Orange Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• butter x 125 grams (1 stick)
• coco powder x 3-4 tbsp
• salt x 1 pinch
• vanilla x 1 tsp
• baking powder x 1.5 tsp
• all purpose flour x 1 cup
• brown sugar x 3/4 cup
• orange juice x 2 tbsp
• orange zest x 1/2 tbsp

Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Mix egg and vanilla, until frothy. Mix butter, sugar, zest of 1 orange well. Mix with the egg mixture. Then sift flour and coca powder. mix well. Add a pinch of salt and baking powder. Mix until very smooth. Pour into a buttered and flowered baking pan. bake for 40 to 50 mins or until a tooth pick comes clean.  Take out and cool on a baking rack.

Filling/Icing:

• butter 30grams
• crushed pecan 1/4 cup
• icing sugar x as much as you fancy
• dark chocolate x 150 grams
• orange juice x 2 tbsp
• orange zest x 1/2 tbsp

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Mix in the sugar and pecans. Slice the cake vertically. Fill in the middle and put the halves on top of each other. Pour the extra filling on top of the cake. Let it cool in the fridge for an hour.

Blueberry Crumble

Ingredients:

• blueberry x 3 to 4 cups
• oats x 2 cups
• flour x 1 cup
• butter x 1 stick
• brown sugar x 1.5 cup
• cinnamon x 1 tsp
• lemon juice x 1 tbsp

Mix the blueberry with 1 tbsp of sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Place in a baking pan. Mix the dry ingredients. Cut the better in cubes and add to the mixture and mix using a food processor. Cover the blueberries with the topping. Bake in 350 F until blueberries start to bubble on the edges of the crumble.

Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust

• 1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
  

Use a springform pan or cover a round pan with foil, with the foil overhanging sides of the pan. This will make it easier to take out the cake from the pan. Mix crumbs, butter and sugar well, then pat mixture onto bottom of pan to form crust. Keep in the fridge.

Filling

• 2.5 packages cream cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (use 1/2 cup if using bittersweet chocolate)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 3.5 ounces semisweet baker's chocolate

Pre-heat the oven to 300 F. Mix the sugar and cream cheese in a big mixing bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla and salt and gently beat until the mixture has a velvety texture. Melt the chocolate, add to the bowl and mix by folding in using a spatula. Pour the mixture on the crust and bake for 40-45 minutes (this can vary depending on the thickness of your cake ... mine was about 1.5 cm thick). When you take out the cake and shake it gently, the outside edges must be firm, while the center is still loose. Let it cool for 15 minutes in the room temperature and after that refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Apple Crumble

I used this recipe from Epicurious and just replaced the white sugar with brown.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Apple-Walnut-Crisp-10321

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

I followed this recipe with a couple of minor changes: I used 1/4 cup brown and 2/4 cup white sugar. Also, I used one stick of butter (1/2 cup) instead of 13 tbsp

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Lemon-Poppy-Seed-Pound-Cake-105981

Chocolate Mousse

6 ounces (170g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
6 ounces (170g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup (60ml) dark-brewed coffee
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup raw brown sugar
1 cup whipping cream

Melt the chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Add the coffee and mix well. Let the mixture cool down. Add the egg yolks one by one and mix well.
Beat the egg whites until you can flip and hold the bowl on top of your head!
Add the suger to the cream and whisk until whipped
Add 1/3 of the egg white to the chocolate mixture and fold gently. Don't be harsh! continue until the egg whites are all mixed in. Do the same with the cream.
Pour the mousse into individual cups. Put in the fridge for at least 6 hours before serving.
This was the first time I made chocolate mousse. Next time I will try to tweak the recipe a bit and take more pictures of the whole process.