three colors trifle

this is my first time making trifle. you may see how messy it is. it doesn't look neat at all. but please remember, looks maybe deceiving. lol. for the exact meaning of trifle, i'm not quite sure whether this dessert i made can be called as trifle. i didn't use sponge cake nor ladyfinger to layer it, i used chocolate soil instead. for some of you who doesn't know what chocolate soil is, well chocolate soil is basically baked crumbs, it almost resembles cheesecake base (with graham crackers crumbs). the difference is in chocolate soil, it is completely made from scratch and it stays as crumbs until it is baked. i got the recipe for this chocolate soil from my cousin, he will soon graduated as a chef! i don't really know where he got the recipe from.

if chocolate soil is the actor of this dessert, then the white chocolate mousse is the actress, together they become superstars. the pressure point is to make the mousse silky smooth. if you can make it silky smooth then this white chocolate mousse will be flawless. it will be so perfect in flavor and also the texture. the keys to make it smooth are a perfect custard and a perfect whipped cream. never ever let your custard overcooked, it will curdle and nobody likes curdled custard. but if somehow you fail and get a slightly curdled custard, you may strain it using a fine mesh sieve, it helps a lot to clarify the custard. over-whipped cream is as bad as curdled custard. if you over whipped your cream, it may become buttery and not creamy anymore. when you whip your cream, stop at the almost stiff peaks not at the stiff peaks stage. however, i'm not Mr. Google nor Ms. Pastry Chef, so please feel free to correct me if i'm wrong.

this trifle consists of four different layers; they are chocolate soil, white chocolate mousse, strawberry puree, and the last is strawberry jelly. i put the strawberry to cut the sweetness of this trifle, strawberry gives some acidity to it so the trifle could end up in a balance of flavor. but i do regret something from this dessert, the strawberry jelly. it ruins the texture of my white chocolate mousse. maybe i should not put it above the mousse or what, i don't know. i think if i'll make it again, i will omit the strawberry jelly part. you may or maybe should omit that part too.. ;)

ginger creme brulee

i have a long list of sweets i wanted to make lately. but they basically need more egg whites than egg yolks. regarding to it, i decided to make some desserts with yolks first and the simplest yet satisfying one is creme brulee. but maybe this is going to be my last creme brulee in some short terms, i've been making quite many brulees recently and eating them frequently makes me almost sick. lol. that's why i think maybe i should give my self a break from it for a while.

the creme brulee i made this time is flavored with ginger. the idea came to me due to my preferences of drinking wedang ronde or sekoteng. wedang ronde and sekoteng are two of our traditional desserts in Indonesia. both of them have warm sweet ginger soup, wedang ronde is a warm sweet ginger soup with glutinous rice ball stuffed with peanut paste while sekoteng is a warm sweet ginger soup with roasted peanuts, tapioca pearls, toasted white bread, etc. they taste wonderful, i should post it here someday. well, back to the reason why i made this ginger creme brulee. sekoteng and wedang ronde are commonly served warm, however i sometimes prefer mine cold. haha.

i always like the sensation of eating cold ginger-something. ginger gives a sweet and warming flavor to your body, it is very nice to enjoy ginger warm on rainy days, it can quickly warm you. however, i mostly have it on sunny days so i prefer the cold version. that's why i came up with this ginger creme brulee. i thought maybe infusing a hint of ginger flavor in custard would be nice. and the result... unfortunately i still prefer vanilla creme brulee. hahaha. i still couldn't give my heart to any brulee flavor except vanilla. lucky vanilla, pity me.. but still, this brulee actually has unique flavor and i pretty like it too. how about you?

onbitjkoek

hello everyone! i'm back again. haha. this time will be the time for onbitjkoek. onbitjkoek is one of the traditional Indonesian sweets which may be influenced by the Dutch. well, it is basically a sponge cake flavored with spices and lots and lots of java almonds. this cake will make a good recommendation for elder people though. not preferably for us, under 40 years old. lol.

the reason why i want to make this cake is because i had a big family gathering today. most of the attendance are elderly. since onbitjkoek probably will suit their taste-bud, i decided to make this classic cake. i always love the technique of making sponge cake. i failed thousand times before when i have just started baking. however, i eventually succeed and it felt so satisfying, that's why i love making it now. it feels like repeating your victory over and over again. ;)

i used KBB as my references on making this onbitjkoek. KBB ever came with onbitjkoek challenge when i haven't joined them yet. i saw the recipe not from KBB's website but from KBB's member's blog, it was Mbak Hanna's blog. she made a slight modification for this cake and i thought it is better with the modification. this is an excellent recipe and i feel glad using this recipe. all people eating this say that it was delicious. so why don't you give it a try and make this soon?