Fluffy Pancake with Carmalized Apples

It's the weekend again, something I look forward to for the past 5 days, haha! For these 2 days I get to relax a little and spend more time with my family. Best of all, I don't have to wake up so early. :P But once in awhile, I'll still try to make a special breakfast for my kids and husband on weekend mornings. So this post, I would like to recommend you this simple but yet fabulous breakfast which will take you no time to prepare. A wonderful apple pancake that is sure to drag them out of bed and to the dinning table. ;)

This pancake uses the usual egg yolk and egg white separation method. Although this method is slightly more tedious compared to the usual whole egg method, but it yields a much fluffy and soft texture. So get whipping!

This recipe is extracted from "西點學習大百科"，a book that my friend Grace recommended to me awhile back. It's in Mandarin book, but I'll just post up the English translation here:

Ingredients for Apple Pancake: (Serves 3-4 adults)

Caramelized Apple wedges

2 medium apples (any kind is fine, but preferably Granny smiths)

40g caster sugar

20g butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• Peel and core the two apples. Slice the apples into 8-10 wedges each.
• In a saucepan, add in sugar and a tbsp of water and on the fire at medium. Once sugar solution starts to turn amber, quickly add in the apple wedges and stir in well to coat.
• At this point, lower the heat to medium low, add in the butter and stir well to thicken the whole mixture.
• 
• Lastly add in the vanilla extract and cook for another minute.
• Let it cool slightly before use. In the meantime, prepare your pancake batter.

Pancake batter:

2 egg yolks

80g cake flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

100ml fresh milk

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 large eggs

30g caster sugar

• In a large mixing bowl, add in the egg yolks, vanilla extract, fresh milk and vegetable oil, stir well.
• Now sift in the cake flour and baking powder to the egg yolk mixture. Mix well and no visible lumps.
• In another mixing bowl, beat the 2 egg whites till foamy, then add in the caster sugar gradually and beat till stiff peaks.
• Fold in the whites to the yolk mixture in 3 separate portions and careful not to deflate the white.
• Place your pancake pan on the stove and add a little butter to grease the surface. On the heat at medium low. (I used my Happycall pan this time for easy flipping. :D)
• Pour the batter into the preheated pan. Then start adding in the caramelized apples wedges, making sure the wedges are well distributed over the pancake. Drizzle in the caramel over the batter as well, you don't want to waste that golden nectar.
• 
• Flip the pancake after 5-7 minutes at medium low heat. If you are not using Happycall, just use a big plate to help yo. Simply slide the pancake out onto the place the cup it down with the toasted side up this time.
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• Cook for another 5 -7 minutes then check if the pancake is golden brown. Once done, remove pancake and serve while still warm.

Cookbook suggested dusting the pancake with cinnamon powder and powder sugar, I omitted that since my kids aren't fans of cinnamon and I find the sweetness of the caramelized apples were just nice pairing with the pancake. Delish!

Hope this recipe will motivate you to make it for your family tomorrow...it's Sunday! It's delicious and much healthier then those hawker food or big breakfast at fast food chains. Best of all, it's made with TLC.

Have a fabulous weekend all! \(^o^)/

Light Chedder Cheesecake

I love light cheesecakes. It satisfy a craving and yet less guilt involved. I have tried a few versions of light cheesecakes before, all light and creamy but still has a slight differ in texture if you ask me. The first Feather light cheesecake I attempted has a large amount of milk in the recipe, and so it has a more milky taste to it. As for the Japanese Light Cheesecake I tried, it is creamier with a higher ratio of cream cheese. However the lemon juice used in the recipe really "brightens up" the taste, makes it even easier to down. (吃了不会逆).

The light Chedder cheesecake recipe I'm posting today is also uniquely different in taste and texture. With the use of Chedder cheese gives this cake a slight salty taste instead of the usual tang from cream cheese....I like it. :)

This looks so ordinary, but it taste all so good. The slight bouncy texture of the cake makes eating it very delightful. I wouldn't say this is creamy texture, but rather a light creamy cheese after taste. The slight salty and sweet gives it well balanced taste, even my picky sister said it's perfect. :D

I got this great recipe from 星厨房, will re-post it here for easy reference. ;) Thanks hsling!

Ingredients for Light Chedder Cheesecake (makes 8x8 square pan)

6 slices of Chedder Cheese

100ml fresh milk

100g unsalted butter

6 egg yolks

6egg whites (preferably cold, place in fridge after separating)

100g caster sugar

100g cake flour

• In a heatproof saucepan, place the butter, fresh milk and tear up the chedder chesee slices in.
• Place saucepan over medium low heat and stir gently until all is melted and mixed in together. Set aside for 5 minutes to cool before use.
• Ladle big spoonful of the milk mixture into the egg yolks. Mix well and then add in the rest of the milk mixture in. Stir well.
• Sift in the cake flour into the egg yolk mixture and make sure no lumps.
• Preheat the oven to 155C with a water bath. Grease and line an 8x8 square baking pan.
• In another large mixing bowl, add the egg whites in and beat till foamy. Add in the sugar gradually and beat till stiff peaks.
• Gently fold in 1/3 of the egg whites portion into the cheese mixture. And repeat with the other 2 portions and careful not to deflate it.Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the surface.
• Bake the cake in the oven for 50 minutes or till the tester comes out clean.
• 
• Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan before removing and let cool completely before slicing.

Love this cake. In fact I have baked this twice and planning to bake it again next week, heehee. :D It's simple to whip up and it never disappoints. Main thing to remember for this recipe is to beat your egg whites to the right consistency. :)

Okay all, gonna keep this a short one. Will try to post again this week...since I have way too many backlogs...(*_*")

Have a good evening all. (^o^)