Say Cheese ~~~

  

A good friend of mine asked for my help in baking cakes for her colleagues as her internship is coming to an end. So I asked her what type of cakes she would like me to do. She replied cheesecakes and so the order is firmd up. I needed to bake 27 slices of New York cheesecakes and that would mean a total of three 9-inch round  cheesecake.

The baking of these cheesecakes would take a total of two days. Why two days? I only have one 9-inch springform pan, meaning only one cheesecake can be done at a time. The first and second cheesecake each took me about 9 hours including 45 minutes of preparation time, 1 hr 40 minutes of baking, approximately 1 and half hours or cooling and 4-6 hours of chilling in the refrigerator. It may sound daunting but do not be fooled by the long period of time needed to complete one cheesecake, most of it is actually waiting time. As I am writing this post, my third cheesecake is waiting in the oven.

When it comes to cheesecakes, I totally adore New York style cheesecakes. These baked goods are dense, creamy and vanilla scented flourless cakes. A good cheesecake needs to be baked in a water bath as the water bath helps to keep the baking environment moist and allow an even distribution of heat. The resulting cheesecakes would then not turn out dry at the top and sides, develop sunken centres or run risks of cracking while cooling off. As vanilla is the main flavour here, it is imperative to use a trusted brand of vanilla extract to give that rich full-bodied aroma.

New York Cheesecake

Serving size: 12 slices

Equipment and materials:

1) Stand electric beater/ handheld electric beater

2) Measuring spoon set
3) Spatula
4) Mixing bowls
5) Wire rack
6) 9 inch springform tin
7) Baking tray larger than springform tin
8) Aluminium foil

Biscuit base:
200g digestive biscuit
2 1/2 tbs brown sugar
90g butter, melted

Cheesecake filling:
500g cream cheese, softened
40g butter, softened
140g sugar
280g sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs, beaten

Method:
1) Prepare biscuit base as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin.
2) Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
3) Beat cream cheese and butter untill creamy on medium speed. Add sugar and beat until combined.
4) Add sour cream and vanilla extract to cream cheese mixture on medium low speed. Beat until smooth and incorporated.
5) Lastly, add the eggs and beat until combined on low speed. Use a spatula to run through the filling in a zig zag manner to eliminate air bubbles.
6) Pour filling onto biscuit base.
7) Wrap top and sides of spring form tin with aluminium foil as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Bake at 160 degrees C for 1 hr 40 minutes in a water bath.
8) When baked, allow cheesecake to cool in the oven with oven door ajar for 30 minutes.
9) Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
10) Place cooled cheesecake tin in the refrigerator and chill for 4-6 hours. Dislodge cheesecake from cheesecake tin. Serve cheesecakes chilled.

Note:
1) To slice cheesecake nicely, wipe the knife after each slice with kitchen towel/s.
2) To smooth the sides of the cheesecake, dip a knife in hot water. Wipe the knife dry and run it around the perimeter of the cheesecake. Repeat the step if necessary.
3) This recipe uses only 2 eggs and it easily yields a denser cheesecake using a shorter baking time. Some cheesecake recipes with the same amount of cream cheese use up to 4 eggs and generally yield softer creamier cheesecakes.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes

I attempted baking bread for the first time time few days back using a sweet butter bun recipe. Well it was'nt exactly the first bread attempt to be exact. I had made pizza dough prior to that. However I would'nt consider pizza dough to be a proper 'bread'. Before I had time to take pictures of the butter buns, they were all gobbled up. These buns pretty good when they were fresh out of the oven. When the buns were cooled, they did'nt taste as fluffy. This is something I need to improve on when making bread again.

While I looked through the ingredients I had on hand, I was deciding on whether to use the crumbly cream cheese which were meant for my previous blueberry cheesecake. After some deliberation, I decided I would go ahead and use it. The cream cheese might not look appealing physically but it did not mar the taste of the baked goods.

The recipe to work on this time round is lemon cream cheese cupcakes. I love to bake cupcakes. There is much less clearing and washing to be done and the preparation time is kept to a minimum. Just imagine having to wash the beaters for 2 to 3 times just to make a cake sometimes. Thats tedious!

I pretty much looked forward to the end product of the baking session, wondering how a lemon cream cheese butter cake would taste like. The verdict? Truly delicious cupcakes that are soft and fluffy, way softer than the usual butter cakes. Its texture will mislead one into thinking its a sponge cake. I guess the addition of cream cheese works wonders in this recipe.These cupped snackers are kind of like a cross between a lemon butter cake and a light textured lemon souffle cheesecake. Looks like I have found a worthy use for my crumbly cream cheese afterall.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cupcakes ( recipe adapted from Tempt: Cupcakes to Excite by Betty Saw)
Equipment and materials:
1) Stand electric beater/ handheld electric beater or wooden spoon
2) Flour sieve
3) Grater with fine holes
4) Measuring spoon set
5) Muffin tin with holes 5cm in diameter measured from the base
6) Spatula
7) Mixing bowl
8) Cupcake liners/paper to fit
9) Toothpicks, wooden skewers or cake tester
10) Wire rack
Serving size : 11 - 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:
135g Self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
125g butter, softened
90g cream cheese, softened
140g caster sugar
2 eggs (55g to 60g per egg)
finely grated zest of 1 lemon (grate lemon zest over sugar)
1 tbs lemon juice

