My Obama lemon cheese cream tart

It was the USA election day last Wednesday. Both Quay Lo and I were eager to follow the progress of voting. We were both glued to the couch in the living hall. Our lunch was quick and simple and we had it in front of the TV. LOL! 

Simple lunch - grilled herb sausage 

and carpet bag egg on French toast with

sliced carrots and seedless grapes
(Photo taken with my iPhone 4S)

As soon as the the announcement of Obama was re-elected, we made an appointment with our good friends, “The Ishiis” . We want to celebrate the landslide victory of US President Barack Obama for second time in office. So we all decided to go dinner at our favorite restaurant "Simply Mels".

I like the cosy environment at Simply Mel's

When the food is good, we give our compliment. 

My Quay Lo signed the guest book and leave a positive comment.

If you have not been to Simply Mel's before, I would recommend that you check it out someday. Here are some of the dishes we have tried so far and they were all delicious. We have yet to try many others in the Menu and I have no doubt they will not disappoint us.

From left: 

Salada, Tauhu kung Pipinyu

salad, tau kwa and cucumber with Mel's chilli sauce.

Cincalok Fritters  - fluffy prawn fritters infused with cincalok

‘Sotong Garing’ (Deep Fried Calamari)

deepfried squid rings in a golden batter with garlic mayo

Incimintu Karangezu (Crab Stuffing)

freshly picked crabmeat, prawns, mince chicken, diced carrot, onion and turnip stuffed in crab shell. Served with Mel’s homemade chilli sauce

From left: Beef Ambiller Kachang - beef meat balls and 

Kari Seccu

dry portuguese beef curry and potatoes cooked in a thick, spiced gravy

From left: 

Kari Captain - sweet and savoury red chicken curry and Kari ‘Devil’ - debal curry with chicken and potatoes

From left:

Sambal Nanas kung Kambrang a sweet and tangy sambal with pineapple chunks

and prawns, served in pineapple. Soy Limang Terung fried aubergine in soya sauce & lime gravy with onions

Baked seabass 

From left: The Last Polka ice cream 

and chilled fresh durian in Mel's flavoured coconut milk

When there is a chance to meet up with my friends and family, I always like to share with them something I baked.  This time, the dessert I shared was inspired by my friend, Kelly Siew of "Kelly Siew Cooks". She was the runner-up for The Nutriplus Competition where I was one of the judges at the semi final - round one. Her tart won her a place at the finals. Since I baked this tart for the celebration of Obama election victory, I will name this tart after him. LOL! 

I did not replicate Kelly's lemon cream tart because I wanted something simpler to do since I do not have too much time to get it ready before we had to leave for the dinner. I found this recipe where there is no need to roll out the dough for the pie crust or the need to cook the filling. This was exactly what I wanted. I was a bit worried how the taste will turn out but then all my doubts were cleared when “The Ishiis” told me it was delicious and the balance of tartness and sweetness was perfect for them. My Quay Lo agreed the flavor was good but he preferred it to be a bit sweeter. So feel free to increase or decrease the amount of sugar and lemon juice accordingly to suit your taste.

Obama Lemon cheese cream tart

Adapted from Joy of Baking

Shortbread Crust:

1 cup (130 grams) all purpose flour

1/3 cup (35 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Method to make Shortbread Crust:

Lightly butter a 9 inch tart pan with removable base.

Put flour, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, use your hand to rub them together till the clumps formed. Place the pastry in the prepared tart pan and, using your fingertips, evenly press the pastry onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan and then use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface of the pastry. Pierce the bottom of the crust with a fork. Cover and place the pastry crust in the freezer for 15 minutes to chill.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C and place rack in center of oven. When the pastry is completely chilled, please a parchment paper on top and pour in some rice to weight down the pastry so that it will not puff up during baking. Put into the oven to bake until the crust is golden brown, about 13 - 15 minutes. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool while you make the filling.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees C.

Lemon Filling:

140 gm cream cheese, room temperature.

100 gm castor sugar (you can increase this if you like this sweeter)

100 ml lemon juice (you can increase this if you like this more tart)

20 ml water (omit water accordingly if you increase amount of lemon juice)

2 large eggs

1 tbs grated lemon

Method to make lemon filling:

In an electric mixer, place the cream cheese and whisk till creamy. Add sugar and whisk till combined. Add the eggs and combine thoroughly. Add the lemon juice and zest and have them well blended. Pour filling into pre baked tart shell and bake for approximately 25 - 30 minutes or until filling is set. Transfer tart to a wire rack to cool before cover and refrigerate to chill for an hour.

Topping:

240 ml cold heavy whipping

1 tbs icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Method to make topping: 

Put your mixing bowl and whisk in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Whip the whipping cream and icing until stiff peaks form. Transfer the whipped cream to a pastry bag fitted with star tip and pipe stars over the entire surface of the tart. Refrigerate till time to serve.

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