Fourth of July Cheesecake

This is the most sublimely decadent cheesecake I 

have ever had the pleasure to taste.

Such a silky smooth texture.

Rose upped the standard by which all other

cheesecakes can be judged.

I won't say this is an easy dessert to make

but it is also not difficult.  Just time consuming. And takes a fair bit

of concentration.  

The cheesecake itself is very easy;

just loads of cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice,

sugar and vanilla.  Loads.

The base varies from traditional cookie crust in that Rose 

chose to use her Red Velvet Cake. 

I followed her suggestion to substitute water for 

the red food coloring. 

A strawberry glaze was made rather than the raspberry because I had

an unopened jar of strawberry preserves.

This is spread over the top of the cake to help the cheesecake adhere.

As if all this wasn't enough, Rose encased this creation with her

sublime Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate frosting.

That in itself could qualify as dessert.

Blueberries are glistened with a sweetened cornstarch and sugar glaze.

My son requested raspberries so I followed the same method,

and turned both of the leftover berries into sauces.

I have to say, the raspberries are quite good this way.

I will make this cheesecake again and again 

with maybe just Faithy's blueberry sauce or raspberry sauce.

Honestly, this cheesecake can stand on its own

with the simplest accompaniment. 

~

The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum 

Prosciutto Ring

The case of the missing lard.

First clue should have been when my daughter called me 

from the deli asking how much prosciutto, soppressata, pepperoni 

should she buy?

What are you talking about? 

It's just 3 oz of procuitto.

She was adamant there was soppressata

and more than 3 oz..

 I had no clue what she was talking about.

We were beginning to wonder which of us lost our 

marbles in this west coast heat wave.

As a vegetarian, I really couldn't get around the lard.

Flicking out pieces of prosciutto was one thing, but

bread with lard as a main component?  No.

What the heck,  I'll follow the recipe and

just not have any.

That made me a little sad.

Off to the market to buy a fat pig packet of lard

there was none to be found in the very large Hispanic food isle.

Melting my way back home in the forecast 110 degree temperature,

I made an instant decision.

I would substitute olive oil.

How much lard was that exactly?

There was no lard listed.

Good heavens!

Another long distance phone call to go over the ingredients.

They definitely did not match.

This was fate! 

The Baking Fairy had waved a magic wand

and given me a rogue copy of  The Bread Bible.

I didn't need to substitute anything but then 

I thought the texture would be too dry

and added two tablespoons of olive oil.

The texture is soft and fluffy.

The flavor delectable

with just a hint of olive oil in the background..

So like Hansel and Gretel,

I leave a trail of prosciutto bits, this time.

Next time procuitto on the side..  This is really good bread.

I love pan roasted peppercorns and

this bread showcases the cracked pepper perfectly.

I'm sure peppery deli beef would substitute well for

those that do not eat pork with any oil for softness.

It's really a great recipe and should not leave anyone behind.

Pecan Praline Meringue Ice Cream Sandwiches

We like these! 

Dulce de leche, vanilla and coffee ice cream;

we tried them all.

I was surprised how easy they were to make.

It's almost magical watching the egg whites and brown sugar

turn into a thick fluffy cloud.

It's been unseasonably humid here but this afternoon

the humidity dropped and didn't seem to affect the batter.

Folded in the pecans and ready for the pans.

I got out the Kouigns Amann rings

and also tried free hand shaping.

Honestly, this would be great as a nine inch

round cookie cake and sliced into wedges.

I wasn't thrilled with the texture of the ganache

and I'm certain it's because I used a different

brand of white chocolate.

That will teach me trying to save a trip to the grocery store

which carries my favorite Lindt White Chocolate.

There's a lesson to stick to tried and true ingredients.

So for someone, namely me, who does not like meringue,

these are really delicious.

That's two for two TBB meringue cookies.

