Baking fever!

Finally I did some baking during easter! Got my hands on the new maison hand/stand mixer we bought online=) A tat small, but still functional.

It was Ben's birthday and since he liked cheesecake..

New York Cheesecake it is!

Im not a big fan of cheesecakes, but it turned out quite alright. Tip is not to overbeat the mixture with cream cheese, and watch your cake closely when its baking! Mine cracked, and I got rather paranoid over it..
Not going to show the cracked cake pictures ;)

I got the recipe from joyofbaking.com, anyhoos Im still posting the recipe.

Crust:

2 cups (200 grams) of graham wafer crumbs or finely crushed vanilla wafers or gingersnaps (process whole cookies in a food processor until they are crumbs) I used digestives

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

32 ounces (1 kg) (4 - 8 ounces packages) cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons (35 grams) all purpose flour I used rising flour, turned out ok!

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Topping:

1 cup (240 ml) sour cream (not low fat or fat free)

2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Crust:

In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling:

In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake for about another 1 1/2 hours or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and refrigerating. This cheesecake tastes best after being refrigerated for at least a day.

Serve with fresh fruit or fruit sauces. Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cheesecake.


Then a friend who made good tiramisu joined in the baking craze(although it is non-baked). It was exactly how I liked it to be, but freeeaakkkinng sweet. Friend used baileys and drinking chocolate powder instead of cocoa. Sponge fingers were sugared and he added MORE sugar into the mix. Can you imagine.. But I'd use this recipe and reduce the diabetic components.

Recipe from nigella.com

Serves 12(reduce if neccessary. Its gonna be huge)

Ingredients:
350ml espresso coffee, made with 350ml water and 9 teaspoons instant espresso powder, cooled 250ml Baileys cream liqueur if you dont like it too sweet, use Kahlua instead!
2 x 200g packets Savoiardi (Italian lady finger) biscuits
2 eggs
75g caster sugar
500g mascarpone
2 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder

1. Mix the coffee with 175ml of the Baileys in a shallow bowl.

2. Dip the biscuits into this liquid; let them soak on each side enough to become damp but not soggy. Line the bottom of a 22cm square glass dish with a layer of biscuits.

3. Separate the eggs, but keep only one of the whites. Whisk the two yolks and the sugar together until thick and a paler yellow, then fold in the remaining 75ml of Baileys, and the mascarpone to make a moussy mixture.

4. Whisk the single egg white until thick and frothy; you can do this by hand with such a little amount. Fold the egg white into the yolky mascarpone, and then spread half of this mixture on top of the layer of biscuits.

5. Repeat with another layer of soaked Savoiardi, and then top with the remaining mascarpone mixture.

6. Cover the dish with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to serve, push the cocoa powder through a small tea strainer to dust the top of the tiramisu.