Pear Baked Cheesecake

As well as during the Xmas do that I had, I also baked a cheesecake as the birthday boy wanted a cake before he goes on holiday. I woke up early in the morning regardless of a late night at a hens do because I know that it is a special birthday worth making and he is such an absolute great friend. He's been so supportive from the moment I touch down London. This I dedicate to you ;). Happy happy birthday.

Suprisingly while making this, it was actually quite simple like a non-bake cheesecake. The main difference is that bake cheesecake uses eggs, and so it needs to be cooked before eating. Other than that, everything else is pretty much the same.

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KV's Simple Trifle

Instant, quick and easy as I didn't have time to make some ingredients from scratch. But hey, it does the works ;). I am also quite picky when it comes to grabbing instant ready made ingredients too and you can vary the amount if you want if you crave for it.

T'was for a Christmas lunch into dinner do when there was abundant of food! And I mean 3 whole chicken, lamb and beef, bread pudding, roast veges, sausage wrapped with bacon...it was endless.

First round....out of 5

My trifle hiding at the left corner

There are various types of trifle but they are made out of the same principal layers. I had a quick read on joyofbaking.com about what trifles are (the website explains it very well), and then pretty much pick the things I like. Yes, layers when combine must compliment each other (like you don't really want to add tiramisu flavour to tropical cocktail fruits). Lastly, it's best done the night before serving so that the layers infuses with each other :).

To be made one night before or at least 24 hours before serving.

Ingredients

• 500g custard (I love the brand Ambrosia)
• 250g marscapone cheese
  
• 250g or 2 pots of strawberry flavoured jelly (Brand: Hartleys)
  
• 3/4 can of tropical fruits made of pears, peaches, cherries and pineapples
• 1 can of strawberries
• 7" sponge cake (I used Golden Bake Flan base from Sainsburys and it fits perfectly)
• 3 tsp Kirsch cherry alcohol
• 2 tbsp cold water

Method

1. In a large Pyrex bowl (2 Litre capacity). Drain the tropical fruits with a seive and place it at the bottom of the bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, break the jelly into smaller pieces and add to the tropical fruits. Mix until fully incorporated.
3. Place the sponge cake and press firmly to release the air. Mix the alcohol and water together and sprinkle over the sponge cake.
4. Place the strawberries around the bowl. It is also optional to top up with another thin layer of jelly
5. In a separate bowl, whisk the custard and mascarpone cheese together until smooth. Pour this mixture into the middle of the bowl and with a spatula, spread the mix out to the sides.
6. Optional to serve with whip cream.
   

Shortbread Tarts with Cream Filling

Being me, I can't sit put and just bake only cakes...so I've started to explore into pastry tarts. Apparently there are a few kinds of pastry bases. But to simplify things, there are 5 main types (more info here). They vary from the hard crusts to the super nice and flaky ones and they all have different methods of making too.

And so I started off with the simplest form: Shortcrust pastry. Process didn't take that long but I forgot one vital step...poking the base of the pastry to allow air to escape if not the base will expand.

Pretty obvious eh? Thank goodness D was supportive to eat it when I topped it with custard and fruits..

And then I got ambitious further by making a shortbread tart which was indeed challenging especially when it comes to shaping this soft dough. There was alot of taking out of the oven and poking the base a few times just to make sure it doesn't rise too much. But it was worth all the efforts :). Tasted absolute yuuuuuummmm and of course it was a Hen's do that was behind the motivation. So I dedicated this to Min.

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