November Birthday & My 1st SHF: Matcha and Amaretto Chilled Cheesecake Served with Crème Chantilly ~ 抹茶與杏仁風味冷藏式乳酪蛋糕

Gosh, where did time go?! I didn’t even realize it is November until I was tapped for dinner for friends’ birthday! Of course, I am late for the monthly birthday post as well (what is new!). With my hectic agenda, all I could think of was how to whip up something suitably special to bring to dinner but not have to spend a full day making it. I adapted a recipe for chilled cheesecake from this wonderful book about cheesecakes by Kaori Ishibashi. I’ve found success many times with this book - this would be my 3rd entry that I’m posting here. If you’re interested how other recipes turned out then click here and click here.

I chose to do a chilled cheesecake to save time as the baked kind can take a long time and also because it can be prepared ahead of time. All exquisite in appearance, it is surprisingly easy to make. No, really, it was easy! Probably took me an hour (minus the chilling time). The hardest part was deciding what flavor of cheesecake to make. Knowing that we are having Japanese cuisine for dinner, I decided to go with something Japanesey. Therefore, matcha! I had matcha cheesecake before but I couldn’t really taste the matcha so I have been anxious to make my own. The original recipe has a subtle matcha flavor so I had to adjust to my liking. I suspect that it will taste quite different depending on what type or quality of matcha is used, so make sure you add a little bit at a time and adjust the quantity to your taste. It was paired with Amaretto cheesecake, which has a subtle almond flavor and goes well with matcha. I also recommend pairing with vanilla cheesecake.



Aside that this cake was made for people born in November; I had SHF in mind when I added the glaze and the edible gold. Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook came up with the November theme as “all that glitters” for Sugar High Fridays (SHF). I was thrilled because for once I am not late to submit my entry^^ For those of you who have no idea what is this SHF event: it is this international sweet tooth blogging extravaganza, created by Jennifer at The Domestic Goddess. It has been going strong since October 2004, giving food lovers around the world an excuse to make something sweet each month. I am so excited to be part of this!

With this light and mousse-like, yet rich and creamy texture, you’ll return for a second serving and maybe third =) I really like this cake and I hope E & D loved it too!

Matcha and Amaretto Chilled Cheesecake – make one 6cm x 6cm x 23cm oblong cake

Matcha Cheesecake
250ml whole milk
3g agar powder* (Kanten/寒天- かんてん)
150g cream cheese
50ml whipping cream
50g granulated sugar
3tsp matcha powder
1tsp lemon juice

Amaretto Cheesecake
250ml whole milk
3g agar powder
150g cream cheese
50ml whipping cream
40g granulated sugar
2drops vanilla extract
2tbs Amaretto liquor

*What is Agar powder/Kanten? Click here!

Prep:
- Wrap the cream cheese in plastic food wrap and place in microwave on low for 1 minute to soften it.
- Sift the matcha once; set aside.

For the matcha cheesecake:
Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, whisk cream cheese until blended then add in other ingredients in the following order: --> sugar --> lemon juice --> matcha --> whipping cream, make sure that each item is well blended before adding another; set aside.

Place milk and kanten powder in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid mixture sticking to the saucepan. Once boil, turn heat down to low and continue to boil for another minute, stirring constantly to avoid mixture sticking to the saucepan. Remove from heat, then gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture while stirring non-stop. Mix well until combined then strain the cheese mixture; pour into the cake mold and let cool. Once cool, place into the fridge and leave to set for 2-3 hours.

For the Amaretto cheesecake:
Place the cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Using a whisk, whisk cream cheese until blended then add in other ingredients in the following order: --> sugar --> vanilla extract --> whipping cream, make sure that each item is well blended before adding another; set aside.

Place milk and kanten powder in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly to avoid mixture sticking to the saucepan. Once boil, turn heat down to low and continue to boil for another minute, stirring constantly to avoid mixture sticking to the saucepan. Remove from heat, then gradually pour the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture while stirring non-stop. Mix well until combined then strain the cheese mixture then add in the Amaretto, stir well. Pour cheese mixture into the cake mold on top of the matcha cheesecake, let cool then place into the fridge and leave to set over night or at least for 3 hours.



Crème Chantilly - makes 1 ½ cups

150ml heavy whipping cream, chilled
2tbs caster sugar

Combine chilled cream and caster sugar in a mixing bowl; using a handheld mixer, beat cream from low speed and gradually turn to higher speed until peaks form. Chill while you prepare the glaze.

Nappage au thé matcha (Matcha glaze)
Nappage is a neutral glaze use to add shine to pastry. I got it from this place.

1tsp matcha
1tbs hot water
1tsp caster sugar
2tbs neutral cold glaze

Stir together matcha, caster sugar and hot water in a small bowl. Once matcha completely melted, heat the neutral glaze on medium heat for 20 second using the microwave then add it to the matcha mixture; stir until completed combined. Let cool to touch before use.

