Lemon Cheesecake

Who doesn't love a smooth, sweet-sour citrus flavor? Recently, cakes with lime or lemon flavor have become extremely popular, like the well-known loaf cake, which I also find extremely delicious. Although I didn't bake a loaf cake, my cheesecake manages to captures perfectly the intense lemon flavor that I was aiming for, without adding any sort of lemon essence. I decided to combine 2 of my favorite recipes, taking my classic cheesecake recipe (found also here) and the lemon curd recipe that I used for my tart (found also here). While most of previous ingredients and instructions do not change, I made some slight adjustments for the cheesecake, making less cheese mixture. That is because I decided to make the lemon curd the star of the cake and tip the scale in its favor, so too much cheese would have slightly prevented that. In this case, less is actually better. This being said, let's get to work!

*For this recipe I used a round baking tray with the diameter of 26 cm

For the base:

• 60 g unsalted butter, and a little extra for greasing the tray
• 200 g digestive biscuits

First, I greased the baking tray with butter and I covered its base with baking paper. Then I preheated the oven at 150 degrees Celsius/ level 2 on gas and in the meantime I started preparing the biscuit base.

In a kitchen robot I crushed the biscuits until they had the texture of breadcrumbs. You can also do this step by hand. Just put the biscuits in a bag, cover it with a kitchen towel and find something heavy, like a meat hammer or even an empty wine bottle to crush it until the biscuits inside have the right texture. After my biscuits were ready, I mixed them with the melted butter. If you are using a kitchen robot it will be easier for you to mix them, but by hand is also fine. I added the mixture in my baking tray, spreading it evenly, and then I used the bottom of a glass (you can also use your hands) to press it into the tray and make sure it is well compressed and even. I baked the biscuit base at 150 Celsius for 10 minutes, then I let it completely cool down.

For the cheese mixture:

• 250 g cream cheese (I used Philadelphia) 
• 250 ricotta
• 250 g mascarpone
• 3 large eggs
• 100 g granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp. semolina
• 2 Tbsp. vanilla essence
• juice and zest from one lemon
• 2 Tbsp. cognac

Next, in a bowl I mixed the cheese with the sugar and semolina. Then I added the eggs, one by one, until fully incorporated, and lastly I added the vanilla, lemon and cognac. I poured the mixture over my biscuit base and I baked it at the same temperature for 80-90 minutes, until it became golden and the sides were golden brown. Try to pay attention to your cake after 70 minutes have passed.

! Even though the cake is baked, the mixture will still be soft and creamy, therefore you need to leave the cake completely cool down, so the cheese mixture can fully thicken. I left my cake to cool down in the oven, with the door open, which I also recommend you to do.

For the lemon curd: 

• 5 egg yolks
• 100 ml lemon juice
• zest from 2 big lemons
• 210 g granulated sugar
• 100 g butter high in fat

First I poured my freshly squeezed lemon juice through a strainer, to keep the pulp out. I put then all the ingredients above in a heat-resistant bowl which I put at Bain-Marie* for aprox. 20 minutes, continuously stirring, until the mixture became thick and shiny. It is important to stir slowly, in one direction, to prevent the mixture from separating. After the curd was ready I let it cool down and I poured it over the cheesecake, which I left over night (or at least 6 hours) in the fridge, until the curd thickened and had a jelly-like texture.

Feel free to decorate your cheesecake as you wish, I went for some fresh lemon slices and mint leaves for some extra color.

*Bain-Marie= heating our mixture over a pot of hot, almost simmering, NOT BOILING water, where our bowl does not touch the water in the pot. This technique is used because the steam created is a more gentle source of heat than the direct heat of the stove which could ruin our dish.

 Enjoy! :)

Tiramisu Cake

Summer has finally come and is therefore time for some fresh desserts. Especially during this weird times, now that I am finally done with my final exams, I get to spend more time inside so I'm trying to cook something at least every few days. As much as I like to bake, when is extremely hot outside I do not feel like adding some extra degrees by turning on my oven, so any "no-bake" dessert is my favorite. This time I decided to go with a classic, but with a twist. Instead of using the usual rectangular tray, I chose to use a 26 cm diameter round tray to make the Tiramisu resemble a classic cake a little bit more. The texture of the cake and the consistency of the cream, after left overnight in the fridge, allows for the tiramisu to keep its shape even when the wall of the tray is removed. The quantity of ingredients described above allowed me to "build" 3 layers of ladyfingers and cream, matching exactly the height of the tray.

Ingredients:

• 400 g ladyfingers
• 4 eggs
• 4 Tbsp. granulated sugar;
• 500 g Mascarpone
• 350 ml coffee
• Cocoa/ dark chocolate for decorating the top

First step was to prepare my coffee and let it completely cool down. If you are in a hurry and wanna speed up this process, you can put the coffee mug in a bowl with cold water and ice and the coffee will almost cool down by the time you are ready with the cream and the ladyfinger assembly.

Next step was to assemble my first layer of ladyfingers. Because I used a round tray, this step was a little tricky, as the ladyfingers were not filling the space perfectly, so I had to cut some of them and try to arrange the pieces like in Tetris, so they can fill the whole space. Don't worry about it too much, I can assure you the cake will still keep its integrity and look good.

Then, I managed to proceed with the cream. One important aspect of this stage is that once you are done with it, you do not stop until your cake is in the fridge. This is because you are working with whipped egg whites, so if you take too much time to assemble all the layers, the cream will lose its mousse-like texture. To prepare the cream I started by separating the eggs. Using a mixer (you can also do it by hand), I whisked the egg yolks together with the sugar until it was all dissolved and the mixture got soft and tripled in volume. You should get a very creamy, light yellow mixture. I added the Mascarpone to the egg yolks, this time whisking by hand, not with a mixer, until it was fully incorporated and there were no lumps.

In another bowl, with the help of a mixer, I whipped the egg whites until they got all fluffy and firm and passed the classic test, that is, if you turn the bowl upside down, they will not fall. With the help of a spatula I incorporated the egg whites into the Mascarpone mixture making only gentle, folding movements, so I can preserve the texture of the cream.

After the cream was ready, I quickly added the coffee over the ladyfingers. I like to pour coffee over them, when they are already arranged in the tray, and not the other way around, first dipping them in coffee. I usually pour around 2-3 tsp. coffee over each ladyfinger. Then I poured 1/3 of the cream on them and evened it with the help of the spatula, repeating all these steps until I completed all 3 layers.

Lastly, I powdered the top with cocoa, but if you like, you can also grate some dark chocolate. I left the cake overnight in the fridge and then served it in triangular cake-like pieces.

Enjoy!