Easy to Make Mini Baked Cheesecake topped with Blueberries

Suitable: As a dessert dish

Pros: Can be made in advance and refrigerated, can also be kept in freezer

Ideas:

• Take for a pot-luck
• Bring them to the office party

Topping: Place fruits (preferably some berries) and icing sugar to complete the presentation

One of the easiest, tastiest and best recipes I discovered in 2012. I was surfing the web thinking of what to make for my sister’s Christmas party last year when I came across this recipe. I then made it for my own Christmas party and they were a hit. Once again, it’s from this website which I enjoy trying recipes from. I will reproduce the recipe here.

Mini Baked Cheesecake Recipe

Source: Exclusively Food

Makes: 10

What you need:

Base

150g Nice biscuits (website recommends Arnott’s brand)

70g butter, melted

Filling

250g cream cheese, softened (don’t use any form of Fat Free cream cheese, you won’t get the right results…at least I didn’t; use normal cream cheese)

75g caster sugar (1/3 cup)

1 large egg

20ml (1 tablespoon) lemon juice

100ml (5 tablespoons) thickened cream (I use ‘whipping cream’)

What to do:

Pre-heat oven to 180C

1) Line 10 holes of muffin pan (1/3 cup capacity holes) with patty/muffin cases. The website mentioned they use paper-lined foil cases that measure 8cm across the top and 5cm across the base.

2) Finely crush biscuits in a food processor or blender (I use a mortar and pestle). If you are using a food processor, the website recommends you add the melted butter to the biscuits crumbs and process until well-combined. If using a blender, tip the biscuit crumbs into a bowl and then stir in the butter.

3) Divide biscuit mixture evenly among cases (about one firmly packed tablespoon of biscuit mixture per case). Firmly press mixture down with the back of a teaspoon until smooth. Set bases aside while making the filling.

4) Beat cream cheese and caster sugar in an electric mixer or food processor. Stop the machine a couple of times to scrape down the sides and base of the bowl. When the mixture is completely smooth and creamy, add egg and beat until combined. Add lemon juice and cream and beat until well combined. Divide mixture evenly among the cases.

5) Bake cheesecake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 30 minutes.

6) Remove cheesecakes from pan, place in an air-tight container and refrigerate.  Cheesecakes are ready to serve when they are cold and set. Remove cases before serving.

Cheesecakes can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. They are suitable to freeze.

My Presentation:

Blueberries + Icing Sugar

• Just before serving arrange all mini cheesecakes (minus liners) on a plate
• Top each mini cheesecake with 4-5 blueberries
• Dust icing sugar over

*You may use any berries according to your preference.

I usually make these when I host parties. Reason being, it can be made the day before and all I need to do on that day is decorate them right before serving!

Note:

Don’t forget to remove them from the liners/cases before plating them

Don't use 'Fat Free Cream Cheese' as the top of the cheesecake will look weird (not enough fat content perhaps?)

I made these mini caramelized onions and tomato quiche and these mini cheesecakes last year and they were a hit at the Christmas party!

If you prefer a cheesecake recipe which you don't have to bake but rather can just chuck in the fridge until set, try this.

Gotta love cheesecake in whatever shape or form!

Diego's Tortilla Wraps are Awesome!

In just one email they made me smile. In just one parcel they made my day.

Diego’s. Have you heard of them? They specialise in the manufacturing and distribution of Mexican inspired tortillas.

So there I was one fine day planning our dinner. I had it all mapped out in my head. I had some freaking awesome roasted lamb leftovers given by an aunt. I bought an avocado the day before and there was some lettuce in the fridge. So with this, I was gonna make – avocado lamb wraps.

I bought a packet of Diego’s wraps and headed home. Once there I had all the ingredients lined up and ready to be wrapped. I opened the pack of wraps (which has 6) and to my disappointment, they seemed to be sticking to each other. Rather than peeling them apart which might result in them breaking, I heated them in the microwave as per the packet instructions – hoping they would separate neatly once they were heated. This was not the case and the wraps were still stuck to each other.

So with no alternative, I tried pulling them apart and what I got were torn sheets of wraps which made for a very ugly dinner. The lamb and avocado were mighty good but I could not get over the wraps breaking.

