Japanese Souffle Cheesecake

I watched Julia and Julie on VCD a couple of days ago. I know, the show is not new anymore. My sister had lent it to me and it had been sitting around for a few weeks until the fateful day 10 August.

In the story, Julie first started her blog on 13 August, *gasp* which is the day I actually wrote this post (but did not publish it)! While I was watching, my blog giveway was going on and I was thinking of what pie to make...and then Julia Child came on screen, talking about a chocolate pie! Oh man, how coincidental! Now, chocolate pie it shall be!

As the story unfolded, I felt like a little like Julie Powell. Like when I started my blog, I wondered whether there are anyone actually reading it, though I didn't start a blog with the intention of having the world read it. Perhaps my sister. Or my mother. But that doesn't count. Only strangers count (like Julie thought so too). Who am I blogging for? No one in particular. I enjoy writing, to put those conversations I have with myself into words. I shall do that as long as I feel like it.

When I got my first comment from a complete stranger, the feeling was quite beyond words. Ok, maybe a little exaggerated, but I was ecstatic! That same feeling came last year, when I received my first order from a complete stranger. Moments like this feel so good.

I saw Julia Child's book at the bookstore yesterday. If it was about baking, I might have bought it. Perhaps someday, if my interest in French cuisine deepens (and I know how to pronounce the names of the dishes properly), I would. Right now, french cuisine to me is almost limited to crème brûlée, choux à la crème and a few others. There is a kind of elegance and sophistication about French desserts that make me shy away from trying to make them at home.

Having said that, I tried a new thing lately. Baked cheesecake.

Cheesecake have never been my favourite, until I tried Oreo cheesecake and light japanese cheesecakes. So this time, I decided to take the plunge and try making a Japanese Souffle Cheesecake.

It is the first time I use a springform pan and definitely the first time I bake with the water bath method.

The cake came out with a lot of cracks on the surface, guess I needed more control over the temperature. I made it look worse by inverting it on my cooling rack and added grid lines to its face (remember, don't do this like me!).

But it tasted good. Light and fluffy like a souffle should. The cheese was not overpowering nor heavy. It is a perfect accompaniment for afternoon teas. Perfect for those times when you mouth feels like eating something but your stomach doesn't really agree.

Try the recipe here, I'm sure you can make it nicer than me.

(I thought this fridge magnet I got from Tokyo fitted perfectly here!)

Oreo cheesecake revisited

2 years ago, I made my first oreo cheesecake. Recipes for oreo cheesecake are all over the internet, but I tried one from Kraft, whom I thought I should trust, since they make the cream cheese.

There was no regrets in that choice.

Last week, for some reasons, I decided to make it again. I gave it to my good friend who actually celebrated her birthday 1 day before met up. For Chinese, we have this superstition that we cannot celebrate our birthday after it has passed. We can celebrate before the day, but not after the day. It doesn't actually sound logical. Say your 43rd birthday is 10 Dec, and for some reasons you celebrate it on 5 December. In between 5-10 Dec, if anything unfortunate happens and you have to leave this world (*touch wood*), you have not actually reached 43! Anyway, it is a taboo thing and no one questions it. That explains the lack of wordings on the cake and no mention of any reason when I passed the cake to my friend.

I looked back at my previous blog entry on the cheesecake here and was quite grossed out by the ugly cake I made 2 years ago. The picture this time is not perfect still, but is much better than before. (Reminder to self: replace the blog post list with this post asap instead of the one with the gross picture)

No-bake cheesecakes are so simple they just can't go wrong much. This time though, I reminded myself to beat the cream cheese till really smooth, unlike my first try. Do not make the same mistake as me. Beat the cheese real smooth.

So there goes, a smoother and neater looking cake, though the edges could have been better.

The recipe can be found in my recipes blog here.

Oreo cheesecake recipe

Hmm...I've been thinking about it..maybe it's because my cream cheese wasn't soft enough when I beat them..so they are not exactly smooth and can be poured into the pan nicely (I scooped them with a spatula)...

Anyway, here is the recipe:

PHILADELPHIA OREO CHEESECAKE (No-Bake)
1 pkg. (1 lb. 2 oz.) OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, divided
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed ( I left this out, it's fattening enough!)

COARSELY chop 15 of the cookies; set aside. Finely crush remaining cookies; mix with butter. Press firmly onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gently stir in whipped topping and chopped cookies. Spoon over crust; cover.
REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.

This recipe is taken from http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/philadelphia-oreo-no-bake-cheesecake-105197.aspx

Hope you try and like it too!

Oreo cheesecake

I tried making a cheesecake yesterday. I have not moved my oven here yet, so the only non-baked cake I can think of is cheesecake. And the only cheesecake I eat is Oreo cheesecake.

It's my first attempt, and I think it is not too bad. But I am not sure I am not able to smoothen it and make it look nicer. I wished I had bought more Oreo too. I sure will do that next time.

My sis and hubby said it was yummy...at least that feels not too bad.