Plated Dessert; Salted Caramel Cheesecake and Jack Bourdain

Bradley Cooper portrays Anthony Bourdain inspired character in Kitchen Confidential the series...friends, mamas, ladies. Yes I made it  my headline!!!!

At this particular time I'm reading Kitchen Confidential the book, I just can't stop laughing, when I watched Episode 1 and 2, Extra thanks to my day-day Mae mae who sent me the clips...all those scenes I imagined while reading word for word just came to my screen with three words.. Oh. My. God.

Bradley Cooper, Oh yeah. Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, this is decent Porn my friends. It is! If Bradley Cooper is a dessert, I'd like to think he is a Salted Caramel Cheesecake − Sleek, smooth and filling. ( and I sound like I tasted him)

Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Red Wine Poached Strawberries, Caramel Sauce, Creme Brulee Puff, Almond Pralines and Coffee Macaron Shards

 By the way, I think he made justice to the character of Anthony Bourdain, in the series his name is "Jack Bourdain"… It's as magnificent funny as reading the book, if you can't watch it, I wish you have a best friend who can send you episodes too, or you may read the book instead, but the series is a biopic, meaning it's inspired from the book which is a true to life, tell all of Anthony Bourdain.

Left: Oreo Crust        Right: Graham Crust

Marbled.

And so my recipe this week is a Bradley Cooper in a dessert. Forgive me. But we all have that celebrity crushes (I might have to clarify that I have a lot) for Salted Caramel Cheesecake, I tried 2 batches, one with Oreo crusts the other one in Graham crusts, I liked the latter more...

Left: Oreo Crust        Right: Graham Crust

Left: Oreo Crust        Right: Graham Crust

Let’s not complicate this one so much, don’t hesitate because it’s a plated dessert, I was just extra assertive lately. First we make a caramel sauce. Over low heat, caramelize sugar in a saute pan until amber brown in color, add in butter and gradually add heavy cream, stir with wooden spoon continuously, if there are lumps.. continue cooking until all the lumped sugar has melted. Season with salt, remember that you want it really salty because the Cheesecake batter is on the sweet side.

 SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

225ml Heavy cream

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 tbsp Butter

1/2 Tbsp Iodized Salt or more

Then prepare the crust, this recipe yields for 6 servings of 3 inches x 2 inches round mini cakes, if you want to make a whole cake version simply quantify this recipe to 1 and 1/2 batch.

100g crashed Graham crackers

100g melted Unsalted butter

or

160g crashed Oreo

60g melted Unsalted butter 

Then spin the mixer for the Cheesecake batter...

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

300g Creamcheese

90g Sugar

15g Sour cream

137g White Chocolate, melted

2pcs Eggs

 In the mixing bowl combine creamcheese and sugar. Whip until light and fluffy then add eggs at a time. Fold in melted white chocolate and yoghurt.

Continue whipping until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.

Upper: Oreo Crust        Lower: Graham Crust

Simply pour the Cheesecake batter on prepared crust, then pipe caramel sauce and marble the two components together with a stick, you may put more caramel, as much as you would like but not so much that it's more than the batter or it will puff and burn.

Bake over hot water or bain marie at 160/160 C for 25 minutes. Then freeze the baked cheesecake until set for at least 2 hours or  when it has cooled down and wont splat when you unmold. This turned into a cube because I trimmed it :)

Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Red Wine Poached Strawberries, Caramel Sauce, Creme Brulee Puff, Almond Pralines and Coffee Macaron Shards

Hi Jack Bourdain, the plated dessert!

Sleek.

Close up.

Top view.

And because I'm extra assertive nowadays, you may check my previous post about my Plated Desserts Perspective, here. If you get extra assertive, too. It's your turn to make desserts and I would love to see their photos :) Looking forward to hearing from you.. you may email me or Facebook message.

Happy Baking!

Jeni's Splendid Dream

My Food Of The Brain For The Day and current read: On my last birth day,my Day-day gave me a copy of Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams At Home, a book by Gourmet Ice Cream maker Jeni Britton Bauer. Giving it a first glance, you may actually underestimate the potential of this book because of its simple cover. The book is also very handy even if on hard cover. Flip it, scan the pages and you'll realize that this small package packs amazing flavor concepts. The humble beginnings of the Ice Cream genius from Columbus, Ohio unfolded pages upon pages.

