I don't usually make layered cakes unless there is a special occasion.

I baked this simple chocolate layered cake for my child's birthday, and also to mark the 14th year since I became a mom ;) How time flies, our bundle of joy has now grown into a healthy teenager!

As what I have planned, we bought him a camera as birthday present. He was uneasy when I asked him which model he would prefer, he felt that he didn't deserve it at all. It is an expensive gift but I know he will make good use of it. Since he didn't want any birthday presents for the past few years, plus I do not reward him with gifts even for doing well in his studies, I thought this camera is a good way to make up for everything. To make him feel more comfortable,  I told him not to expect any birthday presents for the next ten years, this 'assurance' instantly puts him at ease ;)

Back to the layered cake. I got out of my comfort zone this time. Instead of using the whole eggs method to make a genoise sponge cake, I followed a chocolate chiffon cake recipe. This recipe came in handy as it calls for baking powder and baking soda, which was good for me as I needed that little extra help to make sure the cake would rise since I wanted to bake it in a normal cake tin instead of a chiffon tube pan. The cake did rise and formed a slight dome with a small crack on it. It didn't bother me much since I could removed the dome easily. After slicing the cake into three layers, I couldn't help but to take a picture of it. The cake looked lovely without any frosting, I know I am quite capable of messing up things when it comes to frosting and decorating a cake, it is not difficult to imagine how ugly it will end up.

The chocolate ganache was surprisingly easy to work with, much easier to smooth it evenly over the cake than whipping cream. Even without using a cake turntable the chocolate layer appeared to be quite smooth. Not too bad for a self taught baker.

As usual I was at a loss when it comes to decorating a cake. I lack creativity and imagination. Fortunately, my younger son was at home that afternoon. With his help, we managed to put something together...although it turned out to be a little too kiddish for a teenager, lol.  But, we know the birthday boy wouldn't mind...unlike his mom, he doesn't eat with his eyes.

We had a mini celebration that evening. The lovely reflections of the candle flames on the chocolate layer made this homemade cake looked so much more sophisticated. Actually, I totally forgot about getting a box of matchsticks to light the candles. Since the candles were very small, I didn't want to risk burning my fingers to light them directly over my gas stove. I have no matchsticks at home but I do have a packet of spaghetti. Yes, I used a piece of spaghetti as a lighter. It worked really well and I only used one piece to get the job done. If I were to use matchsticks, I would probably used up a whole box to light so many candles. Besides using it as a matchstick, do you know that spaghetti can also be used as cake tester? The only down side is, if you are not careful, it may break and you may end up with a broken piece of spaghetti inside your cake!

The texture of this cake was slightly heavier than a normal chiffon cake, it tasted just like the usual sponge cake to me. Nevertheless, I was quite satisfied with the result as it could get very tricky when making chiffon or sponge cake with cocoa powder. The chocolate ganache was really good, I used only a very small amount, yet, its presence was felt. Overall it was a delicious cake that everyone enjoyed.


Chocolate Layered Cake

Ingredients:
(make one 7" round cake)

for sponge layer:
3 egg yolks (use large eggs)
25g caster sugar
50ml vegetable oil
70ml water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
85g cake flour
25g cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon baking soda

4 egg whites (use large eggs)
55g caster sugar

for chocolate ganache:
170g pouring cream (I used one can Nestle pouring cream)
170g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped

Method:

   to make sponge cake:

• Line base of a 7" round pan with parchment paper. Do not line or grease the sides.
• Sieve together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
• Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl. With a ballon whisk, whisk the yolks a little. Add in sugar and whisk till the mixture turns pale and thickens.
• Add in vegetable oil gradually, whisking at the same time till the mixture combines.
• Add in water gradually, whisking at the same time till the mixture combines. Add in vanilla extract, whisk to combine. Sieve over the flour mixture and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix. Set aside.
• In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
• Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter. 
• Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 40~45 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, when lightly pressed the cake will spring back. Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould. To release the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife or a off-set spatula around the inside of the pan.

   to make chocolate ganache:

