Longchamps' Cheesecake

Longchamps' Cheesecake
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 138.

This cheesecake is named after a restaurant chain in New York. It is very easy to make and wonderful. The lemon zest gives the cheesecake a nice touch. After making this I realized that the crust was your basic graham cracker crust and not the nightmarish way she normally does it (maybe she discovered this later??)  

Although the recipe does not call for a water bath, I always use one when making a cheesecake. However, since this one will be covered with topping, that might not be important to you.

About the topping - she recommends either fresh blueberries or strawberries.  I had frozen strawberries on hand and used those. Her method was different (I will explain both ways in the recipe). Enjoy!

Crumb Crust

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
7 TBS. plus 1 tsp. (1 stick minus 2 tsp.) unsalted butter

Butter the sides of a 9 x 2.5 or 3 inch springform pan. (Leaving the bottom unbuttered makes it easier to transfer to a serving plate). Combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter and stir until evenly distributed. Remove and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture. Press the remainder on the sides of the pan. Press the reserved crumbs on the bottom. Press firmly all over. Place in refrigerator or freezer until you are ready to use it.

  
Filling

16 oz. Philadelphia brand cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
6 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Finely grated rind of 2 large lemons


Adjust oven rack 1/3 up from the bottom and preheat to 350.

In a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft and very smooth. Add the sugar and beat well, scraping the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate.

Add the salt.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Beat in the cream.

Add the vanilla.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the lemon zest. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust and bake 80 minutes (I baked it for 70 minutes since I have a hot oven). Turn the oven off, open the door about 6 inches and let the cheesecake cool in the oven. (Note: I used a water bath)

After the cheesecake has cooled, remove it from the pan and refrigerate for a few hours or longer.

Topping

Since I was using frozen strawberries for the topping, I didn't follow Maida's instructions. It probably would have worked however. Her Method: Use 2 cups of fresh strawberries or blueberries and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of seedless red currant preserves. Wash the berries and dry them thoroughly. Melt about 1/2 cup of the preserves in a small saucepan, stirring over low heat. Let it come just to a boil. Mix it with the berries and spread over the cake.

The Method I Used: Allow the frozen strawberries to thaw. Drain them, reserving the liquid. Add enough water to reserved liquid to measure 1/2 cup. Mix cornstarch and reserved liquid in medium saucepan until well blended. Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute. Cool. Stir in strawberries; spoon over cooled cheesecake. 

Gingerbread Muffins

Gingerbread Muffins
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 277.

These delicious gingerbread muffins can be served plain or with vanilla ice cream. The Bittersweet Glaze is also optional. These are very easy to make. Again, I used my silicone baking cups which made the job even easier!

1 3/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. finely ground black pepper
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. dry powdered mustard
1 egg and 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses (preferably dark)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 TBS. granular or powdered instant coffee
1/2 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 400. The recipe will make about 16 cupcakes so you will need two 12-cup muffin pans but will only need to use 4 cups on one pan. Butter or spray the pans and dust with dry bread crumbs.

Dissolve the coffee in the boiling water and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and
mustard and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the egg and egg yolk slightly. Beat in the sugar.

Beat in the molasses.

Beat in the oil.

Lower the speed of the mixer and add the dry ingredients until incorporated.

Add the coffee and water mixture.

You will have a thin mixture so it will be easier if you transfer it to a measuring cup
to pour into the cupcake forms. Fill about 2/3 full.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the muffins spring back when they are lightly pressed with the fingertips. Do not overbake. Serve hot or cold.

Bittersweet Glaze

Bittersweet Glaze
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 289.

Good for vanilla ice cream or gingerbread.

1/4 cup boiling water
1 tsp. granular instant coffee
3 oz. semisweet chocolate
1 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp. vegetable shortening

Over medium heat in a saucepan, stir the water and coffee granules together. Add the chocolates and shortening and stir until the chocolates have melted.

Transfer to a mixer and beat briskly until the glaze is smooth. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins
Source: Maida Heatter's Cakes (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2011 ed.), pg. 276.

These muffins are light and delicious and can be served warm or cold. They also freeze well. They are also simple to make. I'm still on a silicone kick and this time I used silicone cupcake cups. They worked great. Not as quick and easy to clean as the silicone pan was but of course you have to clean each individual cup. 

I confess that I did not use fresh blueberries. I had some in the freezer and they worked fine in the recipe. Be sure that the berries are dried properly before incorporating them into your flour mixture! 

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 TBS. unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
Finely grated rind of 1 medium-sized lemon

The full recipe is available here.

      

Combing the blueberries with flour with keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins.

Fill the muffin forms about 2/3 full.

Marble Spice Cake

Marble Spice Cake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1999 ed.), pg. 138.

This is described as "an old fashioned Southern loaf cake". I made this last month and am just now getting it on the blog. This would be a nice cake for the holidays. 

The recipe calls for a 9x5x3 loaf pan but I used a silicon pan (measuring slightly longer and narrower) that I had received from the Amazon Vine Program to review. This was the first time I've baked in a silicon pan and I was pretty impressed with the results.  

2 cups sifted cake flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 lb. (1 stick) butter (softened)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. powdered, unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. powdered cloves
2 TBS. molasses, light or dark

Preheat oven to 375 and adjust rack 1/3 up from the bottom. Butter (or spray) a 9x5x3 loaf pan and dust lightly with fine, dry bread crumbs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat the butter slightly to soften.

Add the sugar and beat for a minute or two.

Add the eggs and increase the speed to high - beat for 1 to 2 minutes.

Lower the speed of the mixer and alternately add the dry ingredients in three additions and the milk in two additions. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary to get it all mixed properly.

Remove half of the batter and set it aside in a separate bowl.

To the remaining mixture in the mixing bowl, add the cocoa, instant coffee,
cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Add the molasses. Beat until smooth.

Alternately spoon both batters into the loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out dry. Let stand in the pan for about 10 minutes before cooling completely on a rack.