Durian Cheesecake

OMG I love July - August. We have awesome blueberries, cherries and durians!! Last year, while I was still taking my on sweet time deciding on what to make for a durian bake, the season was already over. No more procrastination this year

Glad to join the durian league this year. This cake is the product of my sheer determination. HAHAH.

The durian aroma filled the kitchen when I removed it from the fridge, got both mom and I excited. Very creamy and smooth. The little durian fibres sticking out of the cheesecake makes it look even irresistible. Not too happy with the amateur cocoa web I did though, not too much of an artist myself, I failed my Art in secondary school you know.

Guaranteed to make your nose bleed (literally) with all the heat waves from the durian and chocolate. I need a glass of liang teh now.

Durian Cheesecake (adapted from Kevin Chai's我和芝士蛋糕的秘密)

Ingredients:

Base:
160g crushed chocolate marie biscuits (I use 210g oreo cookies)
80g melted butter (I use 105g)

Cheese layer:
450g cream cheese (I use 500g)
80g caster sugar
170g durian flesh (I use 220g)
3 eggs
80g milk (I use 85g)
1 tbsp cornstarch

Topping:
1 tsp cocoa powder, 2 tsp water

Method:

1. To make base, stir all ingredients until combined. Press mixture into base of 18cm (7-inches) cake tin. (I use 8")
2. To make filling, beat cream cheese, sugar and durian flesh until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Beat in milk and cornstarch until blended. Reserve 1 tbsp cheese mixture for topping, pour the rest of the mixture into tin.
4. To make topping, mix well cocoa powder with water. Add in 1 tbsp of reserved cheese mixture, stir until well blended. Pipe on top of the surface of cheese mixture and draw net pattern with skewer.
5. Bake in oven at 170°C for 40-45 mins (I use water bath @ 150°C for 50mins) or until light brown. Remove from heat and leave to cool. Chill in fridge.

Tall and Creamy Cheesecake

When I first put a bite of this cheesecake into my mouth, I was totally won over. Remember how I was raving about the awesome cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory I had when I was in States, this one has 80% resemblance to it!

The texture is light and fluffy...surprising huh? I guess it has got to do with beating the cream cheese excessively according to the recipe's instructions. I'm not really a New York Cheesecake fan, so...WOW. I'm so happy that I've made this hahahah!

P.S. 3 of my friends asked me if the specks are black pepper? EPIC FAIL.

Tall and Creamy Cheesecake (adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours)

Ingredients:

For the crust:
175g graham cracker crumbs (I use digestive biscuits)
3 tbsps sugar (I use 1 tbsp)
Pinch of salt
56.5g unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
900g cream cheese, at room temperature
266g sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps pure vanilla extract
(I also top it off with 2 vanilla pods)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
320ml sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two (I use heavy cream)

Method:

To make the crust:
1. Butter a 9-inch springform pan—choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter leftover)—and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil; put the pan on a baking sheet.
2. Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the buttered springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don't worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway mark on the sides—this doesn't have to be a precision job. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the oven.
3. Center a rack in the oven, preheat the oven to 180°C and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
4. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C.

To make the cheesecake:
1. Put a kettle of water on to boil.
2. Working in a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and lives up to the creamy part of its name, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs one by one, beating for a full minute after each addition—you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
3. Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in the roaster pan.
4. Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the brim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
5. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven's heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
6. After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster—be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil—remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
7. When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and chill the cake for at least 4 hours, although overnight would be better.
8. At serving time, remove the sides of the springform pan - I use a hairdryer to do this - and set the cake on a serving platter.

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.

Mango Cheesecake

Hey mango, be proud! You're my official first dense cheesecake in baked water bath.

I know I'm slow in this Mango frenzy, but better late than never. Added an impromptu self invented mango gelee layer to cover up the not-so-pretty cheesecake surface.

Think the cheesecake looks pretty hohoho. Mom was really impressed by it. The mango fragrance could be stronger from the cheesecake probably because my mangoes ain't exactly of the best quality. But refreshing and fruity enough, dense, rich and creamy, totally thrilled eating it. I suggest chilling it over a day because the flavors infused better and the texture becomes creamier as well. Still reminiscing my cheesecake experience at Cheesecake Factory when I was in States. Hopefully I'll reach the standards one day :)

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011).

