18 graham crackers/digestive biscuits, crushed finely
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4 8oz packages of cream cheese
1½ cups white sugar
⅔ cup milk
4 eggs
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1tsp finely grated orange zest
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 175ºc.
2. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Mix crackers/biscuits and melted butter in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom and about half an inch up the sides of the springform pan.
4. Whisk flour, sour cream and vanilla extract in a bowl, and set aside.
5. Stir cream cheese and sugar with a wooden spoon in a large bowl until evenly incorporated, about 3 to 5 minutes.
6. Pour milk into cream cheese mixture and whisk until just combined.
7. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition.
8. Stir in lemon and orange zests, and sour cream mixture. Whisk until just incorporated.
9. Pour mixture into springform pan and bake for about an hour, when the edges have puffed up slightly and the surface of the cheesecake is firm except for a small spot in the middle which should jiggle when the pan is gently shaken.
10. When the baking time is over, turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 3 to 4 hours to prevent cracks in the cheesecake.
Flor Patisserie is a little bit of a trek for those who don't know the area well. Its closest MRT (stands for 'Mass Rapid Transit' – Singapore's version of the Tube/Underground) stations are Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar, but Janice, Venetia and I unknowingly took a long walk from Outram Park Station with the help of a smartphone.
The patisserie is small – there's a capacity of six diners within the shop, with another three or so additional sets of tables and stools outside along the walkway. A few shelves affixed on the wall holds little bags of special cake-slices and cookies which are up for sale, such as walnut cookies, chocolate madeleines, butter cakes, coffee biscuits, sesame cookies, etc. Most of these have a covered bowl of sampling pieces by their side, which is great for curious tasters like myself.
The three-tiered display cabinet by the cashier was empty other than the top shelf, which was quite a shame, as options were limited, and it showed. Janice and I went for the mont blanc (above)for SG$6.95. (£3.50) After unwrapping the surrounding foil, there lay a light yellow sponge cylinder topped with chestnut cream, pierced by chocolate curls and a flaky pastry shard. Unfortunately, the latter was soggy and papery, and I felt that the dessert should have done without it.
The taste of the entire cake was extremely subtle, a la Japanese baking style of Chef Yamashita. The first bite didn't speak much, but the light chestnut flavour came through with more bites, and a single sweet chestnut is later revealed under the carefully-piped cream. Both the texture of the sponge and cream was light and airy, very easy to eat. It was my first time trying a mont blanc, and I quite enjoyed it, but I must say that it was overpriced for its size.
On a side note, check out this video of a Japanese YouTuber mum making 'dessert soba noodles'! (Actually a giant mont blanc) Watch until the end, her daughter's reaction is priceless.
I had a bit of Venetia's Wakakusayama, [pause to catch breath] which is a green tea Swiss roll filled with red bean cream, topped with fruits and sweet chestnuts. (SG$7.30, £3.65)
The flavour of green tea was strong in this cake. Rather heavy, almost bitter, not for those who usually stick to sweet treats. The red bean cream had a lot of authentic red bean taste, which is special to taste.
My friends and I decided to share an 'Ice Cheese Tart' out of curiosity. Each tart costs SG$3.40 (£1.70), and has varieties of strawberry, green tea, maple, mango, chocolate & orange, yuzu and caramel, which we ended up choosing.
The 'Ice Cheese Tart' turned out to be pretty much a frozen mini-cheesecake stuck fast to a paper mould, with an almond biscuit base. It was pretty annoying trying to bite or cut through the rock-solid cheesecake, but we didn't have patience to wait for it to thaw either.
The taste of the cheese tart was striking, and absolutely great. There's a distinct saltiness in the cream cheese which really improves the flavour of it. I didn't notice any obvious caramel flavour, but I'm guessing it was infused into the cream cheese somehow. I wouldn't mind going back to try the other flavours, especially maple, but I do wish they would sell these un-frozen!
