Mango Cheesecake

This is a really late new year post.. I've been busy lately with a few orders.. And I haven't even got to touch my Daring Bakers Dec challenge.. Although I have bought the ingredients early.. I feel disappointed in myself..sigh~

Let's take a look at 2010.. It was a really bad start but eventually it got better.. Which year doesn't have its ups downs? I went through tumultuous times where I fell into a deep hole and had to get back up, myself ultimately.. But I think I couldn't do it without my friends.. I can't thank them enough.. and of course my boyfriend who's always there for me.. :) What I learnt is that you gotta stay strong and focus.. you'll get through it in time.. It will only get better..

As for my baking, I think I'm improving.. But there's always room for more improvement.. I managed to complete my very first PME Course in Sugarflowers.. To me, that was an achievement.. I totally enjoyed every moment of it.. I made my very first wedding order.. Feel kinda proud of myself that I manage to pull through.. From baking, I had to learn to become a botanist, florist, photographer, designer and many more.. haha.. I hope to become better in every aspect.. 

One thing never change though, I still do not eat much of my own baking AND I still don't like the taste of fondant.. hahaha.. I enjoy the process of baking and watching people eat the goods.. But I'm too critical of myself.. Nothing is ever good enough.. But I do bake some of my cravings a few times.. But I get sick of it the moment I bite into it.. Lol.. Don't ask me why.. I don't know, I guess.. Watching people happily eating, enjoying and finishing my baked goods makes me happier and contented than anything else..  

I've never liked fondant from day one.. But I know I couldn't avoid it..  They make cakes really pretty and awesome looking but I just can't see how people can eat it.. For me, I don't have a sweet tooth anymore... Hence, too sweet a thing will just turn me off.. Thats the reason why I roll my fondant as thin as possible when I decorate cakes.. It has its pros and cons.. But I want to let people eat what I will eat.. If you get what I mean.. My principle has always been to make cakes that taste good.. It's hard to balance taste and looks at the same time, but I guess I just have to try my very best to fulfill it.. I'm just a firm believer in taste and quality..

Moving on, I've never really seen much places selling fruity flavoured cheesecakes besides strawberry.. Have you?? Hence, when a friend of mine requested for one, I was quite excited to try it.. 

I'm not a big fan of mango.. I do eat mangoes, depending on my mood... I dislike the drink and I don't really fancy the ice cream.. Cakes are not so bad.. But I know alot of people actually do like it a lot.. And since, I've never really seen any shops selling Mango Cheesecake, I will take the challenge and make my own.. I tried 2 different mango cheesecake recipes.. Both has their own like-ability factor.. In the end, I had to adjust a bit here and there to make the nicer version in my own terms.. :) However, I will share the recipes that I tried with you guys.. 

The first recipe I tried was from Catherine Lau's Cheesecake Seduction book.. The mango cheesecake came out really pleasant looking.. Nice colour, Firm and Refreshing mango hint in the cheesecake.. It baked nicely..

The 2nd recipe I made was from Giada De Laurentiis.. I simply adore her.. cos she's so pretty and has an amazingly seductive tonation and voice.. hahaha.. I know it sounds crazy but I would go ga-ga about her if i were a guy/man.. haha.. Her cheesecake had ricotta cheese and way more mango puree in it, which made the cheeseake softer.. richer.. nicer to some tasters.. But I think I baked it too short, hence the cheesecake was still soft.. The cheesecake didn't have a nice outlook because I do not have a food processor to smoothen the ricotta cheese.. Ricotta seems to coagulate into small globules while mixing using my KitchenAid.. Which becomes apparent when you slice the cheesecake.. I did bring the cheese to room temperature but the batter still didn't turn out smooth.. Guess it's time I invest in a food processor.. :)

Both cheesecakes are wonderful.. Which is better depends on the individual.. Most of my tasters preferred Giada's recipe but I think Catherine's recipe was less cloying and I would eat more than 1 slice of it.. So, why don't you guys try it out.. and tell me which is nicer.. ;)

Giada's recipe on the left and Catherine's on the right

Mango Cheesecake (taken from Catherine Lau's  Cheesecake Seduction)
(my notes in red) 

Base
110g Butter
200g Disgestive Biscuit, finely crushed
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
50g Cornflakes

My Version:

12 pcs digestive biscuit

Approx 1 tbsp caster sugar

Approx 4oz unsalted butter, melted

Filling
500g Cream Cheese, diced
120g Castor Sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Custard Powder, sifted
30g Cornflour, sifted
360g Mango Puree
4 Eggs, lightly beaten
200ml Whipping Cream

Topping
1 Mango, Sliced
40g Apricot Glaze
40 ml Water

1. Preheat oven to 150 deg C.

2.Prepare base. Melt butter over low heat. Add combined biscuits, sugar, cornflakes. Fry until fragrant. Press into a greased 23 cm springform of false-bottomed pan with your hands OR the back of a metal spoon. Cover cake pan and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
My version: Grind the biscuits to your own coarse-ness. Stir sugar into the biscuit and pour butter over the biscuit mix. Press the biscuit onto the base of a 9" springform of false-bottomed pan round pan with the help of the back of a metal spoon. Leave aside.

3. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, custard powder and cornflour and beat until smooth. (To lessen dishwashing chore ;), I sift the custard powder and cornflour on top of the sugar in a bowl).
4. On low speed, add mango puree. Slowly pour in the eggs and mix until just combined. Add cream and blend until mixture thickens.

5. Pour filling on biscuit base. Place cake pan in water bath. Bake for 1hr 15min or until filling is set but slightly soft in the centre.

6. Turn over off. Leave cake in oven for 30 minutes with the door closed. Remove water bath from oven. Leave cake to cool completely in oven with the door ajar.

7. Arrange mango slices on cake. (After cheesecake cools, I refrigerate the cheesecake overnight or at least 4 hrs. I arrange the mango slices on it after I took it out from the pan and then decorate it. It looks fresher and mango taste fresher this way).

8. Stir apricot glaze and water over low heat until glaze dissolves. Glaze top of cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6hrs before removing from pan and serving. 

For Giada's recipe, just click here. I would like to try the Basil Lemon sauce someday. It looks really interesting..

~Let's conspire to ignite

All the souls that would die just to feel alive~

Chocolate Cream Cheesecake

If you have read my previous post last month, I said that I have excess of marcarpone cheese.. I've been procrastinating all these while.. Hence, I've been baking excessively this Christmas week cos I wanna use up all the mascarpone cheese and also for the gathering I have at work.. And of ocurse trying out new recipes from the new books that I have.. Weee~

I never tried making chocolate cheesecake before.. Hence, you should know what happened... I made a new recipe from the new book that my sis bought for me.. The author is a Malaysian if I'm not wrong or Singaporean.. I don't know.. It's called Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau...All her cheesecakes look fabulous and mouth watering.. It's very inspiring actually... However, what I don't really like about the book is that it's not very detailed.. hence making it hard for me to decipher the steps.. I have to think properly and experiment on my own.. But other than that, it's a great book.. Go get it if you can... Support Asian cooks and Bakers!! hehe..

Chocolate Cream Cheesecake (taken from Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau)
(my notes in red)

TOPPING
200ml whipping cream
50ml milk
250g dark chocolate, chopped

FILLING
10 egg yolks
2 eggs
60g brown sugar
500ml milk
300ml whipping cream
2 tsp instant coffee powder
250g dark chocolate, melted
250g mascarpone cheese, stirred gently until smooth

BASE
30g butter, diced
60g dark chocolate
1 tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp milk
1 tsp instant coffee powder, mixed with 1 tsp hot water
2 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda, sifted
40g ground hazelnuts

Directions:
TOPPING
1. Heat cream and milk over gently simmering water. Add chocolate. Stir until smooth.

2. Pour two-thirds of topping into a deep 20-cm round cake pan. Cover and refrigerate. Set aside remaining chocolate.

Filling
1. Preheat oven to 160 deg C. Whisk egg yolks, eggs and brown sugar for 2 minutes. Set aside.

2. Combine milk and cream in a pan over low heat. Bring to the boil and remove from heat immediately. Stir in coffee powder and chocolate. Stand for 5 minutes. Slowly pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture while stirring until combined. Strain then leave to cool.

3. Stir in mascarpone into chocolate mixture until smooth. Slowly pour mixture on chocolate topping in cake pan. Place pan in water bath. bake for 50 minutes. (I need to bake quite long.. almost more than an hour..and I had to increase the temprature higher for the last 15 minutes or so. The point is, you need to bake till the  batter is firm enough to hold the base later.. so that it won't sink.. I'm assuming that it will sink it its still in liquid-y state).

Base
1. Combine butter and chocolate. Stir over low heat until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in brown sugar, egg, milk, and coffee mixture, one at a time. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well. Spoon into a piping bag with a large plain nozzle.( I didn't use a piping bag.. Just spread it with a trusty spoon or spatula. Try to make as leveled as possible)..

2. Remove cake pan from oven. Pipe mixture on filling. Bake for 15 minutes or until centre of base is firm. (I did a toothpick test with the base). Remove and cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. Carefully run a knife around the edge and invert cheesecake onto a serving plate. Warm remaining chocolate topping and serve with cake. Decorate as desired.

I made half the recipe as usual.. I used 70% chocolate for the whole recipe.. and the cheesecake wasn't sweet at all including the topping.. Hence, I would recommend using milk chocolate or not-so-dark chocolate for the topping at least... I think you can opt out the coffee if you don't want to bitterness tang inside the filling..

This recipe produces a soft cheesecake.. not cakey at all although it's a baked cheesecake.. It's not really like custard.. More to creamy.. Overall, I think it's a lovely cheesecake for all dark chocolate lovers.. You can tweak the recipe a bit for a slightly sweeter cheesecake..