• Place cream and chopped chocolates in a bowl. Set it over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bowl is big enough to sit over the saucepan).
• Stir the mixture gently with a spoon till the chocolate melts and mixture becomes smooth.
• Remove from the bowl from the saucepan. Use immediately.

   to assemble:

• Slice the cake horizontally into three layers. Place a layer of sponge cake on a cake board. Spoon about 4 heaped spoons of the chocolate ganache onto the surface. Spread evenly with a spatula. Repeat with the second layer of sponge cake. Place the third layer and spoon the remaining ganache over the top and spread it over to the sides. Smooth the surface evenly with the spatula. Decorate as desired. Keep chilled in fridge.

Recipe source: adapted from 初事身手做甜点, 信太康代

There is nothing special about this simple banana walnut cinnamon cake. This cake is as ordinary as your everyday white loaf bread. I can't find anything that I could shout out loud. There is absolutely no wow factor, be it the texture, the flavour...and it certainly doesn't look like a pretty cake. In fact, the method of preparing this cake is not very different from baking a batch of muffins. It is just like putting 12 muffins together to form a cake.

Yet, I couldn't help but to blog about it, and that is despite the colour of my photos came out weird, thanks to the poor lighting condition.

and here are my reasons for writing up this post:

This is the kind of cake that I will make anytime, as long as I have a bunch of over ripe bananas and leftover walnuts, or any nuts or dried fruits I could find in my fridge. Making the cake is a breeze, you do not have to invest much of your precious time just to put a cake into the oven. It is one of those cakes that you could bake on a whim...jumping from the couch to the kitchen ;) There is not much washing up either. Best of all, it is quite a fool-proof recipe...I doubt anything could go wrong, unless this is the very very first time you have ever baked a batch of muffins. Even then, by following the steps closely, I am sure any novice will be able to make a stir-and-bake cake like this one.

Despite its simplicity, the texture of the cake is really good....soft, moist and fluffy. Definitely a healthier choice than any store bought banana walnut cake as it doesn't leave a greasy after taste, or stick to the roof of your mouth...yet it doesn't taste dry at all. I wouldn't recommend omitting the cinnamon powder as it does lend a aromatic flavour to this ordinary, everyday tea cake.

On a side note, I can't remember where I read it, but I have learned something new about preparing a cake pan for baking. I have always line the base of the cake pan with parchment paper, but for the sides, sometimes I will line it with parchment paper, and sometimes (especially if the recipe specifically states so) I will grease, with butter, and flour the sides. It never occurs to me whether it makes any difference...since both methods help to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan. The only difference for me is, I always get very frustrated trying to line the sides or a round pan with parchment paper. I have this thing about making sure the paper sticks perfectly to the sides so that my cake will come out of the pan with a perfect 90 degree straight edges! Anyway, it may not be new to you, and it may even sound trivial, I learned that by greasing and flouring the sides, the finished cake will give a nice golden crust. Call me a perfectionist if you must, but I was really happy to notice the evenly browned crust all over the sides of this cake. In case you are wondering, no, the crust is not thick and hard at all, just a nice thin layer, which doesn't add much value to the cake, but does brighten up an ordinary home baker's day....

Thank you for reading :)



Banana Walnut Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients
(makes one 7" cake)

150g cake flour
2g ground cinnamon
4g baking powder
2g baking soda
1g salt (I used sea salt)
2 large eggs
80g caster sugar (I cut down to 70g)
70ml vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
250g, about 3 medium sized over ripe banana, mashed (original recipe uses 120g)
70g walnuts, coarsely chopped (reserve 1 tablespoon as toppings)


Method:

• Toast chopped walnuts at 150degC for about 8 to 10mins, stir in between and make sure walnuts do not get burnt.
• Line base of a 7" round pan with removable base with parchment paper, grease (with butter) and flour the sides. Set aside.
• Sieve together cake flour, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside.
• Place eggs, caster sugar, oil and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. With a manual whisk, whisk to combine.
• Add mashed banana, whisk to combine.
• Sieve over the flour mixture, with a spatula, fold the mixture until just incorporated. Do not over mix. The batter should appear lumpy.
• Add in chopped walnuts (set aside 1 tablespoon to use as toppings), stir just to combine.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Tap the pan a few times on work surface to release any trapped air bubbles. Sprinkle the top with the remaining walnuts.
• Bake in pre-heated oven at 175degC for 30-35mins or until a tooth pick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
• Remove from oven, leave to cool for 5mins. Unmould and transfer to wire rack, let cool completely.