Just when the three of us thought that we'd had enough cake for the day, a tray of Strawberry Soufflé (SG$6.60, £3.30) magically appeared on the only-occupied shelf in the display cabinet when it wasn't there before, threatening to become dessert for our dessert!
Gotta have it, we thought. It was okay height-wise, but was a narrow slice. Piled with blueberries and strawberries encased in clear jelly, the cake is made up of a thick middle layer of light, aerated cheesecake topped with chantilly cream and strawberry chunks, all sandwiched between light sponge cake, plus fine biscuit crumbs stuck to the side.
It was a very impressive cake, and I loved the hint of lemon in the cheesecake, which gave it a quiet, pleasant tang. Despite it being cheesecake, it was not too rich at all, because of the soufflé technique used to create an airy texture. The other two girls commented on sour strawberries, but the ones I ate seemed fine. This is a cake I'd come back for, it's delicious.
Due to the long walk under the hot, late-afternoon sun, we each got iced tea to cool ourselves down and quench our thirst. Janice went for green tea, Venetia a peach tea, and for myself, a mango tea. (SG$4.50, £2.25, except for the green tea which was slightly cheaper)
The teas were very pure – teabag, water, ice cubes, and no added sugar. I could barely taste mango in mine, but it was refreshing, nevertheless. The staff at Flor gladly lets you top up the water in your cup, so you can maximise the use of the teabag.
We each ended up spending about SG$15 (£7.50) per person, with all the drinks and shared cakes. Not somewhere one would frequent as a student, but a nice, quiet place to go for an occasional dessert-escapade, especially if you're into Japanese desserts.
The following is an insight on how three girls enjoy a Friday night with movie and food.
First we spend the whole week fantasizing about how we would add stuff like corn, pepperoni, mushroom, olives, ham, pineapple, minced meat etc. onto some awesome cheese-filled-crust pizza dough and put it in the oven for an epic Sunday movie-night, but then other plans arise and we are at Tesco at 6pm on a Friday night after a long day at school, lazy to knead dough and discovering that there is no pre-made pizza dough available in the gigantic Tesco in Twickenham.
We give up and scan the chilled ready-to-bake pizzas which were selling at 3 for £5 – perfect, one for each of us.
DJ P-Zah tears it up!
We threw these together in the oven while setting up a DVD of The Help. 12 mini scotch eggs went into the oven too – it was our first time trying these British appetizers, which are boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. I wonder why the person who invented this wasn't satisfied with a boiled egg and had to coat it with all sorts of gunk.
Dissection of a scotch egg
One of my friends didn't quite like the egg, but I did. It was just a little pleasant treat with a nice crusty touch, and I'm looking forward to tasting real scotch eggs, which aren't from Tesco, someday. Those that look like this.
The pizza was really satisfying as well. They baked well in the oven, and had great tastes, and loaded with ingredients. The 'deep-dish' one just happened to have a thicker base rather than more ingredients, just a heads up.
'Meat feast'
Although we each had a pizza, it is a universal, mutual agreement that there is always room for dessert. Tesco's Bramley Apple Crumble comes in a box like this:
Months ago, we removed the paper sleeve and placed the plastic box into the oven, which warped. So this time, we scooped it out of the container, which kind of ruined it, but we didn't care because this Bramley Apple Crumble is so good, especially when topped with vanilla ice cream. (~£1 for a container the size of three-ish bricks)
Apologies for the lousy picture, I didn't want the ice cream to melt.
I haven't had much apple crumble before, because I've only just recently become a baked-apple fan, but I really do love Tesco's Bramley Apple Crumble. The crumble is sweet and crunchy, and the filling is plentiful, warm and yummy. The warm mess combined with simple vanilla ice cream is the perfect dessert, especially with all the different textures.
I felt 9 months pregnant after eating dessert, because the freezer was too small for ice cream, so we had to finish it, therefore I kept on dolloping spoonfuls of ice cream onto my crumble.
