Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Gadgets and Boston Cheesecake on moody Tuesday morning.....

I feel very lethargic lately. And i am always in the foul mood. But i try very hard not to show the moods swing to the children. I know why i am in this quandary and i hope i will be able to pick myself up soon....on last Friday 25th April, a year had gone by since my dad passed on. Still i miss him, still i long to just call him to just pouring my heart out when i am feeling a little down. Abah, al fatihah for you and mum.
I am also feeling so lost knowing a friend is going so far away for a greener pasture who was with me when i w
as once at the bottomless pit of my life....

But,
when i am feeling blue, i bake....its very therapeutic and i baked cheesecake this morning. I am also showing the few gadgets that i used today. I just love red little juicer and grater that i got from Ikea. The scale which my hubby ordered online and the food processor that i bought here in Seremban a few days after i decided to be very domesticated ha ha ha. I wish i had Cuisineart but heyyy ..... just have to be thankful maaa......i just love this machine to bit, cheesecakes are just a blitz away with this and it can make a mean sambal belacan too. If i had to make sambal belacan in big portion, this the gadget i use. Of course, nothing beat the batu tumbuk but heyy...if you need to feed 10 - 15 people or more, this is the one to use to reduce the mess and the hassle of pounding away. Using blender makes the sambal very watery which is not to my liking....























This is my version of Boston Cheesecakes recipe loosely adapted from Fantastic Cheesecake book by Alex Goh. I did not have enough cream cheese to follow his recipe to a T, i had to tweak it a bit here and there.




































The original recipe ( my changes would be in blue)
750 gm cream cheese - 500
150 gm castor sugar - 100
30 gm flour - 1 tbs
1/2 tbs vanilla - 2 tsp
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbs lemon juice - half lemon
2 eggs & 1 egg yolk - 1 egg and 1 yolk
150gm sour cream - 100 gm

200gm digestive biscuit + 2 tbs soft butter - pulsed and pressed for the cake base and keep in the freezer while mixing the rest. (I used 7 in springform i/o 8 in )
Cream the cheese, add in the rest of the ingredients in the above order, mixing each thoroughly before the next one. Pour the batter into the prepared biscuits base. Bake in water bath for 60 - 70 min ( or until set) in 150 degree preheated oven. Take out the water and let the cake cool in the oven with door slightly ajar....Cover and refrigerate for a few hours. Can enjoy it plain or with topping like blueberry or kiwi or whatever....i only have the blueberry...

9 comments:

ms hart said...

Zai, the cheesecake...m-e-a-n....verrrrryyyyy meeeeeaaaaannnn....hahaha...cheer-up will ya?

On your arwah parents, Al-Fatihah for them. Only people like you and me who have lost our parents can truly understand how it feels, right? But InsyaAllah, they are never 'gone'. They remain in our hearts all the time. Take care, ok?!

zaitgha said...

ms hart,

i can be the meanest person you have ever known ha ha ha ....just vision this, a chocolate cake beside this cheesecake and fruit tarts all around them hmmmmmm...yum yum he he

have a good holiday...tak sambung terus weekend ker?

Anonymous said...

i dah sedekah kan bacaan fatihah untuk arwah ayah dan ibu mu...amin..i know u love your father very much...i dah baca kenangan u ngan your father...touching sangat-sangat...

sabar sayang...jaga diri baik-baik dan sibuk-sibuk kan diri dengan masak k...lama-lama nanti tenang...
that is what i did...betui cakap mu ..is like a healing power when cooking...

psst...nanti jumpa buatkan cheesecake untuk kita...kita nak rasa air tangan awak tau...

salam hormat

boxhousestudio

Anonymous said...

Kak Zai,

Alfatihah untuk arwah ayah dan mak. I just can't imagine not having them around, i'm still blessed with their love.. Tapi ajal maut di tanganNya..

I think I also have to resort to digital scale from now on laa - guna timbang biasa asyik tak konsisten je outcome.. nyampah! Akak order online kat website mana yek? Boleh pakai credit card! Hahaha.. another penghutang on the way!

Sedapnya cis kek.. aku teruja!!

Unknown said...

Kak Zai,
Al-fatihah to you late parents. May they be placed in the place of muttaqeen.
I am not going to comment on your cake, it is a torture just to look at it! Mean, you are. No kidding hahaha :D
Cheer up ya.

Anonymous said...

Hai Zai, ur cheesecake really make me hungry right now...looking for something for afternoon tea..hehe..wah new gadgets ha? sure u'll stick at ur kitchen..emm

Anonymous said...

mmmmm sedapnya ciscake kan

Anonymous said...

Zai, hope you're feeling alright. Jangan la bersedih ye.. anyway, the cheesecake looks yummy. I tak pandai buat cheesecake. Also love your digital scale ! (my wish list)

zaitgha said...

boxhouses,

thanks for the soothing words, and yes being in the kitchen do help but at times when that time of the month comes i tend to get very down for no apparent reason he he....maybe the hormon is the truant...yay yay weekend is around the corner

elle,

do show your appreciation toward your parents now, once they gone we can only wish....semoga your parents panjang umur and murah rezeki...

as for the digital scale, my hubby bought for me online, i am not sure which site but in KL you can get from the store for reasonably priced one....mine cost less than RM60.00

akmal,

thanks dear, and yes i got no mercy in tempting people with my food ha ha ha

hi ummi,

hungry? your place is full of good food too, and none of the gadgets are new...they are at least more than a year old....just showing what i use to make cooking easier and fun he he.....

ida,

your baking tu apa kurang nyer??

Min,

since falling in love with baking, i find that cheesecakes are the easiest to make, and for the digital scale tuh, banyak selling for reasonable priced in KL and i like Tanita brand but mine is not....mine came in almost triangular bowl which makes pouring easy