Let’s get CHEEZeeeeee… cake

Preparation Time: 40 mins

Ingredients for cream cheese mixture

500 g cream cheese

60 g caster sugar

2 cans (about 900 g) of crushed pineapple

1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

300 g thickening cream (whipped)

2 Tbsp gelatine powder, mixed with 5Tbsp water and double-boiled until dissolved

Ingredients for base

150 g digestive biscuit (crushed)

100 g melted butter

50 g cashew nuts (crushed)

Method

For Base: Mix the crushed biscuit with cashew nuts and melted butter. Press into a 8″ round spring form baking tin. Chill base in fridge for 20 minutes or leave it outside until the base is firmed.

For whipped cream: Whipped the thickening cream till rich. Leave it in the fridge to chill before use.

For cream cheese mixture: Mix cream cheese and sugar to beat until smooth. Add pineapple crushed and stir well.

Add gelatine, cream cheese mix and thickening cream on to base.

Chill in fridge for at least 3 hours.

Pickles…. ACAR

Preparation Time: 2 Days

You may consume it for up to 1 month

Ingredients

Vegetables:

4 Kg cucumber

8 tbsp salt

2 Kg cauliflower

2 Kg cabbage (China)

8 tsp salt

2 Kg carrot

4–5 tbsp oil

½ – 1 Kg roasted coarsely pounded peanuts or 150 g pounded peanut candy (kong t’ng)

1 packet sesame seeds (Seng Siong – 1.40)

Vinegar mixture for scalding the vegetables:

6 bottles vinegar (21 oz)

Ground spices (combined): (Rempah)

1 Kg shallots

½ Kg cloves garlic

20 cm piece fresh turmeric root

150 g dried chillies (depending on how spicy you want it) or (1 packet)

2 Kg sugar

Method

A) Pour 3 – 4 bottles of vinegar to boil with 2 Kg sugar. Leave to cool.

B) Saute the dried shrimp and remove from the wok.

C) Heat some oil in a wok and sauté the ground shallot and tumeric. Add in garlic and finally add in chilli.

D) When the rempah is done, mix in the dried blended shrimp. Leave to cool.

E) Add the rempah into the vinegar only when both are cool.

F) Quarter the cucumber lengthwise without peeling them. Remove its core and cut into 3–4cm long strips. Rub with salt and mix well, then leave aside for 1–2 hours. Use a muslin cloth to wrap the marinated cucumber slices, squeeze out excess liquid and sun for one whole day. Cut cauliflower into florets and sun for a few hours. Cut cabbage into squares of 2–3cm and rub lightly with salt then sun for 1–2 hours. Shred carrots into fine long strips and sun for a whole day.

G) Bring vinegar, sugar and salt to a boil. Scald the long beans rapidly. Remove and drain. As for the sun-dried vegetables blanch them separately. For cucumber and cabbage, 1–2 mins; for carrots and cauliflower, 6–7 mins. Drain the vegetables well in a colander and sun again.