Daring Baker's: Orange Cheesecake

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

This month I was ready to get back into the Daring Bakers Challenge (moreover, since I missed the last one). I decided to make this cheesecake pass-over friendly so I could take this to a party / get-together and not eat the whole thing myself. And day when my hubby's colleague called us for barb-b-que I found that to be a perfect opportunity to finish my challenge.
I decided to make orange cheesecake to welcome spring in Minneapolis :) . Despite of other cheese cakes in the party this was a hit and this is a recipe I will go back to for years to come.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:

2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs

1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted

2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature

1 cup / 210 g sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream

1 tbsp. lemon juice ( I used 2 tbsp of orange marmalade and orange zest to add orange flavor )

1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)

1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake ( I did not use this)

To garnish i used candied orange peel and fresh strawberry's and oranges

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator:

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of "coins" of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Thanks a million Jenny, for such a fun & creative challenge, and for making 'Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake' famous :)

Orange Cake - Tasty and Healthy too !!!

This is one of those recipe which is tasty and healthy too. I am glad that I tried this and was very happy with the results. The cake was very moist and light and was enjoyed by all.
I bought these orange cuties and was thinking to utilize them in some good way ( though they are so tasty by themselves ) . And thought of baking a cake with this fresh flavor cuties.

Here is the recipe :
Ingredients :
Eggs- 5
whole wheat flour (atta)- 1 and 1/4 C
baking powder-2 tsp
Orange zest of 1 orange ( these cuties were small so i used 2 )
Fresh orange juice : 1/2 cup
vegetable/sunflower oil- 1 cup
sugar - 3/4 cup
Powdered sugar : just to sprinkle

Procedure :

1. Pre heat the oven at 350 F .
   
2. Prepare your loaf pan. ( can bake in 8 inch round pan also )
   
3. Beat together the eggs, oil, orange juice and sugar till pale and fluffy. Add the orange zest.
   
4. In another bowl, sieve together the flour and baking powder.
   
5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, a few tblsp at a time, and fold in .
6. Pour the mixture to fill 3/4 of the prepared pan.
   
7. Place the pan in the middle rack of the pre heated oven and bake for about 20 minutes or till nicely browned.
8. Cover the pan with foil ( to prevent over browning). Bake for another 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted through the centre of the cake comes out clean.
9. Cool the loaf in the pan for a couple of minutes and then carefully transfer to a rack. Peel off the foil. Sprinkle with some powdered sugar.

Enjoy with cup of milk or just like that !!!

Chocolate Valentino For Daring bakers : Feb 2009

Sorry I am late in posting my challenge though i completed this challenge well ahead of time . Unfortunately my Laptop is not working. SO i don't have the pictures to share but will update it soon.

The February 2009 challenge is hosted by Wendy of WMPE’s blog and Dharm of Dad ~ Baker & Chef.
They have chosen a Chocolate Valentino cake by Chef Wan; a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Dharm and a Vanilla Ice Cream recipe from Wendy as the challenge.

The Cake is a flourless version with just three ingredients- Chocolate, butter and eggs.

The following is the cake recipe we had to follow-

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
16 ounces (1 pound) (454 grams) of semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
½ cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoons (146 grams total) of unsalted butter
5 large eggs separated

1. Put chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl and set over a pan of simmering water (the bottom of the bowl should not touch the water) and melt, stirring often.
2. While your chocolate butter mixture is cooling. Butter your pan and line with a parchment circle then butter the parchment.
3. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites and put into two medium/large bowls.
4. Whip the egg whites in a medium/large grease free bowl until stiff peaks are formed (do not over-whip or the cake will be dry).
5. With the same beater beat the egg yolks together.
6. Add the egg yolks to the cooled chocolate.
7. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture and follow with remaining 2/3rds. Fold until no white remains without deflating the batter.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan, the batter should fill the pan 3/4 of the way full, and bake at 375F/190C
9. Bake for 25 minutes until an instant read thermometer reads 140F/60C.
Note – If you do not have an instant read thermometer, the top of the cake will look similar to a brownie and a cake tester will appear wet.
10. Cool cake on a rack for 10 minutes then unmold.

We were given two ice cream recipes , but also given the freedom to make our own. I tried making low fat version of strawberry icecream using 2 % milk . And it was a big disaster. So we finally had this cake with store bought low fat version of strawberry icecream :)

I made this cake on 14th feb to celebrate our 2nd valentine day together. We enjoyed it thoroughly . And I am sure to make this again and again.

Thanks to Dharm and Wendy for this simple but very yummy challenge.

Shortbread Cookies : I can smell orange in it

Orange Shortbread Cookies, rich in butter and tastes best with a cup of tea or coffee. We were going for new year get-together at my husband's friends house. And what would be best than a box of shortbread cookies for the occasion. Perfect !!!
I baked these cookies and added orange zest which gave them that perfect tangy citrusy flavor.
These are very easy to bake and can be made into any desired shape.
So here is the recipe:

Ingredients :
Butter - 1/2 cup (room temperature)

Castor Sugar - 5 Tablespoon

Finely grated zest of 2 orange( can use 1 )

Flour- 1 1/2 cups

Milk- 2 tablespoons
Extra castor sugar for sprinkling

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 375 F. Grease 2 baking sheets.
• Beat the butter & sugar till creamy & soft.
• Beat in the orange zest. Add the milk.
  
• Gradually add the flour and gently pull the dough in together to form a soft ball.
• Roll out on a lightly floured surface to about 1/2 " to 1/4 " thickness.
  
• Put on the baking sheet,sprinkle with castor sugar, & bake for about 15 minutes till golden brown.
• Remove to a cookie rack to cool. Drizzle with melted chocolate if you like.

Wish you a very Happy and Prosperous year 2009.

My First Fondant Cake

This is a long due post of my final Wilton Cake Decorating : Fondant and Gum paste class. I made these Daises and loved them for their simplicity and elegance. For the cake I made Chocolate cake layered with basic vanilla cake.

I took this class in the month of October 2008, and frankly speaking the recipe which i used for this cake is no longer in my mind or in my 'to be taken care of' folders :)
But I wanted to do justice with this cake because I remember that it was appreciated by everyone in my husband's office, so here it is on my blog .....

Butterless Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins

I made this muffins long back and they were staying fresh in my folder since then :) ...
It was potluck dinner at my friends place, She has two cute kids so I thought of baking these muffins for them.
I Picked up chocolate muffins as in my opinion all kids love chocolate any time ( I love them too !!! ) . It was loved not only by the kids in the party but also equally well by the hungry adults. Apart from the fact of being very tasty they are very easy to bake too. So if you are craving for chocolate and healthy dessert, go for this as this is butter-less. Isn't it great ??

So here is the recipe :
Ingredients :

• 2 cups: all-purpose flour
• 3/4 th cup: unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups: white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon: baking soda
• 2 teaspoons: baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon: salt
• 1 1/2 cups: milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons: vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon: vanilla extract
• 1 cup: semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup: Roasted chopped almonds
• 4 tablespoons white sugar( to sprinkle on the top ,this is optional)
  

Method :

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
2. In medium bowl, Sift together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In large bowl stir in milk, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients to large bowl; beat well. Add chocolate chips and Almonds, stir well.
3. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle muffins with sugar.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Chocolaty muffins are ready to devour...

Note :

• You can substitute almonds with walnuts and increase or decrease the amount of chocolate chips.
• This makes 12 muffins and little batter will be left after that. So I used the leftover in bread loaf pan.
• If you want shiny top than don't sprinkle sugar as you can see in my chocolate squares.
  

French Yule Log : Daring bakers challenge for December

This month’s challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand

What is a French Yule Log : In France you can buy two kinds of Yule log, either the Genoise and Buttercream type , or what is more commonly purchased which is a frozen Yule Log very reminiscent of an ice cream cake, only often it’s not made of ice cream but rather frozen mousse of some sort. In French this is called an entremets which is sometimes loosely translated in English as simply a cream dessert. This also means that this recipe is not holiday-specific, it is also just a scrumptious dessert recipe.

THE CHALLENGE RULE is to MAKE ALL 6 of elements for the log I completed my challenge today. oh my GOD ! What a challenge! After I read the challenge for the first time,It did get my head spinning. I decided not to do this challenge ! But, then, my husband woke up the daring baker in me. I read the recipe again, and again, and again. I completed making 5 components of my log in a day and left the icing for the next day.



The following is the recipe we had to follow-

We have to make all the six components-

1) Dacquoise Biscuit
2) Mousse
3) Ganache Insert
4) Praline (Crisp) Insert
5) Creme Brulee Insert
6) Icing
The assembly will essentially be a Dacquoise Biscuit at the bottom, and the inserts inter-layered with mousse, with an icing finish.

Element #1 Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake)

Preparation time: 10 mn + 15 mn for baking

Equipment: 2 mixing bowls, hand or stand mixer with whisk attachment, spatula, baking pan such as a 10”x15” jelly-roll pan, parchment paper

Note: You can use the Dacquoise for the bottom of your Yule Log only, or as bottom and top layers, or if using a Yule log mold (half-pipe) to line your entire mold with the biscuit. Take care to spread the Dacquoise accordingly. Try to bake the Dacquoise the same day you assemble the log to keep it as moist as possible.

Ingredients:
2.8 oz (3/4cup + 1Tbsp / 80g) almond meal
1.75 oz (1/2 cup / 50g) confectioner’s sugar
2Tbsp (15g) all-purpose flour
3.5oz (100g / ~100ml) about 3 medium egg whites
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar

How to-

1. Finely mix the almond meal and the confectioner’s sugar. (If you have a mixer, you can use it by pulsing the ingredients together for no longer than 30 seconds).
2. Sift the flour into the mix.
3. Beat the eggs whites, gradually adding the granulated sugar until stiff.
4. Pour the almond meal mixture into the egg whites and blend delicately with a spatula.
5. Grease a piece of parchment paper and line your baking pan with it.
6. Spread the batter on a piece of parchment paper to an area slightly larger than your desired shape (circle, long strip etc…) and to a height of 1/3 inches (8mm).
7. Bake at 350°F (180°C) for approximately 15 minutes (depends on your oven), until golden. (It took me about 30 minutes to get the golden colour)
8. Let cool and cut to the desired shape.

Element #2 Dark Chocolate Mousse

Preparation time: 20mn

Equipment: stand or hand mixer with whisk attachment, thermometer, double boiler or equivalent, spatula

Note: You will see that a Pate a Bombe is mentioned in this recipe. A Pate a Bombe is a term used for egg yolks beaten with a sugar syrup, then aerated. It is the base used for many mousse and buttercream recipes. It makes mousses and buttercreams more stable, particularly if they are to be frozen, so that they do not melt as quickly or collapse under the weight of heavier items such as the crème brulee insert.
In the Vanilla Mousse variation, pastry cream is made to the same effect.
In the Mango Mousse variation, Italian meringue is made to the same effect. Italian meringue is a simple syrup added to egg whites as they are beaten until stiff. It has the same consistency as Swiss meringue (thick and glossy) which we have used before in challenge recipes as a base for buttercream.
The Whipped Cream option contains no gelatin, so beware of how fast it may melt.
Gelatin is the gelifying agent in all of the following recipes, but if you would like to use agar-agar, here are the equivalencies: 8g powdered gelatin = 1 (0.25 oz) envelope powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp powdered gelatin = 1 Tbsp Agar-Agar.
1 Tbsp. of agar-agar flakes is equal to 1 tsp. of agar-agar powder.

