Friday, June 29, 2007

Yummy Chocolate Mud Cheesecake

Yesterday, I pecah rekod already. Baked a second cheesecake the very next day after I baked one. Just had to. Don't know how long it'll be until I have the chance to even see another piece of cake in the days to come. T.T

Chocolate Mud Cheesecake

Base

250g Marie biscuits, crushed finely
120g butter, melted
30g cocoa powder, sifted

Filling

350g dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
500g cream cheese, softened at room temperature
140g sugar
40g butter
300ml whipping cream, mixed with 1 tablespoon lemon juice and left to stand for 10 minutes
30g cornflour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
4 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Prepare base ; Add sugar to biscuits and mix. Pour in butter and mix well. Transfer to cheesecake tin and press the mixture firmly to the base. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 150°C.

2. Melt chocolate over simmering hot water. Add butter and stir well.

3. Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla essence and cornflour. Beat until smooth. Pour in egss and mix until just combined.

4. Meanwhile, add the cream and lemon juice mixture to the chocolate and stir. Add this combined mixture to the cream cheese mixture and blend well.

5. Pour filling on to biscuit base. Place cake tin in water bath. Bake for 1 hour or until filling is set but slightly soft in the center.

6. Turn off the oven. Leave cake in oven for 30 minutes with the door closed (to prevent cracking on top of cake - if you like everything perfect and pretty). Remove water bath from oven. Leave cake to cool completely in oven with the door ajar.

7. Cover cake and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

{Receipe taken from Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau Celebrity Chefs' Cookbooks}

{Before baking}

{Slice cut after cake has been refrigerated overnight}

Oh so rich, dense and flavourful! The combination of chocolate and cheese is unspeakably delicious! :D

I'm a fat girl, flying to KL tomorrow morning. T.T My dad just talked to me about my Sem 2 results. He very seriously told me that I had better start organizing my time wisely once I get there. Though my results are not that bad, and he's not angry at all, I did sense he's a bit disappointed. He really does have high expectations of me.

I recalled the time I just finished SPM. I wanted to do Graphic Design at either LimKokWing or The One Academy *I hadn't really decided then*. My dad was not really happy with the path I'm preparing myself for. Though he didn't discourage me, he told me to think twice, because I've been studying science for so long (from primary school right up to Form 5). So, I reasoned with myself and relented. After all, I'm also a bit kia-su. All my other friends either taking JPA (medicine), matriculation or going into Form 6. And I thought, heck, I don't want my brain to degenerate, degrade and rot. Hence my start to Form 6. And then medicine uni.

I'm still not sure if I've made the right decision. As I've mentioned a lot of times before, I'm very into creative stuff - arts, crafts, designs, patterns and handmade. I can't live without them. I'll go blank, bored and miserable.

I don't know if I'll be able to keep to my promise to focus solely on my studies from now on. T-T

I pray I will.

5 comments:

Aneesah said...

Whoa. You're really incredibly rajin at baking things! =o So you always have these ingredients around? ^^ Hehe, I might try this one day, though the last time I ate chocolate cheesecake (secret recipe punye) I didn't quite like the chocolate bits... =/

Anyway, the Art vs. Science route is actually a common dilemma Malaysian students have. WHAT I WANT vs WHAT EVERYBODY ELSE WANTS FOR ME. =( I always wanted to go into Design, any kind of design, and though my father always joked that I would be taking Computer Science (eurgh), my parents totally let us take what we want as long as we have the grades to do it. And thankfully I managed to get a scholarship too, which made things that much more convenient. (I don't mind Architecture, I guess. It was the only thing that had a JPA scholarship that's not engineering/medic/science anyway.)

But, in your case, sometimes we just can't have everything... I'm sure you'll manage to keep crafting as a hobby while studying Science at the same time. :) Pharmacy's pretty interesting too, right? You just need some motivation. ^_^

Hehe, sorry for the long comment. :P

Aneesah said...

Ah! I totally forgot my point, which was -- MY TEACHERS were the ones who looked so disappointed when I mentioned the word "design" after they asked what course I was planning to take. As if I'm "wasting" my straight A's on some Arts subject. That totally pissed me off on my big day (SPM result day), but good thing one of my classmate's dad was supportive and picked me right up again. Some people just don't appreciate the things that make the world colourful...

LX said...

Don't worry so much about the road you chose. I've got a friend who has one more year to go before getting a MPharm degree, but he is looking into the entertainment industry. Well, at least he mentioned that he knows it's easier to get a stable work first.. the comedy thing (he's a hilarious funny clown) can come later in life. Or just as a hobby.

Sing Yee said...

Aneesah - Waseh~! I love long comments! XD Actually, not I rajin. It's I greedy. :P I don't stock up on baking ingredients, except the basic flour, butter, sugar, eggs and baking powder. I planned beforehand to make the two cheesecakes. :)

Yeah, I REALLY need motivation to carry on with the course. T.T I get the feeling too - when people asked what I initially wanted to do, and why I joined IMU, they always look a bit disbelieved, like "If you want to do creative stuff, why even bother doing pharmacy?" T-T I myself haven't found the answer yet. I'm constantly bugged by this thought that I'll be an unhappy working adult one day.

Haih... But it's still too early to make such assumptions. :) And yeah, open your eyes people! You are surrounded by millions upon millions of beautiful things and happenings.

Lynn Xuan - I'm thinking along those lines too. Get a good job with a stable income. Give it a few years. And start making my dream come true. Even reading what I just typed gives me the feeling that it's not wholely possible. T-T Though I'm not giving up my love for crafts and design, just yet.

Mar-Jie said...

hello, u have a great blog here and im so interested to try out ur recipes! can i know what u mean by water bath? currently just started, so trying to improve my knowledge. thanks!