Mixed Fruit White Chocolate Cheesecake with Oreo Crust

Made another birthday cake. So many birthdays coming up soon!

The celebration was at office. I suppose they do like the cake since two of them had second helping. I was asked "don't you want to open a shop?". Of course I do! But that means I will be resigning from my job ya.

The baked cheesecake - 1 and half hour of baking and overnight chilling.

I've bought about 2 spring form baking tins. Normally we use spring form baking tins so it's easier to turn the cake out. Okay, okay, you don't really "turn" out the cake if it's say cheesecake, just saying. But I've got bad experience with the quality of those spring form tins and have given up. I normally just use a normal baking tin, lined with aluminium foil before pressing in the crust and pouring in the mixture for baking. What I do is to lift the whole cake out by lifting the foil. Then peel the foil off. This case, I normally get a cake with wrinkly sides.

So need to "repair" that. Use a warm knife (by dipping it into hot water AND wipe dry)

Run the back of the warmed knife over the side of the cake, the cheese will be slightly melted when come in contact with the hot metal. The cake can be smoothed this way.

Not perfectly smooth, but at least better than before, right? Haha...

Then the decoration. If you are decorating with fruits, don't forget to glaze them, otherwise they will look dried up and discoloured after a while.

Final touch - cake lining, ribbon and birthday tag. And it's done. Omitted the cream for health reasons. Haha...

Steps In The Morning

Came to work on time despite having to make a business call at home before I left the house. So, when I was at the lift landing on ground floor, I decided not to squeeze myself into that crowded lift, after all, I've got time to spare. Went into the next available lift which opened up with the whole lift packed with passengers. Hmmm...? Only a few came out. Okay... anyways. Went into the lift and overheard people murmuring about "lets try again lah" and "yeah it might reach this time" then "oh no it's not stopping again".

Alright. The lift was stucked. It kept going to 10th floor then back to ground and so forth. So, everyone decided to get off at 10th floor. They must have tried a few times already. Thinking that it would be a "short-cut" catching another lift half way, I got off too at 10th floor. Waited for the connecting lift and it was something like 3 lifts came and gone, full load. So, I decided to use the staircase instead. It was like doing the warm up track of a BS class early morning (with extra weights of my handbag and laptop!). Walked from 10th floor to 19th floor where my office is. Good exercise. Not sweating yet. Make-up intact. Happy.

Also, I realized that I've got a "situation" today. I've got yoga later today and I've brought a Nike top, those with pockets for padding - I forgot to insert the padding! (I normally take them out so that they won't deform after coming out from the washing machine). After discussing the matter at hand with MC, my options are:

(1) Do without padding - stay calm and hopefully it's not going to be too cold;
(2) Get new padding;
(3) Get new top hehe...

I am a sink

Mum just enlightened me on a group of people called the "DINK" (so she read from the newspaper, I'm sure it's the gossip section!) - Double Income. No Kids. Which are the married couples, hence the double income, who do not have any kid at present. So, I am therefore the SINK? Single Income. No Kids? Or I could be classified LINK - Little Income. No Kids.

I'm going through a "fashion change" for the year. I've been borned into the world of career as a hotelier. So, my standard work attire had always been jackets, suits and court shoes (toes covered type). It is a requirement of the hotel industries. Some hotels might not even allow pant suits. I'm not sure how much the industry has changed now, left the industry some 8 years ago. Anyways, so this CNY, I've decided to add on some different collections to my wardrobe. I'm still working on getting some new sandals though.

Change is good. It gives you a new feeling which may cause a change of the way you deal with things, the way you see things and eventually results in the change in the environment or even people around you. However, changes like fashion change require me to be a MINK - More Income No Kidding!

Someone commented that my posts and stories are always so long. Is this entry reasonably short? Hehe...

Do the multi-tasking

I just had my job performance review and my boss has commended on my multi-tasking skills. Lots of laugh. Imagine if he knows that I can multi-task "further" on top of the stuff that I am multi-tasking already for work.

Yesterday was supposed to be my FSS project day. Traffic to KL was EXTREMELY good, arrived in KLCC within half an hour from TTDI. I could even do some 45 minutes window shopping before heading to the gym.

I actually like this Tuesday arrangement. I was able to catch up (okay, was a 2 minute thingy, but it's considered really good enough already for me) with a few old time gym buddies, one of them my MB. Can also "see" Carebear one more time in the week. PT was there. And Nor's class is great. Hmm... it's time to give my step teacher a nickname for the blog...

Okay... So, there I was all ready for class, and doing my final "touch up" in the locker - tying up my bandanna, suddenly, I heard a scream! Warghhh... of course I screamed too, it was a normal reaction right? I could even feel my heart beat racing after that scream. Really got a shock. And then I found out, it was step teacher screaming, haiya, and she was screaming just because she saw me. Geezz... Did I look like a ghost? Okay, thank you for being surprise. Told her I'm making that my permanent schedule. Besides, I'd rest for a long time for CNY, so it's "time". For expressing that objective of mine out loud, I was asked "puas hati tak??" after the class. YES indeed! Carebear caught me catching my breath outside the studio half way through the class. Haha...

I really am addicted to step. Though this class is called basic step, but trust me, it's satisfying enough. You will get to "spin" a lot, as I quote, spin like a gasing, do all sorts of cool moves and "train" up the mind to be focus (so that we have smooth transitions throughout the choreo). And it's interesting to be doing different stuff every time.

The class last night went something like... "stomp, across the board, stomp front board, switch back, round the world, t-step, stylus (or star... excuse my spelling, it sounded like that), 3 knees (which can be modified to the shuffles), 6-point, leg curl on board, gallop......" ok, can't spell anymore. In short, it's fun, you should try. If you like BS, you will love step.

