Oreo cheesecake!

I need to used up my cream cheese before they grow mouldy as did the previous batch. I hate to see good food go to waste. Wanted to make an oreo cheesecake for the longest time, just never gotten down to do it. I am sick of the typical graham cracker crusts. Borringgg. Not too long ago, I saw a cheesecake crust made of puffed rice at Tastespotting. That gave me alot of inspiration. Hopefully I will come out with something interesting soon. This cheesecake is super easy to put together if you have a food processor. I sprinkled oreo crumbs on top of the cake so that it looked like a huge oreo cheesecake from far. Quite cute eh? I added in a handful of oreo bits into the cake at the last minute because I thought it will be nicer this way. I added quite abit of sour cream because I like a slight tang in my cheesecake. You can adjust accordingly.

Oreo Cheesecake

For the crust:
150g oreo biscuits, finely crushed
4 tbsp butter, melted

For the filling:
500g cream cheese
200g sour cream
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
5 oreo biscuits, roughly broken into quarters

1. Put a large roasting pan in the oven and preheat to 175C (325F). Grease a 7 inch springform pan and double wrap with aluminium foil. Mixed together the crushed oreo biscuits and melted butter. Keep aside 1/3 cup of the oreo crumbs for sprinkling.

2. Transfer the remaining crumbs into the springform pan and pat to form the cheesecake base. Put the pan aside for later use.

3. Place the cream cheese and sugar into the food processor. Pulse at 10 second intervals until combined, about 6 – 8 times. Add in vanilla extract, and pulse to combine. Add the eggs one at time, pulse to combine before adding the next one. Add the sour cream and continue pulsing.
 
4. Lastly, add the broken oreo biscuits. Pulse once for 2 seconds. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Sprinkle the 1/3 cupe of oreo crumbs over the top of the cake. Lightly pat to smooth the top. Put the kettle to boil. When the hot water is ready, place the springform pan in the roasting pan in the oven. Pour the hot water into the roasting pan until it comes up to halfway. Bake for about 45 minutes turn off the oven and leave the pan inside for another 30 minutes.

5. Remove the springform pan from the oven. Let it cool completely on a rack before placing it into the fridge. Chill for at least 8 hours before serving.  

In love with you!!!!

Just attended one of the best concerts ever. Though the ticket was a little pricey, it was well worth the price. I am referring to Aaron Kwok De Show Reel. I guess most of you readers aren’t aware of who I am talking about. That’s okay, just let me profess my love for this guy I set my eyes on him when I was still in primary school and he belted out his golden classic Can’t love you enough (对你爱不完). Wow. At that point of time I thought he was one of the most handsome guy I have ever seen. Till now, he still ranks amongst top 3 in my list. Aaron Kwok was probably in one of his fittest form when the 10,000 fans saw him last night. At 46, his ultra lean and muscular physique puts all middle aged men to shame. Even I feel embarrased. Definitely gonna work out. Hard. Loved the 450 degrees revolving stage and that ultra shimmery suit he had on! Couldn’t believe I didn’t bring my camera along!!!!!!!! Still, the memory of this fantastic show will be in my head.. till the next time he comes to Singapore. AARON KWOK I LOVE YOU!!!!! <3

Plucking up my courage

Its official. I tendered my resignation and will be moving on to regional internal audit. Although I have not stayed very long in my current firm (about 18 months), I have grown to be used to the workload and lifestyle here. The familiar window seat that I take whenever I am in the office, the frequent visits to the boss’ room for discussions, the clients that bug me every now and then… To be honest, I am a little hesitant about moving. I am very afraid I won’t like the new environment, the new type of work I am exposed to, new people. Although I have my fair share of complaints about this current job of mine, at least I know what to expect and how to deal with issues that arise. After taking a few days to think it through, I decided to stick to my decision to move. Just a few days ago, an email was sent to every one in the firm hinting of possible retrenchments and pay cuts in July. I thank my lucky stars that I found a job and hopefully everything will go well from now onwards. Keeping my fingers crossed.

This biscotti I am making today is adapted from my favourite site Smitten Kitchen. The only thing I changed was the nuts, I didn’t have any hazelnuts. I was rummaging through my pantry and found 2 bags of moulding pecans and almonds. Obviously they don’t survive well in this hot and humid weather. I should have put them in the fridge. My bad! Deb wasn’t kidding when she said the dough was sticky. My previous experiences with sticky dough weren’t pleasant and neither was this one. I flour the hell out of it and ended up looking like a kid playing with mud I didn’t manage to get my dough into 2 neat little logs like Deb. I just patted it into one big blob, resulting in really fat log of biscotti. It looks like sh*t. Literally. But it tastes good so it is all worth the while eh?

Chocolate Macadamia Biscotti
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 ½ cup macadamia
2 ½ cups flour, plus flour for work surface
½ cup Dutch-style cocoa powder
1 tablespoon espresso powder
Pinch of salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar.

1. Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Spread macadamia on baking sheet and toast about 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Set toasted nuts aside to cool.

2. Sift the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt, baking soda and baking powder together and set aside.

3. Beat eggs lightly, just until blended, in mixing bowl with whisk or in electric mixer. Remove two tablespoons of egg mixture to small dish and set aside. Beat sugar into remaining eggs until blended. Stir in flour mixture to form soft dough.

4. Divide the dough in half and place one portion on a very well-floured work surface. (I used parchment) With floured hands, pat it into a six-inch square. Scatter half the macadamia nuts on the dough and press them into the surface. Roll the dough into a cylinder about a fat log, about 4 inches wide and 12 inches long. Brush the tops of both rolls with the reserved egg.

5. Place in the oven and bake about 35 minutes, until firm to the touch. Transfer to a cutting board and cut on an angle into slices one-half-inch thick. Return the slices to the baking sheet, laying them on their cut sides, and return them to the oven. Bake another 25 minutes, until they are crisp and dry. Allow to cool completely before storing or serving.