Creamy Cheesecake from Magnolia Bakery in NY

This recipe comes from S.Y. who signed up for dessert for Season 1, Episode 1 of the cooking club recently. This cheesecake was SO good and was a little different from any cheesecake I've ever had. If you're a cheesecake fan definitely try it!


Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie with Graham Cracker Crust (from "More from Magnolia")

CRUST
1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
1/2 c. chopped toasted pecans (to toast, place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven until lightly browned and fragrant...recipe says 15 min, but that was too long, started to burn...i'd say 10)
1/4 c. unpacked light brown sugar

FILLING
1 lb (2 8 oz packages) cream cheese, softened
1 c. confectioners sugar
1/4 c. sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

TOPPING
1 pint strawberries, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
CRUST: In a medium size bowl, combine the butter with the graham cracker crumbs, pecans, and sugar. Press firmly into lightly buttered 9 inch glass pie dish. Place an a baking rack and back for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.
FILLING: In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and continue to beat on low speed until well combined.

Refrigerate the filling while the crust is cooling. When the crust is completely cooled, spread the filling evenly in the crust with a rubber spatula. Arrange the sliced strawberries on top in a decorative manner.

Refrigerate the pie for at least 8 hours or overnight to ensure that the filling sets.

and that's it..easy as pie :)

Coffee Mug Chocolate Cake!

Ok, so this post is just for fun. Gooey, (not vegan) chocolate cake fun. A friend e-mailed this recipe to me and I knew it was something Claire would love.

Even though I told her Sally e-mailed me the directions, she said, "You should get a job cooking. You love cooking, right?" After she finally tasted the gooey mess, she said, "Now you really should get a job cooking."

Step 1. Get a large mug and spray it with cooking spray.

Step 2. Measure 4 Tbsp. flour and 9 Tbsp. hot cocoa mix into mug



Step 3. Crack an egg into the mug and mix as best you can.



Step 4. Add 3 Tbsp. water and 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil. Mix thoroughly until all dry ingredients are wet. Be sure to scrape the bottom to get all the flour and cocoa!



(Here we added some marshmallows and mini chocolate chips, but they all melted during the "baking." But, they were still melty and good.)



Step 5. Microwave on high for 3 minutes*. During microwaving, the cylinder of cake will rise out of the mug. As soon as the microwave stops, it will slink back into the cup.



* I looked at it and the top looked all sticky and wet so I thought it wasn't done and put it in for another minute. Four minutes was fine/didn't overcook it, but it still was wet looking after 4 minutes but was thoroughly cooked. I think 3 would have been fine.

Step 6. Turn over cup and tap until the cake falls out onto the plate. It will be extremely hot -- look at the steam! (And the bits of flour I didn't get quite mixed in.)


Step 7. Add any toppings, frosting, etc. you might like. We went for more marshmallows, chocolate chips and some chocolate sauce.





Step 8. Enjoy! Claire (and dad) tell me it was delicious.



Since I don't like chocolate, I decided to make one out of my Ghiradelli white chocolate hot chocolate. Having never had white chocolate cake, I have nothing too compare it to, but it was a pretty good little treat!

Cakes and more cakes.

Vegans, I'm sorry. This blog just isn't for you. It involves all the deliciousness that dairy can be.

This weekend I made desserts for my
mom's birthday.

The first -- the easy one, recipe wise -- was a cigarette cake.



Weird? Yeah, I guess so. But my mom smoked for a really long time. And she finally put down her Marlboro's on her 59th birthday in 2007. So I thought making it a year without smokes, deserved a little recognition.

I took a box of Betty Crocker Funfetti (or wait -- is that Pillsbury?) anyway, funfetti cake mix, and made it according to directions in a 9x13 pan. Once it was cooled, I got it out of the pan the best I could (I had greased and floured the pan, which helped), and I used the entire length and about 2/3 of the width of the cake.

For the majority of the cake, I used plain vanilla Betty Crocker frosting. For the filter, I mixed in a ton of yellow, a bit of red and exactly one drop of green food coloring.

For the burning end, I used red food coloring to make a bright red frosting, then covered it in crushed Oreos to make the ashes.

And that's about it! I could have done better, but I think for my first shot out of the gate, it's not bad!

The "real" dessert I decided to make was a Key lime cheesecake. I've only made it once before and it was well received. So, when I learned my brother-in-law likes Key lime, I was in.

Even though I learned a new recipe for Key lime cheesecake with tropical fruit chutney while covering The Longacre House Cooking Show the other day that had coconut in the crust and was topped with this chutney of dried mango and raisins and cooked in sherry and all kinds of craziness, I decided to go with the old tried and true recipe I had used before. I have a hard time presenting a recipe to people when I've never tried it before...

Before I wrapped it up, I copied a handful of recipes from a cheesecake cookbook I bought my cousin, Leigh, a few years ago for Christmas and this was one of them. It's really simple. This is how you make it:

Crust:
1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
2 Tbsp. sugar

Mix and press into the bottom of an 8" springform pan. Bake for 5 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Filling:
2 XL eggs, separated
2 Tbsp sugar
1 lb. (2 pkgs) cream cheese
1/4 c. Key lime juice
1 c. sugar

1. Beat egg whites until stiff, add 2 Tbsp sugar and beat for another few seconds
2. In a separate (your bigger) bow, beat yolks and cream cheese together until smooth
3. Add 1 c. sugar and lime juice to the cream cheese mixture
4. Fold whites into cream cheese mixture and fold by hand so it stays fluffy
5. Pour batter into crust and bake for 40-45 minutes. Be sure not to open the oven door at least for the first 35 minutes.
6. Once it passes the toothpick test (you prick it with a toothpick and it comes out clean) then you're good to go.
7. Ideally, you'll be able to let it cool completely and then refrigerate at least four hours before serving. But if not -- who cares. It's still going to taste freakin' GOOD.