Tag: cream cheese

Almond meringue gateau with mango cream cheese filling.

This was inspired by a recipe I saw in one of my recipe books. The original recipe called for hazelnuts, raspberries and whipped cream filling, but obviously, as the title has indicated….I replaced them with almonds, mangoes and cream cheese.

I used almonds because it’s cheaper than hazelnuts and I happened to have them in the pantry. Same goes for mangoes.

As for the filling, although I had whipped cream, I thought it might render the meringue a bit too damp by the time I delivered it to Old Klang Road (where a bunch of us were having dinner) so I replaced it with cream cheese, which tasted like, oh I don’t know, 100 times better? Hahahaha.

# – Almond meringue gateau with mango cream cheese filling.

It should be quite stress-free to make this gateau but for some unknown reason, baking luck was not with me.

The recipe called for 4 egg whites…but I managed to waste about 7 eggs due to “reason of multiple yolk explosions in hand” before I managed to successfully separate 4 eggs. So yeah, total number of eggs used were 11, instead of just four :P

/hangs head in shame…

And then, believe it or not, I managed to burn my first batch of meringues. I’m guessing hazelnuts have higher burning temperature compared to almonds because my attempt to bake almond meringues at the temperature stated by the original recipe resulted in two burnt discs of rancidness.

/hangs head in shame again…

As dinner time was approaching quickly, I had to whip up a new batch of meringues at lightning speed. Thankfully, an almost yolk explosion incident was successfully averted and I even had the rare brilliance of turning the oven’s temperature down, resulting in perfectly baked almond meringues.

Final count of eggs used: 15.

Anyway, enough with the sob stories, lets begin on how to make this delicious pudding!

For the meringues:

  • 4 egg whites
  • 180 grams of caster sugar
  • A few drops of vanilla essence
  • 1 teaspoon of vinegar
  • 120 grams of ground almonds

For the filling:

  • 2 mangoes, peeles and cut into small cubes
  • 1 tablespoon of icing sugar
  • 300 grams of cream cheese, softened
  • 5 tablespoons of yogurt

# – First, beat the egg whites until fluffy and then gradually add in the caster sugar while still beating.

# – When the mixture has turned glossy, add the vanilla essence.

# – Followed by the vinegar. I used malt vinegar in this case. Beat for about 10 seconds more.

# – Next, fold in the ground almond.

# – Gently stir until combined.

# – Separate mixture into two 8″ pie/cake tins. I used non-stick silicon baking moulds but you can greased ordinary tins and lined them with non-stick baking paper.

# – Stick into preheated oven at 135 degrees celcius for about 40 minutes to 1 hour. Always check to make sure your oven’s not too hot to avoid burning. The final result should be slightly browned.

# – When done, leave the meringues out to cool down completely.

# – In the meantime, beat softened cream cheese and yogurt together until smooth.

# – Add a tablespoon of icing sugar to balance out the tartness.

# – Then throw in the cubed mangoes.

# – Gently fold to combine. The mango cream cheese filling is now done. I don’t recommend sticking it in the fridge as it’ll be hard to spread chilled cream cheese.

# – When the meringues have completely cooled down, place one piece on a serving plate and then spread the mango cream cheese filling all over.

# – Next, top with the other piece of almond meringue and dust icing sugar all over. Chill in the fridge for at least one hour. It tastes better chilled.

# – Almond meringue gateau with mango cream cheese filling, DONE!

The gateau is a combination of crispiness, nuttiness and crumbliness with the most decadent, almost savoury cream cheese filling. It is a true adult’s dessert. I brought the gateau to a dinner outing, which will explain the sudden change of lighting in my pictures.

# – Crispy, slightly crumbly almond meringues with a rich, decadent mango cream cheese filling.

# – Grill Sergeant Lance giving me the look of approval. Yay!

# – I can’t wait to make more!

The boyfriend was very happy with the pudding too and told me it’s like I’d combined my 3 big loves into one super dessert: pavlova, macaron and cheesecake.

Yeah baby, that’s how I roll it!

Recipe for baked cheesecake with yogurt topping.

The last time I made a cheesecake was for my own 15th birthday party. Wow, that’s like 12 years ago but I still remember the party so vividly. I wore blue jeans, blue denim vest and a white top underneath the vest which I painstakingly selected for maximum presence. I was so fashionable. 1999 was a great year. I also weighed only 48 kilograms then.

Anyway, back to the cheesecake. It was not my best work, but I remember it being really tasty. It had like lemon glaze and all with sliced canned peaches on the base. I remember my Dad totally digging it.

Unfortunately, I’ve never baked any cheesecake since. Till last weekend that is. I was supposed to make a cheesecake for Father’s Day but I didn’t have enough cream cheese, so I promised my dad I’d bake him a cheesecake the next time I pop by, of which I did.

# -Baked cheesecake with yogurt topping.

Here’s the recipe of the baked cheesecake I made..

For the crust:

  • 250 grams of digestive biscuits, crushed
  • 100 grams of butter, softened
  • 1 teaspoon of all spice

For the filling:

  • 500 grams of creamcheese, softened
  • 4 eggs
  • 160 grams of caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

For the topping:

  • 250 grams of yogurt, strained
  • 3 teaspoons of lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon of caster sugar
  • ground nutmeg, for sprinkling

# – The first thing you have to do before making this cake is to strain the yogurt. This is to remove the liquid to get a thicker, creamier yogurt to work with. Wrap the yogurt with a teatowel or muslin and let it drain for at least 30 minutes. I hung mine over a bowl. Set aside while you continue with other tasks.

# – Now, blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor until fine. Or if you’re a vagrant like myself, stick them in a bag and pound the eff out of it.

# – Pour the finely crushed biscuit crumbs into a mixing bowl and add a teaspoon of allspice.

# – Throw in the softened butter. With your fingers, knead until butter is full incorporated into the crumbs and they feel moist.

# – Press the crumbs into an 8″ springform cake tin or cake tin with detachable bottom (greased and covered with parchment paper) to form the crust. Slowly build a wall around the base. Have some patience as this is the most time-consuming part.

# – Stick the tin into the fridge for 30 minutes to set.

# – In the meantime, beat the cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth.

# – Add the lemon juice, vanilla essence and sugar and beat till smooth.

# – Next, add the eggs one by one while slowly beating mixture until combined.

# – Take out the crust and pour the mixture in.

# – Stick it into a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees celcius and bake for 45 minutes.

# – 10 minutes before the cheesecake finishes baking, beat the strained yogurt, lemon juice and caster sugar until smooth and combined.

# – When the cake has finished baking, take it out and immediately spread the yogurt mixture over the top.

# – Sprinkle ground nutmeg all over the top.

# – Then stick it back in the oven for 7 minutes.

# – After that, leave the oven door slightly ajar and allow the cheesecake to cool down completely. And then, you stick it in the fridge for at least 2 hours to chill.

# – Baked cheesecake with yogurt topping, DONE!

# – Yummy.

The cake was surprisingly light and far from cloying. It’s delicious! I managed to make the crust reasonably thin so every mouthful was a nice balance of crunchy crust, yummy cream cheese filling and tangy yogurt topping.

Most importantly, my Dad loved it! :)

Now, to recreate that cheesecake with canned peaches base I made 12 years ago…

Easy-to-make decadent mango cream cheese puff recipe.

Thanks to Alice and her adorable daughter, Mimi from Sweet Savoury Life, I was inspired to whip up this dessert.

Instead of strawberries and blueberries which are really expensive here, I used mangoes instead. This was one of the easiest desserts I’ve ever made and it tasted soooo good. As long as you know how to operate a hand mixer, use an oven and spread a bread, you’re pretty much set.

# – Mango cream cheese puff.

Best thing of all, you only need 4 ingredients, and they’re all easily available from the average supermarket in Malaysia!

The ingredients:

  • 4 slices of puff pastry squares
  • 2 mangoes, peeled and sliced
  • 140 grams of cream cheese, leave to soften in room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons of icing sugar

# – First, lay out the puff pastry squares on a baking tray. As you can see, I folded the corners in hoping they would puff up in a nice cradle sort of shape but they didn’t…so don’t bother haha.

# – Stick them in a pre-heated oven at 160 degrees celcius for 25 minutes. Oh lard, I am aware I need to clean my oven :P

# – In the meantime, add two tablespoons of icing sugar to the cream cheese in a mixing bowl.

# – With a hand mixer, beat till sugar and cheese are completely combined. Set aside.

# – Eject both beaters off from the handle, then bring then to your living room. Sit down, turn on television and lick the beaters clean. Enjoy yourself. Hide the scale.

# – Now slice the mangoes into desired shapes. Leave to chill in the fridge.

# – When the puff pastries are done, leave them out to cool for about 15 minutes.

# – You may use a really girly, lacey food cover to deter the flies.

# – After they’ve cooled down, press the middle of the puff down. Your fingers will be covered in crumbs but that’s okay.

# – Spread the sweetened cream cheese all over the pastry.

# – Then lay sliced mangoes over the top. Mango cream cheese puff, DONE!

# – Bite into it. Hear the angels sing.

If you’re a fan of cream cheese frosting, you would understand why I love this dish so much. Crispy puff pastry with slightly tart, slightly sweet creaminess and juicy sweet mangoes…..a breathtaking combination.

The BF said it was terrible, so terrible in fact he refused to let me have a tiny bite off his pastry, for “my own good”. Took me for a fool? Men!