Month: May 2021

Blueberry Cheesecake

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 3 Comments
Blueberry Cheesecake

Do you crave cheesecake? Growing up in New York, cheesecake was dense enough that you could stand up a fork in it. Now you can have that decadent, rich, silky, dense blueberry cheesecake without eggs. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

My mother used to make a marvelous marble cheesecake. And while I adored it, I hadn’t made it in about 40 years. Since most of the time it is just me and my husband – especially since the pandemic – making a cheesecake that serves 12 to 14 servings simply didn’t make sense. And even when I had guests, everyone was either watching their cholesterol, kept kosher or had a deathly egg allergy.

Then I came across this eggless cheesecake and it caught my eye. I had intended on making it for the Festival of Shavuot when it is traditional to eat dairy meals. However, didn’t quite get there. When I saw that it used a 6-inch springform pan I was really interested. Finally the perfect New York-style cheesecake that two people could reasonably consume in a few days! But did it taste good? Because at the end of the day, what’s the point in eating a rich dessert if it doesn’t taste great? It’s wonderful. Not too sweet and while dense and rich, it is surprisingly not super heavy. The cheesecake is creamy and has wonderful mouthfeel. And while it would be delicious with any or no topping, the blueberries add both visual appeal and a lovely counterpoint to the rich filling.

I made a few tweaks both to the instructions and to the ingredients. And while I did make the crust as directed, my husband and I decided that next time, I would likely halve the amount. There was nothing tricky about the process. I did have to purchase a 6-inch springform pan, which is easy to get online and was not expensive. But since I loved the resulting size which was perfect for 6 servings, I will definitely be using it over and over again.

The recipe called for frozen blueberries, but feel free to use fresh especially now that summer is here and they are so plentiful. You will note that the cheesecake itself uses no additional sugar beyond what is in the sweetened condensed milk. This is just the right amount of sweetness and you are left with a very clean taste that allows the creaminess of the cheesecake to shine.

If you are looking for a lighter cheesecake – also not overly sweet – try my Summer Ricotta Cheesecake or this Crostata di Ricotta.

Recipe

Blueberry Cheesecake

Yield: About 6 servings

Ingredients

Crust (This is the amount in the original recipe which makes a delicious but fairly thick crust)

250 g of crushed biscuits (Digestive or graham crackers) This is about 2.5 cups

1/2 cup (113 g) melted butter (salted or unsalted)

Filling

8 oz. (225 g) full-fat cream cheese in a block, softened

1/2 cup (120 g) heavy or double cream

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of one large lemon

Zest of 1/2 an orange

14 oz. can (396 g) of Sweetened Condensed Milk

Topping

2 cups (380 g) of fresh or frozen blueberries

1/4 cup of granulated sugar

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Zest of half of a large lemon

2 teaspoons corn starch

3 Tablespoons (44g) cold water

Blueberry Cheesecake

Directions

Lightly grease the bottom of the springform pan and line it with a round of parchment. You don’t have to do this but it will make it easy to transfer the cake off of the bottom of the tin.

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor or with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs. Do not wash the food processor. Just try to remove any excess crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and add the melted butter. Mix until all of the crumbs are moist. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 160 C.

Using a hand beater or the food processor (why dirty another utensil?) beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.

Blueberry Cheesecake

In a smallish bowl, whisk the heavy cream and corn starch until smooth. Add this to the cream cheese. Add the vanilla, sweetened condensed milk and citrus zest. Blitz until the batter is completely smooth. Pour the batter into the pan over the crumb base.

Wrap the bottom of the pan in two layers of aluminum foil to prevent any leakage. Set the pan in a baking dish large enough to hold it. I used a 9-inch square pan. Carefully add hot tap water to the pan until it comes up about half-way up the sides of the springform mold.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Place in the oven and bake for about 1 hour or until the center just slightly jiggles. Turn off the oven and leave the door ajar with the cheesecake inside. Keep the pan in there until your oven fan turns off or the cheesecake cools down. This prevents the crust from cracking.

Remove the cooled cake to a wire rack and using a sharp, flat blade, just carefully run it around the circumference of the cake. Cool the cake in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.

Meanwhile make the topping. Place the blueberries, sugar, zest and lemon juice in a heavy-bottomed pan. On medium heat, cook until the sugar dissolves. Make a slurry of the cornstarch and water (that just means that you mix the two until there is a milky, smooth liquid). Add this to the blueberry mixture and bring it to a boil. Cook until the mixture thickens up. It doesn’t have to be totally solid as it will continue thickening in the fridge, but should be the consistency of a good jam. Allow the mixture to cool.

Add the cool mixture to the top of the cheesecake. I did it in the mold, but the original had you unmold the cheesecake and then add it. Your preference.

When you are ready to serve, unlock the springform and carefully remove the ring. You can then either leave the cake on the bottom for serving or it should come off easily once the suction has been broken. Transfer to a serving plate and enjoy.

Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma Paneer)

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Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma Paneer)

Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma Paneer) is super rich, satisfying and, yes, healthy. While the original recipe called for paneer, a mild Indian white cheese, I made it using firm tofu. However you make this incredibly easy and quick curry it will be delicious. If you use canned beans, the dish will be ready in under 45 minutes and any leftovers will last for several days. But if you decide to cook up your own beans (which I did) the cooking liquid can be used in this recipe or as a base for soup.

I only started seriously cooking my own beans this year, but have found it to be both easy and thrifty. And storing dried beans takes up less space in my pantry. An additional benefit is that I don’t have to worry about exploding cans that got lost in the back of my cupboard!

My husband and I were enjoying the leftovers last night while talking about how different our diet was now from what we grew up with. As children of the 1950’s and 1960’s, meat was on the menu almost every night. Since we both grew up on the Eastern seaboard, we also ate a fair amount of fish. And unlike today, our chicken and eggs were delivered to our house by Irving, the “Chicken Man”. Why Irving also delivered fresh pizzas I couldn’t say. Our milk (whole, of course) was also delivered every few days in glass bottles. The cream always rose to the top, forming a plug when you opened the cap. In the wintertime, if the temperatures went below freezing, the bottles could explode and then we were forced to drink powdered milk – super yuck!

While I was never a huge meat eater, red meat now is pretty much reserved for holidays and a bit more in the winter as stew or in soup. Increasingly, though, our dinners are vegetarian, sometimes vegan and poultry as pretty much our only animal consumed. Living in the Midwest, our access to good fresh ocean fish is less and it tends to be VERY expensive. And I do hate the way my house smells when I cook it.

But I digress. As I have mentioned many times in this blog, we love Indian and Middle Eastern cooking (acknowledging that there are many varieties of both cuisines). Both are very fruit, veg, whole grain and pulses forward and by generously utilizing herbs and spices the dishes sing.

Kidney Bean Curry is just one more example of how we can eat healthily and well without meat. Serve the curry over some rice or with a flat bread of choice. We like to add a dollop of yogurt on top, but it is also good without if you are trying to stay away from dairy. This wonderful weeknight dinner comes from Healthy Indian Vegetarian by Chetna Makan with a couple of tweaks by me.

Recipe

Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma Paneer)

Yield: 4 to 6 servings [It may not look it, but it will make this much with rice]

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons neutral oil [I like Canola]

2 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped

1 Tablespoon freshly grated peeled ginger root

14 oz. can chopped tomatoes [I always buy fire roasted if I can]

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1.5 teaspoon garam masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 Tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) [If you don’t have this lovely herb, add 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup]

1 teaspoon sugar (light brown granulated or jaggery)

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

3 cups of cooked red kidney beans (about 400g.) [If you are cooking your own, I used 1 cup of dried beans]

18 ounces (500 ml.) of boiling cooking liquid from the kidney beans or water. [If you are using canned beans, only use the liquid if the beans are organic]

14 ounces of firm or extra firm tofu or paneer cheese, cut into 1-inch dice

Kidney Bean Curry (Rajma Paneer)

Directions

Drain and rinse the kidney beans if using canned beans. If you cooked them, simply drain the beans while reserving the liquid.

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add 1 teaspoon of the cumin seeds. As soon as they start to sizzle, add the onions and cook on medium heat until golden brown.

Add the ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the canned tomatoes, including the liquid and cover the pan. Cook for about 8 minutes or until the tomatoes are well-softened.

Remove the lid and add in the remaining cumin seeds, the other spices, sugar and salt and cook for 1 minute, stirring everything through. Add the beans and the boiling water or liquid from the beans. Cover the pan and cook on low to medium heat (just simmering) for about 30 minutes. The beans should still hold their shape but be very tender.

Stir through the tofu or paneer just enough to heat it. Serve over rice or with flat bread.

