whipped cream at the end of the cake. Roll up the cake again, then wrap up with parchment paper or cling wrap. Chill in the fridge before serving. Before slicing each piece, run knife in hot water and wipe dry with a paper towel to ensure a nice clean cut.

Regina’s Note:

• Whipping cream: As you can see from the pictures, I used too much whipping cream… should cut down to 1/2 cup whipping cream.

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 檸檬奶霜巧克力蛋糕卷

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 檸檬奶霜巧克力蛋糕卷– cooling the cake on a rack. Why does it have a wrinkled top crust?

Chocolate Cake Roll with Lemon Whipped Cream 檸檬奶霜巧克力蛋糕卷– rolling up the cake and parchment papers while it’s still warm to hold the shape.

Read Full Post »