Recipe: Lemon Cheesecake with a Raspberry Swirl

So, making a cheesecake was my way of dealing with the fact that I had a box of Girl Scout Trefoil cookies, which were pretty tasteless (at least in comparison to Walkers brand shortbread, which is far superior), that I refused to waste. The easiest way to use them, in my mind, was to make a crust with them, and I felt that cheesecake was the ideal filling for said crust (plus, I've never made cheesecake before, and I wanted to try something new). While out to dinner with a friend, I mentioned my plan for this cheesecake and we started brainstorming ideas for flavors for the dessert (because New York Style with gooey strawberry puree on top was not gonna cut it). We both mentioned lemon and raspberry in almost the same breath, and I was immediately hooked on the idea, so I found this great recipe from The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen to work off of. Even though Pennsylvania still can't seem to decide if it wants winter or spring (and thus, we go from 70 degrees one day to 40 degrees the next), I felt the flavors of lemon and raspberry were bright and perfect for this transitional stage between the end of winter and beginning of spring. Lemon and cream cheese, each with their own tangy flavor, go perfectly together, while sweetened raspberries add another dimension to the flavor and help sweeten the cheesecake. Aside from the exceptional flavor, this cheesecake is thick, creamy, and decadent—so rich that even I, champion of eating ALL the dessert, only cut myself the slimmest slice so as to avoid overdoing it.

Yields: About 16 servings (depending on how large your slices are)
Prep. time: 20-30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 min. for the crust, approx. 1-and-a-half hours for the cheesecake
Difficulty: Easy to moderate
Special equipment: Springform pan, food processor, stand mixer, strainer

Ingredients
For the crust

• 1&1/2 sleeves Girl Scout Trefoil cookies (or approx. 1 box of your favorite shortbread cookies/approx. 20 cookies)
• 2 tbsp. granulated white sugar
• 4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the raspberry puree swirl

• 10-12 oz. fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup water

For the cheesecake filling

• 4, 8 oz. blocks/packages of cream cheese (I used Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat), room temperature
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• Zest of 3 lemons (approx. 2 tbsp.)
• 1 cup sour cream (I used a low fat style), room temperature
• 4 large eggs, room temperature (you can bring them up to room temperature faster by placing them, still in the shells, in a cup or bowl with warm-to-hot water)
• Juice of 3 lemons (approx. 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• Additional 1-2 tbsp. sugar (to help cut some of the acidity of the lemons)

Directions

For the crust

Preheat the oven to 350*F. In a food processor, pulse the cookies until they are broken down into a fine crumb, then add the sugar and melted butter and pulse to blend until the cookie mixture is wet and looks a bit like damp sand. Spray or butter your springform pan, then pour the cookie mixture into the pan and press evenly on the bottom and up onto the sides. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Set aside to cool.

For the raspberry puree swirl

Add the raspberries, sugar, and water to a small saucepan and heat over medium high heat for approx. 10 minutes, until the raspberries are completely broken down and the mixture is bubbling. Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a small bowl or measuring cup (the strainer removes all of the unwanted lumps and seeds and gives you a nice, clear puree). If the puree is a little watery, boil for about a minute to slightly thicken in. Set aside to cool (I placed mine in the fridge to cool faster).

For the cheesecake filling

Lower the temperature of the oven to 325*F. Wrap the bottom and outside sides of the springform pan in aluminum foil, so no water will leak inside while cooking (the cheesecake will be cooked in a water bath). In the bowl of your stand mixer, on medium speed, cream together the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon zest until the mixture is smooth and airy (approx. 3-5 minutes). Add the sour cream and mix it in, then add the eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each one before adding the next. Add the lemon juice, salt, and extra sugar to the mixture and blend, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until the mixture is well mixed. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan with crust and smooth the top of the batter with a spatula so it is even and smooth. Carefully drizzle part of the raspberry puree in a large circle around the edge of the batter, then another slightly smaller circle in the middle, and a smaller circle inside of that (3-4 rings of raspberry puree should be fine; you should have puree leftover). Take a skewer, chopstick, or other long and thin kitchen utensil/tool and make a zigzag motion across the batter from top to bottom, then side to side, creating a swirl pattern. Place the springform pan in a larger pan (make sure it's not too tight of a fit). Boil a pot of water and pour the boiling water carefully into the larger pan (do not splash any water into or onto the cheesecake) so that the water comes up about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for about an hour and 30 minutes, until the cheesecake no longer jiggles much in the middle (a little jiggling is fine, as the cheesecake will continue to cook a little even after being removed from the oven, and it will firm up after removal from the oven). Remove the cheesecake and let it cool in the pan for at least 2 hours, then remove the pan (leaving the bottom) and allow the cheesecake to cool for at least 5-6 hours in the fridge. Save the remaining raspberry puree in an airtight container in the fridge.

