Chocolate Marshmallow Pie

i am currently so busy doing my thesis and doesn't have any time to do anything much. i still bake, but not as much as last month or the last two months. and though i already ran my business in custom decorated cakes, i completely restrain my self from taking any orders 'til aug 4. i don't want to end up failing either my thesis or my business, so i sacrifice one of them for now :( what about blogging? i still post today yeay! i'll show you chocolate marshmallow pie today, this is however could be considered as late post.

i was requested to make this chocolate pie few months ago for a sunday school services, the order was 125 pcs, and i have some leftover to keep. it was actually just an ordinary basic pie crust, filled with chocolate ganache (with a dash of cinnamon), and topped with mini marshmallow. i ever thought of putting a little more marshmallow on top of the ganache and torched them, but then i felt like i shouldn't overdosed those little children with sugar. it looks prettier with just one marshmallow anyway, i guess. this one is a very practical dessert and easy to love as well.. you can even make it faster using store-bought shortcrust pastry and just fill it with ganache.

strawberry and white chocolate mousse

hello everyone, i just looked at my blog's overviews and feel sad with the ongoing stats this week. hahaha. seems like i haven't been putting much attention and effort to this blog and its surroundings. but i'm here today, posting one lovely dessert i've made. it wasn't actually meant to be this thing. i got the original recipe from my favorite chocolate cookbook. it was at first written as white chocolate mousse. but the picture is so lovely because the clear white chocolate mousse was dotted with the red from raspberries, whole raspberry. then my mind went a little playful by thinking of making all of them turn pink. you may see the original picture from the book here, with my hands there, thinking of making some twist.

what i did to this white chocolate mousse is simple. in order to make it pink, i make strawberry sauce and just combined it with the chocolate mousse. tastewise, it tastes strawberry-ish, not completely strawberry. i think the flavor of the white chocolate still overpowers everything, yet it's quite scary to put more strawberry juice into it because i'm afraid too much juice wouldn't make the mousse set. however, this strawberry chocolate mousse still looks cute in my eyes, with those pink color and strawberry garnish. strawberry is just my favorite fruit. don't you think they're pretty as well?

well, this dessert is still refreshing and almost perfect to be eaten in a hot summer day, though some other twist might make it more delicious. next time i make it, i want to divide the mousse in layers, like one layer of white chocolate mousse then topped with strawberry mousse then topped with chocolate mousse and so on. also i think, making it with yellow-colored fruit such as mangoes or oranges might be yummy too. the color would be so summery. can't wait to make something yellow. anyhow, for you who curious with this dessert and its recipe, check the recipe and see if you can come up with another better twist! :D

steamed chocolate brownie

by the time you read this post, i am sure i have already arrived in Bali. yup, i am going on a vacation! i will be in Bali for 5 days. looks like i'm gonna have so much stories and photos and foods to tell and report to all of you. yayy! hopefully i can freeze almost every wonderful moment i will have there. but today is my last day in Jakarta before i go on my holiday trip, so let me just quickly tell you what's on the menu today...

it's the super moist super chocolatey rich chocolate brownie. this cake was so famous here a few years ago, should i say this is one of Indonesian cake creation. we love steamed cakes. what makes this cake special is the richness of the chocolate and due to the steaming process, all the steam trapped inside the cake which makes it extremely moist and decadent. moreover, we usually add some real chocolate in between the cake layer. some use chocolate rice but yesterday i went smart with a rich chocolate ganache. it was magical.

the key to success on steaming cake batter is you must make sure your steamer has already very hot and the water has boiled madly. be careful not to use high heat which can make your cake deflate by the time you remove it from the heat. just use medium heat and to prevent my cake deflating, i usually let my cake rest in the steamer with the heat off for about 10-15 minutes. i always love steamed cake due to its moisture, it is so satisfying and comforting..

truffle dough cookies

hello everyone! sorry for delaying yesterday's post to today. i had cupcakes project to do :) but i'm free now, yay! so, let me show something i made a few days ago. i've been crazy for anything chocolatey these past weeks. at first, i didn't really want to make all the chocolate goodies i have made right now. this one is the first. then after eating this, suddenly i crave for more chocolate! 

after baking this cookies, which actually are soft cookies, i ate it (of course, it couldn't be clearer) and i love those soft and chewy texture. no wonder it's called truffle dough cookies. and then, as usual, i gave this chocolate creation to my bf who is a major chocoholic. hours later, he texted me and said 'now i know what this cookies taste like, it tastes like steamed brownies!' and then i went like 'let's make steamed brownies!'. so the next days, steamed brownies are made. another days, i saw Leite's Culinaria tweeted about the milkiest chocolate ice cream recipe from Jenni. and you know what is going on next. lol. yes, i made that too. but now let me talk more about this cookies.

it is technically doesn't taste like steamed brownies. because it is a little crisp on the outside due to those icing sugar coating and it brings out the goodness from this itty-bitty sweets. when you bite it, the middle is still soft and sort of melt in your mouth. the key to this texture is the baking time and temperature. you have to be careful not over-baking it, because once you over-baked this cookies, you won't get the soft center we've been talking and longing. other tips from me, use your favorite chocolate brand. it will make you happier and more satisfied with any chocolate baked goods. 

callum's chocolate croissant pudding

i still remember those euphoria i was feeling when i first watched Junior Masterchef Australia, i frequently visited its website and rewriting all the interesting recipes in my favorite recipe book. however, i didn't really have that much time to try and taste all those delectable recipes. i've been so curious with this one recipe though, chocolate croissant pudding. it did look so mouthwatering and yummy when the judges tasted it way back then. so after almost a year keeping this recipe, i finally made it last week.

i tweaked this recipe a bit much because i just want to and i love it this way. hahaha. what i love from its original recipe is it only serves 2 ramekins, less fuss and less leftover if i wasn't so lucky. hoho. this croissant pudding is a pleasure for me and bf, we're both fans of bread pudding! we love eating it warm straight from the oven and without any other cream or jams. just as it is, but extra chocolate is never a mistake ;) however, even though we love this croissant pudding, 1 ramekins for 1 person still feels too much to eat at one time. i think it's better for me to divide the batter into 4 ramekins next time i make it, which is obviously soon.

the super fun part from my additional modification to this recipe is those chocolate ganache in the center, see the picture, it's like a burning lava from a volcanooo~.. hahaha. i have ready-to-use chocolate ganache in my kitchen now, it was part of a goodie-bag i got from baking demo last month. so practical to use, but making your own chocolate ganache is also quite simple though (1 part chocolate : 1 part cream). the first reason i added chocolate ganache is because my croissant was plain one and to do this recipe some justice, i certainly need to put some chocolate in it. so i added that ready-to-use chocolate ganache and just like i've stated above 'extra chocolate is never a mistake'. and also to make it more delicious and addictive, i add some more croissant and a lot of vanilla extract in the custard. ready to try the recipe?

kbb#24: rich chocolate tart

today, i will present you a chocolate treat. this rich chocolate tart was KBB's challenge for this July. i can guarantee you this tart is so sinfully delicious. but what makes this post special is because today i'm gonna tell you something a little personal about me and also this blog, it has something related with chocolate.

chocolate is almost everyone's favorite ingredient or food. if you've been following my posts these past years, maybe you've known that i am not a huge fan of chocolate. i like chocolate, almost love it, but not crazy with it unlike someone i know really well. i have a special someone who loves chocolate so much and again.. if you've read all my posts labeled under chocolate, i think this person is always being mentioned in each and every chocolate post. lol. the problem here, me who don't love chocolate too much automatically not really often make something related with chocolate, while S. is always waiting for a chocolate treat. S. is indeed a very important person in my culinary journey and the one i really don't like to disappoint with any foods i make.

this food blog, could be established mostly because of S., to be honest i am a girl who spend too much time thinking and hesitating in making decision. at first, i was just too afraid to make a food-blog, i thought i wasn't qualified enough to join this amazing world, but S. supported me and forced me to take that step and keep on moving forward. and here i am, quite proud of what i've done. until now, S. still supported me to make progresses in this culinary world and i'm overwhelmed with those supports. it really means so much for me. so.. to make this long story short, i would like to make this post and also this chocolate tart as a tribute for S.

