New York Style Cheesecake

Found this yummilicious cheesecake recipe online!! It turned out really good and yummy!

Give it a go!

New York Style Cheesecake

4 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
1/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

In a mixer, soften cream cheese and beat until spreads easily. Add sweetened condensed milk, beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl as necessary. While beater is running, add one egg at a time until combined and add the vanilla. A few little lumps of cheese are fine, but try to thoroughly mix. Lastly beat in the flour. Set aside.

Crust
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 cup flour

Mix ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly and starting to stick together. If you want a crust that is just on the bottom, use a single batch. Double the batch to get what you see in the picture above.
Preheat oven to 350.

Bottom Crust only: Line the bottom of a 9" springform pan with parchment paper. If you don't like your cheesecake sticking to sides of the pan, line the sides as well. A bit of butter makes a good glue to keep the parchment in place. Press single batch of crust mix into bottom evenly. You can use the back of a tablespoon to smooth it out. Pour in your cheesecake batter.

NY Style Crust: For a crust all the way up the side, press half of a double batch into the bottom of the pan, then use the rest to press around the sides. Don't worry about it looking perfect. This is a rustic looking cheesecake. Just try to get it as even as possible up the sides of the pan (about 2 1/2 - 3 inches, I think). Pour in the cheesecake batter. Don't panic if there's more batter than crust. It'll still cook great. You'll just know next time you could've gotten the crust a bit higher.

Whichever style you make, bake on bottom rack of oven for approximately 1 hour. Could take 15 minutes more depending on your oven and the weather.

Bottom rack is essential to get the bottom of the crust well cooked if you are not blind baking first. Some ovens can be temperamental, and for that I suggest blind baking first to ensure you don't have an underdone crust. Blind bake the crust for 10 minutes before adding the filling.

You'll know its done when the top is puffed and golden without looking wet in the center, and it doesn't jiggle too much. Remove to a cooling rack. Let it cool to room temperature before chilling, otherwise the top will get sweaty. Chill for 6 hrs or overnight for best results. It is a very thick cake so it does take a while. Cut with a wet knife to keep it from sticking to the blade. I cut it into 12 pieces.

Variations:

Marble Cheesecake: Half the batter. Melt 3 oz of semi-sweet chocolate and stir into one half. Alternate portions of plain and chocolate batter, use a knife to marble as desired.

Lemon Cheesecake: Substitute vanilla for any extract of preference. It doesn't hurt to add some zest if you have a fresh lemon around. The lemon is a flavoring rather than being tart like a pie. Goes really well with a homemade raspberry sauce. Try your favorite extract. It is difficult to go wrong.

Additional Notes: For adding actual fruit, I'd just suggest checking other recipes on the internet and experimenting. So long as the batter doesn't get runny and you don't mess with the basic structure, this is a pretty flexible recipe. And if you love your toppings, pretty much any fruit or sauce goes well.
One dinner party I put together a bowl of strawberries in a lightly thickened sauce, a bowl of cooked blueberries, and a bowl of raspberry sauce (seeds strained out). People simply spooned their favorite over their piece of cheesecake.

I think it would be possible to make this into a sugar free recipe. 1 can of sweetened condensed milk is essentially 1 cup of evaporated milk cooked together with 1 1/4 cup sugar until the sugar dissolves. It stands to reason you could use just the cup of evaporated milk and then your equivalent sweetener of choice. You may have to cook the cheesecake a little longer, or I might try adding a bit of extra flour or cornstarch for thickener. As for the sugary crust... well you could replace it with a nice ground nut base like pecans and almonds on the bottom of the pan.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seian/730856569/in/faves-seashanties/

Cute Doggy Chew Toys!!

Wonder who are the people who come up with such crazy toys for their pets..makes them look really erm... cute! Hah!

The Mustache Chew Toy!

For the doggies who aspire to look like Mr Pringles!

The Smile Chew Toy

For some reason, this looks kinda evil..

it feels like the dog is plotting something or planning on a sudden secret attack against me...

The Buck Tooth Chew Toy

Hahahahaahh!! This one's my favorite!!! 

