There is nothing better than cooling down on a hot summer's day with a cold treat. Today, I'm going to talk about three: Chessecake, Panna Cotta, and Banana Ice Cream. As the Twin Cities seem to be undergoing an oppressively hot summer broken up by a day or so of heavy storms, I can't help but enjoy one of these cold treats every so often.
As I was saying in my last post, Cheesecake isn't as much a cake as it is a custard due to its ingredient composition. As with many things that rise, cracking and/or uneven surfaces are common with this dessert. In order to keep your cheesecake's surface nice and smooth, make sure not to over whip it. Cracking happens because air in the batter is trapped and expands during cooking. When the custard cools it collapses onto itself breaking that sleek, creamy surface. There are thee easy ways to help keep your custard from becoming cracked:
1) Only stir the batter enough to completely combine all the ingredients and that will help keep out any excess air.
2) Bring your oven up to temperature gradually by placing a tray of water on the bottom rack. A slow heating oven will help the bubbles disperse gradually instead of being baked into the cake.
3) Make sure the cheesecake cools gradually as well.
Those tips should help get your cheesecake sleek every time. If it doesn't and you still end up with a fault down your beautiful creation, you can always put fruit on it as well. You can see that my cheesecake actually cracked because we cooled it down in the freezer (my friend had to leave the next day) To cover this up, I topped my cheesecake with a triple berry coulis. Both recipes are as follows.
1) Only stir the batter enough to completely combine all the ingredients and that will help keep out any excess air.
2) Bring your oven up to temperature gradually by placing a tray of water on the bottom rack. A slow heating oven will help the bubbles disperse gradually instead of being baked into the cake.
3) Make sure the cheesecake cools gradually as well.
Those tips should help get your cheesecake sleek every time. If it doesn't and you still end up with a fault down your beautiful creation, you can always put fruit on it as well. You can see that my cheesecake actually cracked because we cooled it down in the freezer (my friend had to leave the next day) To cover this up, I topped my cheesecake with a triple berry coulis. Both recipes are as follows.
Cheesecake
Crust
15 graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2.In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan. Bake for 10 min. Turn off oven when done.
3.In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4.Turn oven back to 350 degrees F and place cheesecake on middle rack. Place tray of water on the bottom rack and bake cakes for 1 hour. When it's done, the cheesecake should look a little underdone. If it looks done, you've baked it too long and take it out of the oven. If not, turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.
(If you are in a time crunch like I was, you can stick it in the fridge, or (gasp) the freezer after a couple minutes to let it set. Be advised that your cheesecake will crack if you do it this way. My friend was going back to France the next day so we needed cheesecake now.)
Triple Berry Coulis
Ingredients
2 cups raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries (cut into large chunks)
3/4 cup Simple Syrup (1/2 cup sugar dissolved into 1/2 cup boiling water)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water (optional)
Directions
Bring the raspberries, syrup, and lemon juice to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are very soft, about 8 minutes. Thicken with cornstarch if necessary.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard the seeds. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Crust
15 graham crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2.In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan. Bake for 10 min. Turn off oven when done.
3.In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4.Turn oven back to 350 degrees F and place cheesecake on middle rack. Place tray of water on the bottom rack and bake cakes for 1 hour. When it's done, the cheesecake should look a little underdone. If it looks done, you've baked it too long and take it out of the oven. If not, turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.
(If you are in a time crunch like I was, you can stick it in the fridge, or (gasp) the freezer after a couple minutes to let it set. Be advised that your cheesecake will crack if you do it this way. My friend was going back to France the next day so we needed cheesecake now.)
Triple Berry Coulis
Ingredients
2 cups raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries (cut into large chunks)
3/4 cup Simple Syrup (1/2 cup sugar dissolved into 1/2 cup boiling water)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in water (optional)
Directions
Bring the raspberries, syrup, and lemon juice to a simmer in a heavy medium saucepan over low heat. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the berries are very soft, about 8 minutes. Thicken with cornstarch if necessary.
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl; discard the seeds. Cool completely, then cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Panna Cotta is Italian for "cooked cream." Benvenuti in Italia! I served this after Italian sausage, spinach stuffed shells which despite taking longer than I would have liked, were delicious. This dessert is basically an egg-less custard that is often served with a fruit, or chocolate topping. Served alone, this is a blank canvas that complements any flavor. As my brother described it at the Tuesday Night Dinner where it was served, it's like "sweet, creamy tofu." Almost anything will go well. I served mine with the left over triple berry coulis from the cheesecake.
Panna Cotta
Ingredients
1/3 cup skim milk
1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Panna Cotta
Ingredients
1/3 cup skim milk
1 (.25 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1.Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.
2.In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.
3.Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.
1.Pour milk into a small bowl, and stir in the gelatin powder. Set aside.
2.In a saucepan, stir together the heavy cream and sugar, and set over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, watching carefully, as the cream will quickly rise to the top of the pan. Pour the gelatin and milk into the cream, stirring until completely dissolved. Cook for one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and pour into six individual ramekin dishes.
3.Cool the ramekins uncovered at room temperature. When cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight before serving.
Lastly, a quick, cheap way to beat the heat is banana ice cream. At the local grocery store, bananas are about $0.49/pound. They are pretty much the least expensive fruits you can buy. After the bananas are ripe, peel them and chop them into medallions about 1/4 inch thick. Freeze them. After they are frozen, put them on a cutting board and just keep cutting until you get a smooth texture, like ice cream. Once you do it a couple times, you can refine your technique. After the pieces are small enough, it becomes more of a spreading motion with knife. This quick dessert has kept me comfortable throughout this sweltering summer.
