Cooking @ Dawn: Coconut Rum Cheesecake (Birthday Edition)

Kizzy Rennie Friday, July 03, 2015 Post Comment

Seeing that this was my last birthday celebration in China, I really wanted to bake something that represented me. I'm not sure if this happens to a lot of sweet tooth owners but I not a traditional cake person. If you want to see me go crazy, try placing a cream cheese frosting carrot cake, or apple bread with crushed nuts. I also have a very soft spot for cheese cake, especially as it's a rarity in China. Asian cheese cakes usually use cream cheese more like a butter substitute instead of the star ingredient so a customized order wasn't an option.

First I settled on a flavour-Coconut Rum. If the reasons aren't obvious, put it this way. Imagine you just landed on a tropical island, what's the first thing you want to be served? See? Coconut and rum wins every time.

That being said, this isn't a popular cheese cake flavour, so I was on my own. No graham crackers meant DIY crust of caramelised biscuits from the imported section and coconut floss.

No food processor? That's why there are blenders and even Ziploc bags and a rolling pin.

A whir there and a burr there and crunchy coconut bliss. Then a little melted butter for strategic hold.

Now unto the real task. Usual suspects in a cheese cake are butter, eggs, sour cream and hello, cream cheese. Not only is sour cream in the supermarket never but why worry about that when you have coconut milk and a tinge of lemon juice. For a softer cake, purchase milk with over 30% fat content. Then you can chill overnight and scoop out the settled cream. And don't forget the rum.

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Once you got your consistency and flavour to personal perfection, stick in the oven and babysit right through. To avoid a cracked surface, you can try the water bath technique. And most importantly, actually baby sit your cake.

With your remaining coconut cream and rum, in this case, Clarke's Court Pure White, whip up a rich sauce to accompany each slice.