Basque Burnt Cheesecake (Cream Cheese Spread)

Since the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, the supply of baking ingredients have often been disrupted or faced shortages. Cream cheeses were one of the ingredients that often seen missing from the supermarket fridges. Therefore, when I spotted cream cheese spread from the fridge, I just grabbed it home. I believed that was better than having none. Luckily, the cream cheese spread worked well as its block cheese version. Besides the cream cheese spread, I have also added golden syrup and increased the corn starch quantity from my previous Basque Burnt Cheesecake recipe 😃
Love this soft and creamy cheesecake with a nice caramel taste from the golden crust 😋

Update: 3 December 2021

Prepared a Christmas theme basque burnt cheesecake with whipped cream and assorted berries 🎄🎅

Please scroll down to the end for the quick whipped cream preparation. 

Yield: one cheesecake

Pan size: 13cm round pan

Baking temperature: Middle rack of a preheated oven at 210℃ for 35 minutes, off oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Ingredients

Using 55g egg

All ingredients in room temperature

125g cream cheese spread/cream cheese block, thawed

40g caster sugar

5g golden syrup/honey

1 egg yolk

1 egg white

95g whipping cream

8g corn starch

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. Line the cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

2. Stir cream cheese, sugar and golden syrup till smooth.

3. Mix in the yolk.

4. Follow by egg white.

5. Stir in the whipping cream.

6. Stir in the sieved corn starch.

7. Finally, add the vanilla extract in.

Stir into a smooth batter.

8. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan.

9. Bake at middle rack of a preheated oven at 210℃ for 35 minutes, turn off the oven and let the cake stay for 5 minutes in the closed oven.

10. Allow the cake to cool down for about 30 minutes before lifting it out of the cake pan.

11. Refrigerate the cake for about 1 to 2 hours before cutting.

12. Cut and enjoy the cake cool 😋

Quick Whipped Cream

50g Bulla thickened cream/whipping cream 35% fat

30g Bulla double cream 45% fat

10g icing sugar

1. Keep a metal bowl and hand whisk in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

2. Whip all the ingredients together till reaching soft peak.

3. Spread the whipped cream over the cold basque burnt cheese cake and decorate it with assorted berries 😊 Keep the basque burnt cheesecake in the fridge a few hours before topping it with whipped cream and berries.

Purple Corn Strawberry Yogurt Bread

Most of us know that foods that carry purple colour are rich in antioxidant known as anthocyanins. I was glad that Purple Superfoods provide a 50g packet of Peruvian Purple Corn powder for me to try on my baked foods.

Together with strawberry yogurt, I baked the Peruvian Purple Corn powder into a sweet and aromatic soft milk bread 😋

Yield: one loaf of bread
Pan size: 21.5x11.5x5.5 cm
Raw dough weight: 468g
Baking temperature: At lower rack, preheat oven to 190℃, reduce to 180℃ and bake for 10 minutes, 170℃ for 13 to 15 minutes.

Ingredients

2g Peruvian purple corn powder
5g lemon juice
20g strawberry yogurt (I prefer Yoplait brand for its milder taste)

180g bread flour, unbleached
20g plain flour plus/plain flour
35g raw sugar
2g instant dry yeast

20g beaten egg
90g cold milk
20g condensed milk
2g evaporated milk/milk
20~30g water, added depending on dough moisture

2g fine salt

30g unsalted butter, softened

Some milk for brushing before baking
Some butter for brushing after baking

Directions

1. Mix Peruvian purple corn powder, lemon juice and strawberry yogurt into a paste. Set aside.

2. Mix all the dry ingredients, excluding the salt, in a in big mixing bowl before adding the wet ingredients, excluding the butter. Cover with a lid and let the dough undergo autolysis for about 20 minutes.
Knead using a hand mixer fitted with dough hooks until the dough become smoother. Gradually add in the salt while kneading.

Knead in the softened butter, until the butters are well incorporated into the dough. And the dough has become less sticky.

2. Do about 400 sets of "slap and fold" until reaching window pane.
Click the video to see the "slap and fold" process.

Shape the dough into a ball, spray some water over, cover with a lid, and let it proof for about 75 minutes, or till double in size.

End of first proofing

 3. Turn the dough onto a floured work top, deflate the dough, and divide it into 3 portions.

Shape into 3 balls, cover and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

Roll out the dough,

flip over, and fold in the two wings towards the middle.

Roll up the dough and seal the edge by pinching.

Place the shaped dough into a loaf pan lightly coated with butter.
Spray some water, cover with a tea cloth, and let it undergo second proofing for about 40 minutes, or till the dough rises above the rim.

End of second proofing

 4. Preheat the oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes. While waiting, brush a coat of milk over the top of the dough.

Bake at lower rack of the preheated oven at 180℃ for 10 minutes. Lower to 170℃ for about 13 to 15 minutes.

5. Remove from oven and and loaf pan, and transfer to a wire rack.

Brush a thin coat of butter over the hot crust.

6. Slice the bread after it has completely cooled down. Enjoy the yummy bread 😋