Cakes Recipe

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

A blueberry cheesecake with a fresh or frozen blueberry glaze.

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 packages (16 ounces total) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, slightly beaten
• 6 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup melted butter or margarine
• 2 cups sour cream
• graham cracker crust, below
• blueberry glaze, below

Preparation:

Combine cream cheese and cottage cheese in a large mixing bowl; beat until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs and beat until well blended. Add cornstarch, flour, lemon juice, and vanilla; stir well. Add melted butter and sour cream, beating until smooth.

Pour filling into 10-inch springform pan with graham cracker crust (below). (Place a shallow baking pan on the bottom rack of the oven with about an inch of hot water.) Bake cheesecake in center of oven at 325° for about 70 minutes, or until firm around edges. Turn off oven and let cheesecake cool with oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and cool completely. Remove from pan; refrigerate. When completely chilled, top with blueberry glaze (below).

Graham Cracker Crumb Crust

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup melted butter or margarine
• 2 teaspoons sugar

Combine crumbs, melted butter, and sugar; press into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.

Blueberry Glaze

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, divided

In a 1-quart saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in water. Crush 1/2 cup blueberries; add to sugar and water mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and begins to bubble. Continue to boil gently for about 2 minutes, or until blueberry glaze mixture is clear. Cool completely. Arrange remaining blueberries over the top of the cheesecake. Pour cooled blueberry glaze over berries. Keep blueberry cheesecake tightly covered in refrigerator.

Moist Chocolate Cake

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated white sugar
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk (or substitute by putting 1 tbsp white vinegar in a cup then filling the rest up with milk; let stand 5 minutes until thickened)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee (or 2 tsp instant coffee in 1 cup boiling water)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch baking pans (or line with parchment paper circles) and set aside.

2. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla extract and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Stir in hot coffee.  Batter will be very runny.

3. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on middle rack of oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean. Allow to cool 5 minutes in pans; run a butter knife around the edges of each cake. Place a wire cooling rack over top of each pan. Wearing oven mitts, use both hands to hold the racks in place while flipping the cakes over onto the racks. Set the racks down and thump on the bottom of the pans until the cakes release. Cool completely before handling or frosting.

Banana Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups flour, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon baking soda (add to pureed bananas)
3 pureed bananas, very ripe

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1/2 stick butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar (1 lb.)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13" baking pan or two 9" layer cake pans.

2. Cream butter, sugar and eggs. Sift flour several times, then add the salt and baking powder to the flour.

3. To the creamed butter mixture, add the milk and flour (alternating, beginning and ending with flour).

4. Add vanilla and mashed bananas (with the baking soda added to the bananas) to this mixture.

5. Bake layer cakes (9") for 25-30 minutes, oblong (9x13") for 35-40 minutes.

Frosting Directions:

1. Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth, add sugar and vanilla and blend well. Spread on cooled cake.

CHEESECAKE

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• 2 cups (475 ml) of Graham cracker crumbs (from a little less than 2 packages Graham crackers
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• Pinch salt
• 5 Tbsp (70 g) unsalted butter (if using salted butter, omit the pinch of salt), melted

Filling

• 2 pounds cream cheese (900 g), room temperature
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar (270 g)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream (160 ml)
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream (160 ml)

Toppings

• 2 cups sour cream (475 ml)
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar (35 g)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces (340 g) fresh raspberries
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100 g)
• 1/2 cup water (120 ml)

Special equipment needed

• 9-inch, 2 3/4-inch high springform pan
• Heavy-duty, 18-inch wide aluminum foil
• A large, high-sided roasting pan

METHOD

Prepare the crust

1 Prepare the springform pan so that no water leaks into it while cooking.* Place a large 18-inch by 18-inch square of aluminum foil on a flat surface. Place the springform pan in the middle of the foil. Gently fold up the sides of the foil around the pan. Make sure to do this gently so that you don't create any holes in the foil. If there are any holes, water will get into the pan and ruin the crust. Press the foil around the edges of the pan. Place a second large square of foil underneath the pan, and repeat, gently folding up the sides of the foil around the pan and pressing the foil against the pan. Gently crimp the top of the foil sheets around the top edge of the pan.

2 Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack in lower third of oven. Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor or blender until finely ground. Put in a large bowl, and stir in the sugar and salt. Use your (clean) hands to stir in the melted butter.

3 Put all but 1/4 cup of the graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the springform pan. (Save the remaining 1/4 cup for if you happen to have any holes that need to be filled in, either while you are making the crust, or after the cake has cooked and you've unmolded it.) Gently press down on the crumbs using your fingers, until the crumbs are a nice even layer at the bottom of the pan, with maybe just a slight rise along the inside edges of the pan. Be careful as you do this, as not to tear the aluminum foil. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.

Make the filling

4 Cut the cream cheese into chunks and place in the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 4 minutes until smooth, soft and creamy. Add the sugar, beat for 4 minutes more. Add the salt and vanilla, beating after each addition. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition. Add the sour cream, beat until incorporated. Add the heavy cream, beat until incorporated. Remember to scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl, and scrape up any thicker bits of cream cheese that have stuck to the bottom of the mixer that paddle attachment has failed to incorporate.

Cook the cheesecake

5 Place the foil-wrapped springform pan in a large, high-sided roasting pan. Prepare 2 quarts of boiling water. Pour the cream cheese filling into the springform pan, over the graham cracker bottom layer. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place the roasting pan with the springform pan in it, in the oven, on the lower rack. Carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan (without touching the hot oven), to create a water bath for the cheesecake, pouring until the water reaches halfway up the side of the springform pan, about 1 1/4 inches. (Alternatively you can add the water before putting the pan in the oven, whichever is easier for you.) Cook at 325°F for 1 1/2 hours.

6 Turn off the heat of the oven. Crack open the oven door 1-inch, and let the cake cool in the oven, as the oven cools, for another hour. This gentle cooling will help prevent the cheesecake surface from cracking.

7 Cover the top of the cheesecake with foil, so that it doesn't actually touch the cheesecake. Chill in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.

Prepare sour cream topping

8 Place sour cream in a medium sized bowl, stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla, until smooth. Chill until you are ready to serve the cake.

Note that this recipe produces enough sour cream topping for a thick topping and some extra to spoon over individual pieces of cheesecake, if desired. If you would like a thinner layer of topping and no extra, reduce the sour cream topping ingredients in half.

Prepare the raspberry sauce

9 Place raspberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Use a potato masher to mash the raspberries. Heat on medium, whisking, about 5 minutes, until the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from heat. Let cool.

Prepare the cake to serve

10 Remove the cake from the refrigerator. Remove the foil from the sides of the pan, and place the cake on your cake serving dish. Run the side of a blunt knife between the edge of the cake and the pan. Dorie recommends, and we've done with success, that you use a hair dryer to heat the sides of the pan to make it easier to remove. Open the springform latch and gently open the pan and lift up the sides. Spread the top with the sour cream mixture. Serve plain or drizzled with raspberry sauce.

Yield: Makes 16 servings.