Mango Cheesecake (adapted from Alex Goh's Fantastic Cheesecakes)

Ingredients:

Cake Base:
200g digestive biscuit crumbs
100g unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake:
500g cream cheese, room temperature
120g sugar
30g cornflour
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon zest, grated
150g mango
3 eggs
150g whipping cream

Method:

1. Press digestive biscuit base onto the bottom of a greased 20-cm springform tin. Refrigerate for 15 mins.
2. Cream cream cheese, sugar and cornflour until light and smooth.
3. Place lemon juice, zest and mango in the blender and blend until smooth. Add puree mixture into cream cheese mixture and mix until well blended.
4. Add eggs one at a time and cream until smooth.
5. Add whipping cream & cream until well combined. Pour the cheese filling over the prepare biscuit base.
6. Bake in water bath at 160°C for 60-70mins or until firm.
7. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool. Refrigerate cake for 5h.
8. Decorate as desired.

Gelee Layer:
200g mango
1 tsp gelatin powder
20ml water

Method:

1. Puree mango until smooth.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over water and let it sit for 5 mins. Warm the mixture over simmering water until gelatin powder melts thoroughly.
3. Stir warm gelatin mixture into pureed mango and pour over cheesecake. Chill for >2h.

Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes

Before going to my bakes. A little cat adventure. Promised to share a bit more on my cat loving. So Boyfriend and I went round on a cat hunt around my neighborhood and here are some of the adorable kitties.

Mixed feelings there from a combination of abused cats and the well fed chubby ones. Pictures credit to I'll Snap That!. That's Boyfriend's photo blog haha. He's into animal and scenary (?) photography. Do show him your support ya.

Now attention back to me ya. HAHAH. Honestly these bite sized cakes can pass off as egg tarts if you don't warn your guests that it's actually a cheesecake. Full of zesty lemon but I'm not too crazy about the relatively dry cheesecake. Consequence of not having a water bath recipe. The slightly charred meringue looks uber cool in the recipe book but mine look like dollops of burnt poop. Urmmmmmm.

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #6: Say Cheese! (April 2011).

Mini Lemon Meringue Cheesecakes (adapted from Anna Olson's Fresh with Anna Olson)
Recipe below is the full recipe, I halved mine.

Ingredients:

Crust:
150g graham cracker crumbs (this is like non existent in local supermarkets, replaced with digestive biscuits)
56g unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tbsp sugar

Cheesecake:
450g cream cheese, room temperature
133g sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, room temperature

Meringue:
2 large egg whites
1/4 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line four 12-cup mini muffin tins (48 cups) with paper liners.
2. For the crust, combine all the ingredients until evenly blended and crumbly. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the mini muffins cups. Bake for 8 mins, then cool.
3. For the cheesecake, reduce oven to 160°C.
4. Beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy, then gradually add sugar while still beating, scraping the sides of the bowl often. Beat in the cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, scraping well after each addition.
5. Spoon or pipe cheesecake filling into the cooled mini muffin tins and bake for about 18 mins, until cheesecake still moves a little when pan is shaken gently.
6. Let cheesecakes cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 2 hours.
7. For the meringue, preheat oven to190°C.
8. With an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the lemon juice until foamy. While whipping, gradually pour in sugar and whip on one speed less than highest until the whites hold a stiff peak (the meringue stands upright when whisk is lifted). Whisk in the cornstarch. Fill a piping bag fitted with a large star or plain tip and pipe on top of each cheesecake.
9. Bake for about 6 mins, just until meringue browns lightly. Allow the cheesecakes to chill for at least an hour and up to a day before serving.

Jelly Hearts

Am submitting this entry to Aspiring Bakers #4: Love in the Air (Feb 2011)! Super duper late entry for this month's theme, glad I made it though, so I don't break my AB streak since SSB started it.

Saw many making these dainty desserts quite a while ago but had been procrastinating to make them. Had many questions initially and finally got them answered at the recent bloggers meetup. Thanks to Jasmine who provided me lotsa useful tips to make them! She even texted me later on to check on my progress, to see everything turns out well. Touched ok. :P

An unfortunate accident happened. The jelly water was leaking out of the aluminium tray pan as I did not shrink wrap it, so the jelly layer thinned by a lot. So lesson learnt, use a good leak proof pan for jelly hearts. Nevertheless, these little cheesecake slices are not only pretty to look at, they taste delicious too.

