FUL & TAAMEYA " beans & Egyptian falafel" !!

I am back but this time with no bread....

I am back with my ful & Taameya.I promised before that I'll share the recipes with you.

Sorry for being late but I had a lot of work to do.

First talking about Ful Medammes....

"Ful medammes also Foul Medammas (Arabic: فول مدمس fūl mudammas) is popular in Egypt , often eaten at breakfast. It consists of brown fava beans, partially or completely mashed, which are slow-cooked and served with olive oil, chopped parsley, onion, garlic, and lemon juice. Ful medames is typically eaten with Egyptian bread ('eish masri).'egyptian pocket bread or flat bread"Though originally a peasant food, ful medames has long been part of the daily Egyptian diet. Some have described it as being "like a stone in the stomach". This has led to it being consumed by many in the Middle East in the early morning meal to prepare for a day of fasting during Ramadan.
The dish's name derives from the Egyptian language: ful is the Egyptian word for fava beans, and medames is a Coptic word meaning "buried." The second word hints at the original cooking method, which involved burying a sealed pot of water and beans under hot coals."

Thanks to wikipedia ;)))

So today I am going to tell you how we cook ful from scratch.
Ingredients:-

200gr. Fava beans "the best quality has a lighter color"

50 gr. Of chickpeas "it is not in the original recipe but sometimes I add chickpeas for change, the original recipe contains just fava beans".

50 gr of yellow lentill

50 gr. of wheat seedsA half of small lemon.
First wash all these seeds very well then cover it with water for 2- 4 hours.

Rinse it again and put it in a pan we use a special pot, it is like a jar, we call it "damassah"The capacity of our pot is 3 litres.

Put the seeds and fill the pot with water till the top just leave 1 cm without water. Put it on the stove till boiling then tranfer it on a heater like this one, a lot of people use the stove by putting the ful pot on the smallest and weakest flame, but this heater gives wonderful results because we will leave ful for 7 or 8 hours on the this weak heat.

After this period take some with a spoon and test it , if it is done squeeze a half of lemon and pour your ful in a container so after being cooled you should put it in the refrigerator and it can be freezed very well too.

If you test it and you find that fava beans still firm and there is no enough liquid in your pot add water but it has to be very hot, just to keep the lovely light color of beans.and let it more time on the heater or on the stove.
Here you are the pics !!

It is time now to talk about falafel

In Egypt we call it taameya more than falafel it is a little bit different than the lebanese & the syrian one, we use more green herbs and we use just fava beans to make it.

For me I use to make it with fava beans but sometimes as a change I mix with my fava some chickpeas.

"Falafel is a fried ball or patty made from fava beans. Originally from Egypt,[1] falafel is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze.Falafel is usually served in a pita-like bread, either inside the bread, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat bread. In many countries falafel is a popular street food or fast food. The falafel balls, whole or crushed, may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tahini-based sauces. Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan, they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset."

O.k thanks again to wikipedia ;)))

The ingredients;

-250 gr.skinless and crushed fava beans. Sometimes I put 125 chickpeas and 125 fava beans, but the egyptian original one does not contain chichpeas at all.

1 big onion

2 garlic cloves

125 of green herbs " leeks ,parsley, coriander, and dill

Salt & pepper cumin and dried coriander, hot chili "optional".

Wash the beans and rinse it then cover it well with water for 6 hours, if you are using chickpeas you will leave it for 12 hours.Rinse it and strain it very well then add to it the onions and the garlic and the fresh herbs "washed and cut to be ready to go to the food processor" you will mix all and put it in the food processor , it will take from you some time to be a real paste.You can add to it the salt, pepper , cumin and dried coriander or you can wait till you will start to fry it, I usually freeze all the quantity after dividing it into portions.To fry it , we need 250 gr of falafel paste and 1 big egg beat the egg with a fork and gradually add you falafel paste , add 1 tsp of sodium bicarbonate and continue to beat it for 2 mn. Add your salt , pepper , cumin and dried coriander.Start to fry it, I made a videoooo, yes I did it for the first time in my life , my husband and me, were struggling two days to make it, but finally we did it , it is horrible but I hope that it really helps.Thanks to all of you, hope you enjoy my recipe.

