My friend Annette first made this cake for me almost 13 years ago when I was re-hospitalized with a newborn. I kept it in the hospital refrigerator and it was good for several meals. Now my kids fight about who gets to make it for Shavuot.
The topping is optional but I wouldn’t skip it unless you are on a very strict diet. You can also spread chocolate on the top or lay cookie crumbs on the bottom for a crust.
2 eggs
500 gr. white cheese (1/2% or 5%). If you can get the kind for baking, go for it (gevina levana le-afiyah). I am not sure what a good substitute would be outside of Israel–perhaps smooth ricotta.
1 container (150-200 ml.) 8%, low-fat shamenet (cream). I think it is the equivalent of half-and-half. (Note: We only found 15% in the store we went to.)
3/4 c. sugar
4 tablespoons flour
1 packet of vanilla sugar or a teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Mix all the ingredients and pour into a glass or ceramic quiche dish (23-27 cm.). You can use another shaped dish, but if the cake is too thick it will take longer to set.
Cook on high for 5 minutes, or until the cake is set in the middle.
In the meantime, mix 2-3 more containers of the 8% shamenet or half-and-half with 3-4 tablespoons of sugar. You can use the same bowl. When the cake is baked spread the sweetened cream over the cake and heat on high for another two minutes.
Our Shiputzim offers another cheesecake recipe.
Cheesecake is traditional for the upcoming holiday of Shavuot (Pentecost) next Thursday evening. But if you’re looking for something easy and different, you can try this single-bowl cake recipe from Joy of Cooking. Though the recipe calls for sourdough starter, you don’t need to let the batter rise.
Cream thoroughly:
6 tbps. butter
1 c. sugar
Add and beat:
2 eggs
Stir in, then beat well:
1 cup sourdough starter (don’t forget to feed your leftover starter)
3/4 c. milk
3 oz. melted semisweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sift together:
1-3/4 c. sifted all-purpose flour (as always, I use 90% whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Fold the flour mixture into the batter and stir until smooth. Pour into greased pans and bake about 40 minutes for one nine-inch (27 cm) square pan or 25 minutes for two 8-inch (24 cm) round pans. Sprinkle sifted powdered sugar over the cake, if desired.
Everything I know about sourdough I learned from Mimi at Israeli Kitchen, expert on wine, mead, yeast, and all things fermented. Any errors are mine alone.
Last year I made a sourdough starter. I managed to keep it alive over the course of the year and used it up just before Passover.
Most of use purchased, commercial yeast for baking. But we all have yeast available in our homes, for free. The challenge lies in incorporating the yeast living in the air into a starter, which is simply a base of flour and water. Last year I used commercial yeast to make the starter. This year I am starting from scratch. A group of us are doing it together on Twitter.
I use sourdough starter in both fast and slow recipes:
Fast—Sourdough pancakes, muffins or quickbreads. These are infinitely superior to standard recipes. You add some of your starter to the wet ingredients, mix in the dry ingredients, and bake or fry as usual. I even made a dairy chocolate sourdough cake.
Slow—Sourdough breads. Sourdough takes longer to rise than doughs made with commercial yeasts, but it is also more flexible as an extra hour or two generally doesn’t make a difference. Baking with sourdough, like baking with commercial yeast, takes practice. But the results for me were worth the experimentation.
To make sourdough starter, choose a week when you will be home fairly often. It takes some care to get started, but once ripe you only need to freshen it every week or two.
Flour and water. I’m using 90% whole wheat. You will need several cups of flour by the time you are finished, and more when you begin baking in a week or so.
Mix a half-cup each of flour and water in a glass, plastic or ceramic bowl or jar, using a non-metal spoon. Cover loosely to keep out bugs and dirt, but let in air. This mixture will become your starter. Stir at least once a day. After a couple of days you will see bubbles forming. How long this takes depends on your climate and the amount of yeast spores floating around your kitchen.
Once bubbles form, feed it. Pour off the layer of liquid from the top and throw out about half of the remaining mixture. Add another half cup or so each of water and flour. The exact quantity isn’t so important, but use equal proportions of flour and water and keep the consistency fairly thick. Most recipes call for a half cup to a cup of starter. Since you can always feed the starter to make more, a cup or two on hand is all you need at any given time.
The reason for throwing out part of the starter is to get a higher proportion of fresh flour to the original. Once your starter is ripe you will use one part for the recipe, and add fresh flour and water to the rest to keep it going.
Feed the starter once or twice a day until ripe. Starter is ripe when very bubbly and covered with a thick froth. At that point you can begin baking. Making the starter takes about a week from start to finish, depending on your kitchen’s conditions.
Every time you use the starter you will take some off for your recipe (or throw it out if you are not baking) and add enough flour and water to the original to replace what you used. Wash or switch the container every few weeks. Let the starter sit out until frothy, then put it back in the refrigerator. If you forget to maintain the starter, it will take more time to become active again. Once my starter spoiled and Mimi coached me on how to fix it.
Quick review:
Sourdough recipes from Mimi’s Kitchen:
Oatmeal Sourdough Bread Once I perfected this, I never looked back.
This page has a bunch of recipes. I’ve only made the muffins, and they are terrific.
Welcome to the 41st edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival, founded by Batya of Me-Ander. Below is a list of previous editions. Write to Batya if you would like to host.
A Simple Jew presents Tayvos Achila & Achila D’Kedusha posted at A Simple Jew. This is an interesting discussion of practical tips to avoid overeating.
muse presents Down, Down, Up! posted at me-ander, saying, “It’s about kosher kitchen planning. Plan with Pesach in mind.”
A Mother in Israel blogs wonders whether Pesach leads to wasting food.
RaggedyMom presents Pesach Chocolate Chip Bars posted at RaggedyMom. She makes Pesach for the first time and is already sharing recipes.
More dieting ideas from Batya, who presents Dieting On Passover, No Problem posted at me-ander.
Since we’re ready for some leavened food, Ilana-Davita presents Vegetable Lasagna posted at Ilana-Davita.
Mimi presents Eggplant and Techinah « Israeli Kitchen posted at Israeli Kitchen. Browse her blog for more recipes for Passover and the rest of the year.
Annette Berlin is back, presenting Crustless Broccoli and Cauliflower Quiche posted at Craft Stew, saying, “I invented this pie during Pesach, but it’s so good and easy, we will be eating it all year long.”
mominisrael presents Chicken with Black Olives and Tomatoes posted at A Mother in Israel. Good hot or cold, for Passover and year-round.
Passover is over, but it’s never too soon to start thinking about next year.
muse presents Home For Pesach (Passover) posted at Shiloh Musings.
Mrs. S. presents Important questions posted at Our Shiputzim: A Work In Progress, saying, “Notwithstanding the title, this post is really a recipe for a non-gebrochts broccoli kugel.”
muse presents Shopping For Passover posted at me-ander.
Ilana-Davita presents Israeli Potato Salad posted at Ilana-Davita, saying, “Fine during Pesach.”
Leora Wenger presents Recipes for Pesach posted at Here in HP.
G6 presents Strawberry Fluff – The Recipe and the Ritual… posted at Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner.
muse presents Passover Cooking and a Present posted at me-ander, saying, “You can tell people to a-file it away for next year b-cook it with left-over matzah It’s always good.”
Ben-Yehudah presents Jealous? posted at Esser Agaroth. Here he brags about the inexpensive kosher for Passover products available in Israel that cost a fortune elsewhere.
Elisson presents POPEYE PIE posted at Blog d’Elisson.
Ookami presents fish, chicken and cholent recipes at Pesach Cooking 2009 posted at Insanity now, serenity later. See his comments here for more ideas.
Jessica Bernstein presents A peek Into My Kitchen: Rafi’s Matzah Brie and A peek Into My Kitchen: Nut-Free Charoset posted at peek a blog.
Leora Wenger managed to get Stuffed Squash for Pesach with bits of Matza and Mushroom posted at Here in HP.
Shira Abel of Tchochkes presents Cauliflower Quiche.
Ilana-Davita reviews two recipes, including my chicken with tomatoes and olives above and a cooky recipe by Mimi.
A Simple Jew presents A Subconscious Complaint about matzah posted at A Simple Jew.
Yisrael Medad presents Hungry Jerusalemites line up for a taste of Grandma’s cooking – Haaretz – Israel News posted at My Right Word, saying, “seems like it’s a cook-out in Machaneh Yehuda.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of kosher cooking carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. Please help publicize KCC by linking to this post on your own blog.
Next month’s issue will be hosted by Gillian of Food History.
Technorati tags: kosher cooking carnival, blog carnival.
This is an adaptation of a recipe that appeared in the Jerusalem Post many years ago. It always gets compliments. Kosher for Passover, it can be prepared on top of the stove and served hot or cold.
Ingredients:
1 cut-up chicken
Flour, or potato flour for Passover
1 tbsp. oil
One sliced onion
3/4 can tomatoes
3/4 can black olives
3 cloves of garlic
Black pepper
Method:
I served this Friday night. In the morning, we spooned the sauce on cold turkey breast. The recipe is forgiving in terms of quantities of tomatoes and olives, but the more olives the better.
The Kosher Cooking Carnival will appear here on April 22. Click to submit a post.
Haveil Havalim, the Jewish and Israeli Blog Carnival, is up at What War Zone?
Material Meidel hosts this month’s Kosher Cooking Carnival at the blog Kosher Cuisine. I’ll be hosting the next one (after Pesach!) so post your recipes and send them on over.
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