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Tag: cheesecake

Why dairy on Shavuot? Oh, and cheescake recipes

On the second day of Passover, we begin to count the omer (sheaves of a harvested crop). The counting concludes seven weeks later, with Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), which has different names, but is associated with one type of food: dairy products. Hence, my sharing a few cheesecake recipes.

Song of Songs Chapter 4 reads, “honey and milk are under thy tongue,” a reference to the Torah being as nourishing as milk and as sweet as honey. Thus, on the holiday celebrating the giving of the Torah, it became traditional to eat foods with milk and honey.

Interpreters of the Tanach liked to use gematria (Jewish system of assigning numerical values to words and phrases, based on their letters). For example, Psalm 68 is read on Shavuot and, in verse 16, it reads: “A mount of G-d is the mountain of Bashan.” The Hebrew for peaks is gavnuneem, which sounds like gveeneh (cheese). One could interpret this to mean that, on Shavuot, we should eat mountains of cheese.

Another example: the values of the Hebrew letters in chalav (milk) sum to 40. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai, so we eat foods with milk.

As well, there is a legend that says, until Moses descended with the Torah, kashrut was unknown so, rather than prepare the meat as per the new rules, the people ate dairy. Pragmatically, since Shavuot is a summer festival and Israel is hot, it was logical to eat light, dairy foods. Also, sheep give birth around this time, so milk and cheese are plentiful.

In the Shulchan Aruch (code of Jewish law), Rabbi Moses Isserles wrote: “It is a universal custom to eat dairy food on the first day of Shavuot.”

CRUSTLESS CHEESECAKE

1 cup cream cheese
1 1/2 cups creamed cottage cheese
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray vegetable shortening in a nine-inch round cake pan.
  2. Mix together cream cheese, creamed cottage cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Pour into pan.
  3. Bake 35-40 minutes or until centre firm.
  4. Remove from oven and spread with sour cream while cake is hot. Cool then refrigerate.

BLENDER CHEESECAKE

crust:
15 graham crackers
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup melted margarine or 3 tbsp vegetable oil

filling:
1 envelope unflavoured gelatin
1 tbsp lemon juice
grated peel of 1 lemon
1/2 cup hot water or milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 package cream cheese
1 heaping cup crushed ice
1 cup sour cream

  1. Break five crackers into quarters, blend to crumbs. Empty into bowl. Repeat twice more.
  2. Stir in sugar and cinnamon. Add melted margarine or oil and mix until crumbs are moist. Grease a spring form pan. Press crust against sides and chill.
  3. Mix in blender gelatin, lemon juice, lemon peel, hot water or milk 40 seconds.
  4. Add sugar, egg yolks and cream cheese and blend 10 seconds. Add ice and sour cream and blend 15 seconds.
  5. Pour onto crumb crust and chill.

MY MOM’S (Z”L) SCRUMPTIOUS CHEESE CAKE

crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter or margarine or 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp oil
1/4 cup sugar
dash cinnamon

filling:
1 1/2 cups cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla

topping:
2 cups sour cream
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Combine crushed crackers, butter, margarine or oil, sugar and cinnamon and press into spring form pan.
  3. Bake 10 minutes.
  4. Combine the filling’s cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla with a mixer until fluffy. Pour into crust and bake 30 minutes.
  5. Beat topping’s sour cream, sugar and vanilla. When cake is done, remove from oven and spread topping on it. Return to oven and bake 10 minutes.
  6. Serve with cherries, crushed pineapple or strawberries on top.

 Sybil Kaplan is a journalist, lecturer, book reviewer and food writer in Jerusalem. She created and leads the weekly English-language Shuk Walks in Machane Yehuda, she has compiled and edited nine kosher cookbooks, and is the author of Witness to History: Ten Years as a Woman Journalist in Israel.

Posted on May 31, 2019May 30, 2019Author Sybil KaplanCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags cheesecake, cooking, Judaism, recipes, Shavuot
Freshen up holiday classics

Freshen up holiday classics

Cheesecake bars (photo by Mollie Katzen)

Fresh cheese is a staple in classic Shavuot foods, traditionally wrapped in a soft, egg-like blintz that is then fried lightly in butter. Variations on this theme can keep things interesting and expand your kitchen craft. You can try freshening up your blintz package with a cheese upgrade – namely, simple homemade ricotta, which tastes sublime.

Cheesecake is another way to expand the joy of this holiday. Small cheesecake bars, topped with early strawberries, are a wonderful way to usher in the transition-to-summer month of June. A Thai tea cheesecake is beautiful and surprising, rounding out your holiday with a sense of orange expansiveness, and it is actually easier than handcrafting blintzes.

CHEESECAKE BARS

If you love cheesecake, but feel guilty after eating it, pursue it in a small way instead. These bars hit that spot perfectly, especially when adorned with a perfect, small, ripe strawberry.

1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup (half an 8-ounce package) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 large eggs, beaten
handful or two of ripe strawberries (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F if using a glass pan). Have ready a six-by-nine-inch baking pan (ungreased) or the equivalent.