P.S:-This month's WALIMA challenge will be about Egyptian cuisine, if you are interested stay tuned , the revealing date will be the end of this month, we have a savory and a sweet original egyptian dish !!!!

YES !! Finally I GOT it !!

YES,,, I ordered BBA and got it, really happy, the book is really nice, And I think that the next book for Peter Reinhart will be a HIT !!

I did test the recipes and it is really full of new recipes and new techniques.

I am looking forward to get it too .

I started to bake some bread from the book's recipes, I did first two recipes, Anadama & Artos bread, it turned out very nice and delicious. But my freezer is full tank now and I still want to go through the next recipes, any suggestions??

Oh but this one is mine,, not in Peter's book ;))

That is our egyptian flat bread, it is our every day's bread !

My latest two cakes !!

I would like to put these two cakes, I made it lately, I think that my work in cake decorating becomes more and more better but still have a long way to go.

Actually I prefer bread baking, everything simple and delicious with yeast, this magic ingredient.

But we do not have these cakes and you can hardly find a cake decorater who deals with fondant and gumpaste, anyway I am trying to read and work more on my skills.

But guys,,, I love BREAD, Iam missing my YEAST sooo much !!

Walima's june challenge !!

This month challenge is about Bahrain, it is a small arabic country but a very beautifull one.

Talking about its kitchen, it is very influenced by the indian and persian kitchen, It has the food culture of the gulf region .

This month challenge , we had two choices, a savoury dish and a sweet one, from the recipe of the sweet one, it seemed to me that we will not love at home so I went through the savoury one, here you are the recipe, try it you will love it,specially if you are in love with the indian and persian cuisine, the same flavor !!

The ingredients:-

1 tsp of turmeric

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 kg of fish fillet cubed

2 jalapeno peppers seeds removed and finely chopped

1 tbsp of freshly chopped fresh ginger

4 cloves of garlic chopped

Some fresh ginger chopped

2 med size chopped onions

2 med chopped tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp of mustard

2 ½ cups of water

2 cubes of chicken broth , unless you have homemade chicken stockReplace the water with stock2 tbsp of freshly chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Mix the turmeric with veggie oil, and marinate the fish in it for couple of minutes.Then lay the fish on a baking tray and bake in a preheated 400F oven for 18 minutes to turn golden brown.In a food processor, add the garlic, onion, jalapeno peppers tomatoes ginger and mustard, and whip until it turns to paste.

Heat a non stick pan and cook the paste on medium heat, without oil, till it start to turn golden,(takes around 5 min) add the water and dissolved chicken bouillon or the chicken stock, whatever you have on hand, and cook for 7-8 minutes more to become a thick sauce, pour over the fish in the oven and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.Serve over Basmati rice and sprinkle fresh cilantro on top.

Here you are my dish pics

I served it with basmati rice.

Hope you enjoy this month callenge.

And for next WALIMA challenge, it is my turn, Egyptian kitchen, Excited enough???

O.K come and join us, easy ;)))

Bakewell Tart, a pudding or a tart !! June DB's challenge !!

This month's challenge was a Bakewell tart,,, what ??? never heard about it before, why not... let's go on and try it... I'll gain the knowledge a a new dish !!


The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Before i forget, I have to put the recipe, so many people can enjoy it as much as I did !!

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding
Makes one 23cm (9” tart)Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)Resting time: 15 minutesBaking time: 30 minutesEquipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin
One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)Bench flour250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadabilityOne quantity frangipane (recipe follows)One handful blanched, flaked almonds
Assembling the tartPlace the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.
The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.
When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.
Jasmine’s notes:• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.Annemarie’s notes:• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).
Sweet shortcrust pastry
Prep time: 15-20 minutesResting time: 30 minutes (minimum)Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film
225g (8oz) all purpose flour30g (1oz) sugar2.5ml (½ tsp) salt110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)2 (2) egg yolks2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water
Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.
Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes
Jasmine’s notes:• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract
Frangipane
Prep time: 10-15 minutesEquipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened125g (4.5oz) icing sugar3 (3) eggs2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract125g (4.5oz) ground almonds30g (1oz) all purpose flour
Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.
Annemarie’s notes:• Add another five minutes or more if you're grinding your own almonds or if you're mixing by hand (Heaven help you).