The book garnered the prestigious James Beard 2012 Cook Book Award, so don't really judge a book by it's cover. For me the cover is on the funky cool side compared to the other books like Alinea, Bentley and Elements of Desserts which all gone serious and galant but are all equally must read.

What I really love is the accounts of Jeni's beginnings from working at a French restaurant. Her first business failure, her frustrations, her dreams, her concepts -Jeni's creativity is God given. I wish to be able to overcome all that she had and to become a flavor genius like her.

I'm amazed by her dedication to making everything up to every little thing artisanal. Her Ohio hometown as described on the book is heaven of spices, nuts, cheeses, dairies, berries and chocolates. I admire that she started small and that she gambled on her chances. The passionate Jeni Britton Bauer made her ice creams at home, sold them at home. Churned her ice creams on a small ice cream machine and labeled each tins with hand written notes. She created consistent good quality ice creams and people fall in line for them.

Jeni got her bitter dose of failures and frustrations, from lack of capital, the incapacity to buy a high end equipment, and with the help of her wonderful support system, husband Charly and friends,she got the break she was waiting, the birth of Jenis Splendid Ice Creams.

Jeni's commitment is to use quality ingredients fresh from its source. From the farmers, breeders to the suppliers. On page 99, she narrates one of her cow to cone story ; Askinosie Chocolate (to whom Jenis' orders chocolate beans for the famous The Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream In The World) imports cacao beans from Mexico, Ecuador and with so much pride, amazing it is, from Davao city! <3 div="" style="clear: both;">

Vanilla is the second most expensive spice next to Saffron. I didn't know that! Now I don't wonder why a Tahitian Golden Vanilla costs 350 to 400 pesos per pod. Now I know :)

My favorite words from the book.

Great, wild and cool flavor ideas. This is as if the flavor affiliations from the Flavor Bible gone scoop by scoop. I really really love Jeni. I must go to Ohio and visit the Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream shop, but even if it takes some more years, I'm glad that her positivity had infused in my head and I'm so excited to run my new R&D's. I suddenly became a fan:)

My artisan ice cream, macaron and cupcake shop, book and marriage. All in God's time, just like Jeni's :)

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Book Worming!!! Books Worth To Invest On Pt.2

People of this day and age are craaazy of their "Outfit Of The Day" or #OOTD. Me on the other hand is not into clothes. I'm more into books and eating out! (that literally empties my bank account- HAHA)

These are among the books Nani and I invested for quite some time, some of this books are rare bound, meaning hard to find hard bounds. Some are now available around Manila, some could be ordered online. I encourage you guys to invest on books. We cannot wear them yes, But hello? :) They are Food Of The Brain Of The Day or my #FOTBOTD (this makes an ugly hashtag :D)

I posted an entry about Culinary books that are great reference for curious cheflings. Books Worth To Invest On, so this page is just an update to my list.. Nani and I are both glad of our growing book collection. We are both non-readers who both developed our book worm sides. 

My parents are also non-readers, they however encouraged us to read by placing book shelves around our dinning area, there are even reading materials under the beds. We are allowed to read while eating, that made all of us occasional readers at home. When I moved South, the absence of Wifi and Television at my staff house gave me the interest to read random things. From blog sites, news papers, magazine to biography, encylopedia, general science, even showbiz gossips up to my favorite authors like Mitch Albom, Nicholas Sparks, Sherry Argov and Elizabeth Gilbert. But books on this list are inevitable in this career. If you are into mad R&D's, you have to see these copies :)

This one is a special copy that we got from Chef Jackie Ang-Po

We dont have this one yet :)

This one is a special copy, with Chef Ewald Notter's dedication and autograph during his Manila visit last 2012

This one is a special copy, a birth day gift from my Day-Day <3

This one is a special copy, I searched for this copy for 3 years, until my Day-day have one copy shipped from France to Sweden and gave it to me when she came in Manila :)

A special copy from my sister, Titel :)

No, we just have the PDF version folks! :)

A birth day gift from Nani when I turned 22 this year, not a cook book but for me, This is the book!

My personal favorite :) Must read!

Upon uploading this books, it made me realize how much we already have. Wow, a lot :) But there are still books we are looking and saving for like Ramon Morato, Paco Torreblanca, Stephane Leroux and more of Pierre Herme, Franciso Migoya and more more more. :)

Looking forward that we get to do a collaboration for our own book--Someday <3