Ultra creamy, rich and moist chocolate cheesecake baked in a chocolate cookie crust. This would be a festive X'mas treat! For best results, make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. The cheesecake is done when the sides are set and the center is slightly wiggly.

1. Grease a 10 inch springform pan and line with a baking paper. To prepare the crust, combine and sieve first five ingredients first in a bowl, cut in butter and egg until a smooth dough forms. Press firmly on the bottom and sides of prepare pan. Use a fork to prick the crust in regular intervals. Cover and chill the crust for 30 minutes.
   
2. Pre-heat oven to 200C/400F. Stir chopped chocolate and sugar in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water and stir in the vanilla extract. Let cool briefly until lukewarm but still pourable.
   
3. Blend quark and cream cheese in another bowl until smooth. Add in cocoa powder and pudding powder. Stir to combine. Blend in eggs, one at a time. Gently stir in lukewarm chocolate until completely blended. Pour filling over crust. Press cherries lightly into chocolate mixture if using. Bake until the filling is set, about 50 minutes. Turn off the oven and let cool in oven with door ajar for about 1 hour. Take out and cool completely. Chill the cake overnight.
   
4. In a pot, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add in cherry, lemon juice and stir until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and let cool. Drizzle the chocolate cheesecake with cherry sauce or simply just dust with icing sugar.

Fruit chutneys are basically made by boiling fruit in acid, sugar and spices, and then simmering to reduce the liquids and fruit become soft and tender. Enjoy it with meats, chicken or curry dishes.

Chutney is an Anglo-Indian loan word derived from caṭnī, a term for a class of spicy preparations used as an accompaniment for a main dish. Chutneys usually contain idiosyncratic spice and vegetable mix that complement one another.
Chutneys usually are wet, having a coarse to fine texture. The Anglo-Indian loan word refers to fresh and pickled preparations indiscriminately, with preserves often sweetened. At least several Northern Indian languages use the word for fresh preparations only. A different word achār applies to preserves that often contain oil but are rarely sweet. Vinegar or citrus juice may be added as preservatives, or fermentation in the presence of salt may be used to create acid. Wikipedia

1. Rinse the prunes, apples and onion clean. Pat them dry with kitchen towel. Cut prunes lengthwise into strips. Peel, core and dice the apples. Cut the onion into thin wedges.
   
2. Place onion, raisins, prunes, ginger, mustard seeds, chillie, allspice, vinegar, sugar, and 2/3 of the water in a large saucepan. Set over medium-high heat, and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed, about 40 minutes.
   
3. Add the diced apples and the rest of the water. Stirring frequently, cook until apples are soft and translucent and liquid has been absorbed, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Transfer chutney immediately to jars.

A delicious and fruity salsa to serve with grilled fish, pork or chicken, or to enjoy as an appetizer. Not only versatile and delicious, salsa is extremely easy to make.

1. Combine diced mango, tomato, onion, and parsley in a medium bowl. Drizzle lime juice over mixture and toss.
   
2. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

A real classic, easy and delicious winter dish with "Knorr Fix", combining ground meat (beef, or pork or a mix of two), bell peppers, and rice in a flavourful yummy tomato sauce.

1. Cut purple onions and bell pepper into small chunks. Set aside. Heat up a pot or a deep pan with oil over the medium heat. Add in ground meat and onions and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
   
2. Stir in paprika chunks and rice and stir briefly. Pour in water and Knorr fix. Stir to combine and bring to boil. Stir in the kidney beans and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Fresh strawberry and cream cheese are a great inviting flavour combination. It is a light and delicious cheesy treat to fulfill anyone's sweet tooth.

1. Preheat oven to 175C/350F. Spray a 8-10 inch bundt cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
   
2. In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter or margarine, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.
   
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter mixture gradually. Toss the diced strawberries with 2 tablespoons of flour and fold into the mixture until incorporated. Spoon the batter into the prepared baking pan. If you are using an 8-inch pan, you might have some extra batter left, just fill some muffin cups to make some mini cakes.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let the cake rest in the pan for 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Starch gelatinization is a process that breaks down the intermolecular bonds of starch molecules in the presence of water and heat, allowing the hydrogen bonding sites (the hydroxyl hydrogen and oxygen) to engage more water. Starch begins to gelatinize between 60C and 70C, the exact temperature depends on the specific starch. For example, different starches exhibit different granular densities, which affect the ease with which these granules can absorb water.

1. Add all dough ingredients, except butter, in a mixing bowl fixed with a dough hook and beat at slow speed for 1 minute. Switch to the medium speed, and continue to beat for 3 minutes until a dough forms. Cut in butter gradually and mix for approx. 5 minutes until gluten is fully developed, i. e. elastic, smooth, non-sticky and leaves from sides of mixing bowl.
   
2. Place the dough in a lightly greased mixing bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently punch down the dough to expel the air. Let rest for 15 minutes. Roll and shape the dough into 30cmx40cm rectangle to fit the baking tray. Cover and let rise in warm place for 40 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 175C/350F. Combine pork floss and seaweed crumbs. Use the tines of a fork to prick the top of dough, then brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with chopped onions and sesame seeds and bake for about 15 minutes.
   
   
4. Gently invert the bread on a parchment paper. Thinly spread with mayonnaise and cut a few slits at one edge of the bread. Be careful to cut the slits half-way through the bread only. This increases the flexibility of bread roll-up. Sprinkle with the pork floss mixture and roll up while still warm. Cut the bread into the sections to your desired length after 30 minutes. Spread the cutting sides with some mayonnaise and pork floss.

A little while ago, when I saw this spicy eggplant stir-fry from one of my favourite foodie blogs: The Little Teochew, who has a large selection of delicious recipes. I knew I would love a vegetable dish like this too. So I have decided giving it a try last weekend. Since there are just dried chillies and cherry tomatoes in my pantry, I have changed the recipe a little bit, but the eggplant dish still tasted very delicious with some steamed white rice.

1. Finely chop the garlic cloves, shallots and chillies. Place them in a bowl. Dice the tomatoes and add into the garlic mixture. Set aside. Cut the eggplants into thick strips. Heat some oil in a frying pot. Lower the eggplant strips into the hot oil and fry they have turned light golden. Remove and drain off excess oil.
   
   
2. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil in a skillet, stir-fry the tomato mixture until aromatic. Return the fried eggplant into the skillet, seasoning with salt and sugar to taste, and then stir all the ingredients until combined. Dish up and garnish it with chopped spring onions and crisp fried shallots if desired. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Quark is a fresh cheese of East European origin. It is soft, white and un-aged similar to fromage frais. It is not the same thing as cream cheese or cottage cheese. Quark is often used in sandwiches, salads, and cheesecake in Germany.

Recipe source: Frießinger Mühle

1. Beat sugar and butter until you until you've got a smooth mixture. Beat in egg yolks until creamy and smooth. Add in quark and lemon juice and stir until well-combined.
2. Mix semolina, baking powder and baking soda and add to the butter-quark mixture. Whip the egg whites until they are stiff. Fold into the batter. Carefully add in mango.
   
3. Spread the batter into an 8-9 inch greased baking tin and sprinkle almonds on top. Bake at 190C/375F for about 45 minutes.