Baking Experiment Success Stories

 Well hello there! I don't have any tea today, and I'm not going to talk about coffee - anyone that knows me knows I song drink it. And I know it's been a while since I've posted anything at all, but you know, life. I'm going to do something a little bit different today and talk about food; I know this isn't a food blog, but I've been doing a lot of food related things lately, and I thought I'd share. 

In the 18th of may I had this incredible craving for cheesecake, and I absolutely adore cheesecake, but sometimes it's so heavy it makes me feel a bit ill afterwards. However, while I was in Galway last year I had the most amazing, light and fluffy cheesecake, so I thought I would try to find a recipe like it. The one I had was mint, but the one I ended up making was a lightly flavored lemon cheesecake, and it was sort of amazing. 

 Here's what I looked like while baking - nothing special; just a cheesecake. Well, actually, it's a Japanese Cheesecake. I found the recipe on Pinterest, and oh my gosh it was amazing. Personally there are a few things I'd do a little differently than I did, but that's partially because my pan is larger than prescribed so my filling was rather thin. However, I can't even tell you how satisfying this recipe was. And my cheesecake didn't crack along the top either, so it cooled properly and not too rapidly, which is a first for me! 

 

It looks like a pretty basic, round cheesecake, with nothing strange to offer, right? Right. Well, it was wonderfully light and lemony, and topped off with raspberries it was superb. 

 (Cheesecake recipe can be found at http://www.tofoodwithlove.com/2012/06/light-and-creamy-Japanese-cheesecake.html?m=1 )

This isn't the only Pinterest dessert I've made lately, either. A friend pinned a chia seed pudding recipe a little while ago, and we have an abundance of chia seeds at home lately (we use them in our breakfast), so I decided to try this out. I also had a can of coconut milk sitting in my cupboard begging to be used, and since I'm not a huge fan or curry, I decided this was the best was to go. It was really easy to make, and surprisingly good; I popped some fresh fruit into it when I packaged it up to take it to work, and the flavour melded into the pudding by the time I got around to having my break. It looks weird, and my family kept asking what THAT was 

 In our fridge, but it was worth it! The recipe for that goodie can be found at http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-simple-chia-pudding/ and it really is simple to make. I made the maple syrup one and used coconut milk, and it was fantastic and simple. 

I know this has been short, but hey, it's better than nothing, isn't it? So, how've you been; is the summer starting to beckon to you? And what are some of your recent cooking experiments, or recipes you love that sound strange? I've got to run and take some chocolate-quinoa cupcakes out of the oven (another random baking experiment), but I hope you're doing well! Please do tell me about your recipes; I seem to be in a baking/dessert experimentation phase :)