Kiwi Cheesecake

Have been experimenting with Cheesecakes recently and stumble upon this recipe from my son's school's calender. A stawberry cheesecake using gelatin and cream cheese instead of whipping cream. The result turn out quite well except for the jelly top as I think I added too much green colouring so it lost it's transparency and so the kiwi that was layered in between didn't come out. However as for the taste I personally felt that it was too light for me, I still prefer the whipped cream version creamier and reacher.


Here's the recipe.

Kiwi Cheesecake



Ingredients and Directions
Base
- 150g digestive biscuits
- 60g butter

Filing
- Gelatin Powder 11/4 tsp
- Boiling Water 120ml
- Kiwi Puree (2 kiwis cooked in 1 tbs lemon juice and sugar to taste)
- Cream Cheese 125g
- Sugar 35g
- Vanilla Essence 1/4 tsp
- Fresh Kiwi (I slice the kiwi into round thin slices and uses about 4 slices to decorate)

Topping
- Gelatine powder 11/2 tsp
- Water 180ml
- Sugar 3 tsp
- Food colouring

Base
1. Melt butter and mix with the crushed biscuits. Press mixture onto the base of the tray. Refrigerate the tray for 15 minutes or until required. Prick the bae with a skewer before pouring the filling onto the tray.

Filling
2. Place gelatin powder in a bowl. Por boiling water over the powder and stir until the gelatine has dissolved, about 10 minutes.
3. Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla essence until creamy. Gradually addd the gelatine syprup into the mixture and beat until the mixture is smooth.
4. Scouped out 1 tbs of the kiwi puree and put aside. Pour the rest of the kiwi into the cream cheese mixture and blend until evenly distributed.
5.Pour mixtue onto the prepared crust. Press the kiwis onto the cheese mixture, partially submerge the kiwi in the cheese mixture. Refrigerate for about 2 hours or until firm.

Topping
6. Dissolve gelatin powder and sugar in boiling water until the gelatine has dissolved. Add green colouring. Add in the prepared kiwi puree.
7. Cool the gelatin syrup completely before pouring over the cheese filling. Refrigerate the dessert until ready to serve.

Creamcheese Muffins

Baby FAN prefers savoury food to sweet stuff, so have been experimenting with savoury food that is portable and I can prepare ahead of time. While searching the net, found this recipe from allrecipes.com where they use cream cheese as the main ingredients for the muffin. So decided to give it a try. They muffins turn out beautifully and it actually tasted quite good. But....sigh...my baby girl doesn't seems to like the texture of muffins and cakes, so take a bite and spit it out...sigh....As for my boy, he just ate the cream cheese toppings while my husband says he don't like muffins even though it tasted quite nice....sigh...I think I have to give up making muffins as it always ended up in my tummy or the dustbin. In any case, for those of you who loves muffins, do give this a try, the smell was heavnly when I baked it and it actually tasted quite nice, I personally quite like it as a contrast to the normal sweet type.

Creamcheese Muffins
(original recipes at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Breakfast-in-a-Muffin/Detail.aspx)



Ingredients and Directions
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs, divided
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt (I opmitted the salt as the cream cheese and cheddar cheese is salty enough for me already)
- 4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled(I replaced it with 2 pieces of chicken ham instead to make it a healthier version)

1.In a large bowl, combine first five ingredients. Combine milk, oil and 1 egg; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups half full. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and second egg. Add cheddar cheese and seasoned salt; mix well. Stir in ham or bacon. Spoon 2 tablespoons in the center of each muffin. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until muffins test done. Serve warm.