Small Talk

would you like some snow on your cake?

for my first attempt at baking cheesecake, i must say i am very proud of myself! the cheesecake was really rich and had a very strong refreshing scent of the orange zest that was added into the batter. i liked it a lot. so did my friends! i baked my cheesecake using a recipe i found in Sweet Food and followed it rather closely, with the exception of the instructions for a sour cream topping to the cake as i wanted to decorate it otherwise. however the next time i use the same recipe i would make slight reductions to the amount of butter used for the cookie base of the cheesecake as it was too soggy and didnt hold up as well as i expected it to.

i am also happy with myself for having accomplished a satisfactory success at making a cake look very pretty! of coz it is also my first attempt at putting in so much effort into decorating a cake, although i think its insignificant compared to many others who make GORGEOUS looking cakes. i dusted the cake generously with icing sugar and made some almond and orange brittle to decorate the cake with. the idea of the brittle came from here and so i googled for a brittle recipe and improvised from there my own brittle to decorate my cake! decorating the cake proved to be a very fun and self-satisfying process as i watched my plain old cheesecake evolve!

however, whoever said beauty doesnt last forever was right. because i decorated my cake at 2am in the morning, i refridgerated it so that it could last till we cut it. but the condensation that formed when i brought my cake out to school proved to be deadly. my lovely white coat of icing sugar dissolved (and hence the cake became really really sweet). but the white icing turned sugar glaze didnt stop my friends from savouring the entire cake with the help of some teachers! i guess beauty is not just skin deep. ^^



Baked Cheesecake(adapted from Sweet Food)

Ingredients
250g digestive cookies
100g butter, melted (would probably half this amount the next time and add more if required)
2 tbsp bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 tsbp unsweetened cocoa powder
500g cream cheese, softened
160g caster sugar (would probably use 100g the next time but also consider the type of topping)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
Juice from half an orange
Grated zest from one orange


Lightly grease base of a 8-inch springform tin.
Finely crush the biscuits in a food processor or put in a plastic bag and roll with a rolling pin.
Transfer to a bowl and mix with melted butter, melted chocolate and cocoa till all crumbs are moistened.
Spoon biscuit mixture into the tin and press firmly into the base.
Refridgerate for 20mins or until firm.
Preheat oven to 180 degC.
Beat cream cheese until smooth.
Add sugar and beat till smooth.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Mix in vanilla essence, orange juice and zest.
Pour cheese mixture into prepared tin and crumb base and bake for 45mins or until just set.
Leave to cool then refridgerate until firm.


now you see it...
...now you dont!