Jelly Hearts

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:
300g digestive biscuits, processed in a food blender
140g melted butter

Cheesecake filling:
250g cream cheese, room temperature
50g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I use vanilla powder)
10g gelatine powder
120ml hot water
16 strawberry halves, cut into heart shapes

Jelly Topping:
1 box of Strawberry Jello
240ml boiling hot water
240ml cold water

Method:
1. Mix biscuit crumbs & melted butter together and press firmly onto the base of a 8"x8" square cake tin. Put cake tin in fridge for later use.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla till thick and smooth.
3. Soak gelatin powder in water and transfer to double boiler.
4. Slowly add dissolved gelatin to cream cheese mixture and mix well.
5. Pour cheese filling onto prepared cake tin and spread evenly.
6. Lay the strawberries on the cream cheese mixture and chill for abt 3h.

7. Dissolve strawberry jello in boiling water. Add in the cold water after jelly dissolves.

8. Pour the jelly onto the chilled cheesecake. Chill in the fridge until jelly is set before removing from the cake tin. Serve as desire.

Summer Berries Cheesecake

Chinese New Year has been eventful for me with the countless celebrations and visitings. And of course one of the highlights would be receiving red packets from the elders. yoohoo! Few more days till its end, aww.

I know I'm not the best biscuit crust cutter. This was done right before I stormed out of the house for work, so pardon me, I had to make do with a cheesecake that looks like it was being nibbled. But the creamy moussey texture wins me over. Am a big fan of vanilla, so the rich vanilla flavor got me going crazy, plus the tiny black speckles pods look so pretty in the cake. Combine these flavors with fruity berries, you've got yourself a great summer indulgence.

And if you're from Singapore, be sure to catch Chingay on TV tomorrow night! hehe

Summer Berries Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:
80g digestive biscuit crumbs
30g unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
150ml whipping cream
250g cream cheese, room temperature
45ml milk
80g icing sugar
Vanilla pod seeds, scraped from 1 pod
1/4 tsp vanilla powder
2 tsp Grand Marnier
1 tbsp gelatine powder
3 tbsp boiling water
150g strawberries, cut into halves
80g blueberries

Method:

1. Mix biscuit crumbs & melted butter together and press firmly onto the base of a 6" cake tin. Chill for 30 mins.
2. Beat whipping cream with electric beaters until 70% stiff or until mousse-like. Refrigerate for later use.
3. Double-boil gelatine & boiling water until totally dissolved. Keep warm.
4. Beat cream cheese, icing sugar, milk, vanilla pod seeds and vanilla powder until smooth & creamy.
5. Blend in gelatine solution until well combined.
6. Fold in whipped cream.
7. Lay strawberries and blueberries on chilled biscuit base, and pour cream cheese mixture over it.
8. Chill for 3 to 4 hours before serving. Decorate as desired.

Oreo Cheesecake

The past 365 days was a blast.

Our first run!

Sunset @ Bali

a year older, a year wiser you (I hope! hehe)

The first thing my boyfriend made for me was a chilled oreo cheesecake. When we first started out, he had a day off then, and I casually said that he should make good use of his day off doing something constructive. He ripped a random oreo cheesecake recipe off the internet because I once said I like to eat cheesecake. Then he appeared at my place out of the blue and brought me the cheesecake. It was pretty good despite having the agaragar like texture :P

bf's then oreo cheesecake being maliciously torn apart by me

Anyway here's my version of our oreo cheesecake to celebrate that special you who created so many positive changes in my life. Looking back at our past year, looks like we've accomplished a lot together. More good years ahead, Happy 1st year anniversary Hun!

...And wishing all a Happy Chinese New Year! :D

Oreo Cheesecake (adapted from Evan's Kitchen Ramblings)

Makes 7" cake (Mine is a taller 6")

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:
110g (80g) digestive biscuit crumbs (I use Oreo crumbs)
40g (30g) unsalted butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
250ml whipping cream
250g cream cheese, room temperature
45ml milk
50g icing sugar
1 tbsp vanilla essence or rum (I use 1 tsp vanilla powder)
1 tbsp gelatine powder
10ml lemon juice
3 tbsp boiling water
8 oreo cookies (coarsely chopped)
4 oreo cookies (finely chopped)

Method:
1. Mix biscuit crumbs & melted butter together and press firmly onto the base of cake tin. Chill for 30 mins.
2. Beat whipping cream with electric beaters until 70% stiff or until mousse-like. Refrigerate for later use.
3. Double-boil gelatine, lemon juice & boiling water until totally dissolved. Keep warm.
4. Beat cream cheese, icing sugar, milk and vanilla essence until smooth & creamy.
5. Blend in gelatine solution until well combined.
6. Fold in whipped cream.
7. Pour 1/2 the cheese mixture onto the base. Chill for 15 mins.
8. Stir in finely chopped cookies into the other half of the mixture. Mix well.
9. Sprinkle coarsely chopped cookies on top of the first half of cheese mixture.
10. Pour in the other half of the cheese mixture.
11. Chill for 3 to 4 hours before serving. Decorate as desired.

