Hooray, quarter-end madness is over and we can bake at regular hours again! ;) No more midnight cakes and early morning frostings.

Raspberries as sooooo in season right now and they are mouth-watering. We had a few punnets in the fridge and had to guard them fiercely to make this White Chocolate & Raspberry Baked Cheesecake. Chocolate in a cheesecake takes it to a whole 'nother level. And just because, we topped in with a layer of raspberry cream before covering with fresh berries.

It was really really good. I kid you not.

This one's super special and close to home. For our grandmother who is 95 today. Lots and lots of love with this one!

July's one of those months that sneak up on you. Winter comes in full force. And it's nippy and fresh in the mornings. It's probably not the best season for fresh produce (fruit for cake making is pretty expensive in comparison to summer) and you learn to make do. It is also a month that starts the 'birthday season'.

Have quite of few of those coming up...!

This cake involves quite a few processes. Making red bean paste requires patience - soak, boil, strain, puree, cook, chill. And there are a few delicate steps with mousse as always.

Anyways, the initial green tea mirror that I had for the top layer... it didn't look so good. Matcha powder isn't exactly going to win any prizes for a good looking colour. In fact, its pretty dull and ugly. So had to improvise and redo it with a lot less matcha and a little green food colouring. This resulting in a much brighter colour but a lot less flavour in the mirror glaze.

But what was lacking there, it was made up for in the double layers of mousse. I'd like to try it with black sesame next time!

Oh yeah, not noted anywhere on the cake but... it was also partly for Justin who is 26 tomorrow. ;) But no candles or song!

Makes 6 Cups

Ingredients:
200 g good quality dark chocolate
3 eggs, separated
300 mL thickened cream
1 t gelatin, dissolved in 1 T hot water
1 T liquer (optional)

Method:
1. Stir the chocolate, sugar and cream in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until melted. Set aside to cool.
2. Stir the egg yolks, liqueur and gelatine into the cream mixture.
3. Refrigerate for about 20 minutes, until thickened slightly.
4. Use electric beaters to beat the egg whites until firm peaks form.
5. Fold into the cream mixture until evenly combined.
6. Refrigerate for 3 hours until set.