Gâteau au fromage et au citron, recette japonaise

Temps requis :
- Temps de préparation : 30 minutes
- Temps de cuisson : de 50 à 60 minutes
- Prêt en : au moins 4 heures

Ingrédients :
1 citron
4 œufs
1 c. à table farine de maïs
1/3 tasse farine tout-usage
1/4 tasse beurre
1/2 tasse fromage à la crème
1/2 tasse sucre à glacer
1/8 c. à café crème de tartre
2/3 tasse crème fouettée

1. Préchauffer le four à 375 °F.
2. Séparer le blanc d’œuf de son jaune, et faire une meringue avec le blanc d’œuf. Pour faire la meringue, mettre le blanc d’œuf dans un mélangeur et le battre à puissance maximale pendant 5 à 7 minutes. Ajouter la meringue dans le sucre en 3 étapes, puis ajouter la crème de tartre lorsque des pointes molles se forment à la surface. Cesser de mélanger lorsque les pointes deviennent dures.
3. En préparant la meringue, tamiser la farine de maïs avec la farine tout-usage, râper l’écorce de citron et le presser pour en faire sortir son jus.
4. Faire fondre le fromage à la crème avec le beurre dans un bain-marie. Utiliser une cuillère pour bien brasser et les deux ingrédients ensemble. Avant de retirer le mélange de la chaleur, ajouter le zeste de citron et son jus, et bien mélanger.
5. Battre le mélange de fromage à la crème jusqu’à ce qu’il devienne léger et ajouter le jaune d’œuf en premier, suivi par les ingrédients secs. Battre à une vitesse moyenne jusqu’à ce que tout ait l’air crémeux.
6. Mélanger la meringue avec la pâte. L’incorporer délicatement et en plusieurs étapes dans la pâte. S’assurer de toujours plier la pâte dans le même sens, sinon, le gâteau pourrait ne pas lever.
7. Verser le mélange dans un moule à gâteau de 10 pouces de diamètre, et faire cuire au four préchauffé pendant 50 à 60 minutes ou jusqu’à ce qu’un cure-dent en ressorte propre. S’assurer de baisser la température à 350 °F aussitôt que le gâteau est au four. 
8. Retirer le gâteau du moule et laisser reposer à la température ambiante pendant deux heures. Mettre ensuite au réfrigérateur pendant au moins deux heures, mais préférablement toute la nuit.

Bon chance et bon régal!

Translated by Mariko Beaupré

Lemon flavour Japanese cheesecake

Timeline:
- Preparation time: 30 minutes
- Cooking time: 50-60 minutes
- Ready time: at least 4 hours

Ingredients:
1 lemon
4 eggs
1 tbsp maize flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/8 tsp tartar cream
2/3 cup whipping cream

1. Preheat the oven at 375°F.
2. Separate the egg white from the egg yolk and make a meringue with the egg white. To make the meringue, put the egg white in a mixer and beat it to maximum speed for 5-7 minutes. Add in the sugar in 3 separate steps and add the tartar cream when it reaches soft peak. Stop when it reaches hard peak.
3. While preparing the meringue, sift the maize flour with the all purpose flour, and grate the the lemon's skin and squeeze its juice.
4. Melt the cream cheese and the butter in a bain-marie. Use a spoon to stir and mix the two products together. Before removing the mix away from heat, add the lemon zest and juice, and mix well.
5. Beat the cream cheese mix. Beat until it becomes fluffy and add the egg yolk first and the the dry ingredients, beat at medium speed until everything looks creamy.
6. Mix the meringue with the batter. Add it in several steps, gently folding it in the batter. Make sure to gently fold in the same direction, otherwise the cake might not rise.
7. Pour the batter in a 10 inches cake pan, and bake it in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean when poking the cake. Be sure to lower the temperature to 350°F as soon as the cake enters the oven. 
8. Remove the cake from the pan and let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours and leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours, if possible, preferably overnight.

Good luck and enjoy! 

Zesty Lemon Cake

This lemon cake came from the idea of reaching a simple yet condensed recipe that many will like. It is difficult to choose a ground of satisfying Eastern Asian flavour with North American taste, yet difficult does not mean impossible. The magic of lemons is its rich flavour – sour, sweet, bitter – and its fragrant smell. Hence, this is how this recipe is inspired.

A note on flavours

It is difficult to describe taste in English. In the above paragraph, the taste of lemon appears so simple and bland in words. There are the basic tastes like salty, sweet, bitter, sour or hot, but tastes are not solely limited to these basic experiences, it is not only the tongue that experiences foods, the whole palate, the teeth, the gum and the throat are part of the process. Sadly, in most time, when speaking English, it could become difficult to describe a taste without using words that indirectly describes it. If one takes the instance of Chinese, the taste of lemon is much varied:

酸 Sour

甜Sweet

苦Bitter

澀 Dry and astringent

甘 Sweet as in the aftertaste

清 Clean

The possibility in providing a direct and concrete word would allow the tasting experience a different dimension. With more precise words, the speaker may convey a virtual experience of tasting and it creates less surprises to the people who would eventually do the tasting. This, however, is a personal remark.

Without waiting longer, you may now get to enjoy yourself the recipe of the cake.

Ingredients:

(cake)

300g all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

65g granulated sugar

65g butter

3 eggs

1 tsp lemon zest

1 ½ tsp vanilla extract

1 cup milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp plain yogurt

(syrup)

3 tsp honey

3 tsp lemon juice

(glaze)

1/3 cup powdered sugar

2 tsp lemon juice

½ tsp vanilla extract

Hazelnuts (or any kind of nuts)

1. Mix the all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt. Sift for finer taste.

2. Preheat the oven at 350°F.

3. Take a one or two lemons and grate to obtain the zest. Squeeze out the juice and let it aside.

4. Beat sugar and butter until it becomes fluffy in a mixer. Then add in the eggs, one at a time. When it is well blended, add in the zest, vanilla extract, milk and lemon juice.

5. Add in the dried combination from (1) in the blend. Using a spatula, mix everything. When the dried ingredients are well incorporated, mix in the yogurt.

6. In a 12” cake pan, pour the batter. Tap it to evenly spread. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes.

7. While baking, you can prepare the syrup and the glaze.

8. When taking out the baked cake, tap the bottom to let the hot air escape and prevent the cake from shrinking.

9. While the cake is still warm, brush some syrup. When the cake is ready to handle, yet not completely cold, you may spread the glaze. Before the icing freezes, top it with hazelnuts or any nuts of your choice. Let it sit for at least 4 hours to let the syrup to settle down.

Good luck and enjoy! 

Of Whipping Cream and Sponge Cake: The Classic Fruit Birthday Cake

Kids like me who grew up eating the stereotypical Asian fruit birthday cake would feel nostalgic about it. I remember envying other kids who got a chocolate cake or a cake full of buttercream icing for their birthday, I told myself that I would get that one day. And when it happened, well, things have changed! Thereafter, never again, I envied those kids. I started to have a strong liking for that typical American Asian birthday cake.

The recipe itself contains 2 parts, one is a sponge cake and the other is the whipped cream.

I completely forgot to take a picture of a slice of cake, but I'm sure you can imagine how it looks, or at least, try to do it to see how it looks! For your information, it has two layers of sponge cake with a filling of fruits and whipping cream in between.

Ingredients:

For sponge cake:

120 g all-purpose flour

2 g baking powder

2 g vanilla sugar

4 large eggs (separated into egg white and egg yolks)

130 g granulated sugar (separated into 45 g and 85g)

50g milk

25g vegetable oil

1 g cream of tartar

For whipping cream:

500 mL heavy cream

100 mL granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine the all-purpose flour, baking powder and vanilla sugar and sift them.

2. Then prepare a meringue: separate the egg white from the egg yolk. With a mixer, start beating the egg white. In a bowl, combine 85 g of granulated sugar with the cream of tartar. When the egg white starts to turn white, gradually add in the mixture of sugar and cream of tartar. Do not add it at once, add it in 3 or 4 times to let the dried ingredients mix well with the egg white. This will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes, until the meringue reaches stiff peak. Let it aside.

3. Now beat the egg yolks with the rest of the sugar (45 g). When it is well mixed, add in the vegetable oil. Let it beat for several minutes until the egg yolk mix becomes pale yellow and fluffy.

4. Preheat the oven at 375°F.

5. Add the milk and lightly beat it. Then by hand, mix the dried ingredients from step 1. When the batter is well mixed, add some meringue. The meringue must be added in at least 3 times. Gently fold in one direction. This step is very delicate, changing directions of folds or overdoing the mixing could cause the sponge cake to lose its volume while baking. Once the batter is mixed well, pour it in a 12 inches cake pan.

6. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the top becomes golden brown. Once you take it out, do not forget to tap it from the bottom so that the hot air can escape and prevent the cake from flattening. Let it cool for an hour before manipulating it.

7. Meanwhile, wash some strawberries and kiwis and wipe them dry. You can use other fruits than strawberries and kiwis, it is all up to your taste. Select the best looking strawberries to decorate them on top. Slice the rest of the strawberries and the kiwi. Take some paper towel and tap on the sliced fruits to remove the extra moisture.

8. Now, let’s prepare the whipping cream. Pour the heavy cream in a mixer to beat it. Add in some vanilla extract and start adding sugar when the heavy cream gradually thickens. Add the sugar in several times. Beat until the whipping cream reaches the consistency that you desire and put it in the fridge until the cake is completely cool.

9. When the cake is cool, slice it horizontally. Spread a thin layer of whipping cream on the top of the bottom slice of cake. Then place the sliced strawberries. Then before placing the other slice of cake, spread some more whipping cream. When placing the second slice, gently pat to make it even. Now spread the rest of the whipping cream and decorate it with the rest of the fruits on top. To make it even better looking, sprinkle some powdered sugar and cocoa powder.

Good luck and enjoy!