Mini Oreo Cheesecake

To my regular visitors, my apologies for the long silence.

To make up for my tardiness in updating this blog, here's a little treat from my kitchen to yours...
mini upside down oreo cheesecakes...

A month ago, I was quite caught up planning for a holiday trip...it was a last minute decision as we almost gave up the idea when we couldn't get on the flight. By chance or fate, (or rather, thanks to my never-give-up attitude of checking the airlines system every other few hours) I managed to get all of us booked on the same flight. As we neither speak or read Korean language, I had to make sure I did a thorough job of getting into the minute details to prevent any hiccups during our trip. My 'strengths' in micro-managing pays off. Everything went well, we got to visit the places we had planned and didn't have much problem finding the popular makan(eating) places. As usual, we were on a shoestring budget, everything was DIY, backpackers style...only difference was, instead of carrying backpacks we maneuvered the busy streets and from train stations to stations with cabin bags in tow ;)

Our holiday trip was a real short one...time flies and in no time we are back to our daily mundane lives :(
In between doing loads after loads of laundry, I took time to 'spot clean' my fridge. Lying in the fridge was this block of cream cheese, crying out loud to me that I was right on time, it would exceed the expiry date the very next day!

Instead of procrastinating and end up having to throw it into the bin the next day, I googled for suitable recipes that calls for cream cheese. I remember seeing some oreo cheesecake recipes some time back, and it was a good thing that the recipe requires very basic baking ingredients, and, I am never short of oreos! The only problem was, I didn't have any sour cream on hand, but I do have yoghurt in the fridge. I went ahead and replaced the sour cream with yoghurt. I guess not much damage was done...

I baked them with paper muffin cups...one whole oreo cookie is placed inside each cup before filling it up with the batter. The preparation was rather fuss free, quick and simple. I followed the baking time but extended it for another couple of minutes as I did the skewer test and the centre was still wet although the top was set. For fear of over baking, I turned off the heat even though the inside was still not set. I believe they would be fully set in the fridge (upon cooling, the cakes have to be chilled in the fridge before consuming).

My little baking retreat was a great success. These mini cheesecakes were really delicious, and I thought they looked very lovely with the oreo cookies on top :)

They are excellent after dinner treats even though I am not an oreo fan, and I am sure they would jazz up any tea time tables especially when there are guests around ;)



Mini Oreo Cheesecakes

Ingredients:
(makes about 10)

15 Oreo cookies (10 leave as whole, 5 remove cream and coarsely chopped)
8oz pack cream cheese, room temperature
50g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
60g sour cream (I replaced with plain yoghurt)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 135 DegC (275°F).
2. Place one whole cookie in each of the 10 muffin paper cups (or line muffin tins with paper liners). 
3. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer (medium high speed) until smooth. 
4. Add in sugar, beat until just combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
5. Add in vanilla extract, beat until just combined. 
6. Gradually drizzle in the egg, beat to combine, scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary. 
7. Add in sour cream, beat till just combined. 
8. Add chopped cookies, fold with a spatula. 
9. Fill each muffin cup almost to the brim. Bake for about 22~25 minutes until the filling is set and not jiggly. Transfer to wire rack, leave to cool completely. Cover or store in airtight containers and leave to refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, remove cake from muffin cups, serve cookies sides up.

Recipe source: adapted recipe from here.

recipe revisit: oreo butter cake

I spent one quiet afternoon revisiting an old favourite recipe.  There is so much nostalgia associated with it.

This Oreo Butter Cake is one of the very first few cakes I made when I started baking and blogging.

Instead of baking the cake in a 8" round pan, I tried it with my tube pan. Although the batter wasn't enough to even fill up 70% of the pan, the result is still as good. I have seen other bloggers baking this same cake using loaf pan and even muffin cups.

Even though I am no fan of oreo cookies, I really like the texture of the cake, soft, moist and fluffy. It is such a simple cake to treat my oreo cookies monsters at home ;)

I am guilty of neglecting this little blog space. I don't want to make any excuses but things have been moving so fast that I have no choice but to give priority to other matters in my life. I hope I am able to post as regularly, especially during the coming year end school holidays.



Oreo Butter Cake

Ingredients:

225g cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
85g unsalted butter, cut into cubes
170g caster sugar (I used 120g)
2 eggs, beaten
240ml nonfat unsweetened yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
80g Oreo cookies, remove filling, roughly crushed

Method:

1. Line base and side of an 8-inch round pan with parchment paper (I used a tube pan, greased and floured). 
2. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 
3. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until mixture turns pale and fluffy. Dribble in the eggs (1 tablespoon at a time), beat well. 
4. With a spatula, fold in 1/3 of the flour mixture until just combined. Fold in ½ of the yogurt. Then fold in ½ of the remaining flour mixture, followed by the remaining yogurt, and vanilla extract. Finally fold in the remaining flour mixture. 
5. Fold in the crushed oreo cookies. 
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. If using a round pan, if desired, decorate the top with a few oreo cookies.
7. Bake in pre-heated oven at 180 degC for about 40 ~ 50 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 mins. Unmold and transfer to wire rack, let cool completely.

Recipe source: My Kitchen: My Laboratory

Fuss Free Wholemeal Loaf

This is a relatively simple, straight forward wholemeal loaf which I baked a couple of weeks back. There is no need to prepare water roux or tangzhong since the recipe is taken from a bread machine cookbook. This is something I could make on a whim...whenever I feel like having a slice of freshly baked homemade bread or whenever I miss the cozy feeling from breathing in the wonderful aroma of bread baking in the oven.

