Cendol Cheesecake & Parmesan cheese cookies

It's like a super rush week for me (again). But I figured I better put up this post before it's gets even more crazy around the house in weeks to come! As some of you might know, I am relocating soon and in the midst of packing up. So there's plenty of stuff to do around the house. And it doesn't really help with my girls having their school vacation now. :-P This is a déjà vu feeling for me and my husband...packing up and moving and bidding farewells to good friends. *sigh* It's really hard for us every single time we go through this, but if you ask me would we have taken up this opportunity to come to Malaysia...knowing what we went through? In a heart beat. :) Being close to family and having good friends around is something that money cannot buy. For now I am just praying hard things will turn out for the best for whatever we have decided to do. Wish me luck!

A couple days back I decided to bake a cheesecake, not your usual cheesecake I would say. It's Cendol Cheesecake! It's been on my to-bake list for awhile and I grab the first opportunity I have to do it. Personally I love cendol, the fragrant aroma of pandan is great. And if you have tasted the popular Indonesian desert, also called Cendol, you'll know that with the combination of gula melaka, makes it deep and intense...a cooling treat that I would very seldom pass. So making cendol cheesecake is like fusing 2 of my favorite desert together...nice!I got this recipe from The Ultimate Indulgence Cheesecake by Chef Alan Kok.

Ingredients for Cendol Cheesecake:
2 slices 7" sponge cake

Filling: 250g cream cheese, room temperature
100ml cendol syrup (gula melaka & coconut milk syrup)
100ml non-dairy whipping cream, whipped
100g cendol (I used 150g)
1 tbsp gelatin powder, mixed in 4tbsp water and double-boiled till dissolved

Decoration
Whipped non-dairy heavy cream
1 piece of Graham cracker, crushed (optional)

Method:

• Put a slice of cake into a 7" loose base round baking tin and put into the freezer.
• Put cream cheese into a mixing bowl, slowly add in cendol syrup and mix until smooth. Add in whipped cream, cendol and mix well. (don't rinse the cendol if you want to preserve the flavour)
• Lastly add in gelatine mixture and stir well.
• Pour cream cheese mixture on top of cake and cover with the other slice of sponge cake. Chill overnight in the fridge till set.
• Remove the cake form tin. Spread whipped cream all over the cake and sprinkle Graham cracker crumbs over the top. (optional) Decorate at will.

The end result was a soft, creamy, cendol like cake. The cream cheese did not over power the overall taste of the cake, so you can still taste the fragrant , pandan, gula melaka and coconut in it. Check out the cendol between the cake....it adds not only flavour but texture to the cake, very special. I was somehow worried that this cake would turn out too sweet, so I kind of hold back on putting too much gula melaka into it. So my cake wasn't up to the sweetness I wanted....o well. :-P But overall a wonderful cake to enjoy and something special and different from your usual cheesecake. ;) Do try it out when you want a cheesecake with an touch of South-East Asia flare, hahaha! ;)
The other item on the list is Parmesan Cheese cookies. Got this from a fellow blogger quite awhile back and I failed to jot down the link to that blog. :-P Anyway, many thanks to that blogger for this recipe...it's good!
Here's the recipe:

Ingredients for Parmesan Cheese Cookies:
60g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
30g caster sugar
35g Parmesan Cheese, finely grated
120g cake flour

Method:

• Cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy.
  
• Add egg and beat till well mixed.
• Mix in the Parmesan cheese and stir well.
• Add cake flour and stir till just combines.
• Gather the cookie dough and wrap it out into a narrow log with parchment or plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2hrs before use.
• Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
• Take out cookie dough and unwrap plastic. Slice the dough into 0.5cm thick and place on prepared baking tray.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes till cookies are slightly golden brown in colour. Rotate tray at mid bake.
  

If you are a cheese lover, this is an excellent treat to have during tea time. My elder daughter, whom loves cookies and cheese, simply couldn't get enough of this delicious treat! She ate so much of it that I hardly have enough to share with my friends! :-P Personally I had better cheese cookies then this, but if my picker-eater girl likes it...I can make it for her anytime she wants...no problem! ;) So if you have some fresh Parmesan cheese in the fridge and the expiration date is pressing on...do think about trying this out. ;) Perhaps the next time I would try making it with other cheeses with this recipe, but preferably those with a strong cheese taste to it. Happy bakes!