but for all of you my dear readers anywhere you are, it doesn't mean that i don't wanna share this treat with you as well. there's a lot of slices there, you can enjoy it too.. :)

three colors trifle

this is my first time making trifle. you may see how messy it is. it doesn't look neat at all. but please remember, looks maybe deceiving. lol. for the exact meaning of trifle, i'm not quite sure whether this dessert i made can be called as trifle. i didn't use sponge cake nor ladyfinger to layer it, i used chocolate soil instead. for some of you who doesn't know what chocolate soil is, well chocolate soil is basically baked crumbs, it almost resembles cheesecake base (with graham crackers crumbs). the difference is in chocolate soil, it is completely made from scratch and it stays as crumbs until it is baked. i got the recipe for this chocolate soil from my cousin, he will soon graduated as a chef! i don't really know where he got the recipe from.

if chocolate soil is the actor of this dessert, then the white chocolate mousse is the actress, together they become superstars. the pressure point is to make the mousse silky smooth. if you can make it silky smooth then this white chocolate mousse will be flawless. it will be so perfect in flavor and also the texture. the keys to make it smooth are a perfect custard and a perfect whipped cream. never ever let your custard overcooked, it will curdle and nobody likes curdled custard. but if somehow you fail and get a slightly curdled custard, you may strain it using a fine mesh sieve, it helps a lot to clarify the custard. over-whipped cream is as bad as curdled custard. if you over whipped your cream, it may become buttery and not creamy anymore. when you whip your cream, stop at the almost stiff peaks not at the stiff peaks stage. however, i'm not Mr. Google nor Ms. Pastry Chef, so please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

this trifle consists of four different layers; they are chocolate soil, white chocolate mousse, strawberry puree, and the last is strawberry jelly. i put the strawberry to cut the sweetness of this trifle, strawberry gives some acidity to it so the trifle could end up in a balance of flavor. but i do regret something from this dessert, the strawberry jelly. it ruins the texture of my white chocolate mousse. maybe i should not put it above the mousse or what, i don't know. i think if i'll make it again, i will omit the strawberry jelly part. you may or maybe should omit that part too.. ;)

KBB#22: Spun Sugar

hello again my dearest reader.. today i'll give you one amazing KBB's challenge again. hmm, this challenge was quite shocking yet fascinating this time. i am so glad to be able to try and make this beautiful spun sugar. never tried before but i've already seen lots of them in my life and they are so wonderful. i've never thought that i'd make it somehow. i love making spun sugar, the reason is because i love pastries so much and i also love arts, making spun sugar is like combining those two of my favorites together. moreover, it's caramel! sweet!

spun sugar is basically done by burning sugar syrup until it becomes amber color and when it start to thicken it is shaped into our own imagination. we can use either spoon or fork, and for something more artsy we may use trimmed whisk. wondering what is a trimmed whisk? it is actually made by cutting all of the circular wire edge of your whisk so you will end up having a whisk that looks like Harry Potter's magic broom. lol. however, making spun sugar will create an awful mess in your kitchen so before you start spinning the sugar, please cover all your working area with parchment paper or newspaper.

to be honest, i didn't experience too much problem on making this spun sugar. i stick with the original recipe of this challenge and they turned out so satisfying for me. it is all maybe because i do caramel quite often and i've befriended them long enough, or maybe i'm just lucky this time.. the only key to create beautiful spun sugar is patience. you have to wait quite long to see the syrup turns into the amber color. and as you all may have known already, be very careful when you make caramel, you work on an extremely hot temperature. beside all of the spun sugar madness, KBB's theme this month was actually titled 'Made In Indonesia' and KBB still asks us to make something that was created by an Indonesian people or something that was originally came from Indonesia. so, i used one of my own recipe of Molten Chocolate Cake and decorated it with the spun sugar. ta-da!

