Mini Strawberry Cheesecake

I used to dread making cheesecake.
Only because it would take 60-90 minutes in the oven!!
(That's way too long for an impatient person like me.)

But then I realised that if I made minis, it would take just 20 minutes!!
And it eliminated the need for messy slicing.
And they're much cuter :)
And I get to use my hoard of cupcake liners.
What's not good about mini cheesecakes??

MINI STRAWBERRY CHEESECAKES
Makes 10 minis.

Crust:
180g Digestive biscuits, crushed
50g butter, melted

Stir melted butter into crushed biscuits till even combined.
Equally divide among the cupcake liners.
Press into the base of the cupcake liners.
Set aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
375g cream cheese
80g sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)
2 eggs
2 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Allow the cream cheese to soften till it reaches room temperature. If you use cream cheese that's still cold, there's a high risk of curdling, and that won't make nice cheesecake.

With the paddle attachment, cream the cheese and sugar till evenly blended.
Add eggs one at a time, allowing each addition to combine completely before adding the next.
Add milk and vanilla extract till thoroughly combined.

Divide mixture equally among cupcake liners.
It's ok to fill the liners almost to the brim, as these don't rise much in the oven.
Bake at 140*C in a water bath for 20 min.

Chill the cakes in the fridge after they cool down to room temperature.
Best to make these a day in advance to let the flavours mature.
Just before serving, spoon 1 tsp of strawberry jam onto the top of the cake and top with half a strawberry.

Or simply enjoy it plain!

 

Click HERE for more cheesecake recipes.

Chiffon Cheesecake with Hershey's Syrup Swirls

It's been a long time since I had chiffon cheesecake, better known as Japanese cheesecake to some. Many of you would already be familiar with this, so it needs no introduction.

For a little bit of fun, I added some Hershey's Syrup into some batter and marbled it on the top. While the visual effect was quite nice, I didn't quite taste enough Hershey's. More next time!!!


CHIFFON CHEESECAKE 
with Hershey's Syrup Swirls
Makes a 6x9" cake.

20g butter
115g cream cheese
45ml milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 tbs vanilla extract
1/2 tbs lemon juice
30g cake or plain flour
10g corn flour
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
65g caster sugar
60ml Hershey's syrup

Melt butter, cheese and milk over a water bath. (Or just stick it in the microwave in 10-second shots, stirring in between till you get a smooth mixture.)
Set aside to cool.

Add egg yolks, vanilla extract and lemon juice and stir till well combined.
Combine the flours, then sift it into the mixture and stir till well combined. 

In a clean mixing bowl, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and sugar.
Whisk till soft peaks form.

Pour egg whites into cheese mixture and fold gently (preferably with a balloon whisk) till no whites streaks are visible.

Pour batter into a greased and lined baking tin, saving just about 1/2 cup (120ml) of batter. Add Hershey's syrup into the remaining batter and stir gently will well combined. Randomly dot the top with the Hershey's mixture, then use a chopstick to create swirls.

Bake at 160*C in a water bath for 45-50 min till a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the top has browned nicely.

Best to slice the cake when chilled so that there are less crumbs.

Mini Cheesecakes

I have a soft spot for anything mini.

Minis are just so pretty and dainty.

(Just like me! hehe)

Ok, serious now. 

There's nothing special to making minis.
The recipe doesn't change.
Ok, well, maybe the baking time changes, but that's about it.

For these minis, I used the same recipe as my Rum & Raisin Cheesecake, except that I left out the rum and raisins, and reduced baking time to just 20 min.
(Recipe makes about 20 mini cheesecakes in large cupcake liners about 2.5" diameter.)

Rum & Raisin Cheesecake

Who likes Rum & Raisin?

Whoever thought of this flavour combination is a genius!!

This is a great way to jazz up a classic cheesecake.
See the little raisins peeking out the side of the cake? 
Now, if there was rum & raisin cheesecake ice cream.... 

You can basically take your favourite cheesecake recipe and just add rum & raisins.
But to give this cake maximum flavour, soak the raisins in rum at least 3 days in advance.

RUM & RAISIN CHEESECAKE

Makes an 8- or 9-inch cake.

CRUST: 
200g Digestive biscuits, finely crushed
100g unsalted butter, melted

Mix crushed biscuits and melted butter till well combined.
Press evenly into springform pan. (If you are not using a non-stick pan, grease the sides of the pan.)
Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

FILLING:
1kg cream cheese, softened
200g white sugar
30g flour
5 eggs
80ml whipping cream or sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp lemon juice (optional)
80g raisins, soaked in 80ml dark rum for at least 3 days

Beat together the cheese, sugar and flour with the paddle attachment on medium speed. 
Do not beat on high speed; you just want to combine the mixture, not introduce air, which would only cause cracks in your cheesecake.

