Little baked cheesecakes

I hadn't baked anything yummy for ages so when my mom decided to throw a little party for my dad's birthday yesterday, I jumped at the opportunity. Even though it requires a little bit more effort, I really like the idea of these individual baked cheesecakes. Here's the recipe!

The recipe says that it makes a dozen little cheesecakes, but I was able to make 18. Score!

125 g Tennis Biscuit crumbs
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
450g ricotta cheese
450g cream cheese, softened
2 tsp vanilla essence
175 g icing sugar, sieved
3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C. Place 12 paper cases in a muffin tin. Put the biscuit crumbs into a medium bowl and stir in the bitter. Spoon tablespoons of the crumb mixture into the cases, pressing firmly into the bottom. Chill until set.
2. In a large bowl, beat the ricotta until smooth. Add the cream cheese, vanilla and icing sugar, blending until smooth.
3. Slowly add the eggs, blending well.
4. Spoon the mixture into the cases.
5. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove tin from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the paper cases and cool on a rack.

The recipe doesn't call for any sort of sauce on top of the cheesecakes, but I like the sweet, tangy fruit combined with the rich cheese so I made my own strawberry sauce. Any fruit can be used in place of the strawberries though.

Sauce:
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup water
a pinch of salt
2 cups fresh strawberries

In a saucepan, blend the cornstarch and 1 tbsp water, then add sugar, salt and remaining water. Cook the mixture over a low heat until clear and slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add strawberries and boil for 3 minutes or until fruit is slightly softened.

Cheesecake recipe from my cupcake bible, 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly. 

The Tripod reunite

Say hello to Amy and Hennis. I love these cool cats so much. I don't see them nearly as much as I would like to, we're all just too busy attempting the whole grown up thing. Our trio reunited on Friday night when we went to the Wrestlerish album launch at Arcade Empire. The lovely Laurie Levine also played. Perfect way to start the holidays, I rate. 

Question: Does a week off count as a holiday?

Answer: No.

A rather odd elderly gentleman gave us a full bottle of red wine. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right? Problem is, I hate the stuff. It's what I picture poison tastes like. Guess who got stuck holding the bottle? Moi. Guess who looked like an alcoholic hobo? Moi.

Werner Olckers from Wrestlerish

Laurie Levine

Yes, please!

Image found here.

Joburg Art Fair 2011

There were so many amazing things going on in P-Town and Jozi this weekend (STR CRD, SA Fashion Week, last Hotbox party, Vredefest). It was also the weekend that I had to work on a big assignment for International Relations. Naturally, I felt quite sorry for myself. After staring at my computer screen for three days, I decided to go to Joburg Art Fair. My sanity could just not take it anymore. My incredibly talented cousin, Alexandra Makhlouf, was also showing some her work (I plan on doing a proper post on her work soon, so watch this space) so we decided to go show some support.

I'm no  photographer so I really struggled to take decent photos without the light reflection getting in the way. Here are just some of my favourite pieces. There were so many, trust me.

By Pieter Hugo

Unraveled by Leghlogonolo Mashaba

Montevideo on My Mind by Diana Hyslop

From Generation to Generation by Motsamai Thabane

Music video x3

Quite a few local talents have released some amazeballs music videos recently. Take a look!

Die Heuwels Fantasties (Ft. Inge Beckmann)- Modus Operandi

Farryl Purkiss- Seraphine

Van Coke Kartel- Vir Almal

Zoo City: Review

I am officially an entertainment journalist for Tuks' varsity paper, the Perdeby. For my application, I had to do a movie, book or film review. I am so super excited about this new venture and the chance to write about things that I really really enjoy. As per the request of a certain special friend who lives far away (ok, not that far but Cape Town is far enough), here's what I wrote.

Zinzi December is former junkie who lives in a dingy little flat in the heart of Hillbrow’s squalor. She makes a living by conning the unsuspecting through internet scams and has a knack for finding lost items. Zinzi is also a murderer. The sloth on her back, her animal familiar, is a reminder of her crooked past and the mistakes she has made. It is against this backdrop that Zinzi finds herself helping music producer, Odi Huron, to locate the missing half of a popular teenage singing duo. 

With an unconventional heroine like Zinzi, it’s no surprise that Zoo City has caused quite a buzz in the literary world. Local author, Lauren Beukes, recently won the Arthur C. Clarke award, which is equivalent to the Oscars in the sci-fi world. Beukes combines her wild imagination with a witty narrative, to transport the reader to an alternate version of Johannesburg. It’s an eerie Jozi where criminals are identified by the animals that follow them, where muti is rife and crime and poverty are plentiful. Perhaps what makes Zoo City so captivating is that it is set in a Joburg that, although different, is not far off from the one we know now. Beukes uses the novel to mirror reality from a different perspective and to comment on topical political and social issues. 

Zoo City is one of those books that you’ll find very hard to separate with once you start reading it. Suspense absorbs you with every unexpected twist in the tail and you feel a strange sense of comfort as you engage in a supernatural world filled with tik, taxis, moegoes, chiskoppe and spaza shops. Beukes’ powerful blend of magical realism makes it very difficult, or rather impossible, to fault her writing. Zoo City is Beukes’ second novel after Moxyland, her highly-acclaimed debut novel. Beukes has followed in the footsteps of Neill Blomkamp’s film, District 9, when it comes to putting South African science fiction on the map. I suspect that Zoo City will have a cult-like following sooner or later. Once you’ve read the book, there’s no questioning why. Orwell and Adams better make some room for Lauren Beukes. Her world-class writing represents the future of South African literature while proving that local really is lekker.

Fairy tale time

Once upon a Saturday night, these three ladies (plus one who hates being photographed) went to Arcade Empire.

They were entertained by this man, Farryl Purkiss, and his mean guitar skills.

They also jammed to this insanely talented band, Isochronous, while getting showered with confetti canons.

They had fun. Lots of it.

-THE END-