Decorating the cake:
To unmold the cakes: wrap a hot towel around the cake mold for 10 second then flip the mold over so the cake can slide out. Brush the matcha glaze on top of cake using a pastry brush, then place in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes. Remove cake from fridge, with an icing knife in hand, spread and coat the edges on top and long sides of the cake. Move the knife with long stroke so the cream will appear smooth and mirror-like. Pull the cream atop toward the center so it will resemble melting glacier. Place it back into the fridge another 15 minutes to set. Sprinkle some edible gold before serving.

Cake Slicing 101
You can get your cake sliced just like the one they sell in the patisseries by following these simple steps: first soak a knife in a cup of hot water, wipe off with a towel, then cut the cake while knife is still warm. Try to cut it through with only one cut and do not “saw”. Whip off any cake crump/residue and slice again. Just repeat these steps and you will have neat and pretty slices of cake that rival what they sell in the patisseries!



抹茶與杏仁風味冷藏式乳酪蛋糕 - 6cm x 6cm x 23cm磅蛋糕模具一個份

抹茶乳酪糊
250ml 全脂奶
3g 寒天粉*
150g 奶油乳酪
50ml 鮮奶油
50g 細砂糖
3茶匙 抹茶
1茶匙 檸檬汁

Amaretto乳酪糊
250ml 全脂奶
3g 寒天粉
150g 奶油乳酪
50ml 鮮奶油
40g 細砂糖
2drops 香草精
2湯匙 義大利杏仁酒

*究竟寒天- かんてん是什麼東西呢? 點這裡~

事前準備:
- 將奶油乳酪用保鮮膜包起來﹐放進微波爐﹐以弱溫加熱1分鐘﹐使其軟化。
- 抹茶過篩1次﹐備用。

抹茶乳酪糊:
將奶油乳酪放入mixing bowl裡用打蛋器攪拌至順滑﹔再依序加入細砂糖 à 檸檬汁 à 抹茶 à 鮮奶油﹐每加入一樣都必須確實攪拌均勻, 備用。

將牛奶和寒天粉放入小鍋裡﹐開中火加熱﹔不停的輕輕攪拌奶漿﹐讓它不會燒焦或黏鍋。煮至沸騰後轉小火繼續煮1分鐘至寒天粉完全溶解﹐熄火。將奶漿緩緩的逐次加入乳酪糊中﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑後用濾網過濾﹐倒入模具中。待靜置放涼後﹐放進冰箱冷藏2 - 3個小時。

杏仁乳酪糊:
將奶油乳酪放入mixing bowl裡用打蛋器攪拌至順滑﹔再依序加入細砂糖 à 香草精 à 鮮奶油﹐每加入一樣都必須確實攪拌均勻, 備用。

將牛奶和寒天粉放入小鍋裡﹐開中火加熱﹔不停的輕輕攪拌奶漿﹐讓它不會燒焦或黏鍋。煮至沸騰後轉小火繼續煮1分鐘至寒天粉完全溶解﹐熄火。將奶漿緩緩的逐次加入乳酪糊中﹐用打蛋器攪拌至順滑後用濾網過濾﹐加入義大利杏仁酒﹐拌勻。待燒微放涼後﹐倒在抹茶乳酪糊上﹐再放進冰箱冷藏凝固至少3個小時或一個晚上。



香堤麗鮮奶油 – 約1 ½ 杯份量

150ml 鮮奶油
2湯匙 細砂糖

將鮮奶油和細砂糖放入mixing bowl裡﹐用電動打蛋器先以低速打發鮮奶油至起泡﹐再轉中速攪打至出現尖角的程度。將鮮奶油放冰箱冷藏10分鐘即完成。

抹茶鏡面
鏡面果膠讓蛋糕晶瑩發亮~ 在這裡買的好東西^^

1茶匙 抹茶
1湯匙 熱開水
1茶匙 細砂糖
2湯匙 無味純果膠

將抹茶﹑細砂糖﹑熱開水混合拌勻至抹茶完全溶解。加進加熱過的無味純果膠﹐快速攪拌均勻。稍微放涼後﹐備用。

組合及裝飾蛋糕:
先將蛋糕脫模﹕以溫毛巾圍著模型溫熱10秒後﹐翻轉倒扣脫模。將微溫的抹茶鏡面用毛刷刷在蛋糕正上方﹐然後放進冰箱冷藏10分鐘。取出蛋糕﹐用抹刀將香堤麗鮮奶油平均的抹在蛋糕的正上方邊緣及長邊。再用抹刀將上面邊緣的鮮奶油拖向中間﹐形成溶雪的樣子。再放冰箱凝固15分鐘。享用前撒些食用金箔點綴即可。

究竟如何切出像patisseries賣相的蛋糕呢?
一點也不難喔﹗只要用溫熱過的刀子來切﹐就可以切得像店家賣的一樣整齊。首先﹐將刀子浸在熱水裡﹐擦乾就可以切了。每切完一刀﹐就把沾在刀子面上的蛋糕屑擦乾淨﹐並再度放進熱水裡溫熱﹔重複這些步驟就成了。

Shout out to Elaine: Happy Birthday!!! Another great year ahead =)