White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust and Strawberry Compote

Finally! Something I baked that SC likes!

I baked this white chocolate cheesecake to celebrate SC's birthday, and I am sooo happy he likes it! (Normally he doesn't like my baked goods...I like things fluffy and he likes things...exactly the same as what we can buy from Hong Kong bakeries, and I am no Hong Kong bakery...)

Anyway...it's really easy to make, and it's yum.
Rich, creamy, buttery white chocolate + savory-ish cream cheese + chocolatey oreo + sweet & tangy strawberries and sugar = fantastic...
It's almost as certain as 1+1 = 2, right?
I'm so good at math, it's scary.

Recipe
Oreo Crust
- 1 pack of Oreo cookies
- 3 tbsp butter
Throw everything into food processor, pulse until smooth, pour into greased pan, level it with spoon and push them down until packed. You can pre-bake this before adding cheesecake batter at 180C for 5 minutes, but I didn't bother...

If you don't have a food processor, place the cookies in a glad bag and bang em good.

White chocolate cheesecake
- 1 bar of Lindt white chocolate (100 gr), chopped into chunks
- 1 box of cream cheese (250gr), chopped into chunks
- 5 tbsp cream
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
Pulse everything in food processor until smooth and mixed well, taste and see if you need more sugar (the white chocolate is already sweet though), pour into greased cheesecake pan, onto the oreo crust, bake in a 180C preheated oven with over a water bath for about 30-40 minutes or until it's just a bit wobbly in the center. Let cool and refrigerate. Bring it back to room temperature before serving.

Again, you can totally do this without a food processor. Soften the white chocolate and cut the room temperature cream cheese into smaller pieces. Just mix 'em smooth using a hand mixer or a whisk.

Strawberry compote
- 1 cup strawberries, halved
- 3 tbsp caster sugar (or more, if needed)
Pour strawberries and sugar in a sauce pan, cook on low heat until you see some strawberry juice and it thickens a bit. Keep tasting and add sugar if you want it thicker and sweeter. Add some of the compote when serving the rich and creamy cheesecake.

My apologies for these crappy "recipes", I really normally just adjust as I go along T_T

Moist and Rich Pumpkin and White Chocolate Cake - A Chocolate Racist No More

Are you a chocolate person? Hang on a sec! What kind of question is this???!!! Who isn't?

Hmm, actually there are so many non-chocolate people here in Hong Kong. They are the kind of people who would prefer fruity or Chinese sweets than chocolate. But I am not one of them. I don't only love my chocolates so much, errr too much, I went ballistic when they announced that many chocolate products might've been tainted by melamine from Chinese milk products. The idea of having to stop eating chocolate....Arrrgghhh!!!! NOOO!!!!


Living in a world of choices, preference, favoritism and subjectivity, I am guilty of not treating all chocolates equally. Frankly, until recently, I think I have been a chocolate racist. I love, adore and respect only dark chocolate, and like a faithful lover, I don't look at any other chocolates...to me, other chocolates do not exist. Until yesterday, I've overlooked and ignored white chocolates completely for far too long.


It all began when I was thinking of something which could complement pumpkin nicely. My favorite dark chocolate would've killed the beautiful scent and flavor or pumpkin....so I chose a couple of good bars of whiteys, and as I expected, they are perfect for each other, it was like a match made in heaven. The richness of cocoa butter from the white chocolates gave it an extra kick, without killing the flavor or the pumpkin and the spices.

Moist and Rich Pumpkin and White Chocolate Cake

Recipe
- 1/2 cup of mashed pumpkin (I used a quarter of mini pumpkin, removed the seeds, peeled off the skin, chopped it into about 1x1 cm cubes, add a dash of milk, and microwaved it on high for 7 minutes, then mashed them with a fork)
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon (you can adjust according to your taste. I love them, so I used loads)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup flour
- 100 gr white chocolate (chopped into small cubes, or you can use white chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 180C. Mix all ingredients except flour and beat until well blended. Add flour, mix well, fold in white chocolate cubes/chips, bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Submitting this recipe to Wandering Chopsticks' Weekend Wokking, Pumpkin, hosted by Ning of Heart and Hearth.

This is now an equal opportunity kitchen. Chocolates of all colors and shapes are welcome. ^_^