Simple and Delicious

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. Yes, I too wondered what dreadful crime or happenstance this cheesecake was responsible for that it should be considered infamous...poisoning, obesity, hyperlipidemia, gluttony on a mass scale? But before letting my mind wander too far afield, I nipped that mental storyline in the bud and just assumed that Jenny might have meant famous rather than adding the sinister in- prefix to the recipe's title.

As it turns out, it's just a good thing that Jenny and Abbey's recipe was not felonious, because this cake became one of the desserts at a co-worker's baby shower. I didn't attend, just the cake did. I didn't even bake it with the intention of donating it to the shower; I actually had forgotten the event was scheduled for lunch that day. Conception/Shower/Cake...it was all so serendipitous. (Please note, I'm trying to squelch the unfounded cynicism that I have regarding baby showers...hey, I gladly donated a cake.) The lemon mirror on the cake was a lovely shiny yellow, which apparently is one of the approved colors for baby shower things. If I had known that it would be a baby cake before I left the house that morning, I really would have decorated it with delicate, beautiful little baby things...see, my cold cold heart just melted a bit.

Baby showers, bridal showers, bachelor and bachelorette parties...I'm sorry, I don't know what it is, maybe I'm just too darned egocentric to buy into these events, maybe it's the lame "oppressed by a straight world" thing, maybe it's a foreign tradition for which I haven't any cultural schema, but they just don't work for me. Yes, yes, yes, I know, it's not about me -- I should appreciate the joy that the guests of honor are experiencing. And I do. I genuinely love that young couples have babies and get to experience the nervous thrill of decorating a nursery. Really, I get that. I've done that. And I fully understand the thrill that goes along with getting dressed up in a gown/costume/drag and throwing a big party. I really know that feeling. And, yes, a celebration of two people in love is very sweet and touching. See...please take note that I did not include weddings on the list of personally questionable celebrations...Nik might have, but I didn't.

Ok, blog as cathartic device, followed by sincere commitment to change...I hereby promise to attend AND ENJOY the next happy-couple-based event to which I am invited. And believe me, this is not an empty promise...there are two other pregnant woman at work and their showers are imminent. But back to the cheesecake.

Vanilla Sour Cream Cheesecake...on an almond-coconut crust...with a lemon curd topping. I know, long name...with two prepositions. I can explain. It was going to be a Mango Swirl cheesecake, but I hadn't gotten to Food City to the the good/cheap mangoes. So then I though about an Almond Joy/Mounds cheesecake...hence the almond/coconut crust. But I didn't have any dark chocolate like I thought I had. What I did have were lemons...

Joconde

Almond Meal.........................2 1/2 oz

Coconut..............................2 oz (dessicated preferably, but I used sweetened and it was fine)

Cake Flour...........................1 oz

Whole Eggs..........................4 3/4 oz

Egg Whites...........................3 1/4 oz

Sugar..................................2 tsp

Butter, melted.......................1 1/4 oz

1. Pulse almond meal and coconut in processor until fine. Combine with flour.

2. Whisk whole eggs until combined.

3. Whip egg whites to foamy, gradually add sugar and whip until stiff (not dry) peaks form.

4. Fold dry mixture into whole eggs.

5. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into mixture to lighten. Fold remaining 2/3 whites into mixture.

6. Spread evenly in parchment-lined 1/2 sheet pan.

7. Bake 7-10 minutes at 400 degrees - do not overbake.

8. Let cool.

9. Cut a circle of cake and a circle of parchment the size of your cake pan.

10. Fit the parchment circle and then the cake into the pan. Brush with simple syrup and set aside.

Cheesecake

Cream Cheese..........................24 oz

Vanilla Bean.............................1

Sugar.....................................1 cup

Sour Cream..............................8 oz

Lemon Juice............................1 Tbl

Vanilla Ex................................1/2 Tbl

1. Rub vanilla seeds into sugar. Pour through a fine sieve before adding to cream cheese.

2. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

3. Add one egg at a time.

4. Add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla extract - beat until smooth/combined.

5. Pour into prepared pan.

6. Set cake pan in a larger pan. Fill larger pan with hot water and bake for 1 hour at 350.

7. Turn off oven and let cake sit in oven for additional hour.

8. Remove from water bath, and cool. Chill.

Lemon Curd

Egg Yolks..........................2 fluid oz

Sugar...............................4 1/2 oz

Lemon Juice......................3 fluid oz

Butter..............................2 oz

Salt.................................Pinch

Lemon Zest.......................from one lemon (approx 2 tsp)

1. Heat lemon juice, salt, zest, and approx. half the sugar to nearly boiling.

2. Whisk egg yolks and remaining sugar to ribbon stage.

3. Temper the yolks with a small amount of the hot juice, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk the remainder of the juice into the yolks.

4. Return the mixture to the saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until thickened. Whisk in the butter.

5. Pour through a fine sieve to remove the zest. Let cool slightly, then pour over the chilled cheesecake. Chill until curd is thoroughly chilled and set.

Collecting

According to Nik, and some unknown original source, a collection is two or more of something/anything. To me a pair of something should not really constitute a collection (as in, a pair of shoes is a collection of that type of shoe?), but who am I to stray from the source. So I got to thinking about what I have a collection of...dogs,






friends...
And tortoises...



Other collections (according to Nik's definition of the word) include diplomas, Ipods (though one is broken), sisters, nieces, favorite songs, cookbooks, occupations and hobbies. I used to have a huge collection of used wine corks (hundreds of them, in fact) but Nik made me get rid of them when we moved. I know - what was up with that?!
Anyway, what got me thinking about all this was the pound cake that I made over the weekend. I found the recipe stowed away in a file in the file cabinet. I realized, while I was thumbing through the hundred or so other "Cake" recipes in that file, that I have gathered quite a collection of stray recipes over the years - most of which I have never tried. It's what we do, right - I'm sure if there was a recipe in the Sky Mall magazine I would tear it out and file it away.

The cake wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. Lemon Ginger Pound Cake. How bad can it be, really. Well, I'll tell you - it can be too gingery, too heavy, too buttery, and too small -- I know, I know - pound cakes are supposed to be heavy and buttery, and a ginger cake is supposed to be gingery -- but it was TOO MUCH of all of them. So can a cake that is too much of so many things be too small -- isn't it better to make a small bad cake rather than a big bad cake...yes and no, obviously -- I at least wanted it to look good -- and not just for the pictures either. This cake offered neither gustatory nor visual delight. (But watch...see what close up digital photography and powdered sugar can do to a cake like this.) So I now have a new collection...recipes that I will not make again, but that are worth tinkering with if I feel like it someday...or not. (Let me know if you want the recipe -- I'll post the improved one sometime when I get around to improving it.)