Caramel Cheesecake

 Semester 1 in KMB has officially ended and I have a month break now. I was really looking forward to the holiday because this semester exam has made me feel mentally and physically exhausted. I just need some good rest.

What are my plans for the break? Nothing much really. My family and I will be going to Paris next week. And guess what are the things that I've planned to do in Paris?? Going to Disneyland and shop for baking supplies and such. :D Then, after coming back from Paris, I'll be having my hospital attachment, along with my three other friends. I hope I get to learn something valuable from it.

Anyways, another thing that I'd sure be doing is baking, and some cooking (I guess). There are so many things that I want to do and I hope I have enough time to do all of them including posting it here on my blog. In the meantime, I'm just going to share this yummy cheesecake recipe, adapted from myresipi.com.

The cheesecake has a light texture, not dense, perhaps due to the amount of cream cheese used as well as the method of baking it. However, I think I'm going to reduce the amount of sugar in the batter by half (or less) and double the amount of caramel instead. I think it'll taste much better that way.

Ingredients :

        Cream :

• 400g cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 210ml sour cream
• 200ml whipping cream
• 120g sugar - might reduce this next time
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• few drops of vanilla essence

        Base :

• 250g digestive biscuits
• 90g melted butter

        Caramel : 

• 50ml low fat milk
• 80g granulated sugar

Method :

1. Put the biscuits into food processor and process them until fine. Mix with melted butter. Then press the butter-biscuits mixture onto the base of your pan.

2. Prepare the caramel by cooking/melting the sugar with 1 tbsp of water. Once it has changed colour, turn off the heat and pour in the milk. Set aside.

3. Cream the cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, add the sour cream and vanilla essence. Add in the eggs, one at time and mix it well.

4. Mix in the cornstarch and the whipping/fresh cream. 

5. Pour the batter into the pan. Then, pour the caramel over the batter.

6. Bake (in a bain-marie) in a preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 160C and bake for another 30 minutes. Cool the cheesecake for several hours before serving.

Scones

During my childhood years, my parents would always take us to Cameron Highlands for a short holiday even though it might take us four to five hours to reach there. Once all of us have grown up, going to Cameron Highlands has only been an annual day trip. To me, Cameron Highlands back then was much better that what it is now. Yes, lots of hotels have been built, better facilities (maybe), but the weather is not as cool as it was before. Pollutions here and there, and everywhere. We've changed, the weather has changed and so does Cameron Highlands.

One thing that has never changed is the fact that we all love scones! Eating flaky, buttery scones with some sweet strawberry jam and soft cream, taking a sip of the masala tea while enjoying the breathtaking scenery is definitely our cup of tea. Ahhhh, we're on cloud nine! 

We have never failed to get our hands on the scones and tea whenever we are in Cameron. But there's another thing that has changed ever since I started baking, which is, we enjoy homemade scones more than the store bought ones. I admit, my first time making scones, few years back, was not much of a success. Instead of making scones, I made stones. The scones were stone hard. Something definitely went wrong but I did not know what it was. 

I have not been making scones for quite some time after that incident, until I saw Rachel Allen on television, two years ago, making this light sweet scones. I was intrigued by how easy it was and without any hesitation, I gave the recipe a try. And it was an ultimate success! From that day on, her recipe has always been my favourite.

Light Sweet Scones by Rachel Allen.

Ingredients :

• 500g of light Italian or plain flour
• 1 tsp of baking soda
• 2 tsp of cream of tartar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 125g of chilled unsalted butter, cubed
• 25g of caster sugar
• 1 egg beaten
• 275ml buttermilk
• 50g of caster sugar (optional)

Method :

1. Preheat the oven to 220C.

2. Sift the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add in the caster sugar and mix well.

3. Set aside about a third of the beaten egg and combine the rest with the buttermilk, then add to the flour mixture. Mix briefly to combine into a moist dough. 

4. Place on a lightly floured surface, and knead ever so lightly just to bring them together. (Do not knead like you knead your bread or the scones will be hard) 

5. Press to a thickness of 2cm and using a round cutter, cut out approximately 12-18 scones (depending on the size) and place on a floured baking tray.

6. Add about a teaspoon of buttermilk to the remainder of the beaten egg to make the egg wash. Brush the scones with the egg wash and dip the scones into the sugar, if you want to.

7. Bake in the oven for about 12-13 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve with some clotted cream.