Mascarpone Cheesecake with Berries

Thanks to the addition of mascarpone, this cheesecake is ultra smooth and creamy. Luscious is the word that comes to mind. If you make it for your Fourth of July cookout, I guarantee you that even if all the hot dogs fall in between your grill grates, one bite of this and your guests won't care. Of course once they're finished, they'll remember and start making fun of you again. But for a few glorious minutes, you'll be untouchable.

MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE

Makes 10 to 12 servings

crust:

70 vanilla wafers (8 1/2 oz), finely ground in a food processor (2 1/3 cups)

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

filling:

20 oz cream cheese (2 1/2 eight-ounce packages), softened

8 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 cup)

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

topping:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon salt

Make crust:

1.      Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan.

2.      Stir together cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl. Reserve 1/4 cup crumb mixture for sprinkling over cheesecake, then pat remainder onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up side of springform pan (about 1 inch thick). Put pan in a shallow baking pan and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a rack, about 25 minutes. Leave oven on.

Make filling while crust bakes:

3.      Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined. Pour into cooled crust and bake until cake is set and puffed around edge but still trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly in springform pan on rack, about 20 minutes. (Cheesecake will continue to set as it cools.) Leave oven on.

Make topping:

4.      Stir together sour cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl and spoon over cheesecake, spreading gently and evenly, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge.

5.      Bake cheesecake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge to help prevent cracking. Sprinkle top with reserved crumbs and cool completely in pan on rack, then chill, loosely covered, at least 8 hours. Cheesecake can be chilled, loosely covered, up to 3 days. Cut cake with long, thin sharp knife dipped in a tall glass of hot water.

barely adapted from Gourmet, December 2003 (from Syrah in Santa Rosa, California)

nilla wafers

nilla wafer crumbs with melted butter

mixed

crumb crust pressed into the pan

I didn't reserve any crumbs for the top because I decided
to add berries. Consequently, the sides of my crust were
a little higher than if I had used less crumbs.

mascarpone, cream cheese & sugar (evaporated cane juice)

mixed; adding the first egg

adding the third egg

adding vanilla, lemon juice and salt

filling mixed

pouring filling into baked crust

baked filling

I baked my cake in a water bath (I wrapped the bottom of the
springform pan with foil, placed the cake in a pan and filled it about
2 inches high with water). You don't have to do this. It just helps cook
the cake more evenly and avoid cracks. But since you're topping
the cake anyway, you don't need to worry about cracks.

sour cream topping ingredients

sour cream topping spread on top

baked, cooled, chilled overnight and unmolded

You gotta love a great dessert you can make the day before.

berries arranged on top

I made a glaze with Polaner all-fruit seedless raspberry jam
- warmed & thinned with a little Chambord (raspberry liquor)

You definitely don't need to add a glaze, but I like the flavor from
the liquor and the jam adds a touch of sweetness (which is especially
nice if your berries aren't as sweet as you hoped they'd be).

brushing on the warm glaze

You can add the berries & glaze the day before too.

mascarpone cheesecake topped with berries

slicing (it helps to dip the knife in a glass of
warm water and then wipe it between slices)

.

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Coconut Lime Sorbet and Raspberry Coulis

This cake is a chocoholic's dream come true. Unless your dream is to live in a world made of chocolate houses, streets and cars, like on the Hershey's commercials. It can't really compete with that. But it is very rich and fudgy (a little goes a long way). And because it's flourless, it's good for gluten-free diets and great for Passover. I actually did make the coconut lime sorbet, but I never managed to snap a photo of the finished product (I was little off my game - I guess because I was in my sister's kitchen and not on my home turf). It doesn't take much for me to feel discombobulated. The other day I forgot to wear deodorant and I just felt off all day. Or maybe it was because I forgot to take my meds. It could go either way.

