Vaniljekranse Danish Butter Cookies: A Long Update…
I made Vaniljekranse, or better known as Danish butter cookies about two weeks back in response of a calling from my childhood, a craving from the yesteryears. After the recipe was published, I was elated by all the wonderful response it received. Particularly from a baking and cooking group on facebook which I subscribe to. The folks there are simply wonderful, eager-spirited and so full of encouraging positiveness. I was gladden by the overwhelming response it’d received, that a lot of them took it upon themselves to have the recipe tested and came with a lot of helpful feedback which allowed me to review the recipe which was used.
囍有此梨 Poached Pear in Aged Osmanthus Wine
Poached Pears in Red Wine is a signature french fruit dessert which is both easy to prepare and delcious to enjoy. Better known as “Poires Au Vin Rouge“, this french classic uses port or some other full-bodied fortified wine as a base for a thick syrup enriched with spices. Its origins can be traced back to another French dessert named Poire belle Hélène created by by Auguste Escoffier, named after the operetta La belle Hélène by Jacques Offenbach. Incidentally creating desserts after popular themes or famous people seemed to be Escoffier’s favorite past-time speciality as he also gave us Pêche Melba, after the famous Australia prima donna. Jacky Wu of 囍宴 Xi Yan, a restaurant chain in Hong Kong and Singapore specialising in the concept of “private dining” decidedly gave this dish an Oriental twist with their restaurant signature “囍有此梨” 桂花陳酒燴啤梨 Poached Pear in Aged Osmanthus Wine, with the incorporation of 桂花陈酒 aged osmanthus wine from China. The palate experience provided is quite different from that of the original Poires Au Vin Rouge but no less enjoyable!
Simple Eats – Feather Light Fromage Blanc Cheesecake
One of the dining places we used to frequent over weekends was Ichiban, a Japanese restaurant at Parkway Parade as J loved the Tori Katsu Curry there. They have a loyalty card system where diners get a stamp for every 20 dollars spent. The stamps are then redeemable for free food items or dining vouchers. Many a times, we find ourselves falling short of just a few bucks to getting another stamp and of course the stack of Ichiban Fiesta Japanese Cheesecake sitting beside the cashier’s was the best option to “top up our bill”. Over time, we grew to love this cheesecake, buying it at every opportunity, even when we are not dining there.
I saw several fellow friends in the blogging community who have really positive reviews on the Featherlight Cheesecake recipe from Alex Goh’s “Fantastic Cheesecake” and I couldn’t resist the temptation to try it as well. Cathy from Cathy’s Joy and Jess from J3ss Kitch3n were a great source of motivation so despite not having tried this before, I jumped on the bandwagon and the cake was indeed true to what had been raved; the texture was very soft and light, totally effortless on the palate. Instead of using conventional creamcheese, I decided to use Fromage Blanc for the cake, since I bought a tub earlier in the week from Carrefour to have a taste of the real thing and compare with the ones I’d yielded from my earlier experimentation. Some modifications to the original recipe were made and I’d listed them below.
travellingfoodies 