Add eggs one at a time, ensuring that the batter is thoroughly mixed.
Add whipping cream, vanilla, lemon juice and the rum drained from the soaked raisins. Mix well. 
Gently fold in raisins.

Pour filling on top of crust.
Bake at 140*C for about 60 min or till edges are set but centre still looks a little wet and wobbly.
Many recipes will advise you to bake cheesecake in a water bath. But because I used a springform pan, I didn't want to take the risk and just placed a tray of hot water on the lower rack while baking. Alternatively, you can wrap a wet towel around the pan; this would have the same effect as a water bath.

When the cake looks done (wet and wobbly in the centre), turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the pan, in the oven with the door closed for at least the first 30 min or so. This very slow cooling process will ensure that there is no sudden temperature drop that would cause cracks in the cake. And because the oven is still warm, it will continue cooking the cake so that by the time it has cooled to room temperature, the centre of the cake would have been done just right.

When the cake has cooled to room temperature, cover with foil and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. I prefer to bake cheesecake at least a day in advance so that it has at least 24 hours for the flavours to mature and develop before eating. Trust me, freshly baked cheesecake does not taste as good as 'matured' cheesecake.

TOPPING:
handful of chocolate chips
1 tbs rum (or whipping cream)

Melt chocolate chips bain marie, gently stirring till smooth. 
Stir in rum.
Transfer to a piping, then snip a tiny bit off the end before piping any design you like.
Dust with cocoa powder if preferred. 

Pineapple Cheesecake on a peanut sesame crust

Friend K: Can you make a cheesecake with CNY flavours?

Me: Hmm... how about cheesecake with pineapple jam topping and a peanut crust?

Friend K: OK, but can you also add sesame to the crust?

So here it is... a CNY-inspired cheesecake. 

Mini Marble Chiffon Cheesecake

Another attempt at marbling.
This time with a chiffon version of cheesecake.  I revisited an earlier classic chiffon cheesecake recipe I used, but the results were rather disappointing.

You see, the cake rose tall and beautiful while baking.  But once it was done, and I let it cool gradually in the oven with door ajar, it deflated so much (like half the height) that it caused the cake to be so uneven.

What went wrong?  Did I overbeat the egg whites till they were too stiff??

Oh well, what the heck!  The marbling still turned out pretty nice (I'm shameless, haha) and it still tasted good.  At LEAST it still tasted good.

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

It's time for another cheesecake  :)
Hubby wanted something with chocolate, so it wasn't difficult to decide on the flavour.

Recipe for a 16cm / 6.5" cheesecake:


Crust
6 Digestives biscuits, crushed (about 100g)
45g butter, melted

Place the biscuits in a plastic bag.  Press as much air out as possible and seal the bag (I just used a bag clip). With a rolling pin, smash the biscuits till you get even crumbs.
Stir in the melted butter till even distributed.  Then pour mixture into a lined and greased springform pan.  Press down with the back of a spoon or bottom of a glass.
Pop into the freezer to set while you make the filling.

Filling
500g cream cheese, room temperature
100g sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 tbs milk or whipping cream
30g chocolate, melted

Beat cheese, sugar and vanilla extract till smooth and creamy.
Add eggs one at a time; beat till well combined.  Add milk and mix well.
Divide mixture into 2 portions and stir in chocolate to 1 portion.
With a spoon or ladle, pour mixture onto crust, alternating between the plain and chocolate mixtures.
Then, drag a knife or toothpick along the surface to create any marbled pattern.

Bake bain marie at 150*C for 30-35 min till edges are set and centre still wobbly.  Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for about 30 min. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature before chilling in the fridge.  Patience is important in this step.  Otherwise, any sudden drop in temperature could cause the surface of the cheesecake to crack.

Allow the cake to chill for at least 4-5 hours before serving.  Best if savoured a day or 2 later to let the flavours develop overnight.

Raspberry Jam Cheesecake

Here it is, my fellow bakers... the 2nd cheesecake of the week. 

This is a really simple yet attractive cake for any party!

With a Digestives crust, just bake a basic cheesecake (recipe here), and let it chill overnight in the fridge. For the jam topping, just take about 1/2 cup of your favourite jam, add a couple of tsp of water (unless your jam is already runny), and warm it up till it's a more liquid consistency.  Pour over the top of your cheesecake and smoothen with a spatula if necessary. Back into the fridge it goes for at least half hour to set.

If you fancy, you could even dress it with fresh fruit. Have a go!

Mocha Marble Cheesecake

This week is cheesecake week.