Now if Rose could just make a chocolate version

 I'd be very happy.

~~~~

The Baking Bible

by

Rose Levy Berenbaum

Double Damage Oblivion

Huzzah! 

The Double Damage Oblivion is finished.

Rich and decadent is an understatement.

To off set the extreme chocolateness,  a syrup from 

Moreno cherries with almond extract was brushed over the cake layers

which made it incredibly moist and light.

And then served with the remaining jarred

Trader Joe's moreno cherries

thickened with cornstarch.

Here is the step by step process.

I did not take one picture while making this dessert.

I had a house full of granddaughters

and made Tasha Tudor Brownies

in the middle of the Oblivion.

Truly a double chocolate damage day.

By the end I was so exhausted 

I skipped the ganache instructions and instead 

opted for throwing chocolate and heavy cream

into a glass bowl and microwaving for two minutes.

After stirring in the vanilla the result was perfect ganache.

I am very grateful to the Alpha Bakers who shared this techinique

once upon a time.

I can't even say how relieved I was the three components

were finished and ready to put together.

It is a very rich dessert but so far everyone has liked it.

I can see the basic recipe being enhanced

with so many different flavors.

It's definitely best served at room temperature. 

~~~

The Baking Bible by Rose Levy Berenbaum

Red Velvet Rose Cake

This latest version of a Red Velvet Cake is from Rose's newest book,

The Baking Bible.

I tend to shy away from any Red Velvet cake unless it's for someone's

special occasion, such as a birthday.

Like many others, I don't care for artificial coloring in food or  beverages, for 

myself or my family.  I'm a real stickler for reading labels. 

Rose gives the option of roasting beets for the added color.  I wanted

to try India Tree's natural red coloring.

It was a beautiful shade of red coming out of the bottle but didn't hold up

in the batter during baking.

As eldest granddaughter noticed, it looked like a spice cake.

This cake has a wonderful flavor and light crumb.

Honestly, it doesn't need any coloring at all.

It was also easy to mix together.

After baking, a delicious raspberry

sauce was brushed over the cakes.

The extra raspberry sauce was mixed into whipped cream.

To me this cake far surpasses a typical Red Velvet cake

and could aptly be named

Raspberry  Velvet Rose Cake.

Classic Brioche Loaf

Brioche.

I can scarcely believe it.

Could it really be this simple

the second time around?

It was a snap

compared to the Panettone.

I kept flipping pages back and forth, reading over and over again,

certain I'd left out major steps.

And quite certain I killed the dough during the

deflating step.

It was so hard; seeing the beautiful dough magically

emerge from the proofing sauna, all puffy and gorgeous,

only to be felled down in its glorious prime.

But the moment the oven door is opened and this emerges,

it is all worth it.

The mixing, the proofing, the warm rise, the cool rise,

the overnight rise.

The folding, the turning, the wrapping, the waiting.

Because it can be turned into this;

warm brioche coffee ice cream sandwiches.

Or this

glorious French toast.

It isn't difficult, this brioche.  It just takes a bit of concentration.

And blind faith that it will all turn out in the end.

~

The Baking Bible

Ricotta Loaf

 Rose's Ricotta Loaf is a bread that defies classification.

It just can't be pinned down.

Not a fluffy yeast bread.  Not a dense tea bread.

It lies somewhere in the middle with a flavor 

all its own.

It definitely is a simple bread to make.

Flour, sugar, yeast are stirred together.

Ricotta, butter, egg and salt are then added and 

eventually water to guarantee it is a nice, moist dough. 

Ten minutes in the mixing bowl with a dough hook and

Voila!

Lovely dough.

I was so pleased that I promptly sent off a picture to my 

Bread Bible Baking daughter

as proof I'd finally gotten underway.

But this is what I sent instead~

Which is why one

should not bake without

one's glasses, 

let along text pictures.

They look exactly the same with my blurry vision.

They're on your head, Mrs. Richards

Into the microwave with cups of hot water

for a steamy rise, although why I just

didn't let it rise outside in the humidity is beyond me.

I blame the weather for melting any and all 

common sense I might have had left.

Proofed and ready for the oven.

Wish I could say the same for wedging

ice cubes into the pan lying on the oven floor.

It's like some mad cap ring toss carnival game at the fair

and I sure didn't win any prizes.

A few cursory adjectives may have been

uttered when I noticed the instructions to

turn and tent with foil.

See above about humidity.

Luckily no harm done.

As a bonus for clearing out the freezer

a forgotten jar of lemon curd was found.

This bread is good.  It's very good.  It's too good

with jam.

And tea with the Earl.