Cheesecake

10" Tiramisu Cheesecake I made for New Years Eve. Dense Espresso flavored cheesecake including the flavors of Irish Cream and Kahlua, topped with a dusting of dark chocolate and finished with a drizzle of Chocolate Ganache. Serves 12-16

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                10" Lemon Cheesecake I made for a friend. 4lbs of Lemon Cream Cheese topped with mounds of Lemon Whipped Cream drizzled with a Lemon Sauce. Serves 12-16

French Apple Cakelets

French Apple Cake.Tart grannies wrapped in a just sweet enough, custardy almond vanilla cake batter,with just a hint of citrus.The name alone conjures up images in my mind of men shearing sheep and women in muslin milking cows out in a barn,set amidst rolling green hills in the French country side,with an rustic apple orchard near by. I have this feeling that long ago there was a farmers wife who upon hearing that she had company coming had to whip up,quickly,something to serve her guests.And being the simple farm folks that they are,ran out to the orchard,grabbed a few apples,and after collecting eggs from the hens,went back into the house,got out the freshly made butter,some rum and went to work.This recipe is so pure and simple,unadulterated apple goodness.After you pull it out of the oven,you will notice that the sugars from the apple and the butter makes a top crust golden and caramelized .

Some how I stumbled upon this sweet gem of a recipe after perusing the net one day,courtesy of David Lebovitz's blog, courtesy of Dorrie Greenspan.I made this the first time,yes,following the exact directions.Anyone who knows me knows that's rare.After I got the gist of this beauty,I tailored it to my liking and have made it a few more times since.I am now quit comfortable with my version of this.While not taking away any of its purity,I just swapped out and ingredient or two.The result is so satisfying.

So what did I change? I don't like flavored liqueur ,so I swapped the rum for orange juice and I added almond extract.I made these recently in a cupcake pan just to see if they work as a potential bakery item.They turned out beautifully. As a cake,I prefer it baked in a 8" square verses the spring form pan,as it is yields a thicker cake.Enough said...go make it!

French Apple Cake

• 3/4 cup (110g) flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 3-4 large Grannie Smith apples
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup (150g) sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 8 tablespoons (115g) butter, salted or unsalted, melted and cooled to room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven.

2. Heavily butter an 8- or 9-inch (20-23cm) springform pan and place it on a baking sheet.(you can use a cake pan also,it will be thicker).If making cakeletes,place paper liners in your 12 cup cupcake pan.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Peel and core the apples, then dice them into 1-inch (3cm) pieces.

5. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy then whisk in the sugar, then orange juice and extracts. Whisk in half of the flour mixture, then gently stir in half of the melted butter

6. Stir in the remaining flour mixture, then the rest of the butter.

7. Fold in the apple cubes until they’re well-coated with the batter and scrape them into the prepared cake pan and smooth the top a little with a spatula.

8. Bake the cake for 50 minute to 1 hour, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the pan and carefully remove the sides of the cake pan, making sure no apples are stuck to it.
-If your making Cakelets,bake them for half of the time,about 30 min.They are done when golden brown on top.

Serving: Serve wedges of the cake just by itself or with vanilla ice cream.

Storage: The cake will keep for up to three days covered. Since the top is very moist, it’s best to store it under a cake dome or overturned bowl.

Happy Sconing!

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

This is a foundational recipe for Scone dough.With it you can add in any fruit,nuts or baking chips you desire.You can add spices and zest.Whatever your taste buds are lusting for.Its easy to make it your way once you understand its bones. I love,and I mean love fresh fruit with some sort of zest.
I have found fresh Blueberries are the best,as they hold their shape and don't emit a lot of juice. But you can use dices apples,blackberries, and raspberries. I have made many variations with this one simple recipe.It seems tedious,but if your an addict like myself,then it is a small sacrifice to make to make it the "hard way".

You might be a novice baker who wants to improve your skills so to become more familiar with making this recipe or to understand a bit of pastry science please refer to the video posted below. For some reason,who ever posted the video to youtube didn't get the very beginning,but the majority of the video is there and the most important part which displays how to shape and bake the scones.



Also on a technical side note, to insure that you get a flaky crumb,start with very cold to frozen butter and try not to over work the dough when mixing and shaping.Other wise it will create a glutinous dough and the scones will be tough.I use disposable gloves when I have them to reduce the heat contact with the butter as I cut it up and handle it.
Happy Sconing!

Basic Scone Dough Recipe
courtesy of www.americastestkitchen.com and modified for my own personal use.Servings 8

Ingredients
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/3 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold
* 6oz fresh or dried fruit
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/2 cup milk
* 1 egg +1 tsp water,lightly mixed for brushing
* sugar for topping,zest optional

Instructions:
Chill butter stick in freezer while you prepare your dry ingredients.
Add all your dry ingredients to a food processor.
Pulse until just combined.

Remove butter from freezer and cut into 1/2 chunks.Add to food processor and pulse 5-6 times for a count of 3-4 second each.
Don't process too much you want your butter to be coarse chunks.

Remove processor bowl and empty contents into large mixing bowl and set aside.
In a separate bowl mix the sour cream and milk.Add to dry ingredients and gently mix with a fork until the wet and dry become one.Being careful not to over mix,its ok if there are a few dry bits.

On a clean and well floured surface dump out dough and gently kneed it 7-9 times until all the dough is formed into a ball.

Shape into a 4" square.Wrap it up in plastic wrap and chill for 20 min.

Preheat oven to 400

Once chilled on a generously floured surface,roll out into an 11" square.Gently spread your fresh fruit atop the dough.Gently press fruit into dough and proceed to roll the dough up as you would cinnamon rolls.Ending with the seam on the under side.
Form into a 4"x12" log . Cut into four equal squared parts.Cut the squares into triangles. Brush with raw egg and sprinkle with sugar.
Gently place scones onto ungreased baking sheet (may use parchment paper) at least 1" apart.
Bake at 400* for 18 min. Let scones cool on cooling rack for 30 before eating.

Disclaimer: I change and modify nearly every recipe I collect and try.Rarely if ever will you find a recipe borrowed that is still in its original format on this website. I will post the original source along side the modified version for those who need it.

Please feel free to contact me if you find technical issues with the recipe or for questions about it.
chenoabakes@gmail.com