Cappuccino, Peppermint & Pretzels

An advocate of home baking: this week I tried combining the idea of Cappuccino bars from my childhood baking class with Chef Jill Sandique, and I'm very lucky that despite the hot weather, my experiment yielded a good hybrid.. This is my "Cappuccino, Peppermint & Pretzels" 

I baked the cheesecake one night ahead and let it set in the chiller over night. While I was unstacking my pantry of old ingredients and culinary tools, I found this old, little rusty, manual hand mixer. I go like "look how cool my mom is" 

Mommeh, you so cool! My mom got some vintage baking toys that she passed on me, like this one.

Going back to my featured recipe this week, this is a jackpot of a beginner's luck or just got lucky today kind of recipe ... few of the recipes that I post are untested prior to featuring, meaning I bake them first time and then if it works, I post it. Most are old tested ones though, especially when I tagged it as my "favorite in the world" or "childhood favorite". Honestly, I have enough in my draft that is unpublished because it's a total failure/bad idea/ really bad idea. HAHA.

On baking Cheesecakes however, I'm betting my whole salary for the month, that one could never go wrong and most likely to succeed, win the heart of your crush, unless you try to save on money and use low quality ingredients. Cheesecakes is one of the reasons I could never get abs, or one of the primary reason I'm bloated this very moment, but as they say cherish every minute, this is my celebration!

Cheesecake Diary essentials; Oreo cookies or Graham crackers, Australian Creamcheese, White Chocolate, and fresh Eggs

This is my very first mixer; My sister bought this for me as a gift when I just started in cooking school. It came with a box and standing detachable body and plastic bowl that rotates on its own. I was so happy and teary! This is not even Kitchen Aid Artisan mixer, but the thoughts just hit me well, that one day, my resourcefulness will pay off.  I still have it and I used it now for I'm little lazy to manually whip my components

I started baking (and going to baking class) at 14, before that, my curious inner Julia Child is (til now) very experimental. I'm always creating crap out of jams, cheddar cheese and saltine crackers and I thought, honestly, even if this costs my credibility, that is how you make Blueberry Cheesecake and it was a funny disaster.. that afternoon my sister just gave up on me and said "Okay, since you are really persistent with these experiments of yours, you're going to baking class, but you make me what you learn in class" -Maaan, that's how I started! That was October 14, 2006

Now, a real Cheesecake recipe on my cue...

I used a 10" x 10" x 2" square cake mold for this recipe. I'm not a fan of spring form pans though my good friend Phillip Ching gave me one for my 18th, because the water could get in.

Basic crust; combine crushed Oreo cookies and melted , unsalted butter. Then press it against the prepared mold and set aside in the chiller.

Whip creamcheese and sugar together until light and fluffy

At the same time, melt chocolate over hot water bath and dissolve coffee in hot water

Then add eggs at a time, notice that the batter will loosen and become smoother

Slowly pour in the coffee and continue whipping, then fold in melted white chocolate

Whip until the mixture is smooth, I prefer it a little airy.

Pour in the batter into the prepared Oreo crust and bake over warm water bath at 160C for 25 mins

For walking the tray into and out of the oven;Pour the hot water just about halfway or quarter of the mold, you can refill if it dries out than pouring a lot more and spill on your hands

The bottom will be a little jiggly but firm. Then cool down a bit and chill overnight

The next morning, I unmolded the baked Cappuccino cheesecake and continued my components

already good on its own

The morning that came after...

I used a plastic chocolate mold for this Praline. Drizzle tempered and colored chocolate in the mold for a rustic two toned effect. I used color green and a darker shade of mint green.

Spoon tempered white chocolate and tap facing down to take off excess. Set aside the shells and dry at 22 C room temperature or in the chiller

A rustic, two toned Green on White effect.

