Oreo Orange Cheesecake 香橙乳酪蛋糕

Its been a while since I baked a cheesecake as my baby girl had developed allergy reaction the last time I offered her a slice of the Japanese Soft Cheesecake. She is fine with Cheddar and Parmesan cheese but unfortunately not cream cheese.

Anyway, I decided to bake again as my little boy really enjoyed the cheesecakes I used to bake. I baked this Oreo Orange Cheesecake with drops of fresh blueberries, there is a fine balance of cheese and the zesty orange juice that made the cake turned out really nice. My little boy absolutely loved it, even Big Guy gave me that satisfying hmmmm and asked for more slices instantly.

While variety of cheesecakes are easily available in the bakery stores, making it fresh from home allows me to decide on the ingredients used. I will usually replace the white sugar with organic raw sugar or brown sugar as a healthier replacement (where the recipe allows) and I'll reduce the amount of sugar used by 30-40%, especially when I am using other ingredients that are sweet in nature, such as fresh orange, baking chocolates, chocolate chips etc.

Anyway, lets take a look at the recipe, shall we? 

Preparation Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serving for: 1 8" x 8"square cake

Ingredients:

(A) For the Crust:

150gm Oreo cookie crumbs 

50gm unsalted butter, soften at room temperature & cut into cubes (I heat it up in microwave for 10 seconds)

(B) For the filling:
500gm cream cheese, cut into cubes (see foot note)
80gm organic raw sugar (you may used normal sugar and increase the amount if you like)
1 tbsp all purpose flour

Zest of a lemon

Zest and juice of a medium size orange

2 medium eggs
80gm sour cream (I used light sour cream)
1 palmful of fresh blueberries / raspberries (optional)

Making of Oreo Orange Cheesecake

The Making:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C / 325°F. Line an 8"x 8" square baking pan with aluminium foil on the base, ensure the foil is spread out smoothly.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the Oreo cookie crumbs and butter cubes. Mix well using a spatula until butter all melt in. Using a spoon, press them into the base of the  baking pan and spread out evenly. Leave it to chill in the freezer for about 10 minutes.
3. Using a clean mixing bowl or electric mixer, gradually add all ingredient B into the bowl and mix well, in sequence as listed above, make sure you add the sour cream last. Constantly stirring the mixture until it is smooth and no lump observed. It took me about 10 minutes with a manual hand mixer.
4. Pour the mixture into the baking pan with the Oreo crumbs base, sprinkles some blueberries / raspberries if desired but it is really optional. Tap the pan on the table top lightly to ensure the mixture is evenly spread out and the berries sink in.
5. Bake the cake for 1 hour. Leave the cake to cool on a rack before chilling it in the fridge for at least 2 hour or overnight before serving.

This cheesecake should be eaten chilled. Serve it with a cup of coffee or a mug of fresh milk and enjoy the creamy, cheesy sensation that is oh-so-satisfying!


The mixture, right before entering the oven..


Fresh from oven! Tangy cheesy aroma filled the air..


Ta-da, nicely removed from the tray!



Useful Tips!

• The Oreo cookies crumbs can be found in most bakery supply store. However, if you are not able to buy the ready crumbs, just get a large packet of Oreo cream cookies, remove the cream filling, place the cookies into a ziplock bag and crust them using a rolling pin until fine. Easy peasy!

• Before removing the cheesecake out from the pan, run a knife along the 4 sides of the cake before pushing it out slowly, this is to avoid cracks on the cake surface.
• Some oven temperature may varied after using for some times, like in my case it was off by 20°C and I used to puzzle why my cake came out overdone. So invest in an oven thermometer so your bake your food at the right temperature, even an low end one will do.

A Note About Cream Cheese...
When offering cheese for the first time to your little one, do watch out for potential allergy reaction. My little girl for one, is allergic to cream cheese where she suffered skin rashes on her body for over 2 weeks. If you would like to find out more, read about the types of cheese and the nutrition content in my earlier article, Cheese & Little Ones.