So the next day I google-ed Diego’s and came across their website. I used their feedback form and vented. On that same day, they e-mailed me apologising profusely and promising to make up for it.

Couple of days later- they sent me 3 packets of their wraps, a tortilla warmer and some recipes to try out! It was so amazing of them and I hope those reading this who haven’t tried out their wraps will do so! I’ve used up all 3 packets using different variations of fillings and wish to share one recipe for a filling here below.

Minced Beef in Tortilla Wrap

By Amy Beh (from the Kuali section of The Star)

Ingredients

200g fillet of beef, coarsely minced

60g fresh white button mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp chopped spring onion

5 pieces tortillas

Iceberg lettuce, whole leaves and shredded

Shredded carrot

Seasoning

 ½ tsp ginger juice

 ¼ tsp pepper

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp sugar

A pinch of salt

½ tsp light soy sauce

½ tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cornflour

Method

Put minced meat into a deep bowl and add seasoning. Mix well to combine. Add spring onion.

Heat olive oil in a non-stick saucepan. Sweat the white mushrooms for a minute. Add the beef and fry briskly until meat is cooked through. Dish out and set aside.

Microwave each piece of tortilla on Medium High for 10-15 seconds. Remove and place on a flat plate.

Layer with a whole leaf of iceberg lettuce and 1-2 tablespoons of beef mixture. Add a little shredded lettuce and carrot. Wrap neatly and serve immediately.

My Notes:

I omitted the carrot and spring onions

I wrapped it with spreading a bit of tomato paste on the wrap, layering the beef mixture and the lettuce on top.

Verdict:

After the lamb and avocado combo, I found this slightly underwhelming.

I think I would have preferred beef strips as opposed to minced beef.

Alternative:

Another quick and easy filling is marinating chicken breast with some Nando’s Peri-Peri sauce (which I always have in my fridge) and grilling at 220C for 15 - 20 minutes, turning over once. Be sure to baste the breast with olive oil before putting into the oven. Once done, cut into strips and use as wrap filling together with lettuce.

The tortilla warmer is awesome - just pop all the tortillas inside, place in a microwave oven and heat.

Chocolate Chip Cookies!

So I’ve come to realise baking cookies can be quite tricky. I mean making the cookie dough part is kinda easy but once it gets into the oven, that’s when you lose control.

I’ve made cookies that have:

Burnt at the base

Come out in uneven shapes

     Come out in uneven colours (the top is brown but the rim of the cookie is brown-er

      Not spread out as thinly as seen in the recipe book

So with this recipe, I found that the cookies did not spread out as thinly as in the recipe book. So that was the only bummer, cause I wanted them to look like how they did in the book, all large, perfectly round with a medium thickness (ala the Subway cookies).

But they turned out like how most of my cookies usually do. Not too large, round here and there with a slightly-more-than-I-like thickness. Looks aside they tasted great. I really liked them. While I just made a batch of crunchy cookies, I was looking to make one with a slightly more soft and chewy texture. And these cookies are just that.

I got this recipe from an awesome cook book my sister gave me for Christmas. I must say that the photography in this book is top notch. It really makes me want to be a food stylist if there is such a thing. The recipes are targeted at beginners and they start with the simplest recipes such as omelettes and mash potatoes and progress to more advanced recipes such as lasagna. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: beginners, STEP-BY-STEP; the perfect guide for new cooks

What you need:

175g plain flour

 1tsp baking powder

125g soft margarine [I used butter]

85g light muscovado sugar (I used the regular brown sugar I had)

55g caster sugar

½tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

125g plain chocolate chips

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly grease two lined-baking trays [I use 1 baking tray and bake them in two batches]

Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat until well combined. [I usually beat the butter and sugar first, add in the egg and beat, followed by the vanilla essence and mix, then lastly sift in the flour and baking powder, then add in the chocolate chips and stir]

Place tablespoons of cookie dough on the baking trays spacing them well apart to allow for spreading during cooking.

Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. [I baked them for about 12 minutes]

Using a palette knife transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. [I usually leave the cookies on the tray for 5 minutes after I take them out (to continue the cooking process) and only transfer to wire rack after].

Verdict:

I liked the soft and chewy texture of the cookies.

Overall, I would make it again but would use this recipe if I wanted the crunch factor.

Lastly I would like to wish all my readers a Happy Chinese New Year!