It’s been a long while, isn’t it ? Yes, I know I have been lazy. Heehee… Actually has been rather busy.. but with all the mundane stuffs. This morning, I was practically using a calculator to figure out why is it that I have so little time to do anything that I want to do and need to do. God has given us 24 hours a day, I break them down into 9 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep, 1.5 to 2 hours of travelling time, 1.5 hours for dinner, 1.5 hours for exercise, 2 hours for miscellaneous like bath, make-up, brushing teeth, etc. Oh gosh, how much am I left with ?
Noooooo time left for the day !~
And I have not include stuffs like doing housework and of course baking, and running errands. So weekends become days of clearing the housework loads for the week (if the part-time helper did not come), running errands, bringing the dog for walks and of course, going back to parents’ place. And do I still have time for cooking/baking and of course including all the cleaning up thereafter ? Very very minimal…. Unless it eats into my sleep time…. which will also depend whether I still have the energy to do it after all the essential jobs…
Sigh.
So here are all the stuffs that I have made after almost 2 weeks. Simple, fuss-free and time-saving. Given all the “luxurious” time I have, I can only attempt these quick cakes !
Originally known in the magazine as Almond Citrus Cheesecake, but I decided to re-name it as Citrus Almond No-Bake Cheesecake.
Why I re-named the cake ?
Firstly, this cake is not for the sweet-toother. Simply coz the citrus is overwhelming ! Comprising of lemon, orange and of course cream cheese and yogurt which is by nature sourish, what more can you expect except for a highly acidic citric content cheesecake ! Especially for someone like me who consider even the sweetest strawberries from Korea as VERY sour, this cheesecake is indeed over-whelming for me. BUT for those who has a soft spot for the sour berries, YES, you will heart this !
Well, I suppose the sweet mangoes did play its part in taming the citric content though even it’s just for that winny bit.
So I guess the focus here should be the citrus and should be called Citrus Almond !
Secondly, I use a combi of almonds, oreo and digestive biscuits for the base. It’s crunchy, fragrant and uniquely different from the usual cheesecake base that I have made. Almonds do add crunchiness to the base as well as the filling.Thirdly, please soooo bear in mind that this is a NON-BAKE cheesecake. The texture is essentially more of a mousse cake than anything else. Best eaten once it is right out from the fridge. Taking more than 20 minutes to slice, wrap, pack and pictures taking, the cake had started to mellow down – See picture below. Also, I realised I had forgotten to drain the mangoes completely, resulting in a higher liquid content in the cake. Probably another reason that explains why the cake becomes wobbly pretty fast !So if you are craving for some cheesecake on a lazy day, yes, this will be a good match. But do note the long waiting time it has to stay in the fridge before you can savour on your craving !
I adapted this recipe from Sweet Delights, one of a set of two magazines which I had bought from Australia. They have really fabulous pictures with much mouth-watering recipes in them.
Recipe adapted from [Sweet Delights Magazine] with modifications :
Ingredients : Almond crust
125g flaked almonds 60g butter 125g chocolate / sweet biscuits (I used oreo and digestive biscuits.)
Cheesecake Filling
5 tsp gelatine 3 tbsp lemon juice 4 tbsp fresh orange juice 250g smooth ricotta cheese (I used cream cheese instead !) 200ml plain yogurt 2 egg whites 3 tbsp sugar 1/2 cup flaked almonds (reserved from the 125g from almond crust) 425g can sliced mangoes, drained (I used fresh mangoes.)
Method :
1. Place almonds in food processor and coarsely blend, then set aside.2. Use the processor to blend the biscuits to a medium crumb.3. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Reserve 1/2 cup flaked almonds for filling, then add remainder to pan, stirring constantly until they start to brown. Stir in biscuit crumbs. Press into base of 22cm spring form pan, and chill in refrigerator.
4. Soften gelatine in combined citrus juices in small pan. Dissolve over low heat, but do not boil.
5. Combine cheese and yogurt together and set aside.
6. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually beat in sugar to make a firm meringue.
7. Fold gelatine mix, then reserved almonds, chopped mangoes and meringue into cheese-yogurt mixture. Pour into pan. Chill until firm, about 6 hours.
8. Optional : Slice and top with fruit cream and mango slices.
When you made a cake like this, you don’t feel like you have done any baking ! Because there’s no baking involved at all ! Simply not shiok ! The oven is not warm and you don’t get the nice aroma that fills up the house during baking….
So here comes a Chocolate Chiffon Cake. It’s quick, fuss-free and ingredients gather up within half an hour. All the “luxurious time” I had before heading for a super late night dinner/supper.
Ultra Rich Chocolate Chiffon Cake
I must say this is indeed a heavenly-rich chocolatey chiffon. I used Valrhona chocolate powder which is highly raved by many, with 68% bittersweet chocolate used in fondue (actually it’s because the chocolate is going to expire soon ! Haahaa. But who cares, it tastes great anyway !) and instead of plain milk, I used chocolate milk ! All the chocolatey stuffs put in one ~ Chocolate Lovers Scream !
Recipe adapted from [Chiffon Cake is Done] by Kevin Chai with modifications :
Ingredients :
Egg Yolk Batter 70g cooking chocolate
6 egg yolks
80ml milk (I used chocolate milk instead.)
60ml cooking oil 1/2 tsp chocolate paste (I omit this as I do not have.) 110g flour
20g chocolate powder
Egg White Foam
6 egg whites 1/2 tsp cream of tartar 150g sugar
Method :
1. Boil chocolate with milk over simmering water until chocolate melts. Leave aside to cool.
2. Sift flour together with chocolate powder.
3. To make egg yolk batter, combine egg yolks, cooking oil and chocolate paste in a mixing bowl. Flour in sifted flour and chocolate powder until batter is formed.
4. To make egg white foam, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until mixture forms soft peaks. Gradually add in sugar, beating at high speed until frothy and stiff peaks form.
5. Gently fold beaten egg white foam into egg yolk batter until blended.
6. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch (22cm) tube pan. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degrees C for 30-40 minutes or until cooked.
7. Remove from oven, invert cake onto table until completely cooled.
wow both your cheesecake and chocolate chiffon cake look soooo decadent and delicious! I cannot imagine having all those ingredients you mentioned in one single bite of your cheesecake! Must be crazy for the tastebuds (in the good sense) :)
Hi Joyce,The cheese sounds just for me! I simply love citrus fruits and their sourness. Looks like this is one cheese cake I should try! Talk about no time, tell me about it! And your chocolate chiffon, I like it! Thanks for sharing the beautiful bakes! And congrats for your awards, you truly deserve it!
Lol,taking a calculator to break up the hours of your day is pretty funny. And what great looking bakes! But i am guessing the cheesecake would be too sour for me as well, although the crust sound like a winner. THe chocolate cake with the varlhona cocoa powder and chocolate milk is definitely a double winner though! YUMMM!
Jess ~ never disappear leh ! Just been plain lazy and busy ! Hahaha !Cathy, yes I love cheesecake too ! But I think I prefer the baked version of cheesecake now … Hehe… easier to handle leh !ah Tze ~ Yes, I love the chocolate chiffon too. Very very rich !Janine ~ Yes, if you are a sour stuffs lover, you will fancy the cheesecake. But it's just tooooo sour for me. In the end, I have to give much of it away !Sweetylicious ~ Thanks for your compliments !Thanks Jane for your compliments ! I realised baking is something where you need to have plenty of time for trials and experiments and I really have limited time for that !Agnes and createwithmom ~ Thanks both for your nice compliments !crustabakes ~ Thanks for your compliments ! yes, I guess you are the same as me ! The cheesecake was too sourish for me too ! Lisa ~ Thanks for the invitation. I have linked up at your blog already !
Oh man, I found myself fixated at your choc cake. Now I wanna bake one too! I have that Kevin Chai's book too and I say your choc cake looks better than his! Haha
I am Joyce from Sunny Singapore. This blog is a collection of foods and stuffs that we have enjoyed so far. Hope you will like them too and enjoy ur stay here !
the cheesecake is so creamy! yummy! and ya lor u disappear for quite awhile! congrats on the award you deserve them!
I love cheesecake! *slurp* ;)
I love your chocolate chiffon cake!!
wow both your cheesecake and chocolate chiffon cake look soooo decadent and delicious! I cannot imagine having all those ingredients you mentioned in one single bite of your cheesecake! Must be crazy for the tastebuds (in the good sense) :)
CONGRATS! (: both the cheesecake and choc chiffon look soooo EXTREMELY delicious and LOVELY! great job! (:
Hi Joyce,The cheese sounds just for me! I simply love citrus fruits and their sourness. Looks like this is one cheese cake I should try! Talk about no time, tell me about it! And your chocolate chiffon, I like it! Thanks for sharing the beautiful bakes! And congrats for your awards, you truly deserve it!
I love the rich chocolate chiffon!
congratscakes look wonderful
Lol,taking a calculator to break up the hours of your day is pretty funny. And what great looking bakes! But i am guessing the cheesecake would be too sour for me as well, although the crust sound like a winner. THe chocolate cake with the varlhona cocoa powder and chocolate milk is definitely a double winner though! YUMMM!
Wow, your cheesecake looks totally refreshing and so sunny. That chocolate cake also looks like a sweet success. I have a sweet treat linky party going on at my blog and I'd like to invite you to stop by and link your cakes up. http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/2011/03/sweets-for-saturday-10.html
Jess ~ never disappear leh ! Just been plain lazy and busy ! Hahaha !Cathy, yes I love cheesecake too ! But I think I prefer the baked version of cheesecake now … Hehe… easier to handle leh !ah Tze ~ Yes, I love the chocolate chiffon too. Very very rich !Janine ~ Yes, if you are a sour stuffs lover, you will fancy the cheesecake. But it's just tooooo sour for me. In the end, I have to give much of it away !Sweetylicious ~ Thanks for your compliments !Thanks Jane for your compliments ! I realised baking is something where you need to have plenty of time for trials and experiments and I really have limited time for that !Agnes and createwithmom ~ Thanks both for your nice compliments !crustabakes ~ Thanks for your compliments ! yes, I guess you are the same as me ! The cheesecake was too sourish for me too ! Lisa ~ Thanks for the invitation. I have linked up at your blog already !
Oh man, I found myself fixated at your choc cake. Now I wanna bake one too! I have that Kevin Chai's book too and I say your choc cake looks better than his! Haha