The parking rate at KLCC now is RM7.00 per entry instead of the RM5.00 last time. A lot of things are more expensive now already. With my "very good" performance review, I am suppose to be getting quite a good increment, hope the increment will take effect soon (was told that money comes in April, back dated) finger cross. I need more money to support my "lifestyle" Haha...

I planned to write a good story, but got sleepy half way through the story telling. I will write more so as to prevent my "readers" becoming miserable for not having updates in here. Haha... this weekend is scheduled for baking cupcakes with special theme. So stay tuned. (do we use "tune" for blogs?)

Story telling...

I have been less active in blogging during the passed one, or two weeks. First was the really hectic baking schedule for CNY, then was CNY, followed by me being sick. Back to work last week and was really busy, no way I can "multi-task" at work.

By the way, there is this thing that I thought is not progressing quite well and I've started to work on plan B. Then, this original plan seems to progress and looking quite good (IF all happens according to plan). So, it's hard to follow through plans sometimes, and not to mention extremely difficult to make certain dicisions at times. Lets see how it goes.

Last night was my first day back at gym after my long break. At office earlier the day, I told Carebear that I was lazy and didn't feel like joining BC, just wanted to do BP. She suggested treadmill before BP and I thought that was a brilliant idea. Later, I stepped into gym early enough for BC, and guess what? Couldn't resist a full hour of workout, so decided to join the class anyways, even though no gym buddies (unless I count those friends of mine who were standing far away from me). By the way, why did I think I saw "Jackson" under the BP timeslot when I walked in? Strange. But of course Carebear was torturing us last night, whoops I mean teaching us.

BC is so much more enjoyable for me lately. No more tests, yay! I thought that's the way classes should be, maintained at that high standard - clear instructions, good cueing and with great encouraging energy. Anyways, the mic was not functioning last night. Or rather say, was not functioning for the combat master (or even the BJ instructor before him) because it was okay when Carebear had it later. But even without the mic, the class actually went very smoothly. I am not the type of member who can remember choreo, at least not for BC since I've never been really into BC, so without verbal instruction, I really had to pay full attention to teacher's physical gestures. Now you can imagine how relieved I was for not having left-right-mixed-up cueing right? Class was great, though I don't remember doing some of the tracks, I think they were all time favorite. I also spotted someone familiar, sorry I had stared at you a few times (I found out that the person WAS who I though she was).

BP was the one I had been worrying about the whole day. Like Carebear said, the strength simply slips away if we stop attending class for just a short while. I started off maintaining my weights for warm up and squat. The overhead presses were already killing me during warm-up. Squat was manageable since I had loads of rest, so energy level quite okay. I started reducing weights from chest track. Reduced 1kg but still was screaming in agony! Phantom of The Opera! Reminded me of PT, was one of his regular tracks when he was still teaching BP. The part that really got into you would normally be the part with numerous non-stop singles (how many exactly?) towards the end. If you watch the theatre, that would be the scene where Phantom actually coaxed Christy to sing, continuously leveling up on her key. So instead of "sing my angle" which was the script of The Phantom, we got "MORE! MORE!" from the instructor who was torturing us. All the same yeah? Haha...

I really tried to convince myself to go back to my usual back track weights, but knowing the instructor in crime, I would be very surprised if there were no either 6 clean and presses, or many many deadrows etc. So, settled with 7kg, ok, just half a kg lesser, and I regretted big time for not reducing to only 6kg. Then later, wanted to really reduce weight for triceps, but teacher said the track was short and we should challenge with ourselves with our weights, okay lah which means (sounded to me) that I could just maintain my normal 5kg. But, OMG!!! So many pull overs! I nearly break my arms! Geeezzz...

And of course my most feared biceps track, regardless what, no matter how, 3.5kg will be my permanent and forever and ever weight. Still, I wished I had reduced it to 2.5kg. Eye of The Tiger. Arghhh...

Luckily I had a delicious banana and choc chips muffin to end my night. Considered a sweet happy ending. Thanks so much for the treat! It was really nice :).

btw, why is my spell check function not functioning? pls escuse mai spellin mestakes becaose i hafe bean relaying on it all tis whaile.

Sticky Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake

Made this for a belated birthday. Due to the thick layer of sticker chocolate base, we can actually call this a cheesecake for chocolate lover.

Heavily decorated with chocolates, should be able to make a chocohalic quite happy.


Surface of the cake with the marble effect (cream cheese, chocoalte and the blueberry sauce). Made two of this cake. Another one for my ex-boss' birthday.

Double Chocolate Cookies

I'm back! I'm back!!!

Considered recovered I think. Still not enough rest which why I'm not completely recovered. Not going to gym until the next few days. I am supposed to be sleeping early, but take a look at my cookies first. These were the ones MC baked for me, I only did the cookie mix. They are extremely yummilicious, highly addictive, and as good as, if not better, than Famous Amos. :p

I was asked if I'm selling these. But how to sell? The ingredients are expensive. If I sell you F.A. price, might as well you get it from their shops right?

Take a look, it has not only chocolate chips, but also Cadbury milk chocolate, chopped and also chunks, you can see one whole chunk of chocolate on that top piece, right right?

Not to mention having loads of nuts. Whole alomond nuts chopped into these small little crispy indulgences. So how to price leh? I'll think about it after looking at my spreadsheet.

These went into MC's office (one to mine) and were gone in a few blinks. How did BIL do with his?

For my taster...

Meanwhile, MC and BIL are sick too. Poor thing. Get well soon!