Past weeks' experiences and compliments received had exceded my confidence to exalted heights that a repertoire of more 'comfort foods' will be an on-going affair. My children can't help but show off during reccess their tiffins of cakes and tarts of which they proudly tagged " My mom made this. See. "

Friend : " Wah...., your Mom made this ?? Very niiiice aaaahh ( awed , widened eyed face) "

Sam : " Open your mouth ! Umm. Taste good leeeh ..."

29/07/08 After dropping Sam at the Ballet School, I quickly drove over to Giant to gather the necessary must haves for my next experiment, which will also be my first attempt at conjuring a Marble Cheese Cake. The recipe from the mag seemed easy enough to follow suit . By complying to the step by step instructions, how hard can it be ?

Cheeses are another of our favourites. While our regular sandwich accompaniment is Cheddar; pastas dressed generously with Parmesan or Mozarrela, we would never deny an occasional nibble of Camembert or Brie. I love to be adventerous in sampling this palatable delight, so much similar as savouring premium chocolate melting on your tongue and reminding you of warmth and mellow days of past. By Wallace's recommendations, I can't wait to endeavour Gorgonzola and Wensleydale.....

Besides my faithful chocs, cheeses are excellent energy boosters on my treking trips.

Recipe

Ingredients

Prep 20 mins / Cook 1 Hr / Serves 8

Crust

1. 160g of Marie biscuits

2. 100g melted butter

3. 50g cooking chocolate, melted

Mixture

1. 550g cream cheese

2. 160g caster sugar

3. 3 eggs

4. 100 mls whipping cream

5. 30g plain yogurt

6. 1 tsp. vanilla essence

7. 1 orange zest and 1 lemon zest

8. 30g cooking chocolate, melted

Method

1. Line and grease a 23 cm round baking tin. Crush biscuits; add butter and cooking chocolate.

2. Line baking tin evenly with the mixture. Put in the fridge to set.

3.Pre- heat oven to 180oC. Beat cream cheese , sugar ; add eggs one at a time.

4. Add whipping cream , yogurt , vanilla essence , zests ; beat mixture till smooth

5. Split mixture into two. Pour one portion over crust ; mix other portion with melted chocolate. Pour second portion on top of first

6. Using a skewer , swirl mixture for marble effect. Bake for 1 hour.

Tips You Can't Do Without

1. After the baking is complete, always test the center of the cake with a skewer to ensure that it is completely baked. The skewer should come off clean. If wet bits stick to it, try to bake it for a while longer ie 20 - 30 min.

2. Cream cheese, whipping cream and baking chocolate are available at most leading supermarts. Whipping cream comes in a 200 mls and 1 L carton.

3. When it comes to buttering my cake, I've always used Buttercup as it only costs RM 3.70 at my local grocer. However for this episode, I suddenly reminisce my mother faithfully choosing SCS Butter all the time for her Sponge and Fruit Cakes ! My mom swears by it as if no other brands will suffice. The label reads " Creamy Australian Butter " ,and after comparing it with a brick of Buttercup at hand's reach I realize Buttercup isn't even butter enough. It's a mixture of vegetable oil and milk fats or something like that. No wonder my cakes doesn't even smell half as aromatic as my mom's. ( Mom, you are right ! I have to salute you. )

4. How to melt the cooking chocolate?

If you throw the choc in a saucepan and attempt to melt it....kaboom! You can then later proceed to despatch it to the dustbin.

Place the choc in a metal bowl and then place it over hot water (not boiling, or too high a temperature changes the colour and flavour) in the saucepan / pot. It will melt in a while.

5. What are orange and lemon zest ???

The outermost part of the rind of an orange, lemon, or other citrus fruit, used as flavoring. The yellow / orange part of the peel on the outside of the fruit has an intense lemon/citrus flavor with very little bitterness. The bitterness is primarily found in the white part of the fruit. When removing the skin from lemons or other citrus fruits, be sure to take only the thin outer zest or colored portion. The white pith will give your dish a bitter undertaste.

Use a fine grater to produce that lovely citrusy flavour for your cheese cake. I must admit I used the wrong grater. The zest should have come out finer more like pencil sharpenings instead of in strips. Will remember to use the correct grater next time. I skipped the lemon zest as there was not one in sight from the market or even the Giant I trotted to , so instictively I grated 2 oranges instead.

Mixture of the Marble Cheese Cake that morph into Marble Cheese Crumble ! After an hour of baking, presumed it was fully baked, I turned it on a plate without prior testing with a skewer . It collapsed into pieces that sent my excitement to mourning...boo hoo hoo. Nevertheless, backup plan 101 prompted mua to rebake it for another 1/2 an hour yet after that , this poor baby was still unable to set. A post mortem hinted traces of ? too much whip cream or ? too much yogurt ? That still didn't deter Henry and I from lapping up 2 pieces of the crumbles.

Verdict : the Marie biscuit butter melted chocolate base was yummy! Mixed with balls of cream cheese swirled with Van Houten Baking Choc, it was filling .

Conclusion : Ingredients are pricey ie. cream cheese, not easily available in a small town. Even the Giant in Tampin ran out of baking chocolate..Cis! Will try again ,prudently measure the whip cream next time. ( I 'agak-agak' poured in. Padan muka la)