Gonna try this next time: Jaffa Ricotta Cookies. Looks very involved, but looks like it'll be worth it. :)

Cheesecake brownies

Made this with a friend for her birthday. Took the brownie part from this recipe and the cheesecake part from this recipe.

Ingredients:

• Brownie

• 150 g dark chocolate
• 150 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 75 g raw sugar
• 1 egg (room temperature)
• 82.5 g plain flour

Cheesecake




• 500 g cream cheese (take it out of the fridge an hour before you start baking)
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Cream topping

• 300 ml whipping cream
• 100 g caster sugar or icing sugar (if you don't really care how grainy it is, use raw sugar instead since it's healthier I think)
• Berries (mixed, blueberries, raspberries, up to you really) to decorate

Note: Use a 33 x 23 x 5 cm baking tray, lined with baking paper

Method:

• Brownie base

1. Heat the oven to 170 C.
2. Melt the chocolate in the microwave oven (I only needed 1 1/2 mins, stopping every 30 sec to stir the chocolate)
3. Mix butter and sugar with electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or with a beater if you're poor like me) till well incorporated.
4. Add eggs in one at a time and mix well. 
5. Gradually beat in flour till well mixed, and then mix on high speed till a smooth. 
6. Slowly pour in chocolate and mix thoroughly. 
7. Pour into tray and smooth over with a knife.

• Cheesecake layer
1. Beat cheese until smooth (but don't overbeat or you'll get a grainy cheesecake!) and add vanilla and sugar and mix well.
2. Add eggs in one at a time and beat well after each addition.
3. Pour cheesecake onto the brownie layer.
4. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until cheesecake is nice and wobbly in the center. It is always a good idea to slightly under-cook the cake since soft brownies are yummy, and cheesecakes always firms up after cooling down.

• Cream Topping

1. Beat the cream and sugar with the electric mixer with a whisk attachment and beat until firm but not stiff. Spread the cream on the cheesecake layer and top off with your choice of berries.

Blueberry cream cheese tartlets

Ingredients (makes 12)

Base

• 225 g crushed digestive biscuits (this is called graham crackers in the U.S.)
• 60 g melted butter (make sure this isn't hot)

Filling (Adapted from Paula Dean's recipe)

• 2 x 226 g (2 boxes) cream cheese
• 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• blueberries 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place paper cupcake liner in a pan.
2. To make the base, pour melted butter into the crushed digestive biscuits. Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated with butter. Spoon the mixture into the cupcake liners and press firmly down to the base to create an even layer (about 1/4 of the liner).  
3. Beat cream cheese till fluffy (about 2 mins). Add sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Be careful not to overmix (never overmix cream cheese or else you will get a grainy texture!). Spoon the mixture into the cupcake liner.
4. Bake for 20 minutes. Allow tarts to cool completely, and serve with blueberry filling on top (or just put frozen blueberries on top). 

Note: 

I used frozen blueberries. To thaw frozen blueberries, either:

1. Cover frozen blueberries in cold water. One cup will thaw in about 5 minutes. 
2. Put frozen blueberries in the refrigerator overnight.

Keep frozen blueberries that have been thawed in a covered container in the refrigerator. Use thawed blueberries within 2 days, and do not refreeze blueberries.

Lime and Coconut Cupcake

I've recently been trying to make these cupcakes and finally decided that this is the recipe to go to for a delicious lime and coconut cupcake. I used cream cheese as I like cream cheese! 

Ingredients (Makes 6)

Cupcake (from Taste.com.au)

• 100 g softened butter (original recipe calls for 125g, but it was too much!)
• 1 cup (200 g) sifted caster sugar (I substituted with raw sugar)
• 2 tsp grated lime rind
• 1 tsp lime juice
•  3 eggs, room temperature
• 1/2 cup (45 g) desiccated coconut
• 1/2 cup (75 g) plain flour
• 1/4 cup (40 g) self raising flour
• 1/3 cup (90 g) natural yogurt

Frosting (Adapted from Annie's eats)

• 113 g cold cream cheese (1/2 a block of 226g of cream cheese)
• 50 g unsalted butter
• 1 cup sifted icing sugar
• 1/2 tbs lime juice
• 1/2 tbs lime zest
• Desiccated coconut to decorate

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put cupcake paper cases onto pan.
2. Beat the butter, sugar and lime rind until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. 
3. Mix the coconut and flour together in another bowl and fold this in with the yogurt alternately into the wet mixture. Make sure not to overbeat to get a light and fluffy cupcake.
4. Spoon mixture evenly into the paper cases and smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes till cooked through. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. To make frosting, beat the cold cream cheese (make sure this is cold to ensure that the forsting is pipeable) with the butter till light and fluffy (about 2-3 mins). Mix in the icing sugar slowly until just incorporated. Don't overbeat as this will cause the frosting to have a grainy texture. Add in the lime juice and zest. 
6. Frost the cooled cupcakes and top it off with desiccated coconut.