Here you are mine

It turned out nice and easy.... very tasty, but I could not stop feeling guilty because of the amounts of butter in it, no problem once in a month not a big deal...;))))I made a white velvet cake with the egg whites I should not throw it anyway...I also had some of the dough's leftover so i made another tart . blueberry tart but did not taste it yet, I kept it in the freezer for another week !I did the same with the white velvet cake :)))

Talking about our star dish, the bakewell tart, I struggled to get skinless almonds, i did not find so I took off its skin and grinded it.

I used a home made apricot jam, I prepared it last week ,our markets are full of good apricots.

I mixed with it some apples to enrich my jam with pectin without using artificial products.

we really enjoyed this month's challenge.

Thanks Jasmine, thanks Annemarie !!

Looking for the next month's challenge too !!

Love from my heart to all my DB's fellows hearts !!

" Boules au chocolat" A la mode de chez nous !!

Yassin & malika, my kids love to cook but I do not let them because I am usually busy , usually in rush.

This day, I had a cake which I had troubles with it, I had a problem with my oven, so I decided to turn it to a lovely sweet dish "les boules au chocolat"

My kids really like it, I let them doing it totally by themselves.

I had some ganache and the cake and we added some nuts too.

After they rolled it, I left it in the freezer for a while and dipped it into melted chocolate to coat it.

I'll let you with the kids, they will show you how we prepared it.

They are rolling it, but Yassin seems to be a little bit sleepy :))
They were really proud !

Our first challenge for WALIMA cooking club !!

Today is our first challenge, WALIMA is a cooking club, for all the arabic food lovers .

We started by Algeria, this lovely country, the algerian kitchen is very rich, for me it was a good chance to try it, first time tasting, first time cooking .

Our First Challenge is brought to us by Khadidja from http://www.dessert-world.blogspot.com/.

Thanks Khadidja, your recipes were really a hit, all of us loved it.

Khadidja gave to us two options, one for a savory dish and one for a dessert, me I picked both, I should not miss this chance.

For the savory dish....it was chicken tajine with green olives.

Here you are the recipe....

This dish could be made with chicken or lamb or both. I personally mix the two meats in the same dishThis recipe has some added meat balls and this is optional. If not using both meats, keep the exact same recipe.Ingredients:1 whole chicken cut into pieces2 lbs of lamb1 large onion1 Tbsp butter or oil2 cups pitted green olives2 medium carrots, cut into circles1 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp cinnamon + 1/2 tsp black pepper1 chicken cubewater & parsleyMeat balls (optional)1/2 lb ground beef1 small onion1 small egg1/4 cup bread crumbs1/4 cup chopped parsley1/2 tsp salt1/4 tsp black pepper1/4 tsp cinnamonFlour to dredge the meat ballsTo thicken the sauce: 1 Tbsp soft butter + 2 tbsp flourDirection1) In a pot / pressure cooker put the butter /oil, chicken pieces, lamb pieces (if using), the onion, salt, pepper cinnamon. Cook over medium heat until the onionsare translucent. Add the chicken cube and enough water to cover the meat. Bring the mixture to a boil then cover and cook until the meat is tender. If using both meats, half way through cooking, remove the chicken pieces and continue to cook until the lamb is tender.2) In a sauce pan, put the olives and cover with water. Bring to a boil and let the olives boil for 3 to 5 mn. Drain and repeat the same process 2 to 3 times until the olives are no longer bitter.They should not be too salty neither. Set the olives aside.3) Prepare the meat balls: mix all the ingredients and make balls. Put about 1/2 in of oil in a frying pan and heat over medium heat. Dredge each meat ball in flour and fry until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel and set aside.4) Once the meat pieces are cooked, add the olives, the sliced carrots and the meat balls. Bring the sauce to a boil, cover the pot and cook until the carrots and the olives are tender, and the meat balls are cooked through.5)To finish the dish, mix the butter and flour to form a smooth paste. Bring the sauce to a boil and gradually add the butter/ flour mixture, stirring continuously. Let the sauce boil for 3 to 5 minutes. The sauce should be slightly thick. Add 2 tbsp chopped parsley. Serve the dish accompanied with lemon wedgesAlmond Surprises -

And my dish is ready !!!