Add crushed Pretzel in the Ganache and chill to thicken the consistency

Pipe the Pretzel Ganache in the prepared shells and fill up each cavity to 3/4's full

Seal the Pralines with remaning tempered white chocolate and hardened and dry fully before unmolding

Melty Mint & Pretzel Pralines

Melty Mint & Pretzel Pralines

Liquid filling; the consistency loosens when exposed at warmer temperature upon serving

Baked Cappuccino Cheesecake

400g Creamcheese

95 g Sugar 

2 pcs Eggs

135g White Chocolate

4 tsp Instant Coffee diluted in 2 Tbsp Hot water

240g crushed Oreo

90g butter 

Let this be a mother Ganache base and divide into three for this recipe's other components; Scald milk and melt chocolate, let it set until thickened in the chiller. Divide the Ganache as per recipe

Chocolate Ganache 

2 cups Dark Chocolate

160 ml Fresh Milk

Mint & Pretzel Praline

 100g Tempered White Chocolate (28 C)

1/2 c Dark Chocolate Ganache

1/4 tsp Peppermint Oil

Black & White

Combine Ganache and Mint oil together, then add in Heavy cream, whip until stiff peaks and chill

 Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse

1/2 c Ganache

1/4 tsp Peppermint Oil

300g Heavy Cream

Pretzel Ganache
1 c Ganache
1/4 c Pretzels, crushed

Spread Pretzel Ganache on top of Baked Cappuccino Cheesecake

Pipe Mint Chocolate Mousse on top of Pretzel Ganache layer

Even and spread Mint Chocolate Mousse until all is covered

Then using the tip of offset spatula, make random swirls for an edgy effect

Top with Chococlate decors and Melty Mint & Pretzels Praline. Finish with more Chocolate Ganache with tadpole effect

Trim the sides with a clean, warm Chef's Knife, better cut it when very set or frozen.

One of the challenges in home baking is the warmer temperature at compact, home kitchens and the chiller that is not as cold and spacious as the industrial, restaurant ones. What you do is to be very patient while making your components and wait for them to set. Move quickly to avoid your cake and chocolate from melting, and plan your baking as we have many components in this recipe.

Gluttony forecasted!

Layers of baked Cappuccino Cheesecake, Pretzel Ganache, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse and hand made Pralines with Melty (liquid) Mint & Pretzel

Layers of baked Cappuccino Cheesecake, Pretzel Ganache, Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mousse and hand made Pralines with Melty (liquid) Mint & Pretzel

And oh, my little Apprentice is at work again today!

He got the stool, climb up and did it. I was just, there standing, capturing  his tiny baker hands

Little Apprentice is busy

Don't worry it's not plugged in

Taste Tester!

Bugger Little Beast

Happy Home Baking!

Love and beyond,

Wasabi, Matcha, and Chocolate Weekend

Hi all! It was a productive long weekend that had been. Not a holiday for me though, but I am glad to be posting again! And so after all the weeks that had passed, I finally reconnected to all of you, bakerlings!

Not. A. Holiday.

This entry is my take on homemade Chocolate Pralines, and it will be, I bet it, easy. Not all of you know that I don’t appreciate Green tea, I used to describe it as "fish food", although I am fascinated with teas, Green tea is out of my range.

My mandatory Mise En Place shot.

And then while working on my pile of R&D's for OVN, a little eureka of baking happened, I gave life to a Green tea dessert that like all biological mothers do, gave a handful fondness for my creation, I suddenly outgrew my Intolerance of Green tea profile −I am now a Green tea convert!

Another interesting history of this recipe is while I was researching and purchasing items for my run of R&D's, I stumbled upon this plastic chocolate mold with Kitkat shape during my occasional store visits. How God given!

Cutesie Kitkat chocolate, plastic mold

Now this is sort of Asian..

Just three and basic; Matcha powder, crushed Oreo cookies and White Chocolate

 Matcha Oreo "Kitkat" Bars

200g Tempered White Chocolate

50g Green tea Powder,  you may add more on your preference.

100g Oreo, crushed

A well balanced diet is Chocolate in both hands

Since I am an advocate of home baking, please don’t freak out whenever you read “Tempered” in Chocoate recipes, you may use compound chocolate which don't require tempering, I recommend Tulip which you can source in Chocolate Lovers, Sweetcraft, Cooks Exchange and Gourdo’s.

If you have a hard time finding Green tea powder, you can find it in All About Baking (formerly Chocolate Lover’s satellite store near Welcome Rotonda), you may also go to Fuji Mart in Timog, Rustan’s supermarket and SM Supermarket along the Japanese products’ aisle.

First step is heating water for bain-marie or double boiler

Then melt the chocolate over hot water, make sure to use a stainless, dry and clean bowl

Temper White Chocolate to 28C then slowly add Matcha powder, in each additions notice that the color is changing into deeper olive green. Since the Matcha powder that I used has some sugar in it, I only used about 50g. You may add some more, I bet my tolerance for now is just for a hint of green tea and not a K-POW GREEN TEA! which I find fish food :P

Mix some Green tea Chocolate  for the crushed oreo (about 20 to 30g)

Now, you can see the illustration of a basic filled Praline making; Pour ample amount of Green tea Chocolate in the mold and drop off excess chocolate by tapping the mold facing down. (make sure a bowl catches the drippings and you may re-use it again). Then clean the surface and let the shell to set in 22 C room temeprature or in the fridge. Once the shell is dry, fill the mold with prepared Green tea Oreo filling until 3/4's full. let it set and lastly, seal the mold with remaining Green tea Chocolate.

The end product will be shiny, crisp  "Kitkat" bars if done properly. Let the Chocolate set completely before unmolding on parchment lined tray.

And for that rustic strokes, drizzle thin White Chocolate on circular, then different directions

The second part of my featured recipe is my long overdue Wasabi Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips. Well this is not my original concept because nowadays, we are welcoming the idea of Perplexed, which ever, is the bandwagon I am delighted to ride on.

Wasabi Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips

200g Tempered Dark Chocolate

30g Wasabi powder

250g or MORE Salted Potato Chips (Use your favorite brand)

Of course I ate more than a cupful :)

Melt the Dark Chocolate on double boiler and temper to 32C

Then slowly add Wasabi powder...

more. more.

Dip the Potato Chips into the melted, tempered Dark Chocolate and dry on parchment lined tray. Sprinkle some more Wasabi before it dries completely.

Crisp, Spicy, Chocolatey and Salty

Chocolateries offer Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips, but have you ever had that feeling, while watching a Korean Drama-Comedy, Miss Granny perhaps...that you wish, just wish, you have something to munch, something different, something salty, crisp and chocolatey out of your usual bag of Potato Chips. That hit me well and deep... Like I can buy it in Royce, but wait.. I can make my own, eat more and be more creative of it.

Wasabi Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips

Wasabi Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips

Wasabi Chocolate Dipped Potato Chips and Matcha Oreo "Kitkat" Bars

Lastly, I would like to share you, as I have learned that my blog has a beautiful circle of bakerling followers, that "Creativity is a process" -Humans Of New York

The world is an open wide hole of ideas, sometimes it's hard to come up with an original idea, my job drains me sometimes, it doesn't make me sleep well a lot of times, It scares me at night when I feel hesitant of my own skills and talent, it upsets my stomach in the mornings of my presentations. The competition is rough; it's never easy to be a creator. But to create is a process; to be able to create a great product is hard work, a lot of research, time and a lot of positivity. Believe in your ideas, my friends, borrow ideas, get inspirations and remind yourself that in this industry, sometimes all we need to be successful is a cupful of guts.

I dedicate this entry to my late Aunt, on her first birth day after her passing, I am always grateful that I had two mothers in one lifetime; you are my epitome of Aunthood. And up to the sweet heavens where you belong now, I pray that your love continuous to shine on me whenever my path is dark and stormy.

Happy Chocolate making! Let's celebrate Home baking!

 Love and even better,