Baileys Cheesecake

2010 has come to an end. Maybe it’s time for some reflection haha A recap of the resolutions made a year ago:

1. Lose Weight - #1 resolution every year lol - I gained everything that I’ve lost in the last quarter of the year. Gg

2. Less partying, and I mean much less. House parties are fine since it happens rarely. - Check. Less indeed. Think I’m getting too old for clubbing.
3. Complete my 21km half marathon within 2h 30mins in Adidas Sundown Marathon and 42km marathon within 6h 30mins in Standard Chartered. - Check…and yay!! & Double yay!!
4. Be a more sensitive and considerate person - Probably only increase only +1 stats to the sensitivity meter :S
5. Enjoy my singlehood and settle down only if the person is the right one. - I hope he is!
6. Keeping to saving the usual amount, if not more for the rest of the year. - mmm. Shopping is too good. Not checked.
7. 2 trips for 2010 - One to a beach resort and one for sightseeing - Check. Bangkok, Bali, Phuket hehe

New ones for 2011 heh?

1. Lose weight and maintain till year end. - I’m sure this resolution is in your list too =P
2. Continue to run. Reduce mileage to 10 - 15km per week. - To save my knees!
3. To continue expanding my life.

4. Save more!

So there, I’ve promised.

Lots of talented chefs in the dept

It's a yearly affair for my department to have potluck on New Year Eve. Think my favorite of all the potlucks was the Teriyaki Chicken Pasta, it was so good that I had two servings. My contribution was a mere 9" chilled cheesecake which well, wasn't big enough to feed our headcount of 80+ people hehe. And how can a celebration go without any booze? So there we go, booze in a form of a cheesecake. Creamy yet light moussey Baileys cheesecake with crunchy chocolatey oreo crust. Happy 2011!

Baileys Cheesecake (modified from Anncoo Journal)

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:

150g Oreo crumbs

130g Melted butter (to use 100g)

Method:
1. Grease a 8" round spring-form cake tin.

2. Mix biscuit crumbs together, add in melted butter.

3. Use hand to mix biscuit crumbs mixture and form it to a dough.

4. Press biscuits crumbs mixture at the base of the cake tin. Put cake tin in fridge for later use.

Cheese Filling:

375g cream cheese, room temperature

80g icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
6 tbsp Baileys irish cream

15g gelatin powder
3 tbsp water

400g heavy cream
60g dark chocolate, melted (I use 65%)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla and Baileys till thick and smooth.
2. Soak gelatin powder in 3 tbsp water and transfer to double boiler.
3. Slowly add dissolved gelatin to cream cheese mixture and mix well.
4. Whip up heavy cream till peak form (not too stiff).
5. Use a hand whisk and mix the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and blend well.
6. Pour cheese filling onto prepared cake tin and spread evenly.
7. Add dollops of melted chocolate onto the cheese filling and make swirls and marble patterns as desired.
8. Chill cheesecake in fridge for >4h or overnight before serving.

Soufflé Cheesecake

Today marks a milestone for me - Completed my 2nd half marathon at Army Half Marathon. Was slower by 9 mins than my first timing of 2 h 11 mins clocked at Sundown earlier on this year, but I'm still happy that I completed it given that I was running with a cough. Was still fooling around with my colleague taking jumping jack pictures after the run. But damnnnnn my knees are hurting and cracking like an old man's now =S And now I fret for my upcoming full marathon at the end of the year.

Second happy event for the day. Bf is back! Yay! Despite having laosai on the last 2 days of his trip and landing at an awkward 5+am in Singapore. He stayed up to wait for me to finish my run and came to look for me immediately. Touched :D Poor dude was always the guinea pig for my initial fail bakes, ate my numerous chilled cheesecakes till the poor fellow got so sick of it hahaha. He has told me that he'll love to try a water bath-ed one someday. So the day before his return, I prepared this. Wasn't really expecting anything from this chinese cheesecake baking book I grabbed off Popular, but it turns out great!...though ugly.

Creamy yet light and refreshing with a hint of lemon. It can easily pass off as Fiesta's light cheesecake. And all it takes is just a box of cream cheese. The recipe is a keeper. But I would suggest add a aluminum foil to prevent a burnt cracked top.

Soufflé Cheesecake (adapted from Junko Fukuda, Yasuyo Shida & Kumiko Yanase's 我爱乳酪蛋糕)
Makes 7" cake

Ingredients:
Cheesecake filling:
250g cream cheese, room temperature
60g sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted
3 egg yolks, room temperature
100ml milk, room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp corn flour

Meringue:
3 egg whites, room temperature
30g sugar

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Grease a 7" (I use 6") springform pan and wrap the bottom with aluminum foil to prevent seeps from water bath
2. Whisk together cream cheese and 60g sugar until creamy and smooth
3. Pour in melted butter and mix well
4. Add egg yolks one at a time until incorporated
5. Add milk and stir until well combined
6. Add in lemon juice and blend well
7. Sift in corn flour and mix well, then strain the mixture and set aside
8. In a separate bowl, combine salt and egg whites and beat until soft peak
9. Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into strained mixture, then fold in lightly the rest of the meringue until well combined
10. Pour batter into the prepared springform pan and bake for 45~50mins in water bath
11. Let cake cool completely before chilling it for >3h in the fridge for serving

Blueberry Cheesecake

July and August are the months of blueberries! How can I miss making something out of it?!! hahahahh! Used it as a topping over cheesecake, something which I really like to eat myself, and wish to perfect. The problem with testing out cheesecake recipes (or even whole cake recipes for that matter) is, you have the bake a whole cake and even if it tastes heavenly, it's impossible for my family to finish everything. The calories kill as well. So got the chance to do it at the monthly zadankais where I'll have guests over at my place.

Was lazy and decided to go for the easy way for cheesecakes - to just bake it without a water bath. The cheesecake recipe is from Jamie Oliver's Bloomin' Easy Vanilla Cheesecake. Honestly, I'm not crazy over this cheesecake. It's dense, rich and may I say, slightly dry as well. Personally prefer moist and creamy cheesecakes. Am really pleased with the blueberry topping though. Will add some lemon juice or a dash of gin the next time for a second level flavor.

Mom brought some of the cheesecake to her workplace as well and one of her colleagues - who's not a fan of cheesecake - love it to bits. and had multiple servings of it She said it tastes refreshing and it does not have the usual creamy sick dairy taste which most commercially prepared cheesecakes have. While I'm into creamy cheesecakes, here's one who doesn't heehee! Guess another man's poison is another's meat.

The best cheesecake I've ever tasted came from The Cheesecake Factory when I stayed in US then, but damn I can't find a good copycat recipe so far. Mom said I shouldn't be lazy anymore when it comes to baking cheesecake. Will only stick to water bath recipes in the future, I guess.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:
Biscuit Base -
175g digestive biscuits
85g unsalted butter

Cheesecake filling -
450g cream cheese
60g caster sugar
1.5 tbsp corn flour
1 large egg
60ml whipping cream
1 vanilla pod

Method:
Blueberry Topping (to prepare in advance) -
250g blueberries
70g sugar
6 tsp water

1. Cook blueberries, sugar and water in a pot on medium heat
2. Stir occasionally so that it is evenly cooked, be careful not to caramelize the sugar
3. Cook till blueberries are softened & set aside to cool
4. Pour blueberries into a container & store in fridge until ready for use

Cheesecake -
1. Preheat oven to 180°C
2. Combine digestive biscuit crumbs and butter in a bowl and press the crumbs on a 9"springform tin
3. Cook biscuit base for 7 mins & remove from oven. Put aside to cool while you prepare the cheese filling
4. Turn oven to 200°C
5. Combine sugar & cornflour in a bowl & add mixture into cream cheese. Beat mixture with an electric mixer until creamy
6. Add in egg and beat well
7. Gradually add in cream and beat until smooth
8. Scrap the pods off the vanilla and add into mixture, beat till smooth
9. Pour mixture onto biscuit base, gently shake to level out the filling
10. Put cheesecake in oven for 35 mins until top is golden brown or filling has set
11. Let cheesecake cool in oven for a while before removing it from oven to cool at room temperature
12. Spread blueberry topping over cheesecake & chill overnight or till ready to be served