Do I have to do IT just because I ate a piece of cheesecake yesterday?

Good evening peeps. Already looking forward to the weekends? Lucky you. Not me, though. Tomorrow, I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL! Yes! You read it right. Tomorrow, the world will see me exercising my whale-size body doing aerobics. Surprised? I was too! Actually, this programme is part of the school's campaign to collect funds to upgrade the existing facilities.

Just a question. Why aerobics? Why? What can exercise do to a whale? Ask my students. they will definitely agree that puan shah and exercise do not go hand in hand. Don't they know I have a COOKING BLOG? Don't they know that all excellent chefs are big-sized? Don't they watch the movie 'Ratatouille'? Is Gusteau the Chef thin? Why must it be aerobics? Why can't it be a canteen day? A day that I will enjoy tremendously. Tell me!

Well, so much of me being petty. In the name of preparing better facilities for the children, I will have to keep sane and Godwilling, drag my whale-body to school at such wee hour next morning. Wish me luck peeps. Anyway, moving to something so much better, let me share my cheesecake recipe that I have ammended from the recipe on the cream cheese packaging just because I want my vegetarian friend to enjoy it too! I was really glad that my other colleagues loved the outcome of my experiment. What about the taste? It was lip-smacking, baby!! And to think that I have to pay a dear price doing aerobics tomorrow just because I enjoyed it, certainly won't stop me from cooking and baking. Perhaps, the exercise would do me good. Should I pack my choc chip cupcakes for sale tomorrow? Good thinking, ay? What say you?

SIMPLE CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE SWIRLS

Do you like what you see? You do? Then.......

Have a closer look!

To enjoy this scrumptious delight, you need:

For the base:

• 20 pieces digestive biscuits
• 4 oz butter (melted)
• a 10 inch x10 inch square cake tin with loose base

For the topping:

• 2 x 250g packets of cream cheese ( I used Tatura Brand cream cheese- it's cheaper)
• 300ml condensed milk
• 100ml evaporated milk
• 2 tsp gelatine ( I used Halagel brand- easily available now at leading hypermarkets)
• 1/4 cup of boiling water
• 1/2 tsp of chocolate emulco

For the delectable palate:

1. Put the biscuits into a plastic bag. Using a rolling pin, crush till fine.
2. Pour in the melted butter and mix well and put into the cake tin. Use a potato masher, level the mixture.
3. Put your cake tin in the freezer.
4. Next, pour your gelatine powder into the cup of boiling water and stir till dissolve. Just a note. DO NOT pour liquid onto gelatine for it will never dissolve. It should always be gelatine into water and not the other way around. I learn it the hard way!
5. Next, cut your cream cheese blocks into small pieces and put into a mixer fixed with a pedal. Beat your cream cheese till light and fluffy.
6. Put in your gelatine mixture, both condense and evaporated milk and stir till smooth and well-mixed using a balloon whisk.
7. Save 2 tbsp of this mixture and mix with the chocolate emulco into a smooth paste. Put into a piping bag and keep aside.
8. Pour your cheese mixture onto the chilled based.
9. Pipe your chocolate paste across the cheese topping. The more lines you have, the finer your swirls will look.
10. To create the swirl/ feathery look, use a toothpick/ cake tester against the drawn lines.
11. Refrigerate overnight. Then

*This cake melts if it is left at room temperature so it is best to be kept refrigerated.

A Fond Taste of The Yesteryears

Birthdays can carry different meanings to different people. As for kids, birthdays are undoubtedly the much cherished time of the year where special treatment and special present(s) await on that one special day. As for me, birthdays are forever special. Being born into a not-well-to do(but blessed with excessive happiness) family and raised in a kampung, a big birthday bash was very rare. It's good enough if your family members remember your birth date.

However, one might get lucky at times. I did have birthday celebrations during my childhood years. One person whom I hold very dear to heart upon this matter was my late Mak Long. She was the one who was able to remember everybody's birthday and she would try her very best to celebrate. Unfortunately, she was taken way too early from us. May peace be upon her.

