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Filipino cheesecake
Last year I posted my lola's holiday cheesecake recipe. She makes that one twice a year, at most.
This year I'm posting her typical one. Unless you have a lola like mine, this is definitely not your grandmother's Shavuot cheesecake.
I still remember when I was five, watching her make it. It's unlike any other cheesecake I've had. Instead of a crust filled with sweetened, flavored and whipped cream cheese, this one is a cake. (Okay, technically it's a quickbread because of the ratios.)
For the longest time I wondered how she made it--it's impossibly dense but still airy, and rich-tasting without actually being rich. She uses Bisquick, cream cheese, and butter, and stirs it with a wooden spoon. It turns out much airier when she uses mascarpone instead of cream cheese.
In a feeble attempt to mimic my grandmother, I present a version made from scratch.
Filipino cheesecake
Dry ingredients:
2 c flour
1 c sugar (my lola will use 1/2 c or less--"This one is not too sweet--I used half the sugar.")
2 t salt
1 T baking powder
Wet ingredients:
1 c (2 sticks) of butter, softened. Use the real stuff for the best flavor.
2 c milk
4 eggs
4oz cream cheese, softened
For the center:
4oz cream cheese, cut into cubes
Modification: If you're using mascarpone instead of cream cheese, use 4oz mascarpone instead of the cream cheese and halve the milk. Omit the center cream cheese cubes, if you like.
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 8" or 9" cake pan. A stoneware pan browns most evenly, and keeps it nice and warm longer.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Blend the wet ingredients together until smooth in another bowl.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients, then stir in the wet ingredients until incorporated. Do not overmix. The batter should resemble thick pancake batter or banana bread batter.
5. Pour batter into the cake pan. Drop the cream cheese cubes around the center. They'll sink in a little.
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. It should have a nice golden brown crust on the top and sides. Let it sit for a minute outside the oven to firm up.
Serve hot. We used to spray it with a little melted butter, but there's really no need for it.
Enjoy! It serves around 8-10 people.
Not your grandmother's Shavuot cheesecake!
Dinner at my grandmother's house is always punctuated by one of her amazing desserts. (She's a great cook, and I hope to inherit her recipe file someday.) She makes the best apple pie I've ever had, and the best cheesecake. She has two kinds: Something that's essentially a buttery quickbread with cubes of cream cheese dispersed in the center, and her special one that she makes only on holidays or by request on birthdays. The only part that you have to bake is the nutty crust, and the only parts you have to cook are the thickening agents and the blueberry glaze.I have yet to snag the recipe for the first one, but, the second one is below, just in time for Shavuot tomorrow night.This is not your grandmother's cheesecake.Lola's Holiday CheesecakeCrust:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup ground toasted almonds
1/4 cup margarine
1/8 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 medium egg, slightly beaten, or 1/4 cup Egg BeatersPreheat oven to 350F. Mix all ingredients together, then press dough into a 9" springform pan (or square pan, but the springform pan will make your cleaning life easier) and bake for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Place the pan on a rack and let cool.Alternatively, you can use a store-bought crust, but where's the fun in that? It won't be as nutty, and you'll miss out on part of the magic of this cheesecake.Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese (2 8oz. bricks--any fat content is fine, but live a little and buy full fat)
1 Cool Whip container (4-8oz. depending on how creamy you like your cheesecake)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher gelatin, or 1 teaspoon agar-agar if you're vegetarianCream the cream cheese, Cool Whip, vanilla, powdered sugar, and lemon zest together. In a small pot, cook the kosher gelatin or agar-agar in the lemon juice until it dissolves, then blend into the cream cheese mixture. Fill crust and let set in the fridge while you make the blueberry glaze.Blueberry glaze:
1 lb (16 oz.) fresh or frozen blueberries (frozen's easier, fresh tastes best)
1/4 cup plus 1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tsp to 1 tablespoon cornstarch, slurried in 1/4 cup waterIn a medium pot over medium heat, heat the blueberries until warm. Stir in sugar, then stir in cornstarch-water slurry. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if more sweetness is desired. Remove from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally. (If you forget to stir it, it'll be just a little harder to pour later.)If you don't like blueberries, you can make a glaze with any other fruit you like, or use jam. When I was a kid, I hated blueberries, but I loved them on this cheesecake.To assemble: Spread blueberry glaze over cheesecake. Serve cold.Chag sameach!
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup ground toasted almonds
1/4 cup margarine
1/8 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 medium egg, slightly beaten, or 1/4 cup Egg BeatersPreheat oven to 350F. Mix all ingredients together, then press dough into a 9" springform pan (or square pan, but the springform pan will make your cleaning life easier) and bake for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown. Place the pan on a rack and let cool.Alternatively, you can use a store-bought crust, but where's the fun in that? It won't be as nutty, and you'll miss out on part of the magic of this cheesecake.Cheesecake:
16 oz. cream cheese (2 8oz. bricks--any fat content is fine, but live a little and buy full fat)
1 Cool Whip container (4-8oz. depending on how creamy you like your cheesecake)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher gelatin, or 1 teaspoon agar-agar if you're vegetarianCream the cream cheese, Cool Whip, vanilla, powdered sugar, and lemon zest together. In a small pot, cook the kosher gelatin or agar-agar in the lemon juice until it dissolves, then blend into the cream cheese mixture. Fill crust and let set in the fridge while you make the blueberry glaze.Blueberry glaze:
1 lb (16 oz.) fresh or frozen blueberries (frozen's easier, fresh tastes best)
1/4 cup plus 1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tsp to 1 tablespoon cornstarch, slurried in 1/4 cup waterIn a medium pot over medium heat, heat the blueberries until warm. Stir in sugar, then stir in cornstarch-water slurry. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Taste and add more sugar if more sweetness is desired. Remove from heat and let cool, stirring occasionally. (If you forget to stir it, it'll be just a little harder to pour later.)If you don't like blueberries, you can make a glaze with any other fruit you like, or use jam. When I was a kid, I hated blueberries, but I loved them on this cheesecake.To assemble: Spread blueberry glaze over cheesecake. Serve cold.Chag sameach!