famous amos' chocolate chip cookies

it takes me about 5 minutes to name today's post. i wrote one, then i erased it, and it keeps going on for 5 minutes until i finally decide to name it "famous amos' chocolate chip cookies". to be honest, i think it still sounds wrong for me because it's not famous amos' real recipe. it's almost. or maybe it's the real famous amos' recipe? man, this is really confusing.

i found this recipe around the blogging neighborhood. there was a story behind this recipe and not only story but also a controversy whether it is true or not. ha ha. i don't really care, what i care is that this cookie taste extremely amazing and unbelievably delicious. i got this recipe from Biskuit Raya through Mbak Regina's blog. she was a member of KBB and has so many great recipes in her blog. this recipe has been so famous since i haven't started blogging and i never thought i will finally make this.

the reason why i made this cookies is simply because i miss famous amos. famous amos has became quite rare here in West Jakarta. fortunately, about 2 weeks ago i went to my favorite supermarket here and find a kiosk that sells famous amos' cookies. love it so much. the only thing that stop me from buying a lot of it is because of the super expensive price. so i guess it would be a waste if everytime i want to eat that cookie, i have to spent that much money. that's why i give that recipe a try and found out that it really really resembles famous amos, both the texture and the taste. try this and i bet you'll think thrice on buying famous amos again.

donna hay's four tier chocolate cake

hey! valentine's day is approaching. have you planned your valentine's treat? i have. i've gone crazy with it. LOL. okay, please don't get bored with me talking about Junior Masterchef again. but because of that show, i have tons of thing i wanted to cook for the valentine's day. especially since there was so many pasta involved in that show, i wanted to make pasta for valentine. but that will be in next week's post, let's elaborate this one first.

today, i came to post Donna Hay's Four Tier Chocolate Cake. where this recipe comes from? Junior Masterchef (again). this is their pressure test on one of the episodes. this cake originally looks very innocent and plain. the point is to decorate them beautifully with 'less is more' principle. i always love berries when it comes to decorating pastry, this time i used red currant. red currant makes the cake looking more festive and merrier, but in the other hand i feel like i should use this decoration for Christmas Day instead of Valentine's Day. you can adjust the decoration to your liking, maybe with some heart-shaped candy for valentine? i can guarantee you this one is a must on your special day with your special someone. a cake that can make you feel loved more than ever, even when you eat it alone. 

when i saw the kids making this cake, i've thought about how easy and simple making this cake would be. i searched the recipe very soon from their site and found out that my thought is true. this is a simple cake with simple ingredients. i love making this cake. moreover, you should know how this cake tastes. this is the best chocolate cake i've ever tasted! i ended up making this cake twice. the first one was planned to be given for S. , the ultimate chocolate lover, i only tasted so little when he ate it and give me a small bite to try. i felt disappointed.. disappointed because i only made it for him! i should make some for me either. so the next day, i made it again and have a big slice for myself. then i assumed, my college friends would love this too, they've never tasted my baking-goods because we've been friends for just about 1.5 years. i still don't have the guts to give it to them. this is the first cake i gave for them and i'm amazed with their reactions. they can't stop slicing and slicing this cake and eat it! this is truly the best chocolate cake i've ever known. you should really try making this sensational cake..

mini white chocolate cheesecakes

i can't tell how sorry i am for leaving this blog (again). to be honest, i fell into a baking blue recently. i really miss my foodie-blogger friends especially these blogs: Bonita's Cooking and Bento Wonderland, Mlebu Pawon, Tengo Un Horno y Se Como Usarlo (i love her new blog design by the way!), Kitchen Notes, etc. so sorry i can't visit all of you lately.. and when i opened my dashboard today, i missed lots of their wonderful craft! too bad, i started to think that maybe my unfrequent visits and updates will be quite permanent as my college is really getting its serious business now. perhaps i could only post 3 items per month now.. huhu.

anyhow, today i got my mood back. i tried a new cheesecake recipe, this time with white chocolate. i've always been curious with baked cheesecake, i haven't found a perfect recipe to match the one i'm looking for but this one is almost perfect. people around me said 'this is marvelous!' 'this is uber delicious!' and i think this is delicious with a little hint of unique. this is so far the best cheesecake recipe i've found.