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
2) Sift flour and baking powder into a big bowl. Use a whisk to ensure mixture is evenly distributed. Set aside.
3) Place butter and cream cheese into a mixing bowl. Beat untill creamy.
4) Add in sugar and lemon zest and continue to beat until cream cheese mixture is creamy and fluffy, about 2 minutes on medium high speed.
5) Beat in eggs into cream cheese mixture one by one and continue to beat till smooth and combined.
6) Add in the flour mixture and lemon juice. Beat until batter is creamy smooth and combined on low speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a spatula during the beating process to incoporate stray flour and ingredients.
7) Line muffin tin with cupcake liners. Spoon batter into cupcake liner till 2/3 full.
8) Bake for 18 minutes. Test for doneness using a toothpick or skewer. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in cupcake center comes out clean .
9) Leave to cool on a wire rack. Keep in airtight containers for up to 3 days.

Notes:
1) Grating lemon zest over sugar captures more of the lemon oil that is released while grating.
2) You may want to rub the zest and the sugar to release more lemon oil.
3) For moister cupcakes, fold 3 tbs sourcream or yoghurt to the batter, alternating with the flour

Cheesecake Cravings

It has been a while since I had my cheesecake fix. Since there are two blocks of  philly cream cheese sitting in my refrigerator, I thought I would do a cheesecake today.

Without much planning, I headed for the supermarket to purchase the ingredients needed - lemons and digestive biscuit. All ingredients were ready and I eagerly proceeded to weigh them. While unwrapping my second block of cream cheese, something was amiss. The texture was crumbly and kind of powdery instead of creamy. That was not the case for the other block. I checked through the expiry date and it was 2 months before the date was up. These two blocks of cream cheese were bought while on sale sometime back.

I struggled for a moment before deciding that I would not let this mishap mar the ideal texture of my beloved cheesecake. Dragging my heavy feet along, I hurriedly made a second trip to the supermart to get a fresh new block of cream cheese. Lesson learnt. Never stock up on cream cheese again. It is just not worth the cost savings. In the end I suffered a lost instead. Argh! How unfortunate....

Aside from the little misadventure, everything else went fine. It was a breeze getting the Mcvities to fine crumbs using my food processor, which serves it purpose mainly for my baking escapades. I tweaked the recipe a little and omitted the flour. To me, the ideal cheesecake should be dense yet creamy and flourless. With that being said, I baked the cheesecake even longer this time round for two solid hours, making sure that the cheesecake would be dense to my liking.

Even after baking for 2 hours, the cheesecake was only moderately dense. Perhaps I would increase my baking temp to 160 degrees C next time and decrease the amount of cream used. Nevertheless, I am glad I omitted the flour. Cheers to no flour! 

Blueberry Cheesecake (recipe adapted from Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau)
Serving size: 10 to 12 slices

Equipment and materials:
1) Stand electric beater/ handheld electric beater
2) 9 inch round springform tin
3) Baking tray large enough to contain springfrom tin
4) Food processor or rolling pin
5) Grater with fine holes
6) Measuring spoon set
7) Spatula
8) Mixing bowl
9) Wire rack
10) Aluminium foil

Biscuit Base:

200g digestive biscuits

2 1/2 tbs brown sugar

90g butter, melted

Cheesecake Filling:
500g cream cheese, preferably philadelphia cream cheese
140g sugar
40g butter, softened
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
4 tbs lemon juice, (about 1 1/2 lemons)
250ml whipping cream, chilled
4 eggs, beaten ( at room temperature, 60g each)
200g blueberry pie filling

Blueberry Topping:
200g blueberry pie filling

Method:

1) Prepare biscuit base as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Freeze prepared base for 10 minutes or until ready for use.
2) Preheat oven to 150 degrees C
3) Beat cream cheese,sugar and butter on medium speed until creamy.
4) Add in zest and lemon juice continue beating until smooth.
5) Add whipping cream to cream cheese mixture on low speed. Beat until smooth and incorporated. Do not overbeat else the cream may separate (due to excessive beating), resulting in a grainy batter.
6) Lastly, add the eggs and beat until combined on low speed.
7) Pour filling onto biscuit base. Spoon the blueberry filling randomly over the filling.
8) Wrap top and sides of spring form tin with aluminium foil as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Bake at 150 degrees C for 2 hours in a water bath.
9) When baked, allow cheesecake to cool in the oven with oven door ajar for 30 minutes.
10) Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
11) Place cooled cheesecake tin in the refrigerator and chill for 4-6 hours.
12) Once chilled, dislodge cheesecake from springform tin and discard the aluminum foil lining the base. Spread 200g blueberry topping evenly onto cheesecake and serve chilled.

Note:
1) To slice cheesecake nicely, wipe the knife after each slice with kitchen towel/s.
2) To smooth the sides of the cheesecake, dip a knife in hot water. Wipe the knife dry and run it around the perimeter of the cheesecake. Repeat the step if necessary.

