Amazing Creamy Cheesecake

Cheesecakes are an amazing dessert, the flavor possibilities are endless! I've tried making all kinds of cheesecake recipes... quick and easy, complicated and time consuming, ones you bake and ones you don't, very light and refreshing cheesecakes, others that are rich and dense, some have a very strong cheese flavor, and others are mostly sweet. Recently tried a new recipe, and I have to say it's by far the best cheesecake I've ever made! The one word I'd use to describe this cheesecake is... Creamy!

I first saw this recipe on Allrecipes.com. On their web site it's called "Strawberry Cheesecake" by Luverene Dove. I made a few alterations to Luverene's recipe and came up with this:

Creamy Cheesecake
Crust:
1- 13oz. pkg. pecan sandies cookies
1/3 to 1/2 C melted butter
Crush cookies then add melted butter until it comes together. Press into a springform pan. Chill.

Cheesecake:
3- 8oz. pkgs cream cheese (2 regular and 1 Neufchatel)
1- 14oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbs. lemon juice
3 eggs
Bring all the ingredient to room temperature. Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and sweetened condensed milk then beat well. Add eggs and mix just until combined. (Over mixing at this point will cause the top to crack while baking.) Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack, then refrigerate overnight.

Strawberry Topping:
3 C pureed fresh strawberries
2 Tbls. cornstarch
1/2 C granulated sugar
Mix together cornstarch and sugar. Add strawberries and mix well. Heat in a saucepan and stir until it comes to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Using half of the strawberry mixture, spoon dollops on top of the cheesecake batter then lightly swirl. Refrigerate the other half of the sauce and use later as an additional topping for the cheesecake. (You change the flavor of the topping recipe by using other fruits. If you so this, however, you may need to adjust the amount of sugar and/or cornstarch.)

Bake at 300 degrees for 50 minutes or until the center is almost set. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack, then refrigerate overnight.

If you prefer your cheesecake plain, don't worry. This recipe's just as delicious all by itself without any toppings. So the next time you're craving cheesecake (especially creamy cheesecake)... try this one. You won't be disappointed!

My Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Have you ever tried a cupcake from one of those fancy upscale bakeries? You take one bite and notice that the cupcake's frosting is the smoothest, creamiest, most velvety feeling buttercream you've ever eaten! It tastes less sweet than regular buttercream, and it seems to magically melt on your tongue. Well, chances are the cupcake was frosted with a meringue based buttercream. It was probably either Italian or Swiss meringue buttercream. Today I'm discussing Swiss meringue buttercream or SMBC.

Some people have a difficult time making SMBC. The most common complaint is that the end result often tastes like whipped butter! The first time I tried making SMBC I ran into this same problem. Spreading something that tastes like plain old butter on my yummy sweet cupcake doesn't sound very appealing to me! To prevent the overpowering butter taste "experts" say you should:

• only use unsalted butter
• never eat it cold
• add large amounts of flavoring
• never use in it the heat... it melts too easily

I tried each of these solutions and found:

• If you use only unsalted butter, it lacks something in taste. I compare it to eating bread or cookies that are made without any salt... just not a full rounded flavor!
• I like eating SMBC when it's a little cold. Plus I prefer having the option of eating it either cold or at room temperature.
• I'm frugal... I don't like using half a bottle of my expensive flavoring to cover up the overpowering butter flavor.
• Yes it's true, SMBC does not hold up well in the heat. It contains a LOT of butter, so the butter's going to melt if it gets too warm. My recipe helps this problem just a bit... but I still would never use it at an outdoor summer event. I replace a small amount of butter with high ratio shortening. This helps the SMBC hold up better in the heat, and it also helps cut the extreme butter flavor. DO NOT use regular shortening such as Crisco in this recipe! If you do you'll end up with that horrible, awful, greasy, shortening coated mouth feeling. YUCK!!! You can buy high ratio shortening at most cake decorating supply stores or online. I prefer the Sweetex brand over Alpine.

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(Makes about 5 cups)

1 C unsalted real butter

1/2 C salted real butter

1/2 C high ratio shortening

8 egg whites

1 1/2 C granulated sugar

1 T vanilla or "to taste"

Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature! Combine the egg whites and sugar in a saucepan. Stir together and boil until it reaches 160 degrees. (Make sure to calibrate your thermometer so it reaches the correct temperature at your altitude.) Remove from heat and pour the syrup into a mixer. Whip the syrup until it reaches stiff glossy peaks. Cut the butter into small pieces. Change the attachment on your mixer from the whip to a paddle attachment. Now add the butter and shortening to the whites gradually... small pieces at a time. Continue beating until it becomes thick and smooth. (Sometimes this can take a while.) Add the flavoring of your choice at the end and beat until it's well combined.