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH

COCONUT LIME SORBET AND RASPBERRY COULIS

Yield: one (10-inch) cake (at least 12 servings)

Coconut Lime Sorbet:

1 (15 oz.) can cream of coconut (preferably Coco Lopez)

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

Raspberry Coulis:

1 (10 oz.) package frozen raspberries, defrosted for 1 hour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

8 oz. fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2 sticks unsalted butter (or Passover margarine)

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 large eggs

2 teaspoons coffee liquor (such as Kahlua) or vanilla extract

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus additional for sprinkling)

Coconut Lime Sorbet:

Whisk together ingredients. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker. Transfer sorbet to an airtight container and freeze for several hours to harden. Make ahead.

Raspberry Coulis:

Purée raspberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids. Can be made up to 3 days ahead (keep chilled).

Flourless Chocolate Cake:

1.      Preheat oven to 350° F. and butter a 10-inch springform pan.  Line bottom with a round of parchment paper and butter the paper.

2.      In a double boiler, melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth.  Remove bowl from heat and whisk in sugar. Add eggs and liquor; whisk well. Sift 1 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined.

3.      Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 35 to 40 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust.  Transfer pan to a rack. When cool, run a knife around the outside of the cake and carefully remove the outer ring.

4.      Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with sorbet and raspberry coulis. Cake keeps, after being cooled completely (in an airtight container) for up to 1 week.

adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 1997
(with many suggestions from fsilverman of Brooklyn, NY)

limes

juicing a lime

cream of coconut (the thick cream rises to
the top, just like with regular coconut milk)

cream of coconut in a bowl

whisked with lime juice and water

As I mentioned earlier, I forgot to take photos of the frozen sorbet.
I loved the coconut-lime flavors, but I did think it was a little too
sweet. I think next time I would try making it again with plain
coconut milk and add sugar (or another sweetener) to taste.

squeezing lemon juice over the raspberries

adding sugar

pureed

straining out the seeds

raspberry coulis

butter and chocolate (I used Callebaut bittersweet)

adding sugar

whisking in the eggs and kahlua

adding cocoa
(it was a little lumpy, I probably should have sifted it in)

batter in the pan

baked

cooled and ring removed

I used a squeeze bottle for the raspberry coulis,
but you can just drizzle some with a spoon.

.

Fresh Berry Crumb Bars

I'm taking a break next week. I wish I could say I'm jetting off to Paris or Rome, but the reality is that my daughter is in between camp and school, so I'll just be trying to amuse her while still getting work done (wish me luck, she's a tough audience).

Since I won't be back until after Labor Day, I wanted to leave you with something that screams summer. Something made with fresh berries while the berry getting is still good. These are so simple and satisfying. And because they're not too ridiculously sweet and fruity too, you can get away with having them for breakfast (in front of others I mean--when you're alone you can eat a whole tray of fudge brownies and live with the private shame). Have a nice week!

FRESH BERRY CRUMB BARS

Yield: 24

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

1 egg

1 heaping tablespoon tapioca starch or corn starch

4 cups fresh blueberries and raspberries

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 teaspoons lemon juice

____________________________________________________________________

1.      Preheat oven to 375º F. Grease a 9- x 13-inch pan.

2.      Combine 1 cup of the sugar with the flour, baking powder and salt in food processor; pulse to combine. Add the butter and and pulse until mixture resembles a course meal. Add egg and pulse until dough begins to climb up the sides (dough will be crumbly but stick together when squeezed). Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3.      In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and starch. Gently mix into the berries, along with the lemon zest and lemon juice. Sprinkle the berry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4.      Bake for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

adapted from allrecipes.com

dry ingredients pulsed; adding butter

adding egg

dough climbing up the sides

crust patted down

I went with about 65% blueberries and 35% raspberries.

adding lemon zest

filling all mixed

filling spread over crust

sprinkling with crumbs

If you want larger crumbs on top, just squeeze
some of the dough as you go to form larger clumps.

ready to bake

baked

sliced into bars

They're even easier to slice if you put the cooled pan
in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. And obviously
you can get more than 24 if you cut them smaller.

luscious berry filling

even closer to the luscious berry filling

.