  

Orange and Lime Cheesecake

I am starting to get addicted to cheesecakes. This was one that I made for last year's Xmas gathering. I am particularly satisfied with this cheesecake. My very first attempt on this recipe turned out good in terms of taste and appearance. It was dense yet creamy enough in texture and the taste was that of combined citrus and condensed milk.

The fun part was preparing and decorating top of the cake. For this cake, i used candied lime and orange zest. After experimenting and twisting the slices, I managed to come up with a simple yet elegant decoration. That sure gave me a great sense of satisfaction. Haha, I felt pro for a moment then.

Orange and Lime Cheesecake (recipe adapted from Fresh and Tasty Biscuits and Cakes)
Serving size: 8 -10 slices
Equipment and materials:
1) Stand electric beater/ handheld electric beater
2) Food processor/ rolling pin
3) Measuring spoon set
4) Spatula
5) Mixing bowls
6) Wire rack
7) 18cm (7 inch) springform tin
8) Baking tray larger than springform tin
9) Aluminium foil

Biscuit base:
110g digestive biscuits finely crushed
50g melted butter
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Cheesecake filling:
250g cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 tbs brown sugar
2 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 tsp finely grated lime zest (I used australian lime)
4 tsp orange juice, strained
4 tsp lime juice, strained
1 egg, lightly beaten
150ml condensed milk
2 1/2 tbs whipping cream

Method:
1) Prepare biscuit base as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Freeze prepared base for 10 minutes or until ready for use.
2) Preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
4) Place cream cheese, sugar,the zests and juices and beat until creamy. Add in the egg and mix until just combined.
5) Lastly, add in condensed milk then and fold in the cream until well combined.
6) Pour cheesecake filling onto prepared biscuit base.
7) Wrap top and sides of spring form tin with aluminium foil as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Bake at 160 degrees C for 45 minutes in a water bath.
8) When baked, allow cheesecake to cool in the oven with oven door ajar for 30 minutes.
9) Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
10) Place cooled cheesecake tin in the refrigerator and chill for 4-6 hours. Dislodge cheesecake from cheesecake tin.

Note:
1) To slice cheesecake nicely, wipe the knife after each slice with kitchen towel/s.
2) To smooth the sides of the cheesecake, dip a knife in hot water. Wipe the knife dry and run it around the perimeter of the cheesecake. Repeat the step if necessary.

Oreo Cheesecake

Ok here goes my first post on this brand new blog =]. I am still learning and exploring the art of baking. It all first started when i chanced upon this blog. Her blog gave me inspiration and from then on i started to bake using recipes from the net and from cookbooks. Hopefully, i will become as good as her in time to come. Wish me luck!!

Cheesecakes are yummy and are rather easy to prepare. This cake was supposed to be a New York Cheesecake. The texture is creamy and it has a tangy vanilla taste. Personally, i feel that the recipe is simple and the taste is good for a home-bake cheesecake.

For a change i thought it would be fun to give the recipe a tweak and do some experimenting. I added oreo and it turned out quite decent, deviating from the usual cookie and cream cheesecake which calls for milk. Comparing the two, I would prefer the original new york cheesecake recipe.

Oreo Cheesecake
Serving size: 8-10 slices
Equipment and materials:
1) Stand electric beater/ handheld electric beater
2) Measuring spoon set
3) Spatula
4) Mixing bowls
5) Wire rack
6) 18cm (7 inch) springform tin
7) Baking tray larger than springform tin
8) Aluminium foil

Biscuit base:
110g oreo cookies, filling removed
50g melted butter

Cheesecake filling:
250g block cream cheese (at room temperature)
20g butter softened
70g sugar
200ml sour cream (bulla light sour cream or premium sour cream)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 oreo sandwich cookies, with or without cream filling as desired
1 egg

Topping:
2 oreo sandwich cookies, filling removed, crushed into powder

Method:
1) Prepare biscuit base as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin using a 18cm (7 inch) springform tin.
2) Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
3) Beat cream cheese and butter untill creamy on medium speed. Add sugar and beat until combined.
4) Add sour cream and vanilla extract to cream cheese mixture on medium low speed. Beat until smooth and incorporated.
5) Lastly, add the eggs and beat until combined on low speed. Use a spatula to run through the filling in a zig zag manner to eliminate air bubbles.
6) Fold in the coarsely chopped cookie bits.
7) Pour filling onto biscuit base.
8) Wrap top and sides of spring form tin with aluminium foil as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Bake at 160 degrees C for 45 minutes in a water bath.
9) When baked, allow cheesecake to cool in the oven with oven door ajar for 30 minutes.
10) Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
11) Place cooled cheesecake tin in the refrigerator and chill for 4-6 hours. Dislodge cheesecake from cheesecake tin. Scatter oreo topping over cheesecake. Serve cheesecakes chilled.

Note:
1) To slice cheesecake nicely, wipe the knife after each slice with kitchen towel/s.
2) To smooth the sides of the cheesecake, dip a knife in hot water. Wipe the knife dry and run it around the perimeter of the cheesecake. Repeat the step if necessary.