Recipe: Polka dot cheesecake

Who can ever forget about lovely polka dot? On a sweet summer dress, runways of Marc Jacobs... and cheesecakes? I always been a bit of a foodie since I was little, and one of my favourites of all is probably the cheesecake. Polka dots AND cheesecake? Delicious. When I saw the recipe on The Baker's Daughter, I know that I have to try it as a summer project.

How to Recipe: Polka dot cheesecake

    You will need these: 

      Crust
          1 cup Graham crumbs

          ¼ cup cocoa

          2 tbsp sugar

          ¼ cup melted butter

       Filling

          16 oz softened cream cheese

          ½ cup sugar

          2 eggs

          2 oz dark chocolate, melted 

          1 tsp vanilla

          2/3 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Grease a 7 X 7 inch square pan and line it with parchment paper.

3. Mix the graham crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and melted butter together in a small bowl, and press into the pan.

4. Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually add the sugar.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Add the eggs one at a time on low speed.  Add vanilla and sour cream.  Scrape the sides of the bowl one more time and beat until smooth.  Reserve 1/2 cup of the cheesecake filling and set aside.

5. Melt the 2 oz of dark chocolate in a bain marie (a bowl placed over a pot of barely simmering water), or in a microwave on low temperature.  Stir the melted chocolate into the reserved 1/2 cup of cream cheese filling.  

6. Pour the plain batter into the pan, smoothing out to the edges.  To make the dots you will need a pastry bag fitted with a round tip.  Fill the pastry bag with the chocolate cheesecake mixture.  Gently press the tip of the bag into the smoothed out plain cheesecake and squeeze the bag forming a dot.  Place dots all over the cheesecake until the chocolate mixture is used up.  

7. Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional 1 hr.  Refrigerate for at least 24 hours.   Freeze if you wish for about 1/2 hour before cutting.  Use a knife dipped in hot water to help when cutting.

photo + recipe source: the baker's daughter

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty//Master of His Designs

It had been a year since one of the fashion legends, Lee Alexander McQueen, passed away in February. Known for his boundary-breaking fashion and unexpected themes, Alexander McQueen is always one of my favourite brands in my heart(ah, who can forget those Armadillo shoes? Or the corsets that made Abbey Lee fainted? OR the flowers falling out of the dress from Spring 2007? My favourite McQueen moments ♥) And if you are just like me, and just happen to be in New York at the moment, go the the Met Museum and visit the Savage Beauty exhibition. 

Highland Rape, Autumn/Fall 1995/96. According to McQueen, it actually represents the rape of Scotland by England, instead of the raping of women. (Note: to those who don't know, McQueen was Scottish-decent)

No. 13, Spring/Summer 1999. Remember the two robots spraying paint on Shalom Harlow and her white dress? The spraying is like a piece of art itself to me. Shalom Harlow was trained as a ballerina, so the whole thing is as dramatic and graceful as it can get.

Sorry for using photos from the Met website, but no cameras are allowed at the Met unless you want to get scream at by menacing-looking Met security guards. Enough said *cough*cough*

Irere, Spring/Summer 2003 - "Oyster" dress. McQueen was inspired by a shipwreck at sea, like the girl is drowning. They called it a piece of couture at full force and reference to the skills at which McQueen learned at Givenchy. I just want this as my wedding dress.

Sarabande, Spring/Summer 2007. Described as darkly romantic, McQueen used flowers because they die. It was an amazing dress, including in which the flowers kept falling out in presentation. The model looked so awkward, she's trying to be professional while her flowers were falling out. Teehee. 

Widows of Culloden. Autumn/Winter 2006/2007. Based on the final battle of Jacobite Risings, the collection is full of exaggerated silhouettes inspired by the 1880's, as seen above. I read in Vogue that McQueen and Burton cut out the pattern of the lace to create their own pattern since McQueen hated gathering.

Showcasing McQueen's work from his start to last collection, which was almost finished until he took his own life. His Central St. Martins grad collection, was discovered by the late Isabella Blow and kinda his first big break. Structured jackets and careful, delicate embroiders became a McQueen signature from then on.

The Girl Who Lived In A Tree, Autumn/Winter 2008. Inspired by queens of England. Novelty red, full of rich detailed embroideries and accessories. Dreamy, romantically nationalistic, well-dressed fairy queens. According to internet sources, the show is a fairy tale, about a girl dressed in beautiful black rags(first half of the show), met her prince and started descending from the tree. I wish I live in that fairy tale.

  

Angels and Demons(as named), Autumn/Winter 2010/2011. A look into the Dark Ages, and reminding to find light in the darkest of times. The collection was finished by Sarah Burton.

The accessories are put along side some of the most dramatic presentations(chess game of Spring/Summer 2005, anyone?) Most famous accessories such as the Armadillo shoes(which Lady Gaga wore in the infamous "Bad Romance" video), the Philip Treacy butterfly hat(a homage to the late Isabella Blow, which the collection was inspired by, Spring/Summer 2008) and countless others.

So, promise me, go to the Met and paid your respect to this great artist?

photo source: met website

What would you do for perfect skin?

Once upon a time, say, 5 years ago, I was blessed with the girl's best accessory: perfect skin. No pores, no pimples, just smooth and the right shade of tan, like the skin in the M.A.C. campaigns. Shameless self bragging, but I was easily the envy of the class, along with my pin-straight hair and slim figure. But that was obviously because I was nine, young and carefree, not because of my lack of using any skincare at all.

Flash-forward to now, in which I am hitting my early teen years. Gone was the perfect, smooth zit-less skin. In their place are an oily, greasy forehead and, God forbid, pinkish pimples scattering on all the wrong places. No more burying my head into the book, and I'm forced to face the music, as know as the pre-puberty bad skin. During spare time, instead of going out like a normal person, I will drop by at the nearest drugstore I can find and try to learn the difference between a cleanser and a moisturizer(note to beauty gurus and bloggers out there: I know you're probably shaking your heads disapprovingly at me right now, but sadly, I'm one of those people who never touch face creams unless I'm forced to)

However, starting a few steps behind everyone in beauty does had a disadvantage. What kind of products should I use? Everyone has different ideas, "You should use *insert product* from *insert brand*! It's the best *insert product* you can ever use!" with such enthusiasm that I"m convinced that they are secretly the PR's for the brand. Eventually, I end up doing what most people did: test and try everything I can afford and get until I can find the perfect ones for me and my skin. 

clean & clear persa-gel 10 acne medication gel//cetaphil cleanser//neutrogena oil-free moisture SPF 15

Here's the million-dollar question! What would YOU do for perfect skin? Comment or tweet @mwong1025 on Twitter. 

1st Blogging Anniversary

I still can't believe I started this blog a year ago due to pure boredom of the summer. A lot of things had changed since then. I hope I'll still be blogging for the next couple of years. Thanks to all my readers, love you :D And all your comments and emails. I used to not really care how much followers or comments I have, but hearing from you guys make my day anyway. 

StyleMint Launches!

StyleMint, the t-shirt line by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, just launches yesterday! Basically when you go into the website, you take a small and short style quiz showing your preferences. After you register, it shows you how to style the current t-shirts, which are Fillmore, No...is a full sentence, Melrose and Prince, in Modern, Classic Chic and Runway. I got Runway and it shows innovative, risk-taker, AVANT-GARDE, experimental and visionary, and each style got its own adjectives. My favourite? Probably Fillmore or No...is a full sentence. Can't wait to see next month's collection. Click here to join now.

photo sources: stylemint, olsenannonymous