Almond Cardamom Cake

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 2 Comments
Almond Cardamom Cake

Have you ever noticed that something that you never heard of before is suddenly everywhere? This Almond Cardamom Cake is a prime example. Of course, there have been cake recipes with cardamom and almond. But this particular cake is now all over YouTube and the internet. And it has received all of the expected gushing and ooohs and aaaahs. According to The Guardian, Alice Waters says that is the one recipe that she couldn’t live without. Who am I to contradict Alice Waters, famed chef and owner of Chez Panisse? So when I was looking for something different to bake this week, I decided to try this recipe which first appeared in Niloufer Ichaporia King’s cookbook, My Bombay Kitchen. King got the recipe from a Swedish friend who got it from… well, you get the point. So here we are.

I find it fascinating that a spice so common to South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine is also prevalent in Scandinavian baking and drinks. You would be hard-pressed to find more different cuisines. While there are a few theories, including the Moors, many believe that Vikings brought cardamom back from Constantinople 1,000 years ago. However these fragrant pods arrived in the chilly north, they have come to define Swedish baking.

This is a simple cake. There is no frou frou. Not a sprinkle, dragee or frosting in sight. And frankly, that is one of the many things that it has going for it in my opinion. It’s an anytime cake. Great for an afternoon break or the perfect dessert after a well-seasoned meal. And equally delicious with your morning coffee or tea. It’s a “no excuses” kind of cake that comes together so quickly and without any fuss. In other words, it’s my kind of cake.

Almond Cardamom Cake is quite easy to make, especially if you buy cardamom already hulled. The only change I made to the recipe was to use jaggery instead of granulated sugar in the cake itself. For those of you who are unfamiliar with jaggery it is a cane sugar used often in South Asia and it lends a caramel taste to the end product. I’ve only recently begun using it and perhaps the novelty will eventually wear off, but it does seem to add a certain somethin’ somethin’ to baked goods. The original recipe calls for granulated sugar so feel free to use that instead. But if you decide to give jaggery a try, it is especially wonderful with apples, in rice pudding or with pineapple and is available through the internet or in Indian grocery stores.

So what is my verdict on this cake? It may not be a show-stopper, but it is a cake that I could gladly eat without ever tiring of it. The inside is fluffy, moist and fragrant. The outside has a lovely sugary crispness, which is enhanced by the sliced almonds. And while there is no citrus in the cake, I found that there were citrusy undertones, which likely come from the cardamom. SO unless you are craving loads of frosting or think that a cake isn’t special without sprinkles, give this delicious cake its due. You’ll be glad that you did.

Recipe

Almond Cardamom Cake

Yield: One 9-inch cake

Ingredients

1.33 cups (264 g) granulated sugar or powdered jaggery, plus more for the pan

Scant 3/4 cup (65g) sliced, unblanched almonds

4 large eggs

1.33 sticks (150 g) unsalted butter

1 Tablespoon (9 g) cardamom seeds

1.33 cups (160 g) all-purpose, unbleached flour

2 pinches of kosher salt

Directions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan. Place a disk of parchment on the bottom of the pan and butter that as well. Then spoon about 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar into the bottom of the pan. Carefully angle the pan, tapping as you go until the bottom and sides are well coated with the sugar. If there is any excess, just leave it on the bottom.

Cover the bottom of the pan with the sliced almonds.

Almond Cardamom Cake

Using a standing or hand-held mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until tripled in volume and they have reached ribbon stage. This takes between 3 to 5 minutes. You can do this by hand if you have a powerful arm and want a good workout!

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a saucepan. “Bruise” the cardamom seeds using a mortar and pestle or a rolling pin. You don’t want them ground up – just slightly crushed or cracked to release their essence.

Almond Cardamom Cake

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the flour and salt into the egg mixture, trying not to deflate it too much. Then add the melted butter and cardamom.

Almond Cardamom

Give the batter a good stir through so that everything is well distributed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and thump the pan on the counter to get out air bubbles.

Bake in the middle of your oven until the top feels dry and springs back when lightly pressed. The original recipe said 30 to 35 minutes, but ovens can vary so much. Mine took about 45 minutes but I also had my springform pan on a baking sheet to catch any drips (there weren’t any). Remove the cake from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Then take a thin blade and gently go all around the sides of the pan to make sure that the cake doesn’t stick anywhere. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack and loosen the springform. Remove the ring and carefully take off the bottom. My parchment stuck with the pan, but if it stays with the cake, then gently remove that and allow the cake to cool completely before cutting. It lasts for several days and will become even more flavorful.

For other unfussy but absolutely delicious cakes:

Rye Chocolate Crumb Cake

Orange Semolina Cake

Summer Ricotta Cheesecake

Valentine’s Day Cake

Lemon Semolina Almond Cake

Basbousa (Semolina, Coconut and Pistachio Cake

Maialino’s Olive Oil Cake with Roasted Strawberries