Chocolate Cheesecake

Basically, just use the previous recipe of baked cheesecake (below) and top it with chocolate ganache. I will put up the recipe for the chocolate ganache

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
2 squares/1 ounce squares semisweet cooking chocolate
1/2 cup sugar (or less if your chocolate is sweet)
1/4 cup cocoa powder sifted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt (about a pinch)

Directions:

1. Using a double boiler or a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter and chocolate squares together. Using a whisk, whisk sugar, whipping cream, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt until incorporated. Cook for about 2 minutes while whisking consistently.
   
2. Leave to cool, the chocolate will harden. Use a butter knife or a spoon to spread on top of the chilled cheesecake. Make decorations with the front and back of the fork alternately. Place in fridge or serve directly.
   

Baked Cheesecake

Easy to bake cheesecake, it's rich and creamy and just heavenly.

Ingredients:
Filling:
2 pounds cream cheese (250g)
3/4 cup white sugar (if you like it less sweet, use 1/2 cup or slightly below 3/4 cup)
2 eggs
2 tbsp corn starch
1 cup sour cream (one packet, 250 g)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Base:
1 1/2 cups digestive biscuits (depending how thick or thin you want it)
6 tbsp melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 205 degrees celcius.
2. Crush digestive biscuits with a fork in a large bowl (or your baking tin) or use a food processor. Mix the crumbs with butter to make them stick. Press the mixture onto the base of the baking pan to form the base. Place in the freezer.
3. Using a mixer, cream 3/4 cup sugar (or less) and cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, vanilla, cornstarch until just mixed. Using a spatula, stir in sour cream until blended.
   
4. Remove base from fridge and pour the filling on top of the base.
   
5. Bake the cake at 205 degrees for 10 min. Without opening the oven door, reduce temperature to 100 degrees and bake for 45 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave to cool for about 2-3 hours. When cooled to room temperature, refridgerate overnight.

Note!

• Do NOT open the oven door during baking.
  
• Taste the filling before pouring onto crust to ensure the sweetness is at your level.
• If you want to make a lemon cheesecake, just use this same recipe but squeeze in half a lemon and grated lemon rind.

Enjoy!

Snowskin Mooncake Recipe

This is an easy to make (definitely more cost saving) for the mooncake festival if you're on a tight budget.

Before you start, you need to buy the "stamps" or "moulds" to make the pretty designs on your mooncake.

Ingredients:
75g fried glutinous rice flour (Koh fun)
90g icing sugar
33g shortening (do not put in fridge)
75g cold drinking water (water with ice if you like, but be careful of the volume)
1/2 tsp condensed milk
1-2 tsp vanilla essence
colouring/flavouring (I use green tea powder)
Kuaci (melon seeds) - optional
Lotus paste/red bean paste (Bought in packets in bake shops)
Salted egg yolks - optional

Method:

1. Sift koh fun and icing sugar in a large mixing bowl
2. Scoop up shortening into cubes with a teaspoon and add into the sifted mixture. Mix until you get a crumb like texture.
3. Add condensed milk, vanilla essence and colouring/flavouring (I use about 2 tbsp green tea powder). Add water a bit at a time until finish and mix to form a dough. Clump the flour together and knead until you get a smooth dough.
4. Set dough aside for 20 minutes.
5. Using a tablespoon, scoop out filling (about half a tablespoon) and form small balls with your hands. (preferably 30g each). If you want, put kuaci inside the filling and roll it into shape.
6. After the dough is set, tear up the dough (relative to filling) about 20g each and knead before use. Make a ball of dough. Flour the table and with your hands, or on your palm, flatten the ball of dough to a disc.
7. Place the dough on your hand and the ball of filling in the center of the dough. Wrap up the filling with the dough
8. Cover the filling completely with the dough and make round balls. Dust the balls with the koh fun flour.
9. With an appropriate size of stamp or mould, put the ball under the mould, press it in (or onto the table with the mould) and push the lever. Lift from table and push the dough out and ta-dah!