Rich Chocolate Cheesecake

A tribute to Mr Chiam See Tong. Pictures and captions credits to AsiaOne.

Independent candidate for Cairnhill, Mr Chiam See Tong (2R) in the 1976 general elections. It was a strictly one-man show when lawyer Chiam See Tong went campaigning at Newton Court. All he had was his Volkswagen atop which a loud speaker was attached.

Independent candidate for Cairnhill, Mr Chiam See Tong in the 1976 general elections. It was a strictly one-man show when lawyer Chiam See Tong went campaining at Newton Court. All he had was his Volkswagen atop which a loud speaker was attached. The highlight of his first election rally was a lively question-and-answer session with a crowd of about a 100 people. He was also responsible for one of Singapore's famous political icons: Herbie - his maroon-coloured Volkswagen Beetle which has been a staple at every election he has contested since 1976.

Mr Chiam See Tong (garland), an Independent Party candidate contesting in Potong Pasir, surrounded by his supporters at the counting centre in Victoria School in 1979.

Polling Day 1984 - A victorious Mr Chiam See Tong after he was declared winner in Potong Pasir in 1984.

General election 1991: Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) election rally at Yishun. SDP secretary-general Chiam See Tong (garlanded) and his party members get overwhelming support from their supporters.

Mr Chiam fulfilled his residents' wish for an MRT at Potong Pasir.

Veteran opposition MP, Mr Chiam See Tong, posing at a new amphitheatre and pavilion area. His town council has just completed in July 2000, in Potong Pasir. Mr Chiam has been MP there since 1984.

Mr Chiam with residents. The drawing represented the Potong Pasir MRT line that was built.

Mr Chiam during a Meet The People session.

Potong Pasir MP Chiam See Tong in his maroon Volkswagen Beetle which he had been using as his election campaign vehicle. He recently described it to The Sunday Times thus: 'It is my warhorse and I never go to battle without it.'

Chiam See Tong speaking at the party's rally at Tampines Stadium. At the General Election 2006, he was the chairman of the Singapore Democratic Alliance.

Chiam See Tong carrying a little girl who was chanting together with the crowd, "Potong Pasir, Chiam See Tong!" during the 2006 General Election.

Two weeks after he suffered a stroke in 2008, he was back at his makeshift void deck cubicle in Potong Pasir for his weekly Meet-the-People Sessions.

Mr Chiam See Tong (centre) assisted to his seat by Hougang MP Low Thia Khiang (second from right) and Dr Mohamad Maliki Osman after his arrival at the Padang for the National Day Parade (NDP) 2010.

Mr Chiam See Tong petting a jack russell terrier Xiao Lian, who belongs to a Potong Pasir resident known only as Alan, after a meeting with reporters at a Meet-the-People session.

*****

I'm honored to say that I've finally got to meet up with Mr Chiam face to face in the weekend. It was awesome. Feel very, very fortunate to be able to do so. Not going to flaunt my photos here. I ran from my place in Kim Keat Link estate to Bishan Park for the meetup, so you can imagine what kind of messed up state I was in by the time I get to see Mr Chiam hehe

So...I'm having a chocolate streak lately. Baked this awfully chocolatey cheesecake. It's uber dense and rich as its name promised. Carries a good load of chocolate which will intrigue dark chocolate loving fans. I might have overbaked it a little because 180°C sounds tad high for a water bath cheesecake bake. It's not as wet as I like my cheesecakes to be, so the search for the perfect cheesecake continues.

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #7 - Chocolate Delight (May 2011).

Rich Chocolate Cheesecake (adapted from Tish Boyle's The Cake Book)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Crumb Crust:
180g Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafer crumbs (These are practically not available over here. I make my own, recipe from here)
57g unsalted butter, melted

Chocolate Filling:
340g bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (I use 200g 45% and 140g 70%)
680 g cream cheese, softened
200 g granulated sugar, divided
3 tbsp natural (not Dutch-processed) cocoa powder
4 large eggs, at room temperature
180 ml heavy cream (cool but not cold)
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp Kahlua or Cognac (I use Baileys)

Method:

Make the crust:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x3-inch springform pan. Cut an 18 inch square of heavy-duty aluminum foil and wrap the foil around the outside of the pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter. Pat the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 8 minutes, until set.
3. Set the pan on a wire rack and cool the crust completely. Leave the oven on.

Make the filling:
4. Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat, leaving the chocolate over the hot water.
5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese at medium-low speed until creamy and lump-free, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Gradually add 1/4 cup of the sugar and beat until blended. Add the cocoa powder and mix until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand.
6. In a clean mixer bowl, using the whisk attachment, beat the eggs at medium speed until blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and beat at high speed until tripled in volume, about 2 minutes. Remove the bowl and whisk from the mixer stand and replace them with the bowl containing the cream cheese mixture and the paddle attachment. Mixing at low speed, gradually add the egg mixture to the cream cheese mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to ensure that the mixture is even-textured. Mix in the melted chocolate. Add the heavy cream, vanilla extract, and Kahlua (or Cognac) and mix until blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer stand and stir the filling several times to ensure that it is evenly blended.
7. Scrap the filling over the baked crust in the pan. Place the pan in a roasting pan or large baking pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough hot water into the pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake in the water bath for 65 to 75 minutes, until the center of the cake is set but slightly wobbly (the cake will set completely as it cools).
8. Remove the cake pan from the water bath. Place the pan on a wire rack and carefully loosen the foil. Immediately run the tip of a paring knife around the sides of the pan, to prevent the top from cracking. Let the cake cool completely.
9. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving.
10. To serve, slice the cake with a thin-bladed sharp knife, wiping the knife clean between each cut.