Lemon Cheese cake

Refreshing citrus cheese cake with lemon scent.Creamy smooth filling on a wonderful crunchy ginger biscuit base makes this cheese cake summery and fresh.

Ingredients:

For the base:

125grams digestive biscuits
125 grams ginger biscuits
100g butter melted
250g cream cheese (mascarpone)
100g icing sugar
100 ml pot double cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon essence or 1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest for adding to cream
1 teaspoon lime zest for garnish

Method:

Make the base:

1. Butter and line a loose-bottomed cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Put the biscuits in a plastic food bag and crush to make crumbs using a rolling pin.
3. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, then pour over the melted butter.
4. Mix thoroughly until the crumbs are completely coated. Transfer them into the prepared tin and press firmly down into the base to create an even layer.
5. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour to set firmly.

Make the filling:

6. In a bowl add the cream cheese, the cream, the lemon essenceor the lemon juice , lemon zest and the icing sugar .
7. Whisk thoroughly till its thick, smooth and creamy . Keep aside in fridge until ready to use.
8. Remove the base from the fridge and spoon the cream cheese mixture onto the chilled biscuit base, working from the edges inwards and making sure that there are no air bubbles.
9. Smooth the top of the cheesecake down with the back of a dessert spoon or spatula.
10. Leave to set in the fridge over night.

To serve:

14. Remove cheesecake from fridge and bring the cheesecake to room temperature, about 30 minutes before serving.
15. To un-mould, place the base on top of a can, and then gradually pull the sides of the tin down. Slip the cake onto a serving plate, removing the lining paper and base.
16.Garnish the cheese cake with lime zest.

Serve with Vanilla ice cream or just cream.

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Chocolate - Vanilla cheesecake

Submitting to ;
Cook .East.Delicious -Desserts Event by Raven

Marigold Flowers - Fruit and Vegetable Carving

Carving flowers from fruit and vegetables is something I am really enjoying, There are so many types of flowers with different petals and shapes. Each as  beautiful as the other.

Here I have tried a flower with a uniform petal shape, this is achieved using a u shape petal cutter rather than freehand method that is used on carving roses and carnations.You can use any vegetable or fruit such as carrots, radish, melon, potato, butter nut squash or pumpkin. My favourite vegetable to carve with is butternut squash as it has a wonderful texture and gives awesome results.
Here I have used butternut squash primarily for the orange colour.

Carving and making garnishes from fruit and vegetable is a simple and enjoyable hobby, it requires no special tools just a simple sharp paring knife and a video tutorial telling you how to do it.If you wish to have a go checkout the simple instructions here.

You have like:
Melon Rose carving
Submitting to:
Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Vegetable event by simply.food. guest hosted bySara of Saras Corner

To purchase the Bird beak carving knife click on the amazon link below.

White chocolate and strawbery tart.

A fast and speedy dessert that takes minutes to make but tastes absolutely scrumpticious.Crunchy biscuit base, with creamy white chololate topping  topped with luscious sweet strawberries and a generous scrapping of white chocolate.

Ingredients:

12 digestive biscuits
30 grams butter
240 grams white chocolate
125 ml double cream.
1 teaspoon vanilla essence.
240 grams fresh strawberries.

Method:

1.Put the digestive biscuits in a mixer and grind coarsely.(like breadcrumbs)
2.In pan add the butter and wait for it to melt. Add the biscuit crumbs and mix together.
3.Take four individual serving dishes and press the crumb mixture in the bottom of each dish and smooth with the back of a spoon.
4. Place these serving dishes in the fridge to chill.

5. Break up 3/4 of the chocolate  in to small pieces and reserve the remaining quarter .
6. Grate the remaining quarter and place in the fridge.
7. Place a bowl on a double boiler and put the chocolat to melt.
8. Once chocolate has melted remove bowl from heat and  add the double cream and vanilla  and whisk the mixture.
9. Take the chilled serving dishes out of the fridge and spoon over each biscuit base the white chocolate and cream mixture.
10. Slice the strawberries and place on top of the creamy topping.
11. Garnish with the grated white chocolate and serve immediately.