Cut the butter and high ratio shortening into small pieces.

8 eggs

Separate the egg yolks from the whites.

Combine the sugar and egg whites in a saucepan.

Boil and cook until it reaches 160 degrees.

Pour into a mixer and whip until it forms stiff glossy peaks.

Add the butter and high ratio shortening small bits at a time.

It may look curdled at first but keep beating it until it comes together.

Continue beating until it's smooth and creamy.

A Few Variations

Peanut butter:  add 1/4 C creamy peanut butter.

Brown sugar:  substitute brown sugar for granulated sugar.

Coconut:  add 1/4 C coconut cream (Coco Lopez).

Lemon, lime, or orange:  add 2-3 T of freshly squeezed juice then add the zest of one fruit.

Chocolate:  add 4-6 oz of melted chocolate.

Fruit:  add 1/4 C of any flavored jam.

*If you prefer you can use all butter in this recipe instead of high ratio shortening. However, you'll probably need to add more flavoring.

You can store any leftover SMBC in the refrigerator for up to a week. To use the leftovers again... set the SMBC on your counter and let it come to room temperature. Then put it in your mixer with the paddle attachment, and beat the SMBC until it reaches a creamy consistency again. Good Luck!

Up Next... A small 6" cake topped with the most gorgeous peony sugar flower you've ever seen! (At least I think it's the most gorgeous peony you'll ever see.  ;)

A Break from Cake: Coconut Dreamsicle Bars

Yes, today I'm straying from my usual topic of cake. I love to bake other types of goodies in addition to cake. So these off topic posts are what I'm calling... "A Break from Cake."  Today's entry is full of yummy sweetness that reminds me of a warm, sunny, summer day. (Sounds good to me... especially since the temperature outside has been below 30 degrees Fahrenheit for a couple of weeks. Brrrrrrrr!)

Remember those orange/vanilla ice cream bars we ate as kids? I recently had a craving for one, only I didn't want a frozen treat. (It's simply too cold outside for that.) So I came up with a baked version of the Dreamsicle bar, but then I added a surprise twist... coconut! The orange & coconut flavor combination seems to work together well. Just be aware... these bars are very rich and very moist. So go grab a cold glass of milk, cut yourself a piece, and enjoy this special "winter" treat!

Coconut Dreamsicle Bars
1 C melted butter
2 C granulated sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 tsp. Loann's Orange Bakery Emulsion (The flavor doesn't bake out of emulsions like it will with extracts.)
1 Tbs. orange zest
4 drops orange food coloring
1 C coconut
2 C vanilla chips
1 tsp. salt
2 C flour
Cream together melted butter and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, orange emulsion, and food coloring. Mix well, then stir in coconut and vanilla chips. In a separate bowl, mix together salt and flour. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir until just combined then pour into a greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 min. Cool.

Coconut Frosting
4 C powdered sugar
2 tsp. Lorann's Coconut Bakery Emulsion or you can use coconut extract.
5-6 Tbls. milk
Mix all ingredients together and frost.

Enchanted Forest Cake

What do you do with left over strawberries? Strawberries and cream? Strawberry Sauce? Strawberry Lemon Muffins? Strawberries on your breakfast cereal? Strawberries with vanilla ice cream?  Several years ago I found myself trying to answer this same question. Not enough strawberries to use in most recipes, but too many to just sit down and eat by myself.

I know you've heard of Black Forest cake... chocolate cake, cherry filling, whipped cream frosting etc. Well, I thought why not try to make something similar with strawberries??? Genius! (At least I think I'm a genius... just don't ask my kids.) After I came up with this recipe, my husband immediately proclaimed it to be "Enchanted Forest Cake". Genius! (I always knew he was a genius.) It's been one of my families favorite cakes ever since. No fancy decorating with this one... but it will "make your toes curl" with yumminess!

Just makes your mouth water doesn't it.... ;)

Make your favorite chocolate cake recipe but stir 1 1/2 C mini chocolate chips into the batter. You can use regular sized chocolate chips but they will sink to the bottom of the cake as it cooks. (We actually like it better when they sink to the bottom because it makes a firm chocolate base.)  Bake in a 9x13" pan as directed.

You'll need strawberries, 1 pint whipping cream, 1/4 C + 4 Tbls. powdered sugar, 8oz. cream cheese and 1 tsp. vanilla.