Ingredients:
2.5 sheets gelatin or 5g / 1 + 1/4 tsp powdered gelatin
1.5 oz (3 Tbsp / 40g) granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp (10g) glucose or thick corn syrup
0.5 oz (15g) water
50g egg yolks (about 3 medium)
6.2 oz (175g) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1.5 cups (350g) heavy cream (35% fat content)

How to-
1. Soften the gelatin in cold water. (If using powdered gelatin, follow the directions on the package.)
2. Make a Pate a Bombe: Beat the egg yolks until very light in colour (approximately 5 minutes until almost white).
2a. Cook the sugar, glucose syrup and water on medium heat for approximately 3 minutes (if you have a candy thermometer, the mixture should reach 244°F (118°C). If you do not have a candy thermometer, test the sugar temperature by dipping the tip of a knife into the syrup then into a bowl of ice water, if it forms a soft ball in the water then you have reached the correct temperature.
2b. Add the sugar syrup to the beaten yolks carefully by pouring it into the mixture in a thin stream while continuing to beat the yolks. You can do this by hand but it’s easier to do this with an electric mixer.
2c. Continue beating until cool (approximately 5 minutes). The batter should become thick and foamy.

3. In a double boiler or equivalent, heat 2 tablespoons (30g) of cream to boiling. Add the chopped chocolate and stir until melted and smooth. Whip the rest of thecream till smooth.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the softened gelatin, mixing well. Let the gelatin and chocolate cool slightly and then stir in ½ cup (100g) of WHIPPED cream to temper. Add the Pate a Bombe.
6. Add in the rest of the WHIPPED cream (220g) mixing gently with a spatula.

Element #3 Dark Chocolate Ganache Insert

Preparation time: 10mn

Equipment: pan, whisk. If you have plunging mixer (a vertical hand mixer used to make soups and other liquids), it comes in handy.

Note: Because the ganache hardens as it cools, you should make it right before you intend to use it to facilitate piping it onto the log during assembly. Please be careful when caramelizing the sugar and then adding the cream. It may splatter and boil.

Ingredients:
1.75 oz (4 Tbsp / 50g) granulated sugar
4.5oz (2/3 cup – 1 Tbsp/ 135g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
5 oz (135g) dark chocolate, finely chopped
3Tbsp + 1/2tsp (45g) unsalted butter softened

How to-
1. Make a caramel: Using the dry method, melt the sugar by spreading it in an even layer in a small saucepan with high sides. Heat over medium-high heat, watching it carefully as the sugar begins to melt. Never stir the mixture. As the sugar starts to melt, swirl the pan occasionally to allow the sugar to melt evenly. Cook to dark amber color (for most of you that means darker than last month’s challenge).
2. While the sugar is melting, heat the cream until boiling. Pour cream into the caramel and stir thoroughly. Be very careful as it may splatter and boil.
3. Pour the hot caramel-milk mixture over the dark chocolate. Wait 30 seconds and stir until smooth.
4. Add the softened butter and whip hard and fast (if you have a plunging mixer use it). The chocolate should be smooth and shiny.

Element #4 Praline Feuillete (Crisp) Insert

Coconut Crisp Insert( I made coconut crisp instead of praline ) 3.5 oz (100g) white chocolate
1 oz (1/3 cup/25g) shredded coconut
1 2/3 Tbsp (25g) unsalted butter
2.1 oz (60g) lace crepes or rice krispies or corn flakes or Special K

1. Spread the coconut on a baking tray and bake for 5-10 minutes at 375°F (190°C) to toast (a different temperature might work better for you with your own oven).
2. Melt the white chocolate and butter in a double boiler. Stir until smooth and add the toasted coconut.
3. Add the coarsely crushed lace crepes. Mix quickly to thoroughly coat with the chocolate. Spread between two sheets of wax paper to a size slightly larger than your desired shape. Refrigerate until hard.