Cartoonify your favourite pet! This would definitely brighten up your day anytime!!!!

Hah! Imagine your're having a really bad day.. 

suddenly you see little Rover strolling pass your room with this on......

ROFL!!!! =D

Happy Rainbow roses?!

Pretty ain't they?? These are real roses!! Though I agree they look kinda fake! The colours are not painted or sprayed onto this wonderful blooms! Instead, these roses are genetically modified. Plant extracts are injected into the stems and the extracts will travel up through the rose where it acts as a sort of dye. The roses will turn from their natural colour to what you can see in the pictures!

The Rainbow Rose is now available in the UK for the first time and it seems that there is a little science involved in this rather expensive rose - a single one will set you back over thiry US dollars. They are also known as the Happy rose because of its cheerful array of colours! =)

 

Still prefer the natural colours though..

Matcha Green Tea Pound Cake

Yummy recipe I found online!! Taste great and a hit with my family!! Happy!! =D
I doubled the recipe because I found the amount too little, it might require a longer baking time. I baked mine in a square cake tin for about 55 minutes in total.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 Tbsp matcha (green tea powder)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder

Preparation:

Cream butter in a bowl. Add sugar in the butter and mix well. Gradually add beaten eggs and stir well. Sift flour, baking powder, and green tea powder together and add the flour to the egg mixture. Pour the batter into a buttered loaf pan. Bake in preheated 170 degrees C oven for about 30-40 minutes. *Makes 4 servings

You'll never get as busy as this!

You wouldn't feel that busy with this online time clock around! 

Busy Time Clock

I love you mommy, but you don't love me :(

Hi, Mommy. I'm your baby. You don't know me yet, I'm only a few weeks old. You're going to find out about me soon, though, I promise. Let me tell you some things about me. My name is John, and I've got beautiful brown eyes and black hair. Well, I don't have it yet, but I will when I'm born. I'm going to be your only child, and you'll call me your one and only. I'm going to grow up without a daddy mostly, but we have each other. We'll help each other, and love each other. I want to be a doctor when I grow up.

You found out about me today, Mommy! You were so excited, you couldn't wait to tell everyone. All you could do all day was smile, and life was perfect. You have a beautiful smile, Mommy. It will be the first face I will see in my life, and it will be the best thing I see in my life. I know it already.

Today was the day you told Daddy. You were so excited to tell him about me! ...He wasn't happy, Mommy. He kind of got angry. I don't think that you noticed, but he did. He started to talk about something called wedlock, and money, and bills, and stuff I don't think I understand yet. You were still happy, though, so it was okay. Then he did something scary, Mommy. He hit you. I could feel you fall backward, and your hands flying up to protect me. I was okay... but I was very sad for you. You were crying then, Mommy. That's a sound I don't like. It doesn't make me feel good. It made me cry, too. He said sorry after, and he hugged you again. You forgave him, Mommy, but I'm not sure if I do. It wasn't right. You say he loves you... why would he hurt you? I don't like it, Mommy.

Finally, you can see me! Your stomach is a little bit bigger, and you're so proud of me! You went out with your mommy to buy new clothes, and you were so so so happy. You sing to me, too. You have the most beautiful voice in the whole wide world. When you sing is when I'm happiest. And you talk to me, and I feel safe. So safe. You just wait and see, Mommy. When I am born I will be perfect just for you. I will make you proud, and I will love you with all of my heart.

I can move my hands and feet now, Mommy. I do it because you put your hands on your belly to feel me, and I giggle. You giggle, too. I love you, Mommy.

Daddy came to see you today, Mommy. I got really scared. He was acting funny and he wasn't talking right. He said he didn't want you. I don't know why, but that's what he said. And he hit you again. I got angry, Mommy. When I grow up I promise I won't let you get hurt! I promise to protect you. Daddy is bad. I don't care if you think that he is a good person, I think he's bad. But he hit you, and he said he didn't want us. He doesn't like me. Why doesn't he like me, Mommy?

You didn't talk to me tonight, Mommy. Is everything okay?