Talking about birthday celebrations, there are certain types of food associated with the occassion. It can be a big family lunch or a simple treat at the ice-cream shop. Reflecting my younger years, the Malays commonly serve fried rice vermicelli('bihun'), curry puffs, sardines sandwiches, water-melon (or home-grown bananas), jelly, 'air sirap' and not to forget, a bakery-bought birthday cake with colourful buttercream icing for the celebrated persona. The highlight of the event would be the singing of the birthday song and the birthday person would proudly cut the heavily-guarded cake(a smeared cake wouldn't be nice for the photography purposes) into sections to be served to the guests. Of course, those invited would be the kampung folks within your house perimetre. If the budget permits, you would be able to see Wall's ice-cream (a much praised brand at that time), fried chicken wings, party packs and the whole living hall adorned with balloons and streamers.

The presents were also an interesting fact to be commented. Usually, the parents or close relatives would give the biggest(and could be the one and only) gift. Guests would bring wrapped items but do not expect to get Barbie dolls or Transformers action figures. Gifts came in the form of story books, stationery ('magic pen' was among the top chosen ones) and simple toys. The most common gift in my kampung was a packet of wafer, wrapped tightly and neatly ( I couldn't really remember the brand). One should try his or her very best to 'keep face' .Of course you wouldn't want to be seen arriving empty-handed and assumed as only coming for the food! However, the fun was all in the get together and the gifts did not really matter.

Mentioning the birthday cake, there is one that I hold dear to my heart(and tastebuds as well) for it does bring back those fond memories. My mum was the one usually assigned to bake cakes for birthdays then. Her choice would depend on the availability of ingredients at that time concerned. It would be a banana cake or orange cake. Mind you that we did not have any fancy electric oven. All the baking took place in a heavy pot called 'a multi-purpose pot' and we would wait patiently in the kitchen for the yummy taste of freshly baked cakes. The extra thing that made everything scrumptious was that motherly love. My childhood memories were sprung to life when my youngest uncle(whose birthday fell on the 8th of March) personally requested for the orange cake. I had fulfilled his wish by baking the cake last night and bringing it along as we celebrated my cousin's wedding earlier this morning. It's true what they say about sweet memories. They are keepsakes and always to be treasured.Indeed!

Here's the recipe if you wish to try.

ORANGE CAKE

Ingredients:

300g butter (at room temperature)

300g caster sugar

300g plain flour

1 tsp soda bicarbonate

6 eggs

grated rind and juice of 1 orange

Method:

• Preheat your oven at 150C.
• Grease and line a ring cake tin.
• Sift the flour with the soda bicarbonate and keep aside.
• In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar till pale and creamy.
• Put in the eggs, one at a time and stir well.
• Next, put in the orange rind and juice and mix well.
• Fold in the flour and pour the mixture into the cake tin.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack and cut into slices.
• Enjoy!

It's Cheesy but I Like It!

Hi! It's me again! Since school starts on Monday the 5th of January(which is TODAY!), it will take some time till I can find the extra time to get back to this blog. Anyway, let's share my joy of success in making a cheesecake. The recipe is simple (obviously amended from yani@MyResipi), with easily-available ingredients and there is NO baking needed at all! If you are having guests, prepare this cake a day ahead for it needs refrigeration and you will end up with a store-bought lookalike (and taste-wise as well). Do try making this and you won't regret it. After all, it's a brand new year and don't you think that we deserve something very rewarding to start the new year? What say you? Till the next entry, have a jolly good, blessed and blissful year ahead! TTFN!

STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients:

15 pieces of digestive biscuits

75g butter

200g cream cheese

30g caster sugar

4 tsp honey

60g strawberry yoghurt

70g fresh milk

15g/1 tbsp gelatin (I used HALALGEL brand)

3 tbsp lukewarm water

125ml whipping cream

3 tbsp lemon juice

250g strawberry filling

Method:

• Put the biscuits in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to crush them finely. Put in the butter and mix well.
• In a small bowl, pour the lukewarm water and put in the gelatin and stir till dissolve.
• Next, using a springform cake tin, put in the biscuit mixture and press it so it is levelled. Then, put into the refrigerator.
• In a bowl, beat the whipping cream into a soft peak consistency and keep aside.
• Using a double-boiler, melt the cream cheese, sugar and honey and stir till well-mixed over a medium heat. Next, put in the yoghurt and milk and mix again. Pour in the gelatin mixture and stir well.
• After that, put in the beaten whipping cream and lemon juice and mix again.
• Put in the strawberry filling and fold the mixture until everything is well-mixed.
• Pour this mixture onto the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight.
• Cut into wedges and enjoy!

