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In , on November 2, 2015 with No Comments

Dark Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake

Years ago I sold cheesecakes for holidays and special occasions, and I even catered a couple of weddings where the bride didn’t want a traditional wedding cake. I’ve tried many different cheesecake recipes, and I have lots of favorites. I haven’t made cheesecake for a while, and my sons were complaining about that fact, so for my birthday I decided it was time to try my hand at baking another cheesecake.

I usually opt for a traditional New York-style cheesecake, but I was hungry for chocolate, so I used my basic cheesecake recipe and tweaked it a bit to incorporate both dark chocolate and Kahlua. I used a basic graham cracker crust, but you could make this a decadent chocolate cheesecake by using chocolate cookie wafers in place of the graham crackers. As cheesecake isn’t a low-calorie dessert, and it’s a treat I don’t make all the time anyway, I don’t worry about using low-cal this or that for my ingredients. I use full-fat cream cheese, real butter, good Mexican vanilla and the best chocolate I can find. I used Ghirardelli intense dark chocolate (86% cacao) for this recipe.

The overall texture of this cheesecake is light and fluffy, not heavy as some cheesecakes can be. Neither the chocolate nor the coffee flavors are overpowering but balance nicely with each other. The boys said this recipe was a definite keeper.

chocolate kahlua cheesecake 2

Dark Chocolate Kahlua Cheesecake

For the Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the Filling:
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
3 ounces good dark chocolate, melted
1/4 cup Kahlua liqueur, or other coffee-flavored liqueur
1 pint sour cream

Prepare a 9- or 10-inch springform pan by wrapping the bottom and sides of the pan with foil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix until well combined. Press into the bottom and halfway up the sides of the prepared springform pan. Set aside.

cheesecake crust (1)

For the filling, whip the room-temperature cream cheese until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add in the 1 1/2 cups sugar, and mix until well combined. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the vanilla, melted 1/2 cup butter, melted chocolate and Kahlua. Mix on low speed for 1 minute, then mix well on medium-high speed for about 3 minutes. Add the sour cream to the batter, and mix until well combined, about another 2 minutes. The batter should be creamy and fluffy.

Pour the cheesecake batter over the crust in the springform pan. Place the springform pan inside a larger roasting pan or cake pan (I use my large lasagna pan). Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it is halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

cheesecake in water bath (1)

Bake the cheesecake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour. After 1 hour, turn off the oven, and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour. This helps keep the top from cracking.

Allow the cheesecake to cool completely in the refrigerator before serving (at least 8 hours or overnight). Top with your choice of fruit toppings (raspberry is awesome) or freshly whipped cream if desired.

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In , on September 29, 2015 with No Comments

Fresh Apple Cake

Our little apple orchard really produced this year. We have four remaining apple trees left after a big wind storm a few years back: Red Delicious, Yellow Delicious, Jonared and Gala. I primarily like to make apple pie filling with them, and Kevin likes to dehydrate a bunch – good for snacking.

Today I decided to make a fresh apple cake. Mom used to make one that had a rum-flavored sauce, but I’ve long ago lost the recipe for the sauce. This cake is good as is or with a caramel sauce (either homemade or store bought), whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

 

Fresh Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup butter (not margarine), at room temperature
2 eggs
6 apples, cored, peeled and grated
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
1 cup chopped pecans

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugar until well blended. Add the eggs, and mix well. Stir in the grated apple.

In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining dry ingredients. Add to the wet ingredients, and mix just until combined.

Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Serve warm with caramel sauce, whipped cream or ice cream.

Quick Caramel Sauce

6 tablespoons butter (not margarine)
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk

In a small saucepan, melt butter and sugar over medium-low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the evaporated milk, and stir constantly until the sauce is the desired consistency.

