cheesecake

New York Cheesecake

Crust:
2 cups (190 grams) of graham wafer crumbs or finely crushed vanilla wafers or gingersnaps
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
32 ounces (1 kg) (4 - 8 ounces packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (200 grams) white sugar
3 tablespoons (40 grams) all purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons (30 grams) white sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Grease a 9 inch (23 cm) springform pan. Place the springform pan on a larger baking pan to catch any leakage while the cheesecake is baking. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with rack in center of oven.
For Crust:
In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.54 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.
For Filling:
In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake for about another 1 1/2 hours or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).
Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. This cheesecake tastes best after being refrigerated for at least a day.
Serve with fresh fruit or fruit sauces.
Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cheesecake.

Tips: Sometimes the surface of the cheesecake cracks. To help prevent this from happening do not overbeat the batter, especially when creaming the cheese and sugar.
Another reason for cracking is overbaking the cheesecake. Your cheesecake is done when it is firm but the middle may still look a little wet.

Wish I could take credit for this recipe but I found it on the Joy of Baking website :-)

puree de carottes

Puree de Carottes

5 or 6 medium size carrots

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/4 cup milk

1 tbsp butter

salt/pepper

Boil the carrots and garlic until very tender. Drain. Then either in a mixer or with a potato masher mash the carrots with the butter until fairly smooth, add a little bit of milk at a time to get a creamy texture. Salt and pepper to taste.

I love this, the first time I ate with a French family we had mashed carrots and it was delish! I had never heard of mashing them before but I love it. Yesterday I found a great deal on carrots at the market and stocked up. Since I had so many I thought I'd try out this recipe for the first time, turned out great!

apple crumble/crisp/cobbler

Apple Crumble

4 or 5 apples (just over 1 apple per person)

1 cup brown sugar (sucre vergoise)

1 cup oats (apparently oats in themselves are gluten free but can easily be contaminated by other grains)

80 g butter

Slice and peel the apples and lay them in a large baking dish. In a medium bowl mix the sugar and oats together then roughly slice the butter and mix it all together. I like to use my hands to get the butter really mixed in. It should resemble wet sand in consistancy when all mixed.*

Crumble the topping over the apples and bake at 350F (180C) for about 30 minutes. It will be done when the top is golden brown and you can see the apples bubbling underneath.

*You can also sprinkle in some cinnamon!

In the summer I like to vary it with peaches and blueberries :-)

stovetop popcorn

Stovetop Popcorn

*popcorn kernels

*vegetable oil

With this easy way to make popcorn its all about proportions. Take any size pot and pour in 1 layer of popcorn kernels, making sure they just cover the bottom of the pot.

Add vegetable oil until it just barely covers the kernels. The put the lid (or if you're like me and don't have any lids - crip aluminum foil around the top of the pot) and place over the burner. When the first few kernels start to pop start moving the pot over the burner so it doesn't stay in one spot and burn the popcorn. When the popping becomes less frequent take it off the heat and eat away!

I started making popcorn this way when I realized how expensive microwave popcorn is in France. You can find the kernels in most big grocery stores in the spice area for a much better price.