Ferrero Rocher Cheesecake

It had been quite a while since I'd tried a no-bake cheesecake. Ferrero Rocher happens to be my favorite chocolate and it was time to draw some inspiration from it. This no-bake cheesecake uses an oreo hazelnut crust for the crunch and incorporates Nutella (a lot of it !!!) into the cheesecake batter. The cheesecake is then topped off with some decadent dark chocolate ganache. Just to add to the ferrero rocher overload , I decided to use the chocolates for the garnish.

YIELD
15-20 serving slices
One 10inch cheesecake

INGREDIENTS
For the base
Oreos (crushed into a coarse powder) – 2cups
Hazelnuts (ground to a fine powder) - 1/4 cup
Butter – ¼ cup

For the cheesecake
Cream Cheese – 700g or a little more than 2 8oz packs
Nutella – 1 ½ cups
Vanilla extract – 1tsp
Hazelnut extract – 1tbsp
Cocoa powder – ½ cup
Agar agar/Gelatin – 1tsp
Water – ¼ cup
Whipping cream – 1 cup
Sugar – 2tbsp

For the ganache
Dark chocolate chips – 1 cup
Heavy whipping cream – ¼ cup

PREPARATION

1. Grease and line a 10 inch springform pan with parchment paper.

2. Combine the crushed oreos , hazelnuts and melted butter in a mixing bowl. Spread the mixture on the bottom of the pan and even it out with the top of a spoon. Refrigerate and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

3. In a mixing bowl , add the cream cheese , vanilla extract , Nutella , hazelnut extract and cocoa powder. Beat together until it forms a smooth uniform mixture. Set aside.

4. In another bowl , whip the cream and sugar together until soft peaks are formed. Gradually fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream until well combined.

5. Bloom gelatin in cold water for 5 minutes. Warm the mixture up in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until the gelatin dissolves. Add the gelatin to the cream cheese and whipped cream mixture.

6. Pour this mixture on top of the base and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.

7. To prepare the ganache , combine the chocolate chips with the whipped cream in a double boiler. Stir until the chocolate melts in the cream to form a smooth mixture. Pour the ganache on top of the cheesecake and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

Espresso Cake

After being knocked out for a week with the flu , it was time to start baking again. This time , it was for a dear friend of mine. She had requested that I bake a cake rich in coffee flavor. I started with a regular vanilla base , slowly incorporating espresso into it. For all the coffee lovers out there - this is the real deal :) 

INGREDIENTS 

All-purpose flour - 2 1/2 cups

Granulated Sugar - 2 cups

Baking powder - 2 tsp

Vanilla extract - 2 tsp

Eggs - 4

Vegetable oil - 3/4 cup

Milk - 3/4 cup

Espresso - 1/4 cup strongly brewed

PREPARATION

1. Beat the eggs and sugar until they thicken to form a uniform mixture. To this , add the vanilla extract , milk , oil and espresso and beat until well combined.

2. Now add the flour to this mixture in parts , folding it into the liquid ingredients till a smooth batter is obtained. Do not overbeat the batter.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch pan. 

4. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

5. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack and cut into layers. To add more flavor , drizzle a syrup made with 4tbsp sugar in half a cup of lightly brewed espresso. Do not over-soak the cake.

6. I used a regular fresh cream frosting to decorate and lined the cake with piroulines for added texture.

Masala Chai Cake

It has been incessantly raining over the weekend and the only constant craving I had all day was chai. There is nothing more comforting than a cup of hot tea , a book to read and a seat by the window overlooking a rainy outdoor. 

What started off as a craving for tea evolved into yet another idea for cake with a desi twist – masala chai flavored cake with fresh cream frosting.

INGREDIENTS

For the Cake

All-purpose flour – 1 ½ cups

Almond meal flour – ¼ cup

Granulated sugar – ¾ cup

Baking powder – 2 tsp

Baking soda – ½ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp

Ginger powder – ½ tsp

Cardamom – ¼ tsp

Milk – 1 cup

Powdered Tea – 2tbsp

Eggs – 2

Plain Yogurt – ¼ cup

Vanilla extract – 1tsp

Butter – ½ cup melted

For the Frosting

Heavy Whipping cream – 1 cup

Tea – 1tbsp

Sugar – 2tbsp

Cardamom – a pinch or two

Cinnamon – ¼ tsp

PREPARATION

1. Grease and flour 2 9inch cake pans. Pre-heat the oven to 350F

2. In a saucepan , bring the heavy cream to a simmering state. Add the tea into the cream and stir for 2-3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat. Strain the tea-infused cream and refrigerate until needed.

3. In a saucepan , add 1 cup of milk and bring to a simmering boil. Add tea , cinnamon powder , ginger powder , cardamom to this and let it sit on heat for 2-3 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat , strain the tea and set it aside.

4. In a mixing bowl , mix all dry ingredients together. In another bowl , add melted butter , 2 eggs , yogurt , vanilla extract and the tea mixture (cooled to room temp) and mix until well combined.

5. Add the dry ingredient mixture in parts to the wet mixture , gradually folding the contents together. Mix until a smooth batter is obtained. Do not overwork the batter. 

6. Divide the batter amongst the two pans and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Ensure that at the end of baking time , a cake tester/toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

7. Cool the cakes on a wire rack until they reach room temperature.

8. To prepare the frosting , add the cold tea-infused heavy cream to a mixing bowl. To this , add cinnamon , sugar , cardamom and whip until stiff peaks are formed. Ice the cake as per preference. 

                              

Masala Baguette

All the things that go into baking a bread are fairly simple and standard – flour , salt , yeast and liquid to combine the dry ingredients. Everything else that is added to the bread to enhance its flavor and texture is wonderfully complex and makes all the difference in the world when it comes to the end result. 

For a long time now , it has been my view that crusty baguettes are impractical to make at home and are hard to find , except maybe from an artisan bakery. However , with a lot of time at hand during the year end , I decided to bake a masala baguette from scratch. Time consuming ? Yes. But tastes like heaven.

I used the slices from the baguette to make my very own desi bruschetta. It also goes well with a classic veggie omelette for breakfast.

INGREDIENTS (yields 3 baguettes , roughly 13 inches long)

For the Starter

Active Dry yeast – 1/8 tsp
All-purpose flour – 1 cup

For the Dough

Active Dry yeast – 1tsp
All-purpose flour – 3 ½ cups
Salt – 1tsp
Garam masala – 1tsp
Jeera seeds – 1tsp
Starter dough

PREPARATION

1. To prepare the starter dough , mix the yeast in ½ a cup of cold water. Add the flour to the yeast and combine until a soft , runny dough is formed. Cover the bowl and allow the mixture to rest at room temperature for 12-13 hours. At the end of this stage , the starter dough will look runny , bubbly and should have risen in volume.

2. To prepare the dough , take a mixing bowl and combine the yeast with 1 cup of lukewarm water. To this , add the starter , the flour , salt , garam masala and tempered jeera seeds. Knead by hand till all ingredients are well incorporated into a smooth dough. Knead further using a hand/stand mixer at low speed for 3-5 minutes. 

3. Place the dough in a greased bowl (I used olive oil to grease) and cover the bowl. Allow the dough to rise for about 3 hours , taking it out every hour and deflating the dough by kneading with your knuckles.
4. Divide the risen dough into 3 equal portions and cover with cling wrap. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.

5. Transfer the pieces onto a tray or a baguette mold and cover using greased plastic wrap. Let the dough sit for 1-2 hours. At the end of this stage , the dough will rise and become puffy. One need not wait for the dough to double in volume. That will take away the crustiness of the bread. Slash the top surface of the bread with a knife. 

6. Preheat oven to 450F and bake for 25-30 minutes. The baguettes should look golden brown in color. Remove and cool on a wire rack before serving.