Jaffa Cheesecake for Father's Day

My very savvy grandfather purchased a unit at Burleigh on the Gold Coast back in the 70s, before the Gold Coast had really become the place to be. Since then that unit has become the gathering point for our whole family and I can remember many happy christmases with aunts and uncles and my 4 cousins. Now we are all grown up and between us my cousins and I have 6 kids of our own.

This past father's day we all (18 of us) gathered again at the park over the road from our grandparent's unit (and right next to the beach). It was N's first father's day and a really special day all round.

Being the cheesecake queen I of course made a cheesecake to share. N wanted a jaffa cheesecake (choc-orange) and I was happy to oblige. I started with Dorie's Tall and Creamy Cheesecake and added the zest and juice of 1 orange to the filling, a chocolate biscuit base and decorated with whipped cream and jaffas. I totally forgot to take any pics on the day so I dressed up the mini I made with the leftovers. Yum!

I am such a fan of this particular recipe. Despite loads of cream cheese (4 packs!) it makes a soft, fluffy and somehow light cheesecake that doesn't weigh you down.

And for the all-important father's day pressie ...

Oscar and I had a fun afternoon at Inky Feet where we ended up with some lovely keepsakes including mugs, wall tiles and a clock. Lucky we didn't leave it any later than 3 months because his feet would have been too big. They only just made it as it was! Grandpa got a mug with red feet and they were each filled to the brim with homemade Espresso Chocolate Truffles.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Souffle

Is it just me or is it really hard to photograph a souffle?? Nevermind, this was my first time making one and I'm more excited by the fact that it actually worked!

Souffles have always seemed really daunting and the sort of thing you would only ever order in a restaurant. I made a half recipe and that gave us 4 good servings. It puffed up beautifully but I think it would have looked more souffle-ish if I had collared the dish. Next time.

The taste test ...

Yum! Light, sweet, intensely chocolatey and definitely moreish. Next time I will try individual souffles and now that I have mastered the technique I would love to try a savoury version as well. Watch this space!

Thanks to Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic for a great pick this week. I probably wouldn't have made it on my own. You can find the recipe on her blog.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Espresso Cheesecake Brownies

Being on a bit of a brownie bender at the moment I was happy to see another brownie pick this week. And the fact that these were cheesecake brownies was just another reason to smile! I seem to be leaving TWD to the very last minute these days. I whipped them up about 2pm today and got my photo out on the verandah in the last few moments of daylight.

The taste test ...

Boy, these were rich! A big thumbs up from my number one taste tester but he's right, you definitely can't have more than 1 piece at a time. I did make the sour cream topping intending to serve it on the side but to be honest they don't need anything else.

Thanks to Melissa of Life in a Peanutshell for this week's pick. Make sure you vist her blog for the recipe and some gorgeous pics!

Daring Bakers August - Dobos Torte

The August 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Angela of A Spoonful of Sugar and Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella. They chose the spectacular Dobos Torte based on a recipe from Rick Rodgers' cookbook Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Caffés of Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

I have to admit I was a little daunted by this recipe but wow, what a result! The Dobos Torte is a layered sponge and chocolate buttercream cake with caramel and hazelnuts. I only made some slight changes to the recipe, using flaked almonds and scorched (chocolate covered) almonds to decorate. I also brushed each layer with Pom Pomegranate and Cherry Juice which added a little burst of freshness to each bite.

I had a brainwave when it came to assembling the torte. Normally my layer cakes are pretty wonky, with each layer slip-sliding all over the place even when I try to hold them in place with skewers etc. This time I assembled the cake inside a springform pan. I used the base of an 8" pan as the template for my sponge layers. As they shrunk a little while baking they fit perfectly inside the pan leaving a slight gap around the edge. I spread the buttercream right to the edge on each layer so that when it came to unmold the sides were essentially iced already and my layers were perfect.

My only hiccup was with the caramel wedges for the top of the cake. The recipe said to use the best looking cake layer for the top but I chose my worst one because all the others were perfectly cooked and even and I wanted them for my layers. I sliced my cake into 12 even wedges and spaced them just a few millimeters apart on a baking sheet. My caramel was very foamy and didn't seem to spread out much as I poured it over the cake wedges so I just kept pouring more and more on. Suddenly there was way to much and it ran off the edges into a big toffee puddle. I decided to leave it exactly as was and break it into pieces including the extra bits.

Seemed like a good idea in theory, but it was really hot that day and my wonderfully majestic caramel fans wilted and sagged in the heat.

The taste test ...

I was worried this would be too rich but it was actually very light. Delicate sponge layered with fluffy, almost mousse-like buttercream. Our least favourite part was the caramel. Even though I adore citrus I didn't like the lemon flavour at all here - it didn't seem to complement the cake. Plus by the time we came to eat, the caramel had completely lost it and was a sticky, pull-your-teeth-out mess. Most of it got left on the plate. Nonetheless I would definitely make this again (minus caramel). It was fabulous!

Thanks to Lorraine and Angela for a great challenge. This is something I would never have attempted on my own! You can find the recipe here.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Creamiest Lime Meringue Pie

or The Pie Which Almost Wasn't Made.

We're having a pig of a week around here. N is home with the flu all week on doctor's orders (could be swine flu, hence the pig remark. Yeah I didn't think it was funny either but my fever made me type it!). I of course got sick as well almost immediately. What made it all really fun was the heatwave we're having in Brisbane at the moment. I hate the heat at the best of times but to be suffering through 35 degree days, in winter, with a high fever and a grizzly baby as well? Not fun.

Nonetheless, I am a baker. So I soldiered on and baked. But I did make a few minor stuffups from not reading packets or the recipe properly.

I decided to go with a crumb crust for this pie and used my standard recipe which is a 250g packet of sweet biscuits with 125g melted butter. I chose rice cookies for the base this time as they are made without wheat but didn't realise the packets are only 200g not 250. No wonder it was swimming with butter! I chucked in some cornflakes to soak up the excess and carried on.

I kinda forgot what I was making and pressed the crust only over the base of my springform pan not up the sides as well. That came back to bite me later as the filling started to ooze when I unmolded it. So I stuck the whole thing in the freezer for a couple of hours and that worked like a charm.

Our griller is separate from the oven and is no where deep enough to put a pie like this under to brown the meringue. So I drew an 8" template using the base of a baking pan and made a disc of meringue. I baked it at 180 degrees C for15 minutes until it was nicely browned and then plopped it on top of the filling. Done!

I only got one semi decent photo because it was quite late by this stage and still about 30 degrees and my pie was starting to soften like icecream and get the wobbles.

The taste test ...

AWESOME. I had my doubts but this really was the creamiest meringue pie ever. Often the fillings for these are gelatinous and a bit sweet. This was smooth and creamy and zingy from the lime and ginger. I would love to switch it up next time and use the cream filling as a topping for pavlova with lots of whipped cream and fruit. Delightful.

This week's recipe was chosen by Linda of Tender Crumb. You can get the recipe on her blog!