Serve the cheesecake with an extra drizzle of raspberry puree, if desired, and if you're feeling a little adventurous (as I was), add a dollop of homemade whipped cream (1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, 2 tbsp, sugar, and 2 tbsp. of the raspberry puree whips up to create a lovely raspberry whipped cream). Keep the cheesecake and puree in the fridge to keep them fresh. 

The cheesecake, fresh out of the oven. My puree was a little thin, which caused it to pool a bit when I drizzled it on and swirled it, but I still think it looks pretty good!

This cheesecake is phenomenal, with flavors that are perfect for the spring and summer months. Bright, tangy lemon tempered by the sweetness of the raspberries and creaminess of the cheesecake batter itself makes for a delicious cheesecake. It's both light and incredibly rich, with a smooth, thick creaminess that's oh-so-decadent. I think other flavorings could easily be subbed in for the lemon and raspberry, so this is definitely a recipe you can play around with, but this raspberry and lemon combo is pretty hard to beat.

Recipe: Red Velvet Brownies with Cream Cheese Icing Drizzle

I spent last week in Memphis with my boyfriend, making the most of his week-long spring break. We spent a few quiet days in Arkansas, at an old hunting lodge/clubhouse his family is a member of, and spent the rest of the week at his family home. I ate some great food (including a homemade beef and cheddar hot dog in a soft pretzel bun from Hog & Hominy, a burger at Huey's, and of course, cupcakes from Muddy's), met some of his law school friends, had some "arts and crafts" time (we painted pottery and made glass dishes--both were a lot of fun to work on!), and visited a few galleries and museums. As a thank you to him and his family for hosting me, I thought it would be nice to bake brownies and send them down their way. I found this recipe for red velvet brownies and knew I had to try it out—I don't generally play around with baking recipes because they are so precise and I find it hard to change and edit ingredients (it's so much easier to mess up in baking than it is in cooking), so I left it as is, but added a little drizzle of cream cheese icing to give them a little more flavor (makes 'em prettier too). The resulting brownies were perfectly chewy and dense with a light, flaky top, just like a brownies should be, and the drizzle of icing added a little tangy flavor and creaminess to them.

Yields: 1, 9x13 inch pan of brownies (approx. 20 brownie squares)
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Baking time: 35-40 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

For the brownies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1&1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1&1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 oz. red food coloring (if you don't have enough food coloring, add water to get the required measurement)
• 4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 6 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's, because that's all I could find, but a better quality brand will yield better brownies)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
  

For the cream cheese icing drizzle

• 2 oz. cream cheese
• Approx. 1/2 cup powdered sugar (or more, as needed)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp. milk

Directions

Preheat the over to 350*F. Spray a 9x13 inch clear, glass baking dish with cooking/baking spray. Using the paddle attachment in your mixer, beat together the butter and both sugars on medium speed until creamy, light, and fluffy (approx. 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs slowly, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Slowly add the food coloring and vanilla and blend on medium speed until the color is fully incorporated. In a medium bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, and salt and whisk to mix. Slowly add this mixture to the mixing bowl on medium speed until it's fully incorporated—be careful not too over mix though.  The batter should be quite thick and all of the flour should be mixed in. Pour the batter into the greased baking dish and spread evenly in the dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until done (insert a toothpick in the center—if it comes out wet with batter, the brownies need more baking time, but if it comes out clean or a little crumby, the brownies are done). Brownies should be a little flaky on the outside, but slightly moist on the inside. Set aside to cool.

While the brownies are cooling, add the the ingredients for the cream cheese icing drizzle to a small bowl and whisk to blend (you can use the mixer, once clean, to make this go a little faster and to mix it better, but I was too lazy to clean the mixer and ended up whisking together the icing by hand). The finished icing should be thick, but still be able to be drizzled easily. Cut the brownies into squares and, using a spoon, drizzle the icing as neatly as possible over each square (I actually used a squeeze bottle to get more precise drizzles; you can use an icing/pastry bag with a round tip for neater results). Let the icing set (it will not get hard, but rather, it'll thicken and be a little sticky) for a few minutes.

Serve with a glass of cold milk or a mug of hot coffee, or whatever beverage you prefer. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla (or perhaps red velvet, for added red velvet-ness?) ice cream or with some fresh berries. Store brownies in an airtight container and avoid stacking them, if possible, because the cream cheese drizzle will get smeary and smudged.

These brownies are essentially your basic, everyday brownies, but the pop of red food coloring and the sweet and tangy cream cheese icing drizzle add a little pizzazz to them. Great for dessert, for a party, or an afternoon snack, these brownies are chocolaty, chewy, and absolutely delicious.

Recipe: Fresh Peach Cupcakes with Peach Cream Cheese Frosting

My kitchen smells like fresh-picked peaches and it's absolutely heavenly! I ran across this recipe for peach cupcakes while browsing through posts on TasteSpotting and, as a peach lover and a wannabe baker, I knew I had to make them. I made up a half batch (I've posted the full recipe though), seeing as I'm on my own this week, and I'm hoping I can resist their delicately sweet call, beckoning to me from the fridge. These cupcakes are light, with a sweet peach flavor that's very present without being overpowering. The cream cheese frosting also incorporates the sweetness of the peach, but with the creaminess of butter and the tangy flavor of cream cheese. Perfect for a summer brunch or dinner party and such a pretty, pale peachy-pink color!

Yields: 24 cupcakes
Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Baking time: 21-24 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Equipment: Electric mixer

Ingredients
For the cakes

• 2 & 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pureed fresh peaches (cut slices off of the peach, being sure not to include the pit; skin on is okay)
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs (large)
• 1.75 oz freeze-dried peaches, pulverized (use food processor or place in Ziploc bag and crush with mallet; Target's Archer Farms brand sells 1.75 oz. bags of freeze dried peaches, which is perfect)

For the frosting

• 2 sticks (1 cup) butter (salted or unsalted)
• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1.75 oz. freeze-dried peaches, pulverized
• 3-5 cups of powdered sugar (confectioners sugar)

Directions

For the cakes

Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line cupcake tins with liners.In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together and set aside. In a small bowl, mix together the buttermilk, pureed fresh peaches, and vanilla, then set aside. Add the butter and sugar for the cakes to the bowl of the electric mixture and, using the paddle attachment, blend on medium speed until the mixture is pale and well-blended (approx. 2 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the freeze dried peaches. Mix in the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two batches of the buttermilk mixture (i.e. flour, then buttermilk, then flour, then buttermilk, then flour, and then all of both mixtures will be incorporated). Mix until just blended, scraping the batter down the side of the bowl as needed. Scoop even amounts of batter into the cupcake tins and bake for 21-24 minutes, until golden brown (a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean or slightly crumby). Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

For the frosting
Using the paddle attachment on the electric mixer, mix the butter until softened and pale in color. Add the cream cheese and beat to combine, then add the vanilla extract. Add the pulverized peaches and blend thoroughly. Add 3 cups of powdered sugar to the mixture and mix. Add more as desired, and mix until the frosting is creamy, thick, and spreadable.

Spread or pipe frosting onto each of the cupcakes. Garnish each with a dusting of pulverized, freeze-dried peaches or a slice of fresh peach. Can be kept at room temperature or in the fridge (I like to keep mine in the fridge because of the cream cheese and butter in the frosting).

These cupcakes are perfect for the summer time! Fresh and dried peaches offer light, sweet, and fruity flavor, while the cream cheese in the frosting creates a tangy, buttery taste that blends well with the sweetness of the cakes.

Recipe: Crab Rangoon

My mom's been craving Chinese food lately, so deciding on tonight's dinner of beef with broccoli and snow peas was very easy. I'd yet to try out my deep fryer, so I decided this meal would pair up perfectly with fried crab rangoon, those deliciously golden-brown wonton pockets filled with cream cheese, flaky crab meat, and green onion. They're easy to make, and any excess filling can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Now, it's important to understand that I used a deep fryer to make these. You can fry foods without a fryer, typically by heating oil in a pot on the stove while carefully monitoring the temperature (I've done it before—it's a little terrifying and you have to be incredibly careful), and you can also do no-fry methods by utilizing some sort of fat (butter, cooking spray, etc.) and an oven. But for this recipe, I'm using a deep fryer, so keep that in mind (maybe one of my Technique Tuesday posts in the future will explain how to fry foods without a fryer...).

Serves: Many
Prep. time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: Approx. 5 minutes (or until golden brown)
Difficulty: Easy
Special equipment: Deep fryer

Ingredients

• 1 package wonton wrappers
• 1, 8 oz. package Philadelphia cream cheese (I used the version with 1/3 less fat)
• 1-2 cups canned crab meat, drained and flaked/small pieces (I found this chilled at the fresh seafood counter at my local grocery store)
• Approx. 1/4 cup green onions, finely diced/chopped
• Approx. 1/4 tsp. grated ginger root
• A pinch of sugar
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Small bowl of water (for sealing the wontons)
• Vegetable oil or other frying-safe oil (canola, safflower, peanut)

Be sure to taste the mixture to see if you have the right balance of ingredients. If you like a crabby wonton, add more crab meat, and if you like to taste more of the cream cheese, then add less crab meat. Add more or less ginger as desired.


