Stuff On Top

Mar 9, 2002 -  1 p.m. 

 

 So the friend of the friend has made a request of me that i feel would be a nice thing to comply with.  Her name is Sarah-Joy and i am told she is rather a talented artist, something i would someday like to appreciate for myself.  So as i sit here and eat some rather delicious peanut butter-peanut butter chip-chocolate chip cookies that someone rather beautiful and exceptionally special made for me, i am going to relate to you my recipe for lemon cheesecake.

   It is important to remember as you read and or use this recipe that i don't really cook by recipe on a regular basis and each and every time i have made this cake it has been by just letting myself go and be creative.  Variations are welcome.

Lemon Spadoink Cheesecake

  • 3 heaping tablespoons margarine (or butter)
  • 1 1/4 cups of Graham Cracker crumbs or Oreo crumbs or your choice of a combination thereof.
  • 3 tablespoons of brown sugar and one tablespoon of honey (or 4 of brown, or white works too)
     
  • 3 packages of cream cheese (you know the std philly size)
  • 1 can of condensed milk.
  • 1 lemon - zested and squeezed for juice.
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs.
     
  • oven.
  • spring form pan.

1  melt margarine and add to graham crumbs, sugar and honey.  mix together until nice and sticky.

2  grease bottom of spring form pan and press mixture into bottom for crust.  press down with your fingers until firm.  don't be shy. hands wash. set aside

3   in a big bowl, moosh together the three packages of cream cheese that you took out an hour or so ago so it would be softer.  moosh until smooth.  (now...some people would just use a blender here...and let it go until is fluffy, but i don't have one and i like the feeling of my arm pushing around all that cream cheese)

4   beat eggs gently, separately and then add to cream cheese. mix in completely. 

5   finely chop the lemon zest.  like pulverized chop. use the food processor to atomize it if you have to. 

6   add zest,lemon juice, vanilla and the evaporated milk to the cream cheese mixture and mix in thoroughly.   when everything is a very consistent consistency (hmmm...), smooth and pourable pour on top of the crust.  (please note, i am not going to tell you to put the sides on the springform pan at any point there...but...)

7   put into a preheated 300 F° oven (as an object lesson...i could have put the preheat step up top of the recipe...but i really think you should have read through the recipe first before starting anything anyways.)

8   go away. walk softly.  cheesecake will collapse. let cook for approx 35-40 minutes. you know it is done when the edges of the top are a light golden brown and the middle is not wet looking. 

9   when you think it is done turn off the oven and leave it in with the door cracked for about 15 minutes or as long as you like.  this seems to help stop the centre from dipping down.

10   optional step. i like to buy some chocolates of a rather fine nature.  ie hedgehogs, toblerone, raspberry centered pastilles, whatever and put a circle of around the cake top, spaced (the spacing is important, so you can slice between) as a sort of garnish. i like to put them on after the initial cooling stage so that they can melt just the slightest bit on the bottom and become one with the cake. 

11   after the cake has cooled significantly, put it in the fridge for an hour.  cold cheesecake is better.  

12  optional step  i like to serve the cake with a garnish of a nice coulees with a tang.  preferred is raspberry, lime or orange.  i am not including that recipe here, as you may note but a coulees is really quite easy to prepare.

 

ummmmm....so...yeah....any questions...you can ask them and i will have a more regular type journal entry soon. if you do make it, and it turns out really well and you want to let me know....i'd like that.