Toblerone Cheesecake (No Bake)

What do you do when you have an over-supply of Toblerone? That's the question Miguel and I asked ourselves last Friday when I realized we had two huge Toblerone bars on hand. Using my phone I did a quick search on Google for some recipes that required Toblerone. There are a number but since I had ingredients to for cheesecake Miguel said I should just do Toblerone cheesecake.

I just used the no-bake mango cheesecake recipe I learned from the Maya Kitchen class I attended a few weeks ago, but instead of mangoes I used Toblerone. For the filling I crushed 5 Toblerone triangles (I put them in the freezer for about 3 hours first). Then for the glaze I melted about 6 triangles on a double broiler (I just actually just put the chocolate on a lanera and steamed it). I was planning to just let it set in the refrigerator, but since we wanted to have it for dessert I put it in the freezer for an hour to hasten it to set. Here's how it came out, next time I think I won't go for the glazed top, but my boys loved it nonetheless.

I know my Mom's going to love this so I made little tart-sized ones for her.

I know I still need to work on making it more presentable, but it turned out yummy as it looks. Hehe.

My Smurf House Cupcake

I've been meaning to learn how to bake cupcakes, so I got 2 new muffin pans last week since I was inspired by a colleague. I thought I'd try baking some cupcakes using the mix that Maya Kitchen gave me when I attended the cheesecake class. I told myself that baking using a mix would make me comfortable working on a more complicated recipe later on. So I got myself to work yesterday and here's how the cupcakes looked like.

For the life of me I have no idea why the middle part of the cupcake expanded. I have a couple of theories -- may have overmixed it or maybe because I did not put a water pan under. Beats me, but I'll likely do some research on it so I don't make the same mistake.

A couple of friends said they look like muffins. My friend, Chelle, says that they look like a Smurf's house. Another friend says they'll look like a monster on a game if I decorated them.

So I shall call my first cupcakes, the Smurf House Cupcake. For all it's worth, it turned out okay. Here's the proof:

And well... they're all gone now. Haha.

Happy to hear any cupcake baking advise if you have any.

No Bake Mango Cheesecake

I attended the Maya Kitchen Cheesecake class early this month and told myself that I'd make at least one cheesecake this month. My boys were also eager to sample it. Got some ingredients last weekend when we went grocery shopping and I immediately put myself to work.

Of course, I started with the easiest recipe -- the no-bake cheesecake. Haha.

Ingredients for the crumb crust:

1 cup crushed graham crackers (approximately 2/3 of a 200 gram pack if you don't find the crushed one)
1 cup finely chopped cashew nuts
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Ingredients for the cream cheese filling:

1 225-gram pack cream cheese (I found out that Magnolia has, it's cheaper and it tasted yummy)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups thick cream
1 Tbsp. unflavored gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water (if you can't find Knox, you can use Petroaco the local brand)
3 medium sized mangoes, chopped

An hour before you start, bring out of the fridge the following: cream cheese and butter.

How to make the crumb crust:

1. Crush the graham crackers and cashew nuts. Combine in a bowl and mix well.

2. Melt the butter (don't burn it! You'll know it's burnt if it smells like popcorn). Add to the dry mixture. Mix well.

3. Press evenly over the base of the prepared pan. (You can opt to use the bottom of a glass to press it on the pan).

4. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

How to make the cream cheese filling:

1. Prepare the gelatin mixture. Set aside to cool.

2. Mix cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer. Just use low speed and add the sugar in parts. (Or you can use a blender, but better to use an electric mixer).

3. Add the cream and mix until the mixture is smooth and well-combined. Do not over-mix though because this will create bubbles.

4. Add the cooled gelatin mixture.

5. Stir in chopped mangoes and pour into chilled crust.

6. You can refrigerate or put it in the freezer for about 3 hours (best to leave it overnight).

Here's the finished product: