Shavuot » Israeli Kitchen

Apricot Swirl Cheescake

dairy, Home Bakery, Shavuot, Sweet Things, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov 10 Responses »

Jun 052011

Do you have to be Jewish to love cheesecake?

Well, no.

But it helps.

Shavuot is coming up next Tuesday night. We have reasons – religious reasons – for eating dairy on Shavuot. For many, that’s cheesecake.

And what, you might ask, rolling your eyes, does cheesecake have to do with receiving the word of G-d on Mt. Sinai?

Well, nothing.

The custom is to eat dairy. Cheesecake is modern tradition, based on the indisputable fact that it’s delicious.

Two commonly accepted reasons for dairy on Shavuot. The gematria, or numerical value of chalav – milk – is 40. We eat milk to remember the 40 days that the Jewish people waited while Moses received the Torah on Mt. Sinai. (Moses was fasting the whole time, by the way). Another reason is that the laws of ritual slaughter and kashrut were unknown till the Torah was received: to avoid eating un-kosher foods while spiritually preparing ourselves, we refrained from meat entirely and got our protein from dairy.

I’m afraid that if cheesecake had been around while we were waiting, our minds would not have lingered long on things spiritual. But – we are also commanded to rejoice on our holidays. Is cheesecake a cause for rejoicing, or one of many ways to rejoice?

This recipe takes a certain amount of focus. And two or three mixing bowls. And some time. But it’s worth the effort because it’s one of the best I’ve ever made. Rich and dense, with a tart-sweet marbling of puréed fresh apricots – a melting mouthful.

If you use a springform pan and grease it well with butter, you will have a smooth-edged cake. I was chicken about its being hard to remove so I placed baking paper in a pan with a removable bottom and got bumpy edges all around.

But when I served the cake to the ladies of the book club, nobody refused to eat the bumpy edges and got up from the table enraged. In fact they loved it.

The cake goes in four stages: bake the cake bottom, pureé the apricots, mix the filling and bake. It needs at least 3 mixing bowls. But don’t be daunted. Read the recipe through and follow my tips for a seamless baking session.

Apricot Swirl Cheesecake

adapted from Junior’s Cheesecakes by Fine Cooking, The Taunton Press

1 9-inch cake – 12 slices

Printable version here

The Cake Base

Ingredients:

1/3 cup flour, sifted

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch salt

2 large eggs, separated

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Zest of 1/2 lemon

2 tablespoons melted, unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preliminaries:

Preheat oven to 350° F, 180°

If using a springform pan, grease all inner surfaces very well with butter. If using a pan with a removable bottom, place a sheet of baking paper inside.

Wrap the entire outside with tin foil. This is necessary because at the second stage of baking, the cake will bake inside a water bath.

Have ready a pan into which your baking pan will fit easily, for the water bath.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together into a small bowl.

Zest the lemon.

Melt the butter.

Separate the eggs, with the yolks in a large bowl and the whites in a bowl big enough to contain them whipped.

Measure the sugar, leave it in its measuring cup, and put a measuring spoon on top of the measured sugar. This spares last-second hunting for the spoon when you’ll need to remove a little of the sugar.

Method:

Beat the yolks for 3 minutes, using an electric mixer set on high. Keep the mixer running and add 2 tablespoons of the sugar from the 1/3 measured cupful. Beat another 5 minutes.

Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla.

Sift the dry ingredients over the egg yolk/sugar mix and beat in on low, just to blend lightly. Blend the melted butter in.

Wash the beaters absolutely clean. In the second bowl, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar till stiff. With a spatula, remove about 1/3 of the whites and fold them into the batter. Then add the remaining whites, mixing lightly. Stop when the whites are evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan. No water bath yet – that’s for when the whole cake is assembled. Bake 10-12 minutes or until just set and the center springs back when touched. It shouldn’t be baked till brown.

Keep the oven on. Leave the crust in the pan – you will bake the cheese filling on top of it. Put the pan on a rack to cool while you’re preparing the filling.

The Filling

Ingredients for Purée:

3-5 fresh apricots: enough to make 3/4 cup puréed.

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1-2 tablespoons sugar

Blend apricots and cornstarch and add sugar to taste. The amount of sugar will depend on the sweetness of the apricots. The purée should still be tart.

Ingredients for Cheese Filling:

3 cups full-fat cream cheese at room temperature. If using American cream cheese, use three 8-oz. packages. Israelis: I used Ski.

1/4 cup cornstarch

1-1/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 large eggs

2/3 cup whipping cream

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup (1 package) of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, and the cornstarch. Beat on low for 3 minutes or until all is creamy. Beat in second cup (package) of cream cheese, then the third.

Increase the speed to medium and beat in 1 cup sugar, vanilla, and eggs, one at a time. Beat in the cream. Mix thoroughly but stop when everything is mixed; don’t overmix.

Spread the batter over the prepared crust.

Spread the apricot purée over the cheese filling, pushing it down with the back of the spoon here and there. Cut through the purée and batter in a figure of 8, going deep enough to just feel the cake on the bottom. Do this three times, but no more or the cake will will be yellow instead of marbled.

Put the cake in the second pan. Carefully pour hot water between the two pans, up to an inch from the top of the cake pan. Bake for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until completely set.

Remove the cake from the water bath and put it to cool on a wire rack. Don’t move it for 2 hours lest it fall. When it’s totally cool, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours to overnight.

Leftovers stay delicious if wrapped well and kept cold, for 4 days.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

dairy, Shavuot, Vegetarian 10 Responses »

Aug 132010

Leafy greens are one of my favorite foods. But not that of the Little One. To get them into her, I have to get sneaky and combine them with a buttery crust, preferably some mushrooms, and cheese. She thinks it’s a dairy meal, I call it vegetarian. So what does she get?

Quiche.

Actually I’m embarrassed about this quiche. It’s delectable to eat – looks pretty on the table – satisfies my Jewish Mother Feed’em Requirements and there’s never a scrap left over. But Elizabeth David, food writer whose scholarly, elegant works I’ve been re-reading, would turn her nose up at it. Quiche, according to the late, great Ms. David, real quiche, needs only cream and eggs, and “a small amount of streaky bacon.” No cheese. No vegetables of any description.

Oh dear. Well, times have changed. The classic Quiche Lorraine is still a thing of wonder (minus the bacon for kosher folk), but the cheese-and-veg-loaded tart is accepted by all as quiche too. So here mine is.

Years ago I found that the basic crust recipe from Molly Katzen’s The Enchanted Broccoli Forest works best for me. I don’t even get the food processor out to mix it up. I just rub the butter into the salty flour, scooping up more flour from the bowl to release any butter clinging to my fingers. I like the friction of grainy flour in my hands. The work relaxes me. But for those who don’t like that idea, just whirl your crust ingredients in the food processor.

Spinach and Mushroom Quiche

Ingredients for Crust:

1/4 cup cold butter, diced

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

water or milk – by tablespoons, as needed*

Method:

1. Rub the butter into the flour, or put the flour into the food processor and add the diced butter – till the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add the salt.

2. Add the liquid, one tablespoon at a time. * Note about the liquid for crust: Molly Katzen’s recipe calls for “up to 3 tablespoons.” That’s for American flour. Working with Israeli flour, I always need up to 5 tablespoons for the dough to hold together. Go slowly and stop adding liquid as soon as the dough holds together.

3. Make a ball of the dough, wrap it up in plastic wrap or a clean plastic bag, and chill it for an hour in the fridge.

Meantime, prepare your filling.

Ingredients for Filling:

2 cups fresh or frozen spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

3 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk, buttermilk, or loose sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

Firm cheese to slice and lay over crust – about 200 grams – 7 oz. or 3/4 cup * Israelis: I use Hemed cheese. Katzen recommends Swiss or Cheddar as this first cheese.

1/2 cup another, mild cheese, for filling. Brie is good, but any mild cheese is good too.

Method:

1. If using fresh spinach, wash it and steam it quickly in its own rinse water. Add no salt. If using thawed-out frozen spinach, steam it with no added water or salt. Chop it up coarsely.

2. Chop the onion. Sauté it in a little olive oil or butter till it’s beginning to soften. Slice the mushrooms and add them to the pan. Sauté the vegetables till the mushrooms start to release their liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the pan from the fire.

3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the milk and beat again. Add a pinch of salt and another of pepper. Set the bowl aside – in the fridge if the kitchen is hot.

4. Slice the first cheese. Chop the second cheese into large dice.

Assemble the Quiche:

1. Roll the dough out and fit it into your baking pan. I usually place a sheet of baking paper on the pan first because I hate to scrub out baking pans. But it’s not as pretty.

2. Fit the slices of firm cheese over the raw crust.

3. Mix the sautéed vegetables into the spinach; mound all on top of the crust.

4. Pour the beaten egg/milk mixture over and into the vegetables. Dot the cubed cheese all over.

Transfer (carefully) to the oven, pre-heated to 375° F -190°C. Bake 35-40 minutes.

This dairy, vegetarian dish is light yet filling – comfortable for lunch or dinner these hot days. Keep it in mind for Shavuot, too. Enjoy!

Shavuot Menus, a mild rant

Shavuot 12 Responses »

May 172010

Don’t get me wrong. I adore dairy foods, more than what’s good for me. But it seems that the great dairy festival that’s Shavuot is as hard to take as the Purim’s junk food orgy. The day after Shavuot, the entire country loses productive time dealing with dairy overload.

Listening to a few friends’ menus, I notice lots of dishes loaded with cheese, and lots of starchy foods – most of them stuffed with cheese. Bourekas, blintzes, and lasagna, all at one meal. Even salads must have cubes of feta on Shavuot, apparently. I mean – I often fix a big salad dotted with feta. But lasagna followed by eggplant parmesan followed by cheesy baked potatoes followed by…a big stomach ache. Where’s the balance here?

The Israeli dairy industry depends on everyone buying lots of soft and hard cheeses for Shavuot. They push dairy as hard as they can in their advertising. And I must say that many of the recipes they provide look divine. I love dairy, darn it. And carbs, I love carbs too.

Darn it.

Three factors keep my Shavuot menu cheese-moderate. One is, my son-in-law’s custom is to eat two meat meals on Shavuot and keep the dairy only for the third meal, at the evening of Shavuot day. Since my married daughter and her family spend every Shavuot with us, I honor his custom.

Another is that my husband, who also loves cheese, can tolerate only small amounts of dairy.

And then, there’s my own feeling, as explained above.

But don’t get me wrong – there will be dairy on the table. I bought an irresistible chunk of sheep’s milk Tomme for holiday cooking and post-holiday eating. The grownups look forward to my New York cheesecake, so I’m baking one. I made a strawberry ice cream to indulge my little grandsons, who I know will ignore the cheesecake. That’s it.

The menu for the one dairy meal (subject to change at my whim):

Challah
Choumous
Stuffed vine leaves (hand-made but bought at the shuk)
Sliced tomatoes with an herb vinaigrette, and plenty of sliced cucumbers for the little ones
Orange-glazed salmon
Eggplant casserole, which nobody but Husband and I will eat
Spinach quiche for the eggplant haters
New York Cheesecake - strawberry ice cream

Here are more suggestions for Shavuot. Enjoy, and eat in good health!

Soup:

Potato-Leek Soup

Mushroom Soup

Artichoke and Mushroom Soup

Baked Dishes:

Spinach Gratin

Qeijadinhas, Brazilian Cheese Tartlets

Cheese-Stuffed Tomatoes

Rice:

Risotto with Nettles and Carrots (substitute spinach for nettles)

and the very best for last…

Wicked, Wicked Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche and Whisky Glaze

Just curious…how much dairy do you plan to serve?

Shavuot, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov 2 Responses »

May 272009

Wicked, Wicked Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche

Shavuot, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov 12 Responses »

May 272009

Got back from the supermarket in one piece, for which I do render thanks. Milchig Madness has descended upon the population of Israel, and only the lactose-intolerant will be spared. Be warned…

If you like your cheesecake creamy and rich, this one’s for you. The shot of booze lightens the ensemble and adds a touch of luxury.

Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche and Whiskey Glaze

serves 8. You can use rum instead of whiskey.

Ingredients for crust:

150-grams of granola cookies or cookie of choice

50 grams butter

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2 Tblsp. sugar, more or less to taste

Ingredients for Filling:

Cheese:

For Israelis, 500 grams 5% white cheese that has sat in a sieve for at least one hour, to rid it of excess water.

Or use the specialty “gvina le-afiyah” that appears in markets at this time of year.

For readers outside of Israel: 500 grams – 2 cups – of any soft, creamy white cheese.

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tsp. vanilla essence

1/2 cup dulce de leche

Ingredients for Topping:

1 container of 15% sour cream

1 Tblsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla essence

1/4 cup dulce de leche, minus 2 Tblsp.

Glaze:

The 2 Tblsp. dulce de leche reserved from above

2 Tblsp. whiskey

I. Make the Crust

1. Melt the butter.

2. Crush the cookies in a food processor with the cinnamon.

3. Combine the butter and cookie crumbs and add sugar if your taste so dictates. Mix well.

4. Spread the crumb mixture in a 9″ round cake pan and level it out with your fingers. Put the pan aside.

II. Make the Filling

1. Combine the cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well.

2. Pour the filling onto the crust.

3. Take spoonfuls of the dulce de leche and plop it down in pieces all over the filling.

Draw a knife through the filling a few times to distribute the dulce and marble the cake.

4. Bake for 35 minutes as 170° C – 32° F. It will be firm but still tender, maybe a bit wobbly in the middle. Sort of like a Jewish grandmother.

III. Make the Topping

1. Mix the sour cream, vanilla essence, and sugar. Add the larger part of the dulce and mix again.

2. Spread this topping over the cake as soon as the cake is ready.

3. Mix the reserved 2 Tblsp. of dulce with the 2 Tblsp. whiskey – it will blend, just keep mixing.

4. Drizzle it over the surface of the topping.

5. Either leave it like that or draw a knife gently over the topping/glaze to marble it (you’ll feel the firmness of the cake underneath – try not to cut it).

6. Bake the cake a further 10 minutes.

All the cake to cool, then refrigerate it 6-8 hours before serving.

All you need with this is a cup of espresso followed by an hour of healthy exercise.

New York Cheesecake

Shavuot, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov 14 Responses »

May 262009

This is our family recipe for cheesecake. It’s more elaborate than the cookie-crust, easy-bake varieties, but so worth the few minutes extra work. Not too sweet, light and creamy at the same time, with just that hint of lemon and vanilla that makes you feel like you need another slice now, before someone else lays hands on it. The recipe is easily doubled. I often do that, because there won’t be enough for everyone otherwise.

You’ll need something for beating egg whites: I used to whip them by hand but considering middle age and carpal shmarpal, I now plug in a hand mixer to do it. Have three bowls at hand, 1 large, 1 medium, 1 small. Prepare a baking pan either with baking paper or by greasing it with sweet butter and coating it with flour. And do not preheat the oven: you want to start baking cold.

New York Cheesecake

6 servings

Ingredients:

6 eggs

3 Tblsp. sugar, plus 6 Tblsp. later

500 grams – 1 lb. – 2 cups - soft, creamy white cheese – here in Israel I use 9% white cheese

1 tsp. vanilla essence

Juice of 1 lemon

6 Tblsp. sifted flour

Method:

1. Separate the eggs.

Keep the whites in the large bowl.

Put 3 of the yolks in the medium bowl; in the small bowl, the other 3 yolks.

2. In the medium bowl, beat the 3 yolks with the 3 Tblsp. sugar and all of the cheese. Mix well till smooth.

3. Whip all the egg whites till stiff.

4. To the whites, add the 6 Tblsp. sugar and whip till the whites make smooth peaks.

5. Add:

the flour

the lemon juice

the 3 yolks from the small bowl and

the vanilla.

Mix very well. This is the batter.

6. Pour 2/3 of the batter into the baking pan.

7. Mix the remaining third of the batter into the cheese mixture. Mix well.

8. Pour this new mixture straight into the center of the batter in the pan.

Bake at 300°F – 150° C for one hour. Turn the oven off, but don’t remove the cake: just open the oven door a crack and let the cake cool inside. Once cooled down, store the cake in the fridge.

My cake overbaked a bit – ideally it’s not so dark on top. But it was light and toothsome all the same. Enjoy, it’s yum!

Spinach Gratin For Shavuot

Shavuot, What's Cooking for Shabbos and Yom Tov 4 Responses »

May 202009

That good old dairy holiday is creeping up on us. In just over a week, we celebrate Shavuot (on Thursday, the 28th of this month). The holiday runs into Shabbat. Lots of cooking in store, and many of us are also working out a dairy-based menu for one holiday meal. This link explains the custom of eating dairy on Shavuot.

The supermarket explodes with every variety of cheese, ready-made cheesecake, quiches and pasta dishes. The whole country goes into a lactose frenzy. So here is the first of my Shavuot suggestions: the light spinach gratin. It’s a good alternative to the delicious but heavy blintzes of tradition. Cheescake recipe comes next week. Can’t give up the cheescake!

Gratin of Spinach and Rice

serves 3 as a main dish, 4 as a first course or side dish

Ingredients:

4 Tblsp. rice

2 1/2 cups frozen spinach (265 grams)

1 medium onion

A little olive oil

1/3 cup slivered, blanched almonds or other nut – or 1/4 cup cooked chickpeas

3 Tblsp. – 50 grams - butter

2 Tblsp. flour

2 1/4 cups – 1/2 liter – milk

1 bay leaf

a smidgeon of dried thyme

1 tsp. salt

pepper to taste – I like a few flakes of cayenne plus a shake of white pepper

3 Tblsp. ground Parmesan cheese

1 Tblsp. more butter

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 325° F – 17° C.

2. Prepare your gratin dish – either cover it with parchment paper or butter and flour it very well.

3. Boil the rice till cooked through but still firm, in salted water. Drain it and put it aside.

4. Chop the onion. Sauté it in a little olive oil till the pieces are golden.

5. Add the spinach and let the vegetables cook through together over medium heat, stirring often.

Take the spinach mixture off the flame, cover it, and put it aside. Optimally, you’ll be uniting the ingredients while they’re all still warm.

6. Heat the milk but don’t let it boil. You want it quite warm but not simmering. Turn off the flame and cover the milk pan.

7. Make a bechamel sauce, using a large pan. A large pan will save washing up, as later you’ll be blending the rest of the ingredients into the sauce.

To make the sauce: over a low flame, melt the butter. Throw the bay leaf and the little bit of dried thyme in with the butter and let them heat up with it. Add the flour slowly, stirring the while. When the flour and butter have almalgamated and the mixture starts to froth, slowly pour in the warm milk. Add the salt and pepper. Stir, stir, stir. 5 minutes or less will do it. You should have a thick, cooked-through sauce. Don’t allow the bottom to burn: stir, stir stir!

Remove the bay leaf. Normally spinach is paired with nutmeg, and if that’s your preference, go ahead and use it instead of the bay leaf and thyme. I happen to like this dish without nutmeg.

8. Add the spinach to the sauce; blend.

9. Add the rice to the pot; blend again.

Now taste for seasoning and if necessary, add more salt and pepper, a little at a time. Blend.

10. Add the almonds or chickpeas; mix it all up well.

11. Pour the mixture into your prepared gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the surface and dot it with butter.