Recipe source: adapted from 我的幸福手作面包，李成实

A good recipe is hard to come by.

One that uses the most basic ingredients and doesn't requires lots of sugar and fat in order to yield moist tender crumbs is even harder to find.

I am lucky to come across this simple Chocolate Cake recipe from a bread making book.

Although it looks very much like a pound cake, it is actually a sponge cake. The batter is prepared by beating eggs and sugar, whereas a pound cake is made by creaming butter and sugar. The original recipe calls for dairy cream but I took the liberty to replace it with plain, natural yoghurt. I am quite certain that the result is not too far off from the original intention. Even though I could have deflated the batter a little, the cake rose nicely and even form a pretty crack on its own, that is, without having to 'slit' the batter, a step which is quite essential if you are baking a pound cake.

The texture of the cake is slightly on the dense side, but still taste moist and tender...a cross between a sponge cake and a pound cake. What I like most is the simple chocolaty taste.  This recipe is a keeper.



Chocolate Sponge Cake

Ingredients
(makes one small 18cmx9cmx7cm loaf cake )

80g cake flour
20g cocoa powder (I used Valrhona cocoa powder)
3g baking powder
1g baking soda
1g salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
90g caster sugar (I used golden caster sugar)
50ml vegetable oil (I used canola oil)
50g natural plain yoghurt, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

• Line a 18cmx9cmx7cm loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside
• Sift cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, at least 3 times. Set aside.
• Whisk eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until the batter triple in volume, thickens and leaves a ribbon-like trail when the paddle is lifted up. Takes about 5 mins. Turn to low speed, whisk for another 1 min (this is to stablise the air bubbles in the batter).
• Sift over the flour mixture into the batter in 3 separate additions. With each addition, use a spatula, gently Fold in the flour until well blended. Take care not to deflate the batter.
  
• Remove some batter into another mixing bowl. Add in oil, yoghurt and vanilla extra. Mix with spatula until well blended. Add this mixture to the egg and sugar batter. Fold gently with spatula until well blended.
• Pour finished batter to the prepared loaf pan. Tap the pan on work surface a few times to release any trapped air bubbles in the batter. Bake in preheated oven at 170degC for 25~30mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out fairly clean (do not over bake). Unmold and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe source: adapted from 我的幸福手作面包，李成实

and I do find inspiration in them...

Whenever I miss the simple act of mixing flour, eggs, sugar and butter in a mixing bowl, the image of a tray of freshly baked muffins would jump out from behind the back of my mind. There is always a muffin recipe waiting for me to explore; and I have never seems to be short of any of the basic ingredients that is called for...be it flour, eggs, milk, sugar and vegetable oil. There is always a bag of left over chocolate chips, some left over dried fruits, walnuts, hidden somewhere in my fridge (^_^").

Oh yes, not forgetting the fact that I have one drawer full of paper muffin cups!

It took me just slightly over half an hour from reading the recipe to popping these muffins into the oven. I have adapted a cinnamon and nuts muffins recipe to turn it into a batch of Cinnamon, Walnuts and Chocolate Chips Muffins.  Before I was done washing up the mixing bowls, I could already smell cinnamon :)

Warm, freshly baked, homemade muffins are not only a nice treat for breakfast but also great for a casual tea time at home. These muffins are full flavour, certainly not a surprise as they are studded with all the walnuts, chocolate chips and cinnamon. The texture is a teeny weeny on the dry side...maybe they are made with milk only...I guess I am so used to the very moist muffins made with yoghurt.