The sweet dish was really a hit...... Here you are the recipe......

INGREDIENTS: This recipe will yield 40 cookies
For the filling:
1 can of almond paste or 300g of ground blanched almonds
180g of powdered sugar
1 large egg
Zest of a large lemon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the outer dough:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (in volume) or 2 oz of clarified butter
pinch salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) orange blossom water
For the decoration:
Lemon extract
Bottles of different colors of food coloring
non-toxic gold dust in a small capsule
For the syrup:
1 cup of granulated sugar
2 cups of water
2 Tablespoons orange blossom water
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon rind from one large lemon
METHOD:
Mix the filling ingredients in a food processor until you obtain a cohesive dough. If it is still wet and sticky, add more powdered sugar.
Using a cookie dough scooper, form small balls of dough. Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and let them rest in the fridge.
In the food processor, mix the flour, salt and clarified butter first. Then add the orange blossom water gradually through the feeding tube until the dough turns into one big lump, adding more flour, bit by bit, if it is still sticky and wet. From the dough into a ball and wrap it in wax paper and let it rest for one hour at room temperature. If you are going to color the dough, divide it into smaller balls and apply the food coloring, a few drops at a time, and knead the dough manually until the color gets uniform throughout. Let it rest in small plastic bags.
Make the syrup: mix the sugar, water, lemon rind in a saucepan on medium heat; let it simmer about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, then add the orange blossom water and the lemon juice. Cover the saucepan and let the syrup cool.
To form the cookies: The easiest way is to use a manual pasta machine. Cut the dough in small and manageable lupms and run them through the machine decreasing the opening to make the strips thinner and thinner. When satisfied, you can place the strips on a cold surface on which you have sprinkled a bit of cornstarch and use a rolling pin to finish the job and make the dough paper thin and translucent. Use a large cookie cutter (5 inch) or a glass and cut rounds in the dough. Enclose the ball of filling and twist the dough on top to seal it.
Let the formed cookies rest for one hour on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, without letting them brown.
Plunge the hot cookies in the syrup for a few seconds and remove them with a slotted spoon. Place on gold-rimmed paper liners if you wish (it helps to keep the surface of your platter free of syrup).
Present the cookies to the bride and groom and all the guests.

Et Voila mon plat.......but not as good as Khadidja dish!!

Try it , it is really yummy .

Hope you enjoyed our Algerian day ! I'll let you to hear this wonderful algerian song "ya rayah" or "Hey, traveller" !!

See you next month, and wait for our next arabic kitchen !!

Maasalamaaaah !! Bisous !!

Strudel.....First time in my 5th Daring bakers challenge !!!

I read before about strudel, but never tried to make it... for me, nothing new or creative in it.. just fill some phylo dough.. that's all !

But now I admit , doing it from scratch is really "fun" !!

My hubby, my kids and me really enjoyed it.

In Egypt we have "fettir" it is something like pie, nobody can make it perfectly except some bakers who are really specialized in making it, just for making "fettir", it is like a pie and the original kind of it is plain and we use to eat it with honey, mollasses or a kind of cheese called "mesh",it is a kind of cheese prepared by marinating it for a long period .

But now we can find several kinds of fetir "savoury" and stuffed.

It is just like strudel in the preparing technique, but we use to make it round with a lot of layers.

There are shops that specialize in fettir only, Making fettir is an art, unfortunately fewer people everyday have the know-how of making fettir.

I felt that making strudel from scratch as a process will not be strange to me.

I let doing it for the last day because I was so busy.

But the results were amazing , and we really loved it !!

The May Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Linda of make life sweeter! and Courtney of Coco Cooks. They chose Apple Strudel from the recipe book Kaffeehaus: Exquisite Desserts from the Classic Cafés of Vienna, Budapest and Prague by Rick Rodgers.

Thanks Linda, thanks courtney ! The recipe was really awesome !

I made three kinds, the original one "apