Chocolate Cheesecake - Goal!!!

I enjoy playing football(some may refer to it as soccer,but NO it's football) quite a fair bit, ok ok "ALOT" is more like it. I love the excitement, the creativity and of course the feeling of content when a goal is scored. As of recent I'm beginning to enjoy baking a fair bit too, somehow I find the the excitement quite similar to football... especially when the the cake comes out right

So, I decided to try and bake a cheese cake for the first time.

I used lite cream cheese, and later realised it was too healthy for me.

and , out came the melted chocolate to even the playing field.

Tasting time... and GOAL!!! - Bended it like David Beckham

Ingredients

• 1 x 250g pkt biscuits
• 140g butter, melted
• 2 x 250g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 x 300g ctn sour cream
• 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla essence

Extras

chocolate to taste and cream/or milk ( mixed in a bowl over slow boiling water)

How

1. Place the biscuits in the bowl or a food processor and process until finely crushed( I used a pestle and mortar). Add the butter and process until well combined. Transfer to the lined pan. Use the back of a spoon or a straight-sided glass to spread and press the biscuit mixture firmly over the base and side of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160°C. Place the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar in the clean bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and process until well combined.

3. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until just set in the centre. Turn oven off. Leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the door slightly ajar, until cooled completely (this will prevent the cake from cracking). Let It cool down for an hour or so. 4.Remove the cheesecake from the pan, and pour the chocolate mix on the cake

Buta Kakuni - Success!

Living away from my parents ain't that bad but it has it's cons. Besides missing them, the other major con is that if I get hungry I can't just go "MUM! is there any food?", furthermore I'm in Australia... not in Malaysia, where there are food stalls everywhere , running most of the time... so I can't just run out and get some food and except for McDonalds( There is only so much McWhatever one can take).

When I moved out, missing both the street stalls and mom's cooking... I had to do something about it. Like a true addict, I started sourcing other means of food... I found a restaurant and began purchasing food. Unfortunately at that time, I was a poor student, so by the 2nd day or so I felt the pinch, then I tried Baked beans and that didn't really cut it as well...

Pork Cracking - Crunch!

So I began to cooking quite a fair bit... trying new things...experimenting and trying to imitate or replicate some of the dishes I loved. There were days, where the dishes I put up just looked like what I wanted it to be but tasted real bad... and times where it tasted and looked bad too... but when the moons are lined and the winds blow in the right direction... Success happens...

Success like this "Buta kakuni" or braised pork. ( punches fist in the air)

Ingredients

most important - Pork belly strips

sliced thick ginger & sliced thin spring onion,2 cloves of garlic crushed,water1/4 cup of mirin,1 tablespoon sugar or to taste,2 tablespoon sake,1/4 cup soy sauce & kombu ( seaweed stock) (if available)

How

Fry pork belly on each of the sides. If you wish, you could cut out the skin to make some cracking. In another pot, boil all the other ingredients. Once the pork belly turns golden. Place it in the pot, make sure the water covers most of the meat. Boil for 2 hours, but make sure you keep an eye on the water level. Let it rest in the pot for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to sip in. All ready to serve...

What is your recent cooking success?

Triple Cooked Lamb

A month after Ortiga , I started craving the lamb again. Shaking and shivering… all I was thinking of was that soft lamb…I think I’ve got the lamb munchies.

With the Global Economic Crisis, I thought I’ll save some money and make it myself. Made my way to the "Lamb Dealer" or butcher as some call it, and asked for some lamb shoulder. Surprisingly; it was one of the cheaper cuts of lamb…only about $9/kg.

Firstly fry the lamb shoulder in a pot with some oil and seasoned it with a little salt and pepper. After the lamb gets a little brown and slightly crisp, fill the pot with some boiling water and mix in some Italian herbs, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic, spring onion, carrots and chicken stock(to soften the meat). After a few hours, take it out and placed it into the oven at about 170-180 degrees till crisp( so you might want to check on it every 10 mins or so).

With the leftover stock, reduce it further … and season based on preference. White wine could be added for a little extra flavor ;)

Ingredients

Lamb shoulder 600g

Italian herbs

Paprika

Salt & pepper

Garlic

Spring onion & carrots

chicken stock

Optional – Homemade mint sauce

Mint leafs – Finely cut

Vinegar

Sugar

Combine the mint and sugar in a small pan. Add the boiling water and stir till the sugar dissolves. Add the vinegar and mix well. Allow the sauce to rest for 15 minutes for the flavor to develop and all ready to go.

What do you guys get the munchies for?

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Winter is here in Brisbane and its been one of the coldest since I’ve been here. To warm the house up I’ve started baking quite a fair bit. I used to find baking quite hard and tedious, so I stayed away from It. I remember when I was young, watching my auntie bake; she used to measure everything to the gram, made sure the timing was right and waited in front of the oven till her cake was done. Oh Boy, I loved eating it, but so much hassle.

Whilst browsing through a “Gourmet” food magazine, I saw a fancy looking plate of something that look so familiar, It was a pandan chiffon cake. Then the flashbacks and craving started; my dad used to get us a pandan chiffon cake every time he goes to the Pasar Malam( Night markets in Malaysia), well “us” would be an overstatement...It was mainly for me...cos I would devourer half of it before bedtime.

The chubby boy inside of me was shouting “get this cake!!!”. So that night I looked up the ingredients and started baking..

Ingredients :

• 5 egg whites
• 1/3 cup caster sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 5 tbs coconut milk
• 4 tbs vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup caster sugar, extra
• 150g plain flour, sifted
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder, sifted
• pinch of salt
• pandan essence (preferably green for colour)

How?

1. Preheat oven at 170°C or there abouts
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the sugar one tablespoon at a time and beat thoroughly after each addition until you achieve stiff peaks. Set aside. Almost like a meringue.
3. In a separate bowl whisk egg yolks with extra caster sugar until thick, pale and fluffy. Add coconut milk, vegetable oil, pandan assents, flour and baking powder, and whisk until combined by folding the egg whites into the yolk mixture three batches.
4. Pour into baking tray. To make it easy to take the cake out, I covered the tray with baking paper. Bake for half an hour, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean; personally I like the skewer method.
5. When cake is out of the oven, leave it to cool down in the tin for a while.

Extra stuff :

- Blended coconut caramel : How?

1. Boil water and sugar(brown/dark sugar if available) till tick and caramelised

2. Mix the caramel and coconut flakes.

3. Let it cool down till harden

4. Then Blend it in a blended(i used a coffee bean blender), It look like sand.

And lastly cut a slice for you

And A slice for me!