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In , on August 27, 2015 with No Comments

Chocolate Pound Cake

I was in the mood for cake, and after searching through my recipes on Pinterest, I decided on pound cake. Thanks to making bread earlier, I had a few extra egg yolks, and I didn’t have enough unsweetened chocolate in the house, so I made a few modifications to the recipe I found to use what I had on hand.

I adore anything with chocolate, and I love pound cake, so this recipe was made for me 🙂

 

 

Chocolate Pound Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup butter, softened
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
4 ounces good bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Ghirardelli)
2 eggs plus 3 egg yolks
1-2 teaspoons good vanilla extract

Great and lightly flour a 10-inch tube pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add milk, butter and cooled chocolate. Carefully mix on low to medium speed until combined. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.

Add eggs and vanilla extract. Beat 2 minutes more.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 1 hour, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove cake from the pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.

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In , on July 2, 2014 with 1 Comment

Sour Cream Black Raspberry Cheese Pie

While this blog was mainly the desire to chart the progress of our garden and canning adventures, it really hasn’t gotten to canning season for me yet. Most of our veggies and fruits have gone into the freezer so far, with a little jam made along the way.

So far this summer I’ve frozen spinach, kale (lots of kale!), broccoli, a few peas, and raspberries. I’ve been freezing the wild black raspberries until I have enough to make a few batches of jam, but today I was hungry for pie. I knew the raspberries were just about ready to be picked again, so I set off for the timber to see what I would find. Kevin and I picked enough black raspberries for another 2 freezer quart bags of berries, and I had enough leftover to make a Sour Cream Raspberry Cheese Pie.

I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen today, so this recipe fit the ticket. Creamy, cheesecake-like texture that was no-bake with fresh raspberries on top.

 

Sour Cream Black Raspberry Cheese Pie

1 graham cracker crust
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
Fresh black raspberries, about 3 cups

In a mixing bowl, whisk the softened cream cheese and sour cream together until smooth. Add in the sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.

Pour into graham cracker crust and top with black raspberries. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving (overnight would be better….if you can wait that long!).

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In , , on June 22, 2014 with No Comments

Roasted Beet and Kale Salad…and Late Night Single-Serve Chocolate Cake

We picked the first few beets today, and aside from the usual canned beets and pickled beets that I plan to make, I wanted to try roasting a few of the beets. I’ve never tried them roasted and had been looking forward to it if we had extra…and we do. 🙂

Adding to the fun of cooking, this past week we had a wind/electrical storm that took out the electronic motherboard on my kitchen stove…..so as we await the arrival of a replacement board, we are minus a stove. The burners still work (gas stove), but no oven. So…roasting these beets would mean using my microwave.

Four years ago when we remodeled our kitchen, I bought a Sharp Carousel Convention microwave. The intent of this purchase was that I would use the microwave to bake, roast, etc., during the summer so as not to heat up the kitchen when it was so hot. Of course, convention would take hold, and I’d use the oven and heat up the house. But with no oven available, it was time to test out this convection microwave.

I trimmed the beets and scrubbed them as usual. Then I found a glass pie pan and placed the beets in it along with about 2 Tablespoons of water. I microwaved the beets at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes until they tested soft when pierced with a knife. I let them them cool until I was able to peel them and proceeded with the roasted beet and kale salad recipe.

 

 

Roasted Beet and Kale Salad

6 medium-sized beets, trimmed and roasted
2 cups kale, washed and trimmed
1 tablespoon honey mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine roasted beets and kale in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine apple cider vinegar, honey mustard, honey, and olive oil in a small bowl. Whisk until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust flavors if needed.

Pour dressing over beets and kale and stir to coat vegetables completely. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours to let flavors meld together.

After dinner, the boys decided to go fishing, and Kevin and I sat down to watch a movie. As is usually the case, my sweet tooth went into overdrive. I searched through my Pinterest recipes and came across a single-serve microwavable chocolate cake recipe. I’ve never baked a cake in a microwave before, but as the oven was out of commission, I decided to give it a whirl. Wouldn’t you know….as soon as I’d pulled out my cake from the microwave, the boys returned home from fishing! And I had 2 more cakes to make  lol…..but they were definitely worth it. I found the recipe on www.chocolatecoveredkatie.com

 

One-Minute Chocolate Cake

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 stevia packet (or 1 tablespoon more sugar)
2 to 3 teaspoons coconut oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla

Combine dry ingredients and mix very, very well. Add liquid; stir. Transfer to a little disk, ramekin, or coffee mug. Microwave 35-40 seconds (center will be soft like a lava cake center). If you don’t want to eat your cake straight from the cup, be sure to spray your dish first (and then cool before trying to remove it).  Edit:  If you want a more cake-like texture, microwave each cake for 1 minute.

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In , on May 16, 2014 with No Comments

Rainy Days Are Baking Days

Today was a dreary, rainy day, so what better thing to do but do some baking! I’ve been working with sourdough for about a month now, and instead of using my bread machine today, which I almost always do because I never have the time to do otherwise, I decided to break out my baking stone for a round loaf of sourdough bread.

I have a ton of recipes for different types of bread but not too many for sourdough, so I did an Internet search and found a terrific recipe at anoregoncottage.com.

 

easy sourdough artisan bread

Here’s the recipe:

Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread

 

3 cups flour (white whole wheat, whole wheat, unbleached, or a combo)

1 1/4 cup water (may need less if your starter is “wetter”- mine is a 100% hydration starter, fed an equal ratio of flour to water)

3/4 cup active sourdough starter

1 tablespoon honey

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer just until combined and then let sit for 15 minutes.

Using a dough hook, knead for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a medium-sized bowl, lightly coated with oil. Cover with plastic and let rise for 3 hours, turning and folding the dough once or twice.

Remove dough, turn and fold again, and place it back in the bowl, seam-side up. Let rise for another 2 hours.

After the second rise, place a square of parchment on a cookie sheet and gently shape the dough into a ball or oval (using lots of flour, as the dough is moist) and set on the parchment. Make sure there’s a good coating of flour on the top, as this will make slicing the top later easier.

Set an enameled, cast iron dutch oven into a cold oven and turn heat to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (alternately, use a baking stone), and set the timer for 40 minutes.

When the timer goes off, slash the top of the loaf with a serrated knife (in 2 to 3 places), and transfer it to the hot pot by holding the edges of the parchment (or stone).

Replace the hot lid and bake for 12 to 13 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for another 13 to 14 minutes, until golden brown (if using a stone, Gina at Homejoys uses an old roaster lid to cover her loaves to get a similar result!).

Remove to a wire rack to cool at least 30 minutes before cutting.

Makes 1 loaf

After I got the bread going, I was looking for something else to bake, so I decided to pull out my trusty, go-to New York-Style Cheesecake recipe. I first made this cheesecake recipe when Kevin and I first were married over 20 years ago. I had borrowed a bunch of cookbooks from the local library, and I came across this recipe. While I’ve since made hundreds of cheesecakes in lots of different flavors, this one is still one of my most favorites.
ricotta cheesecake
Ricotta Cheesecake

2 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened

1 (16-ounce) container ricotta cheese

1 1/2 cups white sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon good vanilla extract

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter (not margarine), melted and cooled

1 pint sour cream

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease a 9- or 10-inch springform pan.

Mix the cream cheese and ricotta cheese together in a mixing bowl until well combined. Stir in the sugar, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, cornstarch, and butter. Add the sour cream last and stir. Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.

Place springform pan in larger cake pan (I use my extra-large lasagna pan). Fill pan with boiling water so that it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake in the preheated for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and leave in the over for 1 hour more. (This helps prevent the top from cracking.) Allow cheesecake to cool completely in the refrigerator before serving. Top with your choice of fruit toppings, or enjoy as is!

 
Serves 8.
 
 
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