Element #5 Vanilla Crème Brulée Insert

Preparation time: 15mn + 1h infusing + 1h baking

Equipment: Small saucepan, mixing bowl, baking mold, wax paper

Note: The vanilla crème brulée can be flavored differently by simply replacing the vanilla with something else e.g. cardamom, lavender, etc…

Ingredients:
1/2 cup (115g) heavy cream (35% fat content)
½ cup (115g) whole milk
4 medium-sized (72g) egg yolks
0.75 oz (2 Tbsp / 25g) granulated sugar
1 vanilla bean

How to-

1. Heat the milk, cream, and scraped vanilla bean to just boiling. Remove from the stove and let the vanilla infuse for about 1 hour.
2. Whisk together the sugar and egg yolks (but do not beat until white).
3. Pour the vanilla-infused milk over the sugar/yolk mixture. Mix well.
4. Wipe with a very wet cloth and then cover your baking mold (whatever shape is going to fit on the inside of your Yule log/cake) with parchment paper. Pour the cream into the mold and bake at 210°F (100°C ) for about 1 hour or until firm on the edges and slightly wobbly in the center.

I also used a water bath during baking.

Element #6 Dark Chocolate Icing

Preparation time: 25 minutes (10mn if you don’t count softening the gelatin)

Equipment: Small bowl, small saucepan

Note: Because the icing gelifies quickly, you should make it at the last minute.
For other gelatin equivalencies or gelatin to agar-agar equivalencies, look at the notes for the mousse component.

Ingredients:
4g / ½ Tbsp powdered gelatin or 2 sheets gelatin
¼ cup (60g) heavy cream (35 % fat content)
2.1 oz (5 Tbsp / 60g) granulated sugar
¼ cup (50g) water

How to-

1/3 cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder( I also added a little dark chocolate)

1. Soften the gelatin in cold water for 15 minutes.
2. Boil the rest of the ingredients and cook an additional 3 minutes after boiling.
3. Add gelatin to the chocolate mixture. Mix well.
4. Let cool while checking the texture regularly. As soon as the mixture is smooth and coats a spoon well (it is starting to gelify), use immediately.

Assembling the french yule log-

assembly UPSIDE DOWN with TWO pieces of Dacquoise the order is:
1) Dacquoise
2) Mousse
3) Creme Brulee Insert
4) Mousse
5) Praline/Crisp Insert
6) Mousse
7) Ganache Insert
8) Dacquoise

Cut the Dacquoise into a shape fitting your mold and set it in there. If you are using an actual Yule mold which is in the shape of a half-pipe, you want the Dacquoise to cover the entire half-pipe portion of the mold.
1. Pipe one third of the Mousse component on the Dacquoise.
2. Take the Creme Brulee Insert out of the freezer at the last minute and set on top of the mousse. Press down gently to slightly ensconce it in the mousse.
3. Pipe second third of the Mousse component around and on top of the Creme Brulee Insert.
4. Cut the Praline/Crisp Insert to a size slightly smaller than your mold so that it can be surrounded by mousse. Lay it on top of the mousse you just piped into the mold.
5. Pipe the last third of the Mousse component on top of the Praline Insert.
6. Freeze for a few hours to set. Take out of the freezer.
7. Pipe the Ganache Insert onto the frozen mousse leaving a slight eidge so that ganache doesn’t seep out when you set the Dacquoise on top.
8. Close with the last strip of Dacquoise.
Freeze until the next day.

THE NEXT DAY…
Unmold the cake/log/whatever and set on a wire rack over a shallow pan.
Cover the cake with the icing.
Let set. Return to the freezer.
You may decorate your cake however you wish. The decorations can be set in the icing after it sets but before you return the cake to the freezer or you may attach them on top using extra ganache or leftover mousse, etc…
Transfer to the refrigerator no longer than ½ hour before serving as it may start to melt quickly depending on the elements you chose.

What I did-

I stuck with the basic elements for all the components except praline crisp insert. I used coconut crisp .

I started to make the log one afternoon and iced it the next morning.The order in which I made the elements is as follows. I assembled the log in my regular loaf pan.

1. Creme brulee insert
2. Coconut crisp
   
3. Mousse
4. Dacquoise biscuit( I added two layers to the log…top and bottom)
5. Ganache insert
6. Icing

Today when i cut a slice from the loaf opps i can't cut the crisp layer. So the end result was not that good in presentation but the taste was good. Thanks for the wonderful challenge.