I've been promised my beloved wife to make her a few cheese cakes with variety flavors. It takes me quite a long time to spend my time to make her a cheese cake.
Time is passing by and grumbles are heard from her. I feel very sorry to her. Of course, I am not angry but owe her. Hence, I went to the Tesco to buy the ingredients to make the cheese cake.
After buying these ingredients, my project halted again due to my workloads and insufficient time to spend out. As we have other more important things to do like back to our hometown to spare our time with both of our parents.
Every time we opened the fridge, she will mention to me that the two cream-cheese got to be expired. While for other ingredients, i.e. butter, eggs, sugar, marie biscuits, etc have been used for other purposes.
Once again, I will say "OK lah, this Saturday I bake the cheese cake for you". However, it ended up frustration. I know that she was not angry at me and understand me for the reason not to bake the cheese cake. This reason cannot always be prevailed in her heart. That can be "disastrous" in the end of one day. So, I tried my best to arrange and allot my time to this incomplete task.
Until recently, my workloads are reduced substantially. I have my time to expedite this incomplete task. She grumbled, again. "...the cream-cheese gotta expired..."
Without any hesitation, I promised her that I will do it for her last weekend (Saturday or Sunday). When everything was set, I found out that I left something important. The cheese cake recipe. Knowing that I have promised her and from her face and heart were now full with happiness, by hook or by crook I must do something.
We visited Popular Bookstore at QBM, Penang. We went to the recipe section to find out any related books. My wife eventually found one and quickly to pass to me. I read. I internalized. I bought the recipe lastly.
So coincidently, at that time, my coursemate, Yoon Chin was having a roadshow for his magazine in QBM too. Both of us paid a visit to her booth and purchased a few magazines to show our support her. We have a chat with her. I told her that I will make a cheese cake for my wife and she without thinking much, hope that she can also shared with my wife for my cheese cake. We let her to choose what is the flavor she likes from the recipe (but subject to the available of the ingredients). She asked us to make our decision on which flavor to bake.
Later, we went to the Jusco Food Department to source the ingredients. We have made our mind to do the Lemon Cheese Cake as we still have three lemons in our fridge. My wife like the sour flavor stuffs. With the recipe in hand, we went to hunt our prey immediately. We went home then.
As the cheese cake need to be chilled at least few hours before served, thus, I decided to start this incomplete task.
It was a quarter past eleven, night. I began to schedule the workflow with the helps from my wife. She helped me to do the grated lemon rind and squeezed the lemon juice. I crushed the marie biscuits into fine pieces and mixed with melted butter and brown sugar and Van Houten pure soluble cocoa powder to enhance the plain flavor of marie biscuits. Afterwards, I pressed hardly the base mixture onto the cake tin and baked for few minutes so that the flavor can be released out and more crunchy base.
Follow the recipe, it needs three cream-cheese to make the lemon cheese cake. I took out the cream-cheese and put into the mixing bowl.I beat it by using a mixer along with the amount of sugar until became creamy and smooth filling. Later, I beat in the 4 eggs, one in a time, beat well after each addition. Then I added in the whipping cream, corn starch, grated lemon rind, and lemon juice until blended.
Then, I poured the filling into the cake tin and baked in the preheated oven at 170°C for 40-45 minutes. I quickly to wash all the bowls, plates, spoons, etc while waiting for my cheese cake to cook.
"Ting....", the cheese cake was baked. I used a toothpick to poke into the cheese cake to check whether it was cooked. To my discretion, I baked it for another 10 to 15 minutes, again. There the cheese cake was fully cooked. It was two o-clock in the morning. "phew....completed finally". My wife witnessed this historic moment. I can see all the joyfulness, happiness... were expressed on her face. She gave me a deep hug and kisses as an encouragement to me. I felt I am the most happiest man in the world.
I let the oven door ajar for about one hour. At the meantime, I use some syrup, sugar, lemon juice to make the glaze for the cheese cake. The syrup, sugar and lemon juice were double boiled until melted, blended and concentrated for a few minutes and took out and let it cooled down. Sooner, I remove out the cheese-cake from the oven and let it completely cooling down before chilled in the fridge.
It was four o'clock in the morning. My eyes and body were exhausted and my system was nearly completely shut down... I was hardly to move more advance... Promptly, I put the cheese cake and glaze into the fridge to chill after two hours of cooling down.
With my exhausted body was kept on grumble and alarmed on me, I have no choice but back into my sweet dream...to recharge back my energy.
The next day (in fact the same day) when woke up, I took out the cheese cake and spread the glaze on top of the cheese cake. I cut a small slice of the cake for my wife to test. She said that it is so tasty and even better than "Secr...Rec...e". I am very happy to hear her comment. Later I cut two slices of the cheese cake into a container for my coursemate, Yoon Chin to try it (tea time when I passed to her..hehe). She thanked you me and told me very tasty for the cheese cake.
I also tried out my masterpiece. It is really yummy, creamy, smoothly as if you are tasting the Hargen Dazs ice-cream...... The reason is that I used three cream-cheese and 4 eggs as the filling without adding in any flour. Just two tablespoons of corn starch act to hold the filling. And also open the oven ajar and let the cheese cake to cool down for about an hour so that the texture of the filling can be withhold hence more creamy. I also can notice that in the middle of the cheese cake, it is wobble and moisture but it is fine when you chilled in the fridge. This part of the cheese cake is more that what you are eating ice-cream...so smooth and creamy.
Although I was completely exhausted and "tortured" in the way to bake the cheese cake during wee hour until finished, I feel very gratify and bless of having my beloved wife, which is understand of me. To her I will say thank you for her. "My dearest, I will love you forever and ever"......
I will put on the Lemon Cheese Cake Recipe later.
Here are some photo of my masterpiece. Since it is home-bake, hence not decoration and garnish are made unless for commercial or official function purpose.
1. My Lemon Cheese Cake. Although the appearance is not as good as you see in the bakery shop but the heart is utmost important here. Since I just use my twenty over years oven without fan, I think the result should not be questioned here. May be next time I will put a small cup of water so that the heat will not so agitated and more steam inside the oven ("Steam-Oven". You can find now from the electrical appliance shop for brand like Panasonic, Sharp, etc ).
2. Side view of the cheese cake. You can see layer of base which made by mixing of marie biscuits (crushed), melt butter, brown sugar and Van Houten Pure Soluble Cocoa powder (optional, I put it in order to enhance the base flavor). You can use the digestive biscuits or Oreo biscuits too.
3. Middle part of the cheese cake. It is wobble and moisture even chilled overnight. Essence. The taste and texture of this part of cheese cake is more than you the taste you eat the Hagen Darz ice-cream. Really creamy and smooth
4. Slice of the Lemon Cheese Cake. You can observe the yellowish dot at the upper right corner. It the the grated lemon rind. The texture of the cheese cake tastes as if your are eating ice-cream.
