say cheese!

oreo cheesecake for dad's birthday

decided to post up my oreo cheesecake recipe after sam requested for it all the way from perth. :) since i have the soft copy, might as well share the joy right. christmas is coming is coming afterall. and i'm celebrating by listening to old bethany christmas concert songs and reminiscing about the good old days. and looking forward with much excitement and joy to this year's musical, and honouring the Lord and His tender grace upon me this year. :)

i had trouble looking for a reliable oreo cheesecake recipe - my usual suspects (nigella, hummingbird bakery, jamie oliver, and i even checked anthony bourdain! knowing full well he wouldn't have one in his les halles cookbook) didn't have one. so i decided to use nigella's new york cheesecake ('cos it was so successful everytime) and invent my own oreo crust.

Enjoy! :)

a 70th birthday oreo cheesecake

Ingredients for the base:
250g oreo biscuits, without cream (estimated)
150g unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons caster sugar (reduced sugar version: 2 tbsps)

For the cake:
23cm springform tin (from phoon huat)
250g caster sugar (reduced sugar version: 175g)
2 tablespoons corn flour
750g cream cheese
6 large eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (i usually put in 1 more teaspoon cos i love vanilla so much)
150ml double cream
150ml sour cream (can be replaced with another 150ml double cream)
½ teaspoon salt (just pinch)
zest of 1 lemon
icing sugar for dusting
strawberries, raspberries or blackberries to serve/garnish

The Baking!
1. Mix together the crushed biscuits, melted butter and 3 tablespoons of sugar
2. Press into the base of the springform tin
3. Leave in the fridge for ½ hour

4. Preheat oven 170 degree celsius
5. In a large bowl, mix together the caster sugar and corn flour.
6. Beat in the cream cheese, egg yolks, vanilla either by hand or electric beater
7. Slowly pour in both creams, beating constantly
8. Add the salt and lemon zest
9. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then fold into the cheese mixture.
10. Scoop onto the chilled base
11. Bake for 1-1.5 hours without opening the oven door, until the cheesecake is golden brown on top.
12. Turn off the heat and let the cake stand in the oven for 2 more hours.
13. Open the oven door and let it stand for a further 1 hour.
14. Serve chilled, dusted with icing sugar. Garnish with fresh fruits.

Serves 12-14

Notes:
as always i would reduce the sugar amounts dramatically.

the first 2 times i followed exactly, but this time i was tired of having left-over sour and double cream. so i experimented doing away with sour cream and replacing it with double cream. so i used the entire 300ml cup of double cream, plus reducing the sugar a little more to combat the sweetness and it turned out well.

step #9 is something that nigella says will ensure that the cheesecake is less dense and light and fluffy. so be sure to whisk till stiff peaks. it really makes a difference!

I know the baking procedure sounds super troublesome. but i never questioned it, and following the steps ensured that my cheesecake turned out awesome.

hello, gorgeous.

my newest friend.
the macbook 2.4 GHz intel core 2 duo, 4GB memory,
250GB hard drive and the glass multi-touch trackpad.

thursday was an interesting day. actually so was wednesday.

wed was a day of going back to NIE and getting a project done. then i met with C and D for some drinks at xin wang at siglap and laughed the entire afternoon away.

(which job allows me to be paid and have holidays for 1 month plus?)

thursday was a day of crowds, which left me with a splitting headache after it all. first was the insane charles&keith warehouse sale crowd which was already packed by 11am. all these singaporeans like no need to work like that. :| me and XH managed to get some really good bargains and headed for lunch with M near her new workplace. :) then i met up with the biochem boys to scour the IT fair at expo.

hence, hello my new best friend. :) it looks totally sleek and beautiful. and i'm so glad that V and i managed to convert 2 of the boys to mac. now they are the proud owners of the beautiful iMac desktops. and J went all crazy for the credit card roadshows, signing at least 4 new cards at different banks. and he carted home so many freebies that would surely make his mama proud. and my mama too. so head to the fair if you want freebies! contact J if you can't find the booths. :)

so a week of shopping means this week will be dedicated to many new books to read (some chick lits, obama's 1st book, bourdain's latest book etc.), new dvds to watch (alias s5, lost s3, some movies), a new laptop to explore, new CDs to listen to, a wardrobe to clean out and catching up on readings and prep for YC and christmas and songs to memorise for the concerts.

sounds like a plan.

another year has gone by.

december is the craziest month of the year. on top of FYP there was many things going on in church, the frantic shopping for christmas presents and learning many truths and lessons from the Lord's word and being nourished and fed spiritually. in a way, preparing for the year that is to come, and more.

this christmas meant so much more to me, partly because 2007 was, this being a gross understatement, a year filled with much joy and also much pain and trials. it was a year where so many things happened, both good, bad and ugly. but all these lessons have led to the same conclusion - that my God was and is always with me. His presence is felt through all things good and all things bad, and that through His grace and mercy, that i have come out of this year still sane, a little wiser, a little more mature, and a heart full of appreciation, gladness and joy.

(anyway i just received my exam results and i just have so much to thank God for. i'm quite pleased with the results and i'm just so thankful.)

this joy was amplified at christmas. and it was great fun singing at christmas concerts, at carolling night, on sunday morning's worship service and at christmas morning service. even though that meant staying off chilli, chocolates, chips and all things heaty for 2 weeks. (: it was also nice to make more new friends at choir and bond with the younger ones, and the slightly older ones too. and all of us saw the Lord's hand in guiding us because we were still making mistakes during rehearsals. but everything turned out beautiful and we all had a great christmas.

"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. "
- Isaiah 9:6

on christmas morning at shangri-la, pastor shared from Isaiah 9. the words of Isaiah the prophet clearly states that "For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son was given." and as i pondered the words "For unto us" and "given", i can't help but be amazed once again at the magnitude of God's love for us. and that my response this year would be to try to return that love. to love God with all that i have, and to be obedient and to be conscious of His presence through the days.

2008, i predict, is going to be just as tough as 2007. there will be my final year project in full swing, a mad rush to finish my thesis, graduation and convocation, a graduation trip to europe/scandinavia and maybe taiwan with the sbs peeps, a new year at NIE, a new year of serving the Lord and learning. (: