Monday 16 February 2015

Pumpkin Cheesecake


Valentines's Day has come and gone. So how was your Valentine's Day? I know that some people spent it alone, nothing wrong with that. For some it was business as usual, taking care of the kids, laundry, cooking and whatnot.

Others spent it as a family, dinner at a crowded restaurant with screaming kids in tow, a reminder of many Valentine's past that brought them to their present situation. And for the young and not so young lovey dovies in the throes of fresh new love, ah.... roses, chocolates, a romantic dinner date with a sweet ending to the evening. So how was PH's Valentine's Day?

The truth be told, I actually forgot it was Valentine's Day. muahahaha! It was chicken breasts at the cold section at Cold Storage that jogged my memory. I was inspecting the packets of chicken breasts and squinting my eyes to check the packing date. It said 13-02-2015. Was that fresh? What is today's date? It took me many seconds to recall that it was 14-02-2015. Good Lord! How could I forget? My conclusion? Forget about the chicken breasts. Let's move on to the oink oink section. To cut the story short, I bought myself some Chorizo for my Paella project. Hah! You will be reading about it soon :D


When I got home, I did what I usually do. Laundry, wash toilet and some other housekeeping stuff. I cooked myself a simple lunch. For dinner it was a pork rib soup with carrots, onions and Chinese cabbage. Just a soup because my Valentine recently adopted a low carbohydrate eating plan. And it's really great for me as we now go low carb together.

Then we watched an old movie, Raise the Red Lantern, starring a very young and beautiful Gong Li. I love watching movies with my Valentine because we like to drop funny remarks at certain scenes and have a good laugh. It was an interesting movie. I like the part where the four wives had to stand at their door at a certain hour of the day to see at whose house the red lantern lands.


If the lantern is placed and lighted at your front door, bingo! Old man is coming to your crib tonight. The chosen one will have a smug and satisfied look on her face, hmmph! Then you see the look of consternation on the other 3 wives faces as they turn and get back into their houses. And my twisted mind is thinking, well if they had Astro back in those days, the other 3 would feel a sense of relief. Like phew!, can watch Korean series with no interruptions, yeah! My valentine however, was not so amused.

Anyway, the movie had a sad ending for the protagonist and frankly speaking, I had no sympathies for her. She could have done very well in that household had she played her game right. But arrogance and spite got the better of her. Yikes, I am supposed to talk about Pumpkin Cheesecake!


Coming back to this Pumpkin Cheesecake, this is a cheesecake that I had been wanting to bake for the longest time. But it did not happen because at the time, I just could not find the time nor the will to make pumpkin puree. But now, hey! I have a few tubs of pumpkin puree in the freezer that I need to get rid of. 

As with anything pumpkin, this cheesecake did not disappoint me. But I found it too sweet and further reduction to the amount of sugar is needed. Other than that, this is a lip smackingly good dessert. This cheesecake, as with  most cheesecakes, can be baked in advance and frozen. Just thaw it in the fridge the day before serving. As a matter of fact this cheesecake you are looking at was baked and kept frozen some 3 weeks ago.











Pumpkin Cheesecake
Recipe source : Joy of Baking
(Makes one 6" cake)

Ingredients :Ingredients :
- 100g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
- 50g melted butter
- 250g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 100g pumpkin puree
- 1/4tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g caster sugar (I found this too sweet. To adjust to 70g in future)
- 2 eggs

Method :
1. Generously grease a 6" springform pan with butter. Wrap the bottom of the pan with double layer of aluminum foil and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix crushed digestive biscuits with melted butter until mixture resembles wet sand.
3. Pour mixture into the pan and using your fingers, press the mixture evenly onto the bottom of them pan. Bake the crust at 140C for about 8-10 minutes (or place pan in the fridge to chill while you prepare the filling. Set aside to cool.
4. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl add cream cheese and sugar.
5. Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is creamy.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
7. Add vanilla extract and pumpkin puree and beat until just combined.
8. Pour the mixture into the cake pan.
9. Place the pan into another bigger baking pan. Fill the bigger pan with boiling water until water level reaches halfway up the cake pan.
10. Bake at 140C for 1 hour or until the outer ring of the cake is firm but the middle is still jiggly.
11. Leave the cake in the oven with door ajar for 30 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and leave to cool before unmoulding the cake.