Cheesecake #1 - Mocha Marble Cheesecake (special order from a relative)

Cheesecake #2 - Raspberry Cheesecake (for a potluck party)

The recipe is not complicated. All you need is the basic cheesecake recipe, divide the batter in 2 parts, and add the following into one part:
- 90g chocolate
- 2 tsp instant coffee powder
- about 4-5 tbs whipping cream
(combine all the above till smooth bain marie)
*Note: This amount was used for a 3-egg recipe. 

The tedious part is the marbling; but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty quick. Alternate spoonfuls of each batter into the middle of the pan. (This is how you get the kueh lapis-like layers at the side.) When all the batter is in the pan, use a chopstick and drag it through the batter in any pattern you fancy. Be careful not to overdo it, or the colours will combine altogether. 

Have fun!


Look out for my next post on the Raspberry Cheesecake.....

Oreo Cocoa Cheesecake

Oreo Crust, for 8" cake:
150g Oreos, finely crushed
45g shortening or butter, melted

Combine Oreos and butter, and press into base of prepared pan.
Optional: Bake at 170 degC for 8 minutes.
Allow crust to set in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the filling.

Cheesecake Filling:
(I made a really small portion so my cake turned out really short.  For an average height cheesecake, use a 3 or 4-egg recipe.)

400g cream cheese
100g sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs

1 - Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla extract till smooth.
2 - Add eggs one at a time and mix well till smooth and creamy.
3 - Pour on top of Oreo crust and spread mixture evenly.
4 - Bake in a water bath at 150 degC for about 30 min till the centre is almost set.

5 - Allow cake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for about half hour. When completely cool, cover with tin foil and chill for at least 4 hours.
6 - When cheesecake is set, carefully unmould by using the tin foil to lift the cake out of the pan.
7 - To decorate, place stencil (or just a cooling rack) above the cake and dust generously with cocoa powder.

Classic Chiffon Cheesecake

I bought a new baking pan today - a 6-inch square pan with a removable base.  Like an excited child with a new toy, I decided that I'd make a chiffon cheesecake, since I'd that little bit of cream cheese left in the fridge.  Here goes...

Zebra Cheesecake

Almond Cointreau Cheesecake

I made a batch of almond biscotti some time ago, and it turned out a disaster! I must have overbaked it and sliced it so thick, biting into it was like trying to eat a rock. But I didn't want to waste it all, so i kept it in the fridge, thinking that one day I'd figure out how to 'recycle' it. 

And, today, the opportunity presented itself. I could make it into cheesecake crust! Just blitz the biscotti in the food processor till they resemble fine crumbs, and use it like crushed Digestive biscuits for the crust. For an extra edge, I added about 2 tsp of cocoa powder to get a chocolate almond crust. I thought this would be a nice complement to the chocolate topping I had in mind for the cake.

Let's get started!

Crust:

200g crushed biscuits (e.g. Digestive, Oreos)

1 tbs sugar

2 tsp cocoa powder (optional)

90g butter, melted

Mix everything together. Then press into your baking pan. (I used a 9" springform pan.) Chill in refrigerator while you make the filling.



Filling:
750g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
150g sugar
1.5 tbs cornflour
1 tbsp Cointreau (or 1.5 tsp vanilla extract)
3 eggs

1 - Beat all ingredients except eggs till smooth and creamy.

2 - Add in eggs one at a time and mix till just combined.

3 - Pour filling into baking pan.  The filling should smoothen itself out.

4 - Bake in a water bath at 150 degC for 30-40 min or until the centre is almost set. (The cake will continue to bake from its own heat.) Then allow the cake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for half hour or so.

5 - Cover with foil and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, overnight if possible.

Chocolate topping:

2 tbsp chocolate chips

1 tbsp milk

Melt chocolate chips and milk in a double boiler (or just microwave).  Stir till well combined and glossy. Drizzle onto the top of your cheesecake in any pattern you fancy. Cover and return to fridge till ready to serve.  This is best done after the cake has chilled so that the chocolate sets up nicely and doesn't run or soak into the filling.

Water bath disaster:

I have a confession to make....  I had a disaster with this water bath method!! 

I wrapped my springform pan with 2 layers of foil, but the water still seeped into my pan and the crust became soggy :(  In future, I'm gonna ditch the water bath method and try the steaming method instead - placing the pan of water in the rack below the cake.

Apparently, this will not affect the texture of the cake much. If anyone has tried this steaming method with/without success, let me know please.

UPDATE: Despite the water bath disaster, the cake turned out pretty good =D  The crust dried out a little after spending a night in the fridge, and the texture of the filling was just right. The beneficiaries of the cake were all smiles after they each had a slice. What a relief!