Directions
In a medium bowl, combine the cream cheese, crab meat, green onions, ginger, sugar, and salt and pepper, then stir vigorously to combine. Lay out the desired amount (meaning, however many you plan to eat) of wonton wrappers on an ungreased baking sheet. Put a small spoonful of the cream cheese and crab mixture in the middle of each wonton wrapper. Dip your fingers in the water and run them along the edges of the wonton wrappers. Fold over each wrapper from one corner to the other, forming a triangle, and press the edges together to seal. Fry in hot oil until golden brown (I used a Breville deep fryer with vegetable oil, and I fried them at about 330*F). Once done, remove and place on a plate covered in a few layers of paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Plate and serve.

These little Chinese restaurant appetizers fry up golden-brown and bubbly and they're perfect as a party snack or an appetizer. If you want to make them a little fancier, replace the crab meat with lobster, or change how you fold the wontons to create a different presentation.

Recipe: Puff Pastry-Wrapped Chicken with Broccoli

I came across this recipe while browsing pins on Pinterest and immediately knew I HAD to make it—it just sounded too good to pass up. The ingredients are all things we love: crispy bacon, tender chicken, flaky buttery puff pastry, and smooth cream cheese, combined in the perfect way. The chicken is stuffed with a flavor-packed cream cheese filling and wrapped up in puff pastry, then baked until golden brown and delicious. The best part about this meal?—It looks kind of fancy and, though it looks like it could take forever to make, it's one of the simplest dishes I've shared here. You simply mix the filling, stuff a little into pockets cut into chicken breasts, wrap the chicken up in puff pastry like a gift, bake, and serve. Easy enough for a weeknight, but pretty enough for a fancy dinner (though flaky puff pastry can be a bit messy when being eaten).

Serves: 4
Prep. time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-35 minutes, plus 5-7 minutes for the broccoli
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 frozen puff pastry sheets, rolled out slightly with a rolling pin (make sure to thaw the sheets a few hours ahead of time)
• 2-4 green onions, finely chopped
• 5-6 oz. cream cheese (I bought an 8 oz. block of 1/3 Less Fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese and used a little over half of it)
• 4-6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
• A few tsp. flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• Broccoli, fresh or frozen (if you buy frozen, just cook the whole bag; if you buy fresh, cook enough so that each person gets about a cup to eat)

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400*F.
In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, bacon, parsley, green onion, and a little salt and pepper. Use a flat utensil (a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon would work well) to blend well.

The filling

Cut small pockets into the chicken—cut right down the middle, being sure not to cut all the way from end to end (leave about 1/2 inch on either end, so that it's a true pocket and the filling won't spill out either end), and make sure you don't cut all the way through the chicken, otherwise you'll just have two pieces of chicken, which is not what we're aiming for. Stuff a spoonful or two (or three) into the pockets (it's okay if the filling pokes out over the edge of the pocket...more filling just means more flavor).
Place one chicken breast per single puff pastry sheet, and be sure to place the chicken breasts in the middle of the sheets. Brush a little of the beaten egg along the inside edges of the pastry. Fold over the short ends first, on either end of the breast, then fold one long side then the other, forming a package. Be sure to brush egg onto any place where pastry will touch pastry—the egg helps it stick together. Brush the completed package all over with the egg mixture—this will create that beautiful golden brown color that makes pastries look so appealing.

Beautiful little golden brown packages

Place the puff pastry-wrapped chicken breasts on a lightly greased baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown and the chicken is cooked through (I used a meat thermometer to make sure the chicken was done enough—it should be 165*F inside).

Perfectly cooked chicken

When the chicken is done cooking, turn the oven off and leave the chicken in the oven to keep it warm. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and add the broccoli, cooking for 5-7 minutes, until bright green and tender (but not soft or mushy). Drain and return to the pot, keeping the lid on when not serving so as to hold in heat (broccoli is notorious for not holding heat well). Remove the chicken from the oven.
Cut the puff pastry packages in half and serve each person half, with a side of broccoli.

This was such a fun dish to make and it turned out so well! The puff pastry is flaky, buttery, and light, and the creamy filling in the chicken oozes out when you cut into the package, which I absolutely love. The broccoli helps lighten up the dish a bit, and I highly recommend a nice crisp white wine on the side. While normally, people might be used to eating a whole chicken breast for dinner, you really only need a half with this dish because the filling and pastry make it so filling.