if i refer to the original recipe, this mini cheesecake should be just plain without any topping or garnishes. but i did a little beautiful touch to compensate the wonderful taste of it by adding piped whipped cream with a blueberry and cranberry, so everybody could be more tempted to give it a bite. i got this recipe from 'The Big Book of Chocolate' by Jennifer Donovan. personally, i don't really like the ratio of sugar in most of their recipes, i always find it too sweet for my liking or anyone around me. however, feel free to adjust it by yourself..

brownies

another hi..

i made brownies yesterday. i suddenly wanted to indulge my self with chocolate. rich one. this brownie could satisfy me of course.

jakarta's weather isn't so friendly lately. no, not about the heat but the rain and humidity. i hate this as i can't get fairly enough light for taking pictures and also kind of interfering my project with egg whites. traffic's jamming heavier everywhere makes me really hard to go outside and have some fun with my friends. anyhow, let's not talk about the rain here. i was meant to talk about brownies, this beautiful brownie.

i got this recipe from my cookbook, old one. brownie somehow makes my mood a little lighter in this weather, it's really funny how chocolate can sooth you anytime. brownie eaten with a glass of milk are also nice, though. have it in the morning and you'll have a wonderful day, don't you think so? i should do that more often. i have to admit that i'm not feeling so good these past days, something's bothering me. that something is connected with a biscuit, famous one right now. i just have not made it perfect. i'm stressed out here! i really should tame it before August. but i think, it's another business for another post. i'll tell you the details by the end of this month. let's enjoy the brownie first.

soft chocolate centers biscuit

aah, it feels really good to be back on track. i'm really sick of all my exam. just one left on 5th of July then i'll be free. fortunately, almost all of those exams went good. i'm really thankful.

do you know, i have some kind of habit to make a to do list about what to cook, what to do, where to go, who i want to meet in every single month, yeah.. weird. haha. and when it comes to july or december i will have an extremely long list. just so you know, i've written 11 dishes to make in my notebook. i'm so not sure i will make all of them, i love to plan everything but when i have to make them come true, i'll feel so lazy. back to the list, i've checked 2 foods from 11, wanna know what? it's rainbow chiffon cake and this soft chocolate centers biscuit. still long way to go..

some of you might have ever heard about 'center fill biscuit' by Cadburry. at first i thought, this one would be similar to it. it is actually similar, i just couldn't make them look similar. the taste? well, i think we should do some math for the sugar here, mine tastes real sweet. mom is anti-sweet, i'm so sure she wouldn't like these biscuits. brother and sister love them. daddy's not around, his company sent him to Kalimantan again for a while. i like these biscuits, they're lovable..

i got the recipe from Jamie Oliver. he has lot's of luscious recipe, i can't even choose one to be the most tempting. you should come and visit his web, look for some recipes, and try! after all, i have to say my biscuits don't have cute shapes, they look miserable. i want them look like Jamie's, i should practice more.

molten chocolate cake

first of all, i'd like to excuse myself for sounding hyperbolical on my post today. but really, that's the fact people, i swear it is.. and we shall get it started now..

this is one of the most delicious molten chocolate cake i've ever tasted, and this time i made it by myself. this is the best result in my baking and cooking history, haha. even i get a little too much confident by thinking that i can enter this recipe into a famous restaurant and this cake will become a top request there. it's soft, it's gooey, it's sinful, it's rich, and it's chocolate! who doesn't like chocolate? i guess most of the people in this world like it. some people might call this cake as chocolate lava cake because of it's gooey melted chocolate inside. this cake, whatever its name, is super-duper-extremely-very-very-delicious. 

one thing that makes me proud is because i formulated this recipe by myself. though i have to browse everywhere first to find the actual formula of this cake. but i come up to a big modification and recreate it. i add this and that to the recipe, mix 'em up, and bake 'em with crossed finger and prayer. other thing that makes me proud, i beat the eggs without any help from my electric mixer, i used a whisk and beat them until they became so pale and creamy. i know that you might think, 'so what's the great thing about whisking an egg without an electric mixer?' but please let me be a little proud since i did it for the first time. does any of you start to wonder about the difficult part, again it's the baking time. you have to ensure your cake is still gooey and wobbly in the center. if you bake them too long, they'll form a soft cake; too short, you won't get the cake texture wrapping the molten chocolate. i made this recipe for 2 servings only, just double or triple the ingredients if you want more servings.

chocolate mousse

sometimes last week, i've been visiting bookstore very often without any personal intention on buying any books. i'm just looking at some cookbooks, design books, literature, craft books, in the end i was just looking for a good book to read there and not at home. i love going to the bookstores and i will always will..

i found myself tempted so much for chocolate cookbooks. i have had one in my house, but i just wanted to have more and more if only i didn't think about the money since i was looking at an imported cookbook. my bf is a huge fan of chocolate, not that i'm not, i'm just not that crazy. by looking at those chocolate cookbook, one thing popped in my mind was that i want to make him some chocolate desserts again, it's been a while from the last time i made him a chocolate dessert (i didn't even do it on valentine's day, poor him). so i searched for something that he would definitely like, a chocolate mousse. he's been asking me to make this since a long-long time ago, i don't know why i finally just made it two days ago.. hehe.

chocolate ice-cream pancakes

few weeks ago, there's one recipe spread in KBB mailing list, it was this pancake.. this pancake recipe was taken from Alton-Brown Instant Pancake Mix recipe. modified by some of the KBB members, the original recipe makes a lot of pancake which my family won't be able to eat them out in one day. so i made very small amount of this pancake, it still could feed 3 regular-hunger stomach, i guess. hehe. 


remember my last post about apple and cream cheese cake? i said i have no ice-cream in my fridge. yesterday, mom bought 4 litres Haagen Dazs. who can't resist Haagen Dazs?! coincidentally it can topped my pancake also.. mom bought 3 flavors of ice-cream, the one i chose is the chocolate chocolate-chip ice-cream. more to go, i added grated dark-chocolate and chocolate syrup. so today's breakfast menu is pancakes topped with 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream, grated dark-chocolate and chocolate syrup. extremely chocolate..

about the pancakes themselves, i don't know whether i made them in the right texture or not, all i know that this is one delicious pancakes recipe. i ever made pancake before but it was not as delicious as this. i think you should try this yourselves and prove their deliciousness. hihi.

KBB#15: Mud Cake Cookies Sandwiches

Hello again, everyone! last october/november, i've decided to join an indonesian baking club called 'KBB' which stands for 'Klub Berani Baking', perhaps that's also the reason why i am interested in food blogging. hehe. and this month i've received my first task, a task which also my trial to know whether i am qualified to join KBB or not. this month's challenge is to make 'Mud Cake Cookies Sandwiches'..

i made this on my off-campus day, wednesday. i started at 10.00am in the morning by making the mud cake. yumm, i love this mud cake! plus, the extra point is that i used my favorite 'Ritter' dark chocolate and adding some chopped walnuts into the mud cake batter.

trouble came when i was going to make my chocolate cookies. oops, i'm running out of flour. so then i had to go to the nearest mini market to buy 1 packages of all purpose flour and continue my task again.

it is written to cut all the cake and cookies with 6cm cookie cutter, but i wore the small one about 4cm. the 4cm cutter is cuter for me.

the other thing i learn from the members is that this cookies and mud-cake are too sweet, so i did reduce the sugar in a wise amount, it's up to your taste actually. i forgot how much sugar i reduced. hehehe. but as far as i could remember, it's almost more than 50% in the cookies and 25% in the mud cake. :p

i didn't experience too much problems with this cookies and mud cake and also the ganache. but, reading some members' story about this cookies, almost all of them said it was so crunchy, mine didn't.. it's quite tough for the texture. though everyone was satisfied with these sandwiches, including my boyfriend, who is a chocolate-lover. hohoho. i am satisfied enough that day, but i'm more satisfied on the next day. i am so agree with all the members' opinion that these cookies taste better on the next day. haha.