Put the softened cream cheese and 1/4 C of powdered sugar into a mixing bowl.

Beat until smooth and creamy.

Spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the cooled cake.

Thinly slice the strawberries and put them over the cream cheese mixture so it's evenly covered.

Combine the whipping cream, vanilla, and 4 Tbls. powdered sugar in another bowl.

Whip until it's fairly stiff... be careful not to whip too long or you'll end up with very sweet butter. (Butter doesn't taste very good on chocolate cake. LOL)

Spread the whipped cream over the top.

Garnish it however you like... I used chocolate shavings and a couple of partially slices strawberries.

Serve with a nice cold glass of milk!

Try to eat just one piece. I promise you'll be begging for another one... or two!

"Oh No! I'm Out of Powdered Sugar" Frosting

"Oh no! I'm out of powdered sugar." Have you ever said that? I've said it way too many times. I've turned my pantry upside down searching for powdered sugar but didn't find any. So I go downstairs thinking there must be more powdered sugar down there. Nope, no powdered sugar anywhere... I'm completely out. Ugh! I knew I should have picked up a few more bags while I was at the store!

Several years ago, I  ran across a frosting recipe that uses granulated sugar instead of powdered sugar. It's a great "fudge type" chocolate frosting that's very easy to make. As a matter of fact I've never had a problem with this recipe, it's always turned out great... unlike other fudge type recipes I've tried. This frosting's good on cakes, but it's especially tasty on brownies or cookies. 
*** ADDED TIPS!  Please read what I wrote below.

One Minute Fudgy Frosting
2 C granulated sugar                   4 oz. bitter baking chocolate
6 Tbls. milk or cream                    4 Tbls. butter
1 egg                                            2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Put sugar, milk, salt, and egg into a saucepan. Stir together until well blended.

Add the chopped chocolate.

Melt ingredients over medium heat.

Stirring constantly, bring to a rolling boil and boil for 1 minute. (* or cook to a soft ball stage)

Remove from heat and pour into a mixing bowl. Add butter and vanilla.

Mix on low until the butter melts and it's well combined.

Beat on medium high until it thickens and looses it's gloss. (You could also a wire whip attachment instead of the paddle.)

Frost your cake, eat, and enjoy!

*** I've had some recent comments from readers who say their frosting wouldn't set up. I'm sorry this recipe didn't worked for you. I've added some tips that should help with some of your problems:

1. Make sure your frosting comes to a full rolling boil before you start timing.

2. If you find your frosting doesn't set up after beating it for several minutes, then put it back into a clean saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil once again. Cook it to a soft ball stage. (I always check for soft ball stage by using the "cold water test".) After reaching soft ball stage, put the frosting back into the mixer and beat it again. This time it should thicken up nicely.

3. A couple of readers said they could taste an egg flavor in the finished product. The size of the eggs you used could cause this to happen. Have you ever noticed the difference in size between eggs that are all labeled as large? The original recipe I posted called for 2 eggs. So I decided to go back and do some testing. I've found that using one egg instead of 2 works wonderfully... is that even a word???? So I changed the recipe above to use only 1 egg.

Following the recipe exactly, measurements, altitude, humidity, and the weather are just a few of the things that can affect cooking. I hope these tips help those of you who were having problems with the Fudgy Frosting recipe. (Sometime, however, I swear there are little cooking demons hiding under the sink that come along just in time to ruin our sweet treats!) LOL 

Good Luck!!!!

"Put de Lime in de Coconut"

Remember that old song "Put de Lime in de Coconut" by Harry Nilsson? I first heard Harry Belafonte's version of it when I was a kid. I had no clue what the song was about, but it had a catchy tune. It was funny to me that the lyrics were about coconuts! How many songs are written about coconuts?

I recently ran across a few recipes containing lime and coconut. Of course I immediately started humming that old familiar tune in my head. The combination those flavors sounded intriguing to me and I wanted to give it a try. I used a recipe from www.barbarabakes.com. but wanted to make cupcakes instead of cake. So a few changes were made to more easily facilitate cupcakes. I also added coconut extract and a bit more lime zest to the recipe. I love coconut and wanted it's flavor to be more pronounced.

Coconut Lime White Chocolate Cupcakes

(adapted from barbarabakes.com)
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup sweetened, flaked coconut
1 stick butter, softened
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
11/2 tablespoon grated lime zest
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup light sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons coconut extract
6 tablespoons lime juice, divided
1 cup white chocolate chips
1 2/3 cup powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. Prepare the cupcake pan with wrappers or nonstick spray.
2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
3. Measure out the shredded coconut and process in a food processor until very finely chopped. 