I am so inspired by these lovely muffins that I think I have done a decent job in the composition of the above images. Of course, I must thank my cyberfriend VB for sending me the pretty muffin liners, gorgeous kitchen towels and the matching mug! I could almost imagine myself sitting inside a lovely little cafe at a little town in Provence, drinking tea and savouring muffins... ahem...delicate French desserts ;)

Cinnamon Walnuts and Chocolate Chips Muffins

Ingredients
(makes 9 regular size muffins)

140ml milk
80ml canola or corn oil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
200g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
100g granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
50g walnuts, coarsely chopped
50g mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk, oil, egg and vanilla extract, until just combined.
2. Sieve flour, baking powder and ground cinnamon into another mixing bowl. Add sugar, salt and stir to combine.
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined (Note: stop stirring once the flour incorporates into the batter, but do check that there is no pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl). 
4. Reserve 1 tablespoon each of the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. Gently stir in the rest of the chopped walnuts and chocolate chips into the batter. Do Not over mix the batter. The finished batter should appear thick and lumpy.
5. Spoon batter into paper muffin cups, fill it to about 3/4 full.
6. Sprinkle top with the reserved chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. 
7. Bake in preheated oven at 200degC for about 20 - 25mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Recipe source: adapted from 我的幸福手作面包，李成实

No, I am not selling chiffon cakes, nor is there any chiffon cake on sale. The word salé is a French word, which means salted.

My cyberfriend VB sent me this book "戚风咸蛋糕and戚风甜蛋糕" earlier this year, and it was only last week that I managed to find time to try baking my first savoury chiffon cake...a Bacon and Onion Chiffon Cake!

Except for the reduced amount of sugar, addition of salt, the ingredients and method is similar to any other chiffon cake. Instead of using the combination of mustard and bacon, I replaced it with chopped onions, bacon and freshly ground black pepper. Not knowing that the timing to add the ingredients is quite crucial, I made the mistake of adding the onions and bacons last, that is, after I have folded the whites and yolks batter together. This caused the batter to deflate and as a result, my chiffon cake didn't rise as high :_( Next time I were to make this, I will remember to add the onions and bacons mixture into the yolk batter instead.

This chiffon salé gives a whole new dimension to chiffon cake. If you like savoury pastries, I am sure you will love it..imagine the taste of a slice of this savoury cake, with bits of bacon and onion studded in not too sweet, not salty but pillowy soft cake crumbs. On the other hand, if you have got sweet tooth, you may find the taste weird...just like my better half, to him, all cakes have to be sweet not savoury ;)

If you are game enough, why not give this a try? Who knows, it may lead you to discovering a whole new world of baking...





Bacon and Onion Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:
(for 17cm tube pan)

3 egg yolks (use large eggs*)
10g caster sugar
3g salt
50ml vegetable oil
50ml water
80g cake flour

4 egg whites (use large eggs*)
20g caster sugar

2 slices streaky bacon
70g onion (about half a yellow onion), finely chopped
freshly ground black pepper

(*I used eggs with a nett weight of 55g, about 20g yolk, 35g white)

Method:

1. Cut bacon into 3~5mm stripes. Pan fry the chopped bacon in a non stick pan till golden. Remove and drain on paper towel. Pan fry chopped onions in the same pan with the oil from the bacon till soft. Mix in the bacon and some freshly ground black pepper. Leave to cool. 
2. Place egg yolks in a mixing bowl. With a manual hand whisk, whisk the yolks a little. Add in sugar and salt, whisk till the batter turns pale and thick (about 5 mins).
3. Add in vegetable oil gradually, whisk to combine.
4. Add in water gradually, whisk to combine.
5. Sieve over the flour and whisk till the flour is fully incorporated. Do not over mix.
6. Add in bacon and onion mixture, stir with a spatula to just combine. Set aside.
7. In a clean, dry mixing bowl, beat egg whites with a handheld electric mixer on low speed until mixture becomes frothy and foamy. Add half of the sugar amount and turn to high speed and beat the mixture. Continue to add in the remaining sugar and beat until the egg whites reaches the soft peak stage.The soft peak stage is reached when the peaks of the whites curl over and droop slightly. The egg whites should appear smooth and glossy. (Do not over beat the whites still stiff, it is better to beat the whites still soft peaks for easy folding with the yolk batter.)
8. Add the beaten egg whites into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
9. Pour batter into pan (do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven at 170 degC for 30 mins, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean, when lightly pressed the cake will spring back. Invert the pan immediately and let cool completely before unmould. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife or a off-set spatula around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife/off-set spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Recipe source: adapted from 戚风咸蛋糕and戚风甜蛋糕, 小岛喜和

这款oreo芝司蛋糕, 是第6个做给我家那台不用插电全自动洗碗机的生日蛋糕。不过说来惭愧，我做给他的蛋糕一年比一年丑。虽然我不是赖小姐，但我总认为那是因为他对我没有任何要求，即使马马虎虎做一个蛋糕来充数，他半句怨言也没有，还夸张地对着未经修饰'全裸'的蛋糕说 "Oh，it's a heart shaped cake!"

待人处事比较圆滑的他，和个性较冲动有话直说的我，好比一个圈圈遇到一个正方形。多年的相处下正方形的四个角被磨得也变得有点圆了。有烘蛋糕的您，要为圆形烤盘铺油纸时是怎么剪圆形油纸的呢？好多年前我从电视学会了Jamie Oliver的方法，就是先剪个正方形，然后对折四次，大略剪一条圆弧，打开就是一个圆形了。


所以当圈圈遇见方方，会变成什么呢？是长了角的圈圈？还是缺了角的方方？

之前都只会做免烤生乳酪蛋糕，第一次烘New York style芝司蛋糕，零经验，don't know what to expect。阴差阳错，也就将错就错，用买了N个月的心型模具。成品真的不怎样，我想还是用圆形烤盘会比较好看。因为是New York style cheesecake，所以不虽要用水浴法来烤，直接放入烤箱就可以了。照着食谱用170度烤40－45分钟，蛋糕出炉， 表面有点‘moh peng’，可能我的烤箱温度有点偏高，放凉后收缩坍塌得蛮厉害，不过我想典型的烤乳酪蛋糕也就是这个模样，所以也不当一回事，没放在心上。蛋糕完全冷却后还不能吃，更不能立刻脱模，必须连模具放进冰箱冷藏至少四小时以上，最好隔夜冷藏，味道会更好。

虽然蛋糕有点丑，不过加上一些点缀还混得过去。乳酪蛋糕部分绵密扎实，酸甜适中，非常好吃，真的有点超出意料自外！没想到第一次烤芝司蛋糕味道会那么好， 吃一片肯定不够，多吃一片也不会感觉腻腻的。家里的一大两小oreo迷，都一一竖起大拇指连连赞好。

两周后我用160度烤第二个乳酪蛋糕，表面美美毫无瑕疵，让蛋糕在烤箱里放凉，蛋糕没收缩也没坍塌。因为我对oreo没多大兴趣，我会比较喜欢这个原味乳酪蛋糕。

回到当圈圈遇见方方的问题－－－答案其实是－－－心形！
把一个圆形对剪一半，排在一个同等大小的正方形其中的两边，就成了一个心形。。。
好比我的圈圈包容着我这个方方 :)

Pardon my recent absence from this blog. I have been putting in my best effort to fulfill my responsibility as a good parent to help my younger child prepare for his mid-year exams. Sad to say this is something quite inevitable in our meritocratic education system, there is no way to avoid it but to get on with it. Since I don't send him for any any tuition or academic enrichment classes, I have to assume the role of a home tutor. Anyone who has the experience coaching your own kid would know, it is definitely not a pleasant affair. I am so glad that we can now resume our happy mother and child relationship instead of getting into that all too familiar tiger-mother-helpless-lamb situation every now and then during the past few weeks.

The highlight of this post is yet another one of my 'first attempt' for the month, or rather last month. I baked a New York style oreo cheesecake for my husband's birthday. This is the first time I have made a proper baked cheesecake. Preparing the batter was quite straight forward and that left me the false impression that the cake would turn out great. Little did I know that my oven temperature was on the high side, and upon cooling, the cake shrank and collapsed with a slight sunken top. Well, it was not a pleasing sight to behold so I decorated it with whatever I had on hand to make it look more presentable. Fortunately, the taste of the cake was not compromised at all. It had a very nice creamy and smooth texture, yet taste light with a refreshing hint of lemon. You wouldn't be able to stop at just one slice. Once we finished the cake, I started craving for another one. It is no surprise that I made another version a fortnight later, and this time I was careful to bake it at a lower temperature. I left the cake to cool in the oven when it was cooked, the cake didn't shrink or sink as much as my first attempt. Unlike my husband and my boys, I am not really a fan of oreos. So I prefer this plain version as the delicate taste of the creamy cheesecake was not overpowered by the presence of the sweet oreo crumbs. The digestive biscuit base is also a better option to pair with the slightly lemony cheese filling.

My latest baking venture has certainly removed my fear of making a baked cheesecake...I am sure I will be able to move on to making more delicate bakes such as the Japanese style souffle cheesecake...



Baked Oreo Cheesecake
(makes one 7" round cake or 7" heart shape cake)

Ingredients:

base crust:
100g oreo cookies (without the cream), finely crushed
45g unsalted butter, melted

filling:
250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature
100g caster sugar
50g unsalted butter, soften at room temperature
100g sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 large egg, room temperature
1 large egg yolk, room temperature
10g corn starch
1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 ~ 4 oreo cookies, break into small chunks

Method:

Crust:
Lightly grease a 7" round baking pan (with removable base). Line base and side of the pan with parchment paper. Combine crushed oreo cookies and melted butter together in a mixing bowl, mix well. With the back of a spoon, press the oreo cookies crumbs firmly onto the base of the prepared pan. (To ensure the crust is even, I used the base of a flat-bottom glass to press down the crumbs.)

Filling:
With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add in sugar and beat till fully incorporated. Stop to scrape down the sides if necessary. Continue to add in butter, whisk to combine. Add in sour cream, beat to combine. Add in vanilla bean paste (or use the seeds of 1/3 of a vanilla pod), beat to combine.

Lightly beat the egg and egg yolks in a small bowl. Add in the egg mixture to the cream cheese batter in 3 separate additions, beat to combine after each addition. Add in corn flour and lemon juice, beat to combine.

For a smoother texture, strain the batter over a sieve. Pour the prepared pan with half of the batter, sprinkle oreo cookies chunks over the surface evenly. Pour the remaining batter. Smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake in preheated oven at 170 degC for about 45~50mins (Note: I find baking at 160 degC yields better result). To test for doneness, gently shake the pan, the filling should have a slight wobble in the centre. Once the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven. Leave the oven door slightly open and leave the cheesecake inside the oven to cool off for about an hour. The cheesecake may crack slightly if left to cool outside the oven.

Remove from oven and leave to cool completely. Do not unmould. Cover with cling wrap and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, best chilled over night.

When ready to unmold, place pan on an inverted glass (or a canned drink or any canned food). Carefully slide the side of the removable pan downwards to release the cake. Transfer cake to a serving plate, decorate as desired.

Recipe source: 起司蛋糕 by 信太康代

It is five in the morning. The sun has yet to rise. I start to pack my haversack, loading it with food to last me a meal and enough water to drink for approximately ten hours. I am going to scale the Great wall of China.

I am in the heart of Beijing currently. I will be taking a bus to the suburbs of Beijing, towards the north, at 慕田峪 (Mu Tian Yu) - which is also the part of the great wall of China I am going to scale today. It is winter now, with a temperature of -12 degree Celsius. It is going to be colder and more windy up there, at the great wall.

Alighting from the bus, I took a taxi towards the Great wall. It was magnificent. It stood up tall, heading into the heavens. You could barely see the top at ground level. Occasionally, you could see heads bobbing up and down along the walls, like ants marching around energetically.

I wasted no time and started to ascend the Great wall. Though this part of the wall is rebuilt, the steps were still uneven-some narrow, some steep; some flat, some protruding; some slanted; some perfect.

It was a tiring journey from the stairs. As I ascend, I got more exhausted. It was made worse by the increasing altitude meaning less oxygen for me to take in. However it was not that bad. I finally got up to the higher point of the wall, where I could continue my journey.

To my astoundment, this is only the beginning. According to a map, the walkway runs 2.2 km wide. Though 2.2 km may sound short to you, in this case, it is not. The 2.2 km does not include the length of the steps, as specified on the map. There are two possible routes: one to my left, the other to my right. Since it was near lunch time, I decided to take the route closer to my left as it was shorter.

As I trekked towards the left end, I could see the Chinese characters: '忠于毛主席' in English-loyalty to Chairman Mao...Mao Ze Dong, carved onto the mountain, right next to the end of the great wall.

Then, I saw a long flight of stairs, very, very long. It had to be at least 400 steps long, without any stops to rest! Worse than my ascend previously. Still I had to climb it so that I would never miss this rare opportunity. It was exhausting. I panting hard, my breathing rate increase every time I ascend more. It was like the stair way to heaven.

Well, this was just the easy part. The challenging one is to descend! Mucous was literally coming out like water running from a tap as I descend, my head bobbing up and down. Soon I reach the end of the treacherous stairs.

It was worth while. From the top, I could see the village of Mu Tian Yu. Cars running along the expressways, smog coming out of the little factories.

The sun was high and bright in the sky, it illuminated the watchtowers and I could admire the architect of the Chinese in the past-6th century to be precise. Then, I began to head back to my starting point.

After having a meal, I started part two of the adventure-towards the right. I thought that this part would be more comfortable to trek, but I was wrong.

It was worse than the 400 flight of stairs I had encountered 2 hours ago. Halfway through, I saw another flight of steps. I could not see the top of the steps. It was like 10 times of the 400 flight of steps.

The stairs were more steep and uneven this time. Every step I made was executed with caution and care for fear of tripping. I wondered how I could possibly descend these stairs. Persistent still kept me on. I ascended the stairs. It was fruitful. I could see ancient cannons mounted on the stairs every 50 metres pointing towards the open air in the mountain. Then, I broke a sweat. It was so sweaty that I had to take off my outer jacket. I could not feel the coldness of the environment.

Alas, I have reached the highest point of the wall!

I saw the village again, This time too small to see the exact details. To my right, I saw cable cars. Cable cars? I am so silly! I should have taken the cable car up the wall and not waste my time walking up the wall! How silly of me!

But to be optimistic, I am able to take the cable car down the wall, instead of taking the route of peril again.

When I got down the wall, I flagged a cab and headed home. Just in time for dinner. On the cab, I conversed with the taxi-driver. From him, I learnt that an average China citizen would have taken only 4 hours to scale this whole stretch of wall! I reflected on myself. I am still young and energetic and healthy. The stark contrast of 4 hours and 8 hours. I am really weak. At this moment, pain started to settle in to my thigh and knees...

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The above fictitious story was written by my elder son. I happened to open a text file with the filename 'story' when I was using a spare thumb drive which was lying around. I read it with great interest as the story sounds very familiar...it was like an exact account of what we did when we went up the Great Wall of China (Mutianyu section) last winter. I asked my son where he took the story from, as I thought it was copied from some travel blogs, I would love to read the original post. To my surprise, he told me he wrote it. It was meant to be a March school's holiday assignment, but he didn't submit it as he wrote another one with the storyline 'how I forced my brother to eat soap...'???

Anyway, I took the liberty (that is, without his permission) to post his original work here since I have been wanting to write about our trips (we've been to Mutianyu twice, and Simatai once) to the Great Wall. The photos we took were able to fit in the storyline almost perfectly! (There were better pictures but since we were staring right at the camera lens, I am not allowed to post them.) However, I may remove this post if it upsets him, a lot. Do pardon the grammatical errors, awkward sentence structures as my son is very weak in his languages, be it written or verbal. No editing is done, except for typo errors he made, so as to keep to its originality.