How To Make Cheesecake

I’ve been in the process of perfecting a baked cheesecake recipe and I won’t be changing it much more after this latest version.
When I say ‘perfecting’, I mean to my personal taste…meaning a substantial, flavoursome base, New-York-type real vanilla cheesecake with some density in its texture but not too claggy (so it’s still refreshing), with an element of tartness, in this case raspberries.
My plan was to develop a gluten-free base as an option but this turned out so well I’m not saving it for necessary dietary requirements! It just proves how working within limited parameters can sometimes be a positive thing. Click on more to see the recipe…
Ingredients (for an 8″ cheesecake)
Gluten Free Base:
Ingredients:
75g Buckwheat Flour
40g Cornflour
75g Chestnut Flour
60g Light Muscavado Sugar
Pinch of Salt
100g Butter (room temperature / slightly softened)
75g Butter (melted - this is to mix with the above mixture after it’s baked)
Method:
Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3
Mix the dry ingredients together and rub in the 100g Butter until a crumbly mix forms which you could form into a ball and roll out as biscuits or pastry if you wanted to, but leave it in crumble / streusel form for this.
Spread the crumble onto a lightly greased or lined baking tray and bake for about 7 minutes before taking it out and stirring around a bit to ensure fairly even baking. Return to the oven for another 7 minutes or until the crumble is just getting crunchy without burning.
Allow the crumble to cool for at least an hour before making into the base.
To make into the cheesecake base, put the crumble into a food processor and process just enough to make an uneven ‘rubble’. Add the melted butter and process one pulse at-a-time until combined.
Line an 8″/20cm loose-bottomed sponge tin with baking parchment (or butter wrappers) so that the parchment extends an inch or so above the top (the cheesecake’s quite deep).
Press the Base mixture into the bottom of the tin.
Cheesecake Mix:
700g Medium Fat Soft Cheese (eg Philadelphia - not the reduced fat version though)
150g Soured Cream
175g Unrefined Caster Sugar
25g Cornflour
2 Eggs
1tsp Vanilla Extract
A generous handful of frozen raspberries.
Method:
Set oven at 150C/300F/Gas2.
Put the Soft Cheese, Soured Cream and Caster Sugar in a food processor and mix until smooth. Srape down the sides.
Sprinkle the Cornflour over the top of the mix and process until blended.
Add the Eggs and Vanilla and process until blended. Scrape down the sides and process for another few seconds.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared base.
Scatter some frozen Raspberries on the top.
Bake for about an hour - the cheesecake should be just set but retain a slight wobble in the centre which will firm up as it cools.

Red Velvet Cupcakes and My Big Moment on Just Desserts

　　
I don’t make a lot of cupcakes, but since I’ve always been fascinated by the red velvet cake, I decided to try a version based on this venerable American classic. 　　I’ve gotten so many requests for cupcakes and red velvet cakes that I figured I’d kill two food wishes with one video. They came out really well, and as I tasted, I actually caught myself daydreaming about being on Top Chef Just Desserts.
I imagined I’d furiously finished frosting these red velvet cupcakes just as time expired (I think the faux-hawked prima donna with the Jacques Torres tattoo next to me hid the cream cheese to screw me over). I bring them up to the judge’s table, and watch as the lovely Gail Simmons takes a big bite. She swallows, smiles, and then says, “Really not that bad for a food blogger.” Okay, so she’s too classy to ever say that, but still, it would be pretty cool.

Anyway, back to reality. I will also post the cream cheese frosting recipe next week, just in case you’re wondering. I joke about the red food coloring in the clip, and it does give the cake such a unique look, but feel free to leave it out if that’s not your thing. 　　Party season is upon us, and what holiday dessert table wouldn’t benefit from a plate of these classic cupcakes? It would be like Johnny Iuzzini's face without the side burns. In other words, just not as good. I hope you give these a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 12 Red Velvet Cupcakes:
Dry:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
Wet:
4 tablespoons softened butter
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
Bake at 350 for about 22 minutes

Dessert review: Meso Maya in Dallas

I’ve been getting more e-mails from people telling me that I need to sample the Pastel de Moras from Meso Maya than I get about my Nigerian Lottery winnings or about how I really need to do something about the size of my penis.
I could wait no longer! This place hasn’t been open for that long and the word is out. They don’t take reservations, so prepare for a wait on a Friday or Saturday night. The strip mall location at Preston and Forest was packed on a Friday night and I settled in for my hour wait for a table with good friends at 7 p.m. The weather was beautiful and I managed to steal a seat on the comfortable patio furniture from the Bettie White look-alike.
Once we finally got seated, I prepared the table for the masterpiece I had heard so much about. We were also drooling at the description of the other desserts. We formed a pact right then and there, that no matter how full we were, we needed three of the desserts on the menu. See, this, folks, is why I love my friends. Never one to back out on a pact or a pinky swear; they understand the importance of dessert.
An hour, several cocktails, and many delicious dishes later, dessert was served. Now, since I consider us to all be good friends by now, I will gift you this one piece of advice. If you do nothing today, do this: Go to Meso Maya and order the Pastel de Moras. The Pastel de Moras is a skillet blueberry cake paired with vanilla bean ice cream. This is a blueberry muffin on crack. It is the Johnny Depp of blueberry muffins. The blueberry “cake” is baked in a cast iron skillet, which is the best part. It gives the edges a crispy texture and the warm blueberries practically melt in your mouth. Pair that with a bite of the vanilla ice cream, and well, I may need some alone time, and extra napkins.

                           
Next up is the Crepas Con Cajeta, which is a buttermilk crepe, caramelized plantains, goat milk caramel, pecans, and vanilla bean ice cream. Think Mexican bananas foster. Not everyone at the table loved it, but I did love the taste of the rich, ripe, cooked plantains with the tart goat milk caramel. It is definitely a taste you have to get used to because when you take a bite, it tastes completely different than you would expect, but that is exactly what I loved about it.
Lastly, we ordered the Pastel de Chocolate, which is a double layer Mexican chocolate cake with strawberry sauce and Rompope. I am a huge fan of the slightly spiced Mexican chocolate cake, and the dollop of muddled strawberries on top was fantastic. However, I fully believe that the Rompope made this dish complete. Rompope is a type of Mexican egg nog, and I am no stranger to the sauce. However, I would have liked to seen more of it on the plate or perhaps infusing the frosting with Rompope? Hell, just bring me the bottle.

                          
Between all the actual sugar and the sugar from the alcohol metabolizing, I was soon about to crash. Once I did, it was not sugarplums I was dreaming about, but the delicious Pastel de Moras whom I plan to meet again very soon.