4. Stir chopped coconut into the flour mixture and set aside. 
5. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream and 2 tablespoons of lime juice and coconut extract then set aside.

6. Beat together butter, sugar, and lime zest with an electric mixer until very fluffy. 

7. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Turn mixer to low speed, and add one third of the flour mixture, then add in half of the sour cream. Mix in another third of flour mixture, then second half of sour cream. End with the last third of the flour mixture and beat until just combined, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Stir in white chocolate chips.

8. Spoon the batter into a cupcake pan. 

9. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool cupcakes on a cooling rack.
10. Whisk together powdered sugar and the remaining four tablespoons of lime juice. Poke the top of the cupcake with a fork 3 or 4 times or poke with a toothpick. Brush the lime glaze over the top of the cupcakes. 

I frosted my cupcakes with Italian Meringue Buttercream and added a few green sprinkles on top. Sprinkles just make cupcakes look more yummy!

I thought these were moist delicious cupcakes. The lime glaze makes these pretty tangy. If you don't like tangy flavors then add less lime juice to the glaze. I liked the tangy lime mixed with the sweet taste of the white chocolate chips. It seemed to be a nice contrast of flavors. If I were to make these again... I'd add more coconut extract to boost it's flavor up a bit.

 ♫ She put de lime in de coconut and mixed them both together... ♫

A Very "sTiCkY" Situation

Just imagine for a moment that it's cake baking day! You're very excited and eager to get started. You love the way baking fills your home with wonderful delicious smells. For the next couple of hours you measure, sift, cream, stir, pour and bake your sweet treat. After cooking the batter for just the right amount of time, you rush to the oven and take out your perfectly baked cake. A sense of pride fills your breast as you carefully set the pans down to cool. The aroma filling the air is even better then you'd remembered and it brings a smile to your face. After a few minutes, it's time to remove your cakes from the pans. Very carefully, you run a knife along the outside edge of the pan anticipating the moment when you'll see your finished product. You turn the pan over expecting to hear the cake gently release and descend to the cooling rack below, but after a few seconds.... nothing. So you turn the pan back over and try running the knife around the outside edge one more time. Again you turn the pan over onto the cooling rack expecting to hear something but.... nothing. A warm flush sweeps over your body and you begin to worry that something's gone wrong. You grab a spoon and carefully tap the bottom and outside edge of your pan. Surely the cake will release after your gentle persuasion but.... nothing! Now you begin to panic and start whacking it with frustrated anger leaving unwanted dents in the pan each time your spoon makes contact.... still nothing!!! Suddenly you hear a familiar sound and breath a huge sigh of relief. Whew, you think the cake's finally come out of the pan. One last time you turn the pan over expecting to find success and.... NOOOOOO! Half of the cake is lying on the cooling rack, while the other half is still stuck to the bottom of the pan! @*#%!!! (Not that I ever speak like that, but it sure makes my point. LOL)

Sound familiar? Unfortunately, this has happened to most of us at one time or another. You can prevent this from happening to you. There's a sure fire way to keep your blood pressure down and ensure happy endings to your cake baking days.

Simply use something called Pan Release and parchment paper. (Waxed paper works just as well as parchment paper, plus it's much cheaper.)

Place your pan on top of a piece of parchment paper. Take a pencil and trace around the outside bottom edge of the pan.

Cut the paper with scissors just inside the pencil lines. Cutting it this way makes the paper fit nicely inside the pan and also removes any pencil marks. Set the cut piece of parchment paper to the side.

Pan Release

1 part oil

1 part white vegetable shortening

1 part flour

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Beat together using a mixer.

Continue beating until it's smooth and creamy.

Using a pastry brush, liberally brush Pan Release around the sides and bottom edge of the cake pans. Also apply a small amount of Pan Release to the bottom so the parchment paper will stay in place. Store the left over Pan Release in a covered container inside the refrigerator. It will keep for a very long time.

Place the parchment paper in the bottom of the pan and pour cake batter over the top. Bake as usual.

After baking and cooling your cake, make sure you remove the parchment paper before frosting it. If you forget to take the paper off your cake, you'll have one "very chewy" dessert. Yuck!

Some people don't want to take the time and use this method. They think it's easier to just spray the pans with non-stick spray or coat them with shortening and flour. This may be true, but it doesn't always work. I like having the peace of mind knowing that my cake is going to release perfectly each and every time. This method will work 100% of the time. I figure if I'm going to spend the time and money baking a beautiful cake, I'd much rather be safe than sorry! 

 Happy Baking!