2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and the brown sugar, crumbling the sugar into the flour with your hands until uniformly distributed. Add the melted butter and stir to thoroughly combine. Press this mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan.

3. Combine the cottage cheese, cream cheese, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and eggs in the bowl of a food processor and buzz until completely smooth. Pour this mixture into the pan, spreading it into place.

4. Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, or until the top surface is firm to the touch. Remove from the oven, and allow it to cool completely before chilling. Let it chill for at least two hours and serve cold, cut into 1.5-inch squares; ideally, topped with sliced strawberries.

Makes about 1.5 dozen.

HOMEMADE RICOTTA

Homemade ricotta is not only more soulful than anything you can buy, but also more economical, producing approximately one pound of cheese for the price of a half-gallon of milk. You can determine the thickness of the cheese by keeping watch over the project and wrapping it up (in every sense) when the cheese achieves your preferred texture. The longer it stands, the firmer it becomes. Time and gravity – and your taste – are the textural determinants. You also get to decide on the salt content. Try this for dessert or brunch, with some artisan honey warmed and spooned over the top like a syrup, and possibly also some fresh fruit, toasted nuts and scones or little cookies. You can get cheesecloth in most grocery stores.

1/2 gallon whole milk
1 cup whole milk yogurt
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

1. Combine the milk and yogurt in a large saucepan or a kettle and whisk until smooth. Place over medium heat and warm for about 15 minutes, or until tiny bubbles form along the sides. The top surface may bulge slightly and a little skin might develop. All normal.

2. Remove the pan from the stove and pour in the lemon juice without mixing. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for an hour to curdle.

3. Prepare a four-layer cheesecloth net about 16 to 18 inches square. Lay this inside a medium-large fine mesh strainer or colander balanced over a bowl. Long pieces of cheesecloth will drape down the sides. Pour the curdled mixture into the net so the liquid drips into the bowl and the solids remain in the cheesecloth. Don’t press it or try to hurry the process along in any way, or you’ll lose some of the cheese. The whey needs to drip at its own pace.

4. After about an hour, lift the side-flaps of cheesecloth and, without actually knotting them, tie them neatly around the cheese. Let it stand, slowly dripping, for another two hours, or even longer, if you like a firmer, drier cheese.

5. Salt the cheese to taste, transfer it to a tightly covered container, and refrigerate. It will keep for about five days.

THAI TEA CHEESECAKE

photo - Thai tea cheesecake
Thai tea cheesecake. (photo by Mollie Katzen)

From The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation. Thai iced tea morphs into a dessert (it didn’t have far to go), and all I can say is, this is kind of amazing. No baking required, just a patted-into-place crumb crust and a stovetop-thickened filling. Cool to room temperature, then chill and/or (in my perfect world) freeze.

Brew and strain the tea well ahead of time. To get the proper strength for this recipe, steep 1/2 cup Thai tea in 2 1/2 cups boiling water for 10 minutes, then strain, pressing out and saving as much of the water as you can.

Chocolate crumb crust:

6 to 7 ounces graham crackers (10 or 11 long ones)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1. Place the graham crackers in a food processor and buzz to fine crumbs. You should have about two cups.

2. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl, stir in the cocoa and sugar, and pour in the melted butter. Mix to thoroughly combine and then transfer to a nine-inch pie pan.

3. Spread it out to cover the bottom completely and evenly, letting it begin to climb up the sides of the pan. Pat it into place, gently at first and then firmly, turning the pan as you go, and building a nice edge flush with the rim. Set aside.

Filling:

1/2 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups strong-brewed Thai tea, strained and cooled
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
8 ounces cream cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, eggs and cornstarch until smooth. Stir in the tea and vanilla.

2. Bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking frequently. Cook and stir for five to eight minutes, or until the custard thickens to the point where it starts to resist being stirred.

3. Remove from the heat and immediately add the cream cheese in pieces; it will melt in. Whisk exuberantly until the cream cheese is completely incorporated and the mixture becomes uniform. This will likely take several minutes.

4. Pour the hot mixture directly into the crust and let it cool to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold. Make the topping in the meantime.

Topping:

2/3 cups sour cream
2 tbsp brewed Thai tea (optional)
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt

1. Whisk together all the ingredients until smooth and uniform.

2. Spoon on to the top of the pie, spreading it to the edges of the crust.

3. Carefully (so as not to disturb the top surface) cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze until serving time. Serve at any temperature, from very cold to partially (or even mostly) frozen.

Yields eight or more servings.

With more than six million books in print, Mollie Katzen is listed by the New York Times as one of the bestselling cookbook authors of all time and has been named by Health Magazine as one of “The Five Women Who Changed the Way We Eat.” Her new book, The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation, was published in September 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Format ImagePosted on May 30, 2014May 30, 2014Author Mollie KatzenCategories Celebrating the HolidaysTags cheesecake, Mollie Katzen, The Heart of the Plate
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