As usual, I left the bread maker to knead the dough put left the dough to proof in room temperature. A quick roll out and roll up of the dough, and in in no time, it was sitting inside the loaf pan ready to bloom. The raw dough rose beautifully, and it ballooned even further once it got into the hot oven...a phenomenon known as 'oven spring'.

The finished loaf looks pretty much like a crusty country loaf isn't it?

It is actually a soft sandwich loaf! This is a classical case of what you see is not what you get ;) The bread is pleasantly light and fluffy, something I didn't expect from a loaf made using the straight dough method and not to mention with wholemeal flour! I believe the secret ingredient is none other than yoghurt! Do give it a try if you have a bread machine at home or a standing mixer to do the kneading. If you choose to knead by hand, be prepared to wrestle with a wet and sticky mess, even though I have not done it by hand, I am sure the efforts will pay off.




Wholemeal Yoghurt Bread Loaf

Ingredients
(makes one loaf using a 9" loaf pan)

260g bread flour
115g wholemeal flour
15g unsalted butter
30g caster sugar
6g salt
100ml natural plain yoghurt
150ml water
5g instant yeast

some rolled oats (optional)

Method:

to knead dough by bread machine:
* Place water, yoghurt, sugar, salt, butter, bread flour and wholemeal flour flour in the pan of the bread machine (according to the sequence as stated in the instruction manual of your bread machine). Make an indentation on the flour and add in the instant yeast. Select the Dough function of the bread machine and press start. Let the machine knead the dough for about 10 mins. Stop the machine. Select the Dough function and start the machine again. Allow the machine to continue kneading until the kneading cycle stops after 20mins. Total kneading time is 30mins. (Note: Leave the lid open through out the kneading cycle to prevent over heating.) Remove dough from the bread pan.

* Dust dough with flour, shape into a smooth round dough. Place dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with cling wrap or a damp cloth and let proof in room temperature (around 28 to 30 degC) for about 45min to 1 hour, or until double in bulk.

* Remove the dough from the bowl and give a few light kneading to press out the gas in the dough. Dust the dough with some flour if it feels sticky. Smooth into round and leave it to rest for about 10mins.

* Roll out the dough into a rectangular shape about 9" by 15". Roll up the dough along the shorter end like a swiss roll to form a log (with a length of about 9" or the length of the baking pan you are using). Pinch and seal the seams tightly. Place in a greased 9" loaf pan. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and leave dough to proof for the second time for about 40mins, or until double in size. Brush the top with water and sprinkle rolled oats all over, this is optional.

* Bake in pre-heated oven at 190 deg C for 25 ~30 mins or until golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to wire track to let cool. Once cool, store immediately in an airtight container.

Recipe source: adapted from 幸福面包机

homemade gift

Homemade gift for a special friend,

someone who shares the same passion for baking...

someone who fares way better than me in keeping....
her household of three active children with a full time job and without a helper...

someone who cares to listen to a housewife's never ending ramblings...

Freshly baked mooncakes for my friend....with my lack of skills, they are nothing close to store bought ones...

but, as the saying goes, best gifts come from the heart, not the wallet...

well, I do feel thick-skinned to give my humble mooncakes away...for my friend would need to pay a high price for them...

that is, for wasting her calories on yucky food, paiseh paiseh (^_^''')

little fishes...

tiny rabbits....

specially for her children...I don't think they will mind the empty calories ;)


Recipe from here and here.

weeknight special

A medley of colour...ready to pop into the oven...

25 minutes later...

dinner was ready...

our weeknight special...roasted seabass with potatoes, tomatoes, celery, rosemary, garlics, lemon,  olive oil, salt and pepper...

I can't believe I am actually capable enough to pull together a dish like this!

Well, since there is no real cooking involved...even a lousy cook like me could prepare this meal without feeling intimidated ;)

My kitchen was filled with the lovely aroma of rosemary while the fish was cooking in the oven. I love rosemary! The fish didn't taste dry even though it was cooked uncovered. It tasted just like steamed fish.

It's the first time I have eaten roasted fish with potatoes...somehow I feel that the potatoes are a bit out of place here...maybe because I am so used to roasted chicken and potatoes. I probably need a bit of getting used to such combo. The tomatoes and celery went well with the fish though. I do not know the origin of this dish, but it reminds me of Mediterranean cuisine. It is a very healthy, nutritious meal (to me)...there is fish and lots of roasted vegetables, the dish is light as it is seasoned with only salt and pepper. This is something I will 'cook' again and again...


Roasted Seabass with Potatoes & Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2~3 floury potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 fresh sea bass, gutted and cleaned
4 sprigs rosemary, roughly chopped
8 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 lemon, slice 1/2 of the lemon, reserve the other half
2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
8 ~ 10 cherry tomatoes
sea salt
freshly grounded black pepper
olive oil


Method:

- Preheat oven to 220 degC.
- Put potatoes into a pot of water with a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Make a few diagonal slashes on the flesh of the fish. Rub the fish with a mild seasoning of salt, pepper and olive oil. Place some rosemary sprigs, some garlic cloves, 1 to 2 lemon slices inside the cavity of the fish.
- Lightly grease a baking dish with olive oil (or use a roasting pan lined with baking paper). Place some celery, rosemary sprigs, garlic cloves in the dish and lay the fish on top of the vegetables. Place the par-boiled potatoes, cherry tomatoes, remaining garlic, celery, rosemary sprigs and lemon slices around the fish. Sprinkle sea salt, freshly grounded black pepper and a good drizzle of olive oil.
- Roast for about 25 ~ 30mins until the fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve with a squeeze of the remaining half lemon along with the roasted vegetables.

Recipe source: adapted from Food and Travel magazine