You may like:
Strawberry  Sundae

Submitting to:
Cook.Eat.Delicious.Desserts- Strawberries  event by Raven, guest hosted by Sizzling Tastebuds.

Rajasthani Sweet Rice

Delicious saffron scented  rice with a fragrant sweet flavour of cardamom and  almonds.

Ingredients:

1 cup basmati rice
2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee)
3 tablespoons jaggery (gor)
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1 tablespoon almond slivers
1/2 tablespoons almond flakes
1/2 teaspoon saffron.
2 cups  boiling water

Method:

1. Wash and soak the rice for 1 hour.
2. Drain the soaked rice and keep aside.
3. Heat clarified butter in a pan and  when it is hot add the rice and stir fry till all grains are coated in ghee and slightly toasted.
4. Add half the saffron and  and 2 cups boiling water to the rice.
5. Cover and cook rice for 20 minutes on the lowest heat setting.
6. After 20 minutes of cooking time add the jaggery to the rice do not stir it in just cover and cook for another 5-8 minutes. The heat from the rice will melt the jaggery.
7. After the final cooking time, add the almond slivers and cardamom powder and gently stir the rice to separate the grains.
8. Transfer rice to serving platter and garnish with almond flakes and remaining saffron strands.
Serve hot.

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Mohanthal

Submitting to:
Flavours of Rajasthan event by simply.food guested by Sonu of Palatecorner

Cantaloupe melon carving.

Fruit and vegetable carvings can be as simple or as intricate as you would like to make it. One of the most popular fruits that is used for carving and making fruit displays is melon. There are many varieties of melon , some with white flesh, some with yellow flesh, some with peach flesh and of course the watermelon with red flesh.

Using the flesh and in some case the rind as well beautiful patterns can be carved.My carving here is using a cantaloupe melon with peach colour flesh. A design of a central rose with cascading leaf pattern surrounding it.

Carving and making garnishes from fruit and vegetable is a simple and  enjoyable hobby, it requires no special tools just a simple sharp paring knife and a video tutorial telling you how to do it.If you wish to have a go checkout the simple instructions here.

For some beautiful melon craving designs check therse vidoes.
Melon carving part 1 and part 2

Water Melon carving

Submitting to:
Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Vegetable event by simply.food. guest hosted bySara of Saras Corner

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Melon Basket

To purchase the Bird beak carving knife click on the amazon link below.

Carnation Table decoration ~ Create n Carve Fruit and Vegetable carving.

Using some of the carnation flowers I carved , I assembled them in a little table decoration using toothpicks . I made leaves and flowers from cucumber and used a lemon as the flowerpot.

For details on how to make cucumber leaves click here.

Carving and making garnishes from fruit and vegetable is a simple and  enjoyable hobby, it requires no special tools just a simple sharp paring knife and a video tutorial telling you how to do it.If you wish to have a go checkout the simple instructions here.

Submitting to:
Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Vegetable event by simply.food. guest hosted bySara of Saras Corner

You can buy carving books and tools by clicking on there amazon links.

Carnation Flower Carvings

My passion for learning to carve is strongly growing and I have now progressed to learing to carve Carnations Flowers. Using White Radish and Butternut squash I have attempted to carve these Carnation Flowers. These are my 1st Attempts and they need much more improvement.

The video here shows how to make a gardenia flower , but the concept to make a carnation is the same.

Fruit and vegetable carving  can produce really pretty garnishes and simple decorations. It does not need any specialist tools , just a simple sharp knife.
If you want to have ago check this link out for a beginners  videos.
To purchase a simple basic carving knife  click on the below amazon links to purchase.

You may like:
Radish Flowers

Submitting to:

July Create n Carve ~ Fruit and Vegetable event by simply.food guest hosted by

Sara of Sara's Corner