I don't normally blog during the weekend but it is so hazy in Kuala Lumpur we are grounded. Self-imposed. Not that anyone is complaining since there are places worse than ours, and I feel sorry for the people who have to remain outdoors just to earn their keep. Like the drivers of trucks containing exhibition booth structures that wait all day at the holding area along Jalan Stonor - which is really a plot of open land that doubles as a carpark whenever possible - to enter the loading bay at the convention center.
And I wonder if the family that sets up their weekday breakfast stall by the roadside near Exxon-Mobil building would be there tomorrow. Will they be wearing masks during those three hours or so? I really hope it would rain even for half an hour just so everyone could take a breather from this hazy atmosphere.
And I wonder if the family that sets up their weekday breakfast stall by the roadside near Exxon-Mobil building would be there tomorrow. Will they be wearing masks during those three hours or so? I really hope it would rain even for half an hour just so everyone could take a breather from this hazy atmosphere.
Meanwhile I thought I'd share with you something I made a week ago. Actually, it was made on the same evening with the lemon cake, and the farfalle bake. And I've been studying this recipe for a few weeks, taken from the May issue of Delicious. (UK edition). That particular issue appealed to me because it features Michel Roux Jr and Eric Lanlard rather extensively, among its usual sections. Every other day, I would read Eric's chocolate coffee baked cheesecake recipe and ask if the following day would be ideal for a first attempt by all counts.
I had never made any cheesecake before this. And since cheesecakes are very rich - the waistline and hips pay a hefty price, trust me - if I were to make one, it'd better be worth it. Eric's recipe looks exactly that. Not only it is cheesecake, it is flavoured with coffee, has a chocolate topping plus a dusting of cocoa powder. Do I dare go all the way?
I had never made any cheesecake before this. And since cheesecakes are very rich - the waistline and hips pay a hefty price, trust me - if I were to make one, it'd better be worth it. Eric's recipe looks exactly that. Not only it is cheesecake, it is flavoured with coffee, has a chocolate topping plus a dusting of cocoa powder. Do I dare go all the way?
Coffee Cheesecake
Adapted from Eric Lanlard's chocolate coffee baked cheesecake, Delicious. UK (May 2013)
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
50 g unsalted butter, melted
175 g coffee-flavoured Marie biscuits, crushed
250 g cream cheese
250 g mascarpone
100 g golden caster sugar
150 ml whole cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10 g plain flour
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon instant coffee
2 teaspoon boiling water
2 teaspoon coffee emulco
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Grease a 22cm diameter springform cake tin.
Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a bowl. Pour into the tin and laying a piece of clingwrap plastic on it, press the mixture down with your palm. Chill the tin in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, cream, vanilla extract and flour until smooth. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk. Dissolve the instant coffee in two teaspoon boiling water and beat into the mixture with the coffee emulco.
Transfer the mixture onto the chilled biscuit base, and bake for 90 minutes. The cheesecake should be set despite a slight wobble in the center. Leave it to cool completely in the tin, then leave it to set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
Adapted from Eric Lanlard's chocolate coffee baked cheesecake, Delicious. UK (May 2013)
Serves 8-10
Ingredients
50 g unsalted butter, melted
175 g coffee-flavoured Marie biscuits, crushed
250 g cream cheese
250 g mascarpone
100 g golden caster sugar
150 ml whole cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
10 g plain flour
2 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon instant coffee
2 teaspoon boiling water
2 teaspoon coffee emulco
Method
Preheat the oven to 150°C. Grease a 22cm diameter springform cake tin.
Mix the crushed biscuits and melted butter in a bowl. Pour into the tin and laying a piece of clingwrap plastic on it, press the mixture down with your palm. Chill the tin in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, cream, vanilla extract and flour until smooth. Beat in the eggs and egg yolk. Dissolve the instant coffee in two teaspoon boiling water and beat into the mixture with the coffee emulco.
Transfer the mixture onto the chilled biscuit base, and bake for 90 minutes. The cheesecake should be set despite a slight wobble in the center. Leave it to cool completely in the tin, then leave it to set in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
You've probably guessed it: I chickened out and was happy with just the coffee cheesecake without the chocolate topping let alone cocoa powder. But if you must taste a little chocolate but are just as chicken as I am, consider grating some quality dark chocolate over the cheesecake just before serving.
You can't go wrong with chocolate and coffee, ever. And your waist and hips might be grateful that you chose not to go all the way to decadence.
You can't go wrong with chocolate and coffee, ever. And your waist and hips might be grateful that you chose not to go all the way to decadence.