~Another day is going by..
I'm thinking about you all the time~

Cookies 'n' Cream Cheesecake a.k.a Oreo Cheesecake

I was craving for Oreo Cheesecake the other day.. So I decided to make one myself.. I found the recipe in a book that I borrowed..Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau... The pictures in the book was so marvelous that it makes me crave for it..

I couldn't wait to eat it after it came out from the oven but I had to refrigerate it for a night.. The verdict? Well, it taste very normal though it looks tempting and really delicious.. Nothing special actually.. But I was happy with it.. :)

Oh yeah, after reading through all the recipes in the book, I wasn't sure whether whipping cream refers to single cream or heavy cream. Would using heavy cream affects anything? Hmm.. Does anybody know the and answers?

Cookies 'n' Cream Cheesecake (adapted from Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau)
Makes one 23 cm cake (I halved the recipe though. Made a 6" tall cheesecake)

Base
120g butter, diced
200g digestive biscuit, finely crushed
3 tbsp brown sugar
50g cornflakes, crushed
30g cocoa powder, sifted
My version (6" base):
8 Oreos, crushed
2-3 tbsp butter, melted

Filling
750g cream cheese
140g castor sugar
2 tsp vanilla flavouring
20g cornflour, sifted
300 ml whipping cream (I used heavy cream cos that's what I have)
4 eggs, lightly beaten
300g Chocolate sandwich cookies (obviously I used Oreos, i used 14 Oreos for 1/2 batch)
250ml milk

Glaze
50g Apricot Glaze
50ml water

Method:

Base
1. Prepare biscuit base. The problem here is that the book had missing pages which consists of the method to prepare the base. I will assume that the method is to mix all the dry ingredients until evenly combine. Then mix in the butter till it becomes a lumpy enough to form a base. Hmm.. I'm just assuming and imagining how it would be done. :) But from my experience, this can be done. Preheat oven to 150 deg C.

My version:
1. Pour the melted butter on the crushed Oreos and mix well. Cover the base with the mixture and use a glass to press it down to the pan. Use your fingers to press down all the corners of the pan so that it will be level with the middle area.

Filling
1. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla flavouring and cornflour, and beat until smooth. Add cream and blend until mixture thickens. Slowly pour in eggs and mix until just combined.

2. Pour half the filling on biscuit base. Dip half the cookies in milk then arrange on filling. Pour remaining filling on cookies. Dip remaining cookies in milk then press into filling.

3. Place pan in water bath. Bake for 1 hour or until filling is set but still soft in the centre. Turn oven off. Leave the cake in oven for 30 minutes with door closed. Remove water bath. Lave cake to cool completely in oven with door ajar.

4. Cover cake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before removing from pan.

Glaze
1. Stir in apricot glaze and water over low heat util glaze dissolves. Leave to cool slightly, then brush over top of cake.

~You're the one who set it up..
Now you're the one to make it stop
I'm the one who's feeling lost..right now~

One Busy Week

Wow... I've gotten through one busy week.. It was undescribable.. I had so much baking to do.. Firstly, I had orders from my sis.. 2 cakes.. I think cakes are simpler than cupcakes.. Pour here, take it out.. frost and decorate.. and voila.. you have a cake.. It's less tiring than anything else.. But somehow, I'm always intimidated by the decorating part.. Cos I'm actually a simple person.. I like things simple.. decorations to be simple.. The main priority is TASTE.. haha.. But somehow.. Looks and presentation always plays a very important first impression rite? No? Not for me.. Cos TASTE IS PARAMOUNT.. hahaks..

I am looking at this Hershey's cookies and cream chocolate and it reminded me of something.. I used to buy this chocolate bar almost everyday after school when I was in secondary school.. It was like one of my favourite chocolate besides so many others.. I grew fat on it!! haha.. Anyway, when I ate it again now, I can't eat more than 3 small rectangles.. It's like damn sweet and I can't handle it.. I guess I don't really enjoy white chocolate as much as I did.. Don't get me wrong.. I still love chocolates though..

This is the Infamous Abbey Cheesecake with Strawberry Swirls.. I used apple flavoured biscuits for the crust.. It should taste slightly different from normal.. Personally, I like it cos I think the taste is uniqe. I just hope the person who ordered this enjoy it..
Secondly, I had orders from my good friend, Sikin.. Nutella Cupcakes and Cheesecake... She ordered Plain cheesecake cut into 4cm by 4cm squares.. Her initial order was a rectangle cheesecake bar but I couldn't do it would be very costly for me and for her too.. haha.. Too hard to explain.. So, I end up with this.. Thirdly.. I had to prepare for my Wilton Course 1 Finale Cake.. Gosh.. I was tired by the end of Saturday.. Haha.. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it cos I Love what I'm doing.. Hahaha.. I will reveal the Finale cake in the next post..

~Money can be earned

But passion can't be bought~