This post is linked to Cook and Celebrate Chinese New Year 2015 organised by Yen of Eat Your Heart OutDiana of The Domestic Goddess Wannabe and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

46 comments:

  1. Phong Hong, I'm laughing at your post, you are so funny, I love reading this on a Monday blue morning.. Old man coming to the crib tonight and the remaining wives will have pouted lips and go sulk in a corner.. I'm thinking, the wife with the lighted lantern, if got kam ngam got period that day how? Give the place to another fella or keep quiet about it until oldman comes? Teehee...
    I love your cheesecake, look at your last picture, the cheesecake looks so big, so elegant, like bakery one la.. But I think the cake is not so big ger hor, coz it only uses one pack of Philly cream cheese and 2 eggs.. But well, enough for me alone, I want !!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hahahaha!! Louiz, I never thought of the "red flag" and how they get around that :D

      This is a small cake - 6 inches. Nowadays I prefer to bake a small one.

      Delete
  2. Your cheesecake makes me think of my Zumba kaki who makes a Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake for all of us during Valentine's Day when we were having Chingay NE show...

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    Replies
    1. Sharon, that is another cheesecake that I want to try.

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  3. LOL....lucky not fond of cheese else will drool to the max

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    Replies
    1. I love cheesecake so I already ate your portion hee..hee...

      Delete
  4. Not a big fan of cheesecakes but yours look great. Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful and prosperous new year...enjoy your festive holidays!

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    Replies
    1. Happy New Year to you and your family too, Kris!

      Delete
  5. Tsk, watch a movie about four wives on Valentine's Day?? I can't help but say, WTF?!

    I'm actually thinking to bake a cake tonight to bring home tomorrow. Perfect timing this post..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya hor? I didn't think of that hah..hah...

      Oh that's nice which means we get to see a baking post? hee..hee...

      Delete
  6. My 14.02.2015 went awesomely! Hehehe

    Now I'm drooling over your pumpkin cheesecake. ;)

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  7. Phong Hong, I cheesecake & I like pumpkin...so its double likes. How I wish I am not just looking at the pics, but actually getting to taste it....drooling...hehee

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    Replies
    1. Hi Nancy! Pity that this cheesecake was a bit too sweet. I wished that I had reduced the sugar much more.

      Delete
  8. Hi Phong Hong, your cheesecake has a very nice top and well sliced. Your blog is a good resource for cheesecake. I must try making some in future, when I can't promise but I will definitely come back here for the recipes...Can't remember how I spent my Valentine's Day. Oh now I recalled, I told my hubby not to disturb me cos' I must finish doing my brother's company accounts and get ready to 'balik kampung', where? To my MIL's place for at least a week... I never like beginning of the year cos' it is always the most busy time for me handling other people's business.

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    Replies
    1. Kimmy, hahaha...Valentine's Day and you are doing company accounts :D Never mind, work must come first so that you will enjoy your break more once it is completed. But I suppose you won't be resting during CNY as you will be doing lots of cooking!

      Delete
    2. Since I got married, I never like CNY or any festive times cos' my time were spent mostly at my MIL's kitchen. I don't enjoy cooking in this kitchen cos' I have no say here. Filial piety is 'killing' me and I just don't know whether I should start to say 'No' to this but then what will happen to our relationship? I dare not gamble on this.

      Delete
  9. Valentines Day?? oh?? it was Valentines Day and it was over already?? muahahaha, okay, actually i knew that because i am always reminded about two of my friends' birthdays on a Valentines Day.. and they would always want me to wish them Happy Valentines Day too besides Happy Birthday, muahahahaha!! :D

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  10. aiyoh, pumpkins again?? halloween's over lah.. or actually the pumpkin is for CNY?? i thought you should actually bake a rose cake for Valentines Day too?? hehehehe.. and surprise this pumpkin cheesecake was baked 3 weeks ago?? it still looks good as if it's just right from the oven.. so now the readers all will know that they can actually pre-bake the cakes few weeks before, and then keep them in the freezer.. and then couple of hours before the event, just take it out from the freezer and there it goes into the oven.. and then taadah!!! just tell everyone you just baked a cake (technically, you JUST BAKED on right, though you may not want to tell them it's baking a pre-baked frozen cake).. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SK, the cake need not be baked again. Just take out from freezer, defrost and serve. I like this method as I can prepare in advance. No stress!

      Delete
  11. I love pumpkin...anything but not too sure about it in cheesecake, not into the chill-to-set cheesecake, you see. Wouldn't mind trying though since this one is baked.

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    Replies
    1. It is quite good actually. Have a small slice and you won't feel so jelak.

      Delete
  12. Mine was option no. 1 - kid, laundry, a short walk, cleaning up, cooking and pizza take away brought by my husband, nothing romantic at all:)

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    Replies
    1. Ola, this is real life not like in movies :)

      Delete
  13. Such a gorgeous and dreamy looking cheesecake Phoon Hong! It's looking very inviting! :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I can imagine the taste, must be yummy!! But me not a big fan of pumpkin... :p

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    Replies
    1. Hayley, then I bake different flavor for you :)

      Delete
  15. I dislike the movie because in general I dislike how the Chinese culture treated women at that time. Definitely not a Valentine's Day movie for me. I watched "The Rewrite" starring an old Hugh Grant instead.

    I have not eaten pumpkin cheese cake before. Can you still taste the pumpkin since the taste of the cheese would be strong I assume.

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    Replies
    1. Mun, like it or not, that was the order of the day back in ancient times. It made me appreciative and thankful that women are no longer chattels and dependent on men or marriage as a means of survival.

      The taste of pumpkin is there together with cinnamon. Basically there is no cheese taste as vanilla took care of that.

      Delete
  16. Hi Phong Hong,

    You are so funny describing the Gong Li movie that you watched on Valentine's day... I know that movie... Yeah. Not much romance... Mun is right... a bit like degrading women of those days. Sad!

    I rather you have a sweeter Valentine Day celebration with this yummy cheesecake... No Gong Li, please!!! :p

    Zoe

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    Replies
    1. Zoe, aren't we glad we were not born in that era? Oh indeed I had a sweet Valentine's Day!

      Delete
  17. Hi Phong Hong,
    "this is a lip smackingly good dessert" ... well, I can see that although I don't fancy cheesecake. Will surely bake one for my big kids one day as they like cheesecake too.
    Oh you find it too sweet ?! Aiyoh, everything taste sweeter on V Day ... hee hee !

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karen! hah..ha... everything is sweet on V day? Too much sugar, must reduce :D

      Delete
  18. Eating is really one of my hobby i mean part of my life and cooking is my passion. I also love going to a place and at the same time taste their delicious and most wanted food.I want to taste something that is new to my palate. Thanks for sharing your article with us.

    n8fan.net

    www.n8fan.net

    ReplyDelete
  19. I seriously love the look of all of your cheesecake recipes. But I am OBSESSED with pumpkin, so this is perfect for me!

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    1. Thanks, Cathleen! If you are obsessed with pumpkin, then you must bake this cheesecake :)

      Delete
  20. I really loved that movie Raise The Red Lanterns as it gave me some culture shocks I never knew. This movie followed my head all the way to China into all the palaces and courtyard mansions I visited. In Beijing, I saw those deadly chimneys and wells! Yikes!

    I love all types of cheesecakes but this pumpkin extra is something new! The colour is NICE!

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    Replies
    1. This pumpkin cheesecake will be repeated in future as I love it a lot!

      Delete
  21. Hello my friend... Long time no come here. My tayar kereta lembu pancit. Hahaha...

    Hope you had a wonderful CNY.

    I guess pumpkin and me tak ngamlah when it comes to making desserts out of it. It goes well with me only bila masak lemak saja. That day I tried making kue koci labu, hadoi.. the way it sticks to the mouth, kalau i pakai gigi palsu, surely tercabut keluar! Hahaha....

    But your cheesecake certainly looks inviting!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. hah..hah..hah...you ni kelakar lah, Mama! Takper lah, tak usah buat kuih pakai pumpkin. Just carry on with your masak lemak which is delicious by the way. I love it with sambal belacan and lots of rice.

      I had a nice relaxing CNY, thanks!

      Delete
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