Baked Blueberry Cheesecake

I trawled the internet for a baked cheesecake, my friend Aishling makes an awesome one but I wanted to see what else was out there.  The recipes that I came across were for a much too large cake for my needs (and besides I only had one pack of cream cheese).  Blueberries were on special in Aldi for 69c so I bought about 4 punnets freezing them on trays and then bagging them.  I have been quite extravagant with the blueberries and really you don’t need so many.  You can also use any summer berry for this.  I also used their own brand cream cheese which was significantly cheaper that Philadelphia.  The recipe for blueberry Sauce can be used on pancakes, waffles, Ice-cream.  I used a 20cm round tin and there was enough in this for 3 people who all had little seconds. 

Base:

6 Digestive Biscuits Crushed

50g Butter

1 tbsp Demerara Sugar

1 Punnet Blueberries

Cheesecake Mix

1 Egg + 1 yolk

200g Cream Cheese

1 Tub of Crème Fraiche (I used most of a tub left over in the fridge)

25g (1 heaped tbsp) Plain Flour

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Blueberry Sauce

2tbsp Maple Syrup

1 Punnet Blueberries

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 190c
2.  Melt butter in a pot over a gentle heat, add sugar and biscuit crumbs.  Empty into a loose bottomed tin or a springform tin and press into the base.  Sprinkle Blueberries on top.
3. Mix together Cheesecake mix and beat until smooth.  Pour onto biscuit base.
4. Blueberry Sauce: Heat blue berries and maple syrup together in a pot as the maple syrup heats it will cause the the berries to release their juices. 
1. Method 1 Pour in drops in four or five locations and use a cocktail stick to create a marble effect through the cheesecake
2. Method 2: When the cheesecake is baked top with warm blueberry sauce.
5. Bake in the centre of the oven until the cheesecake is slightly wobbly in the middle (30-40mins).
6. Allow to cool then chill in the fridge before serving.  I served it with a side of chopped strawberries macerated in Galliano and a little cream.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

When I first discovered red velvet cake I was truly weirded out by it but it is wonderful and frivolous and most importantly delicious. This recipe is provided by Miss Laoise Curtin a fellow avid baker and niece.  Below are some notes of hers.

I've researched and tried this recipe and found that the butter milk can be substituted with normal milk and a couple of teaspoons of clear vinegar .

Ingredients

60g of unsalted softened butter

150g caster sugar

1 large egg

20g cocoa powder 

1x 1oz bottle of red food colouring

1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract

120ml buttermilk (110ml of normal milk with 10 ml of clear vinegar)

150g plain flour

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 1/2 teaspoon clear vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and line a cupcake tin 
2. Cream the softened butter an sugar
3. Add the egg to the mixture.
4.  In a separate bowl, mix the cocoa powder ,the food colouring and the vanilla together
5. Mix the red mixture and the light mixture together
6. Add the buttermilk to the now combined red mixture 
7. Add the flour
8. Add the bicarbonate of soda and the vinegar
9. Mix IMMEDIATELY as the reaction of the bread soda and vinegar is going on at that moment.Get the in the oven as fast as possible and bake for 20-25 minutes.

For the icing

Mix 50g of softened butter and 125g of cream cheese .Then add 300g icing sugar.

Mars & Baileys Ice-Cream Sauce

Warm gooey sauce for grown ups who like ice-cream

A couple of mars bars
Baileys

Method

1. Chop up your mars bars nice and small  so that it melts really quick (patience isnt always a strong suit of mine)
2. Add Baileys a little at a time and mix well. I havent specified how much Baileys (after all who am I to judge) but you want a thick pouring consistency

Oreo Cocktail (Cookies and Cream Cocktail)

I have a few of the cutest babysham glasses from the 60's (a bit like a martini glass) and this gave me a chance to use them.  In terms of decorating for this cocktail you can dip the rim in water as you would for salting a rim but instead of dipping it in salt you can use oreo crumbs instead.  The other thing that you can do is to just stick a whole oreo in the cocktail for dipping purposes.

Oreos
Galliano/Baileys
Cream

Method

1. In a blender put a glassful of ice, a shot of cream a shot of alcohol
2. Blend baby blend
3. Add an Oreo
4. Blend baby Blend
5. Pour in prepared glass
6. If you want to make it a bit more swish consider adding some chocolate vodka

Milk and Cookies Cocktail Party

Milk and Cookies was the theme for my birthday this year.  But it was a little less innocent than the name suggests.  Normally I would use 1 part alcohol to 4 or 5 parts base but due to the amount of ice I upped the alcohol content to taste.

Drinks
Obviously there was milk but I popped some ice-cubes in the blender and started mixing

• Galliano - Vanilla Liqueur
• Kahlua - Coffe Liqueur (alt. Tia Maria)
• Baileys - Irish Cream Liqueur (alt. Any Irish Cream Liquer)
• Mickey Finns Butterscotch Liqueur
• Homemade Chocolate Vodka

This is what I knew going in:
Kahlua + Milk = Brown Cow
Gad's homemade speciality - Brown Goo = Vodka + Kahlua + Vanilla Ice Cream + Coke
Kahlua + Baileys 'head' = Baby Guinness

This is what I learned:
Galliano + Milk = Tastes like a vanilla milkshake only lighter
Kahlua + Galliano = Vanilla Frappuchino
Kahlua + Chocolate Vodka = Mocha Frappuchino
Oreo Cocktail

The rest can be mixed with Milk or Cream or each other, ad. nauseum 

Cookies
Homemade and Shop Bought just cause I have this weird fondness for oreos.
(I also like Bourbon Creams but I didnt have them)