A Sisterly Request

Do you like chocolate? Or should I rephrase that sentence to be 'Do you like cocholate cake with chocolate icing?" You do? Then, you should try this recipe. The cake is moist and not too sweet and the icing compliments the texture of the cake. I have not baked this cake for a very, very long time until my sister who paid me a visit last week mentioned her craving for this cake. The recipe is taken from the back of Tately's sugar packet that I usually bought when I was in the Queen's Land- many years ago. The recipe for the cake is as original as it is but I have ammended the recipe for the icing(Norzailina Nordin's Ganache Recipe). Since I found it to be very satisfying to see how my sister really enjoyed her piece so I guess, you should try baking it!

CHOCOLATE CAKE

To enjoy this cake, you need:
175g unsalted butter
275g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
175g low-fat natural yoghurt
3 eggs
50g cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp vanilla essence

For the icing:
250g cooking chocolate
250ml whipping cream
25g butter
25g honey

Method:

• Preheat the oven at 175C.
• Sift the flour with baking powder and cocoa powder and keep aside.
• In the mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Next, add in the eggs gradually.
• Then, put in the vanilla essence and yoghurt and mix gently.
• Fold in the flour gradually and mix well.
• Pour the mixture into a greased and lined baking tin and bake for 50mins-1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let to cool on a wire rack.
• For the icing, put all ingredients into a heatproof bowl over a pot of water(double boiler method) over medium fire. Stir till melted and well-blended. Remove and let to cool in the fridge for one our before pouring over the cake.
• Cut your cake and enjoy!
  

Going Bananas

Ahoy there! Just want to share a recipe adapted from newbie123 Super Banana Cake. If you enjoy eating bananas, this recipe is worth a try. Simple, soft and moist.

BANANA LOAF

• 4 medium size ripe bananas (you can use pisang Montel)
• 1/2 cup corn oil
• 1 1/2 cup plain flour1 tsp soda bicarbonate
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder (I have ommitted it because the kids don't like the smell)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1/4 cup plain yoghurt drink/plain kassi (I used plain yoghurt)
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180C. Grease the cake tin with some butter.

2. Sieve the flour,soda bicarbonate, baking powder,cinnamon and salt.Keep aside.

3.In a bowl, beat the sugar and eggs until well-mixed.Pour in the oil,the flour mixture and mashed bananas gradually and mix again.Put in the vanilla essence.

4.Then, pour in the yoghurt drink/lassi/ plain yoghurt and mix again.

5. Pour the mixture into a cake it and bake for 35-40 mins.

6. Cool and enjoy!

A Cupcake A Day, Keeps All Worries At Bay...

Hi! In this entry would be my Orange Chiffon Cupcakes, recipe courtesy of Mat Gebu from MyResipi.com. I always thought that making anything 'chiffon' would be tremendously difficult until I tried his recipe last week. It's surprisingly easy. Here's the recipe if you feel like trying.

ORANGE CHIFFON CUPCAKES

A :-

• 4 egg yolks
• 100 g self-raising flour
• 30 ml fresh milk
• 30 g corn oil
• a pinch of salt
• 1 tsp orange flavouring
• a few drops of yellow food colouring
• 50g caster sugar
  
  B:-
• 4 egg whites
• 60g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
  
  

Method:

• Preheat oven at 175C.
• In a large bowl, whisk all ingredients in A until well-mixed and creamy using a hand whisk. Keep aside.
• In the mixer, beat egg whites at high speed until foamy. Then, put in the cream of tartar.
• After that, put in the sugar gradually. Keep on beating until the mixture is stiff.
• Then, fold in this mixture into A until well-mixed.
• Spoon mixture into muffin cups until half-full.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes.
• When muffins are cooked, they will shrink a little but don't panic. It's their nature.
• Cool and serve!