It's been three days since you saw Daddy. You haven't talked to me or touched me or anything since that. Don't you still love me, Mommy? I still love you. I think you feel sad. The only time I feel you is when you sleep. You sleep funny, kind of curled up on your side. And you hug me with your arms, and I feel safe and warm again. Why don't you do that when you're awake, any more?

I'm 21 weeks old today, Mommy. Aren't you proud of me? We're going somewhere today, and it's somewhere new. I'm excited. It looks like a hospital, too. I want to be a doctor when I grow up, Mommy. Did I tell you that? I hope you're as excited as I am. I can't wait.

...Mommy, I'm getting scared. Your heart is still beating, but I don't know what you are thinking. The doctor is talking to you. I think something's going to happen soon. I'm really, really, really scared, Mommy. Please tell me you love me. Then I will feel safe again. I love you!

Mommy, what are they doing to me!? It hurts! Please make them stop! It feels bad! Please, Mommy, please please help me! Make them stop!

Don't worry Mommy, I'm safe. I'm in heaven with the angels now. They told me what you did, and they said it's called an abortion.

Why, Mommy? Why did you do it? Don't you love me any more? Why did you get rid of me? I'm really, really, really sorry if I did something wrong, Mommy. I love you, Mommy! I love you with all of my heart. Why don't you love me? What did I do to deserve what they did to me? I want to live, Mommy! Please! It really, really hurts to see you not care about me, and not talk to me. Didn't I love you enough? Please say you'll keep me, Mommy! I want to live smile and watch the clouds and see your face and grow up and be a doctor. I don't want to be here, I want you to love me again! I'm really really really sorry if I did something wrong. I love you!


I love you, Mommy.

Every abortion is just…

One more heart that was stopped.
Two more eyes that will never see.
Two more hands that will never touch.
Two more legs that will never run.
One more mouth that will never speak.

Be against Abortion!

Home Made Caramel Sauce

This sauce is surprisingly easy to make. One note of caution is to be extra careful while you are cooking the sugar, as with any candy making process. Once the sugar has melted it has a much higher temperature than boiling water. Also, when you add the cream, the mixture will foam up, so use a pan with high sides. This is prefect for drizzling over ice cream or used to add a touch of flavour to your cakes or brownies!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of sugar
• 6 Tbsp butter
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Method

1 First, before you begin, make sure you have everything ready to go - the cream and the butter next to the pan, ready to put in. Making caramel is a fast process that cannot wait for hunting around for ingredients. If you don't work fast, the sugar will burn. Safety first - make sure there are no children under foot and you may want to wear oven mitts; the caramelized sugar will be much hotter than boiling water.

2 Heat sugar on moderately high heat in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart or 3-quart saucepan. As the sugar begins to melt, stir vigorously with a whisk or wooden spoon. As soon as the sugar comes to a boil, stop stirring. You can swirl the pan a bit if you want, from this point on. Note that this recipe works best if you are using a thick-bottomed pan. If you find that you end up burning some of the sugar before the rest of it is melted, the next time you attempt it, add a half cup of water to the sugar at the beginning of the process, this will help the sugar to cook more evenly, though it will take longer as the water will need to evaporate before the sugar will caramelize.


3 As soon as all of the sugar crystals have melted (the liquid sugar should be dark amber in color), turn off the heat and immediately add the butter to the pan. Whisk until the butter has melted.

4 Once the butter has melted, Count to three, then slowly add the cream to the pan and continue to whisk to incorporate. Note than when you add the butter and the cream, the mixture will foam up considerably. This is why you must use a pan that is at least 2-quarts (preferably 3-quarts) big.
5 Whisk until caramel sauce is smooth. Let cool in the pan for a couple minutes, then pour into a glass mason jar and let sit to cool to room temperature. (Remember to use pot holders when handling the jar filled with hot caramel sauce.) Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Warm before serving.
Makes a little over one cup of sauce.

*Whisk in a touch (1/4-1/2 tsp) of vanilla after the cream. You can add flavoring oils for variety. Raspberry, lemon, orange, for example, are also tasty in the right recipe. Adding bittersweet chocolate is wonderful on ice cream, drizzled on cheesecake, fruit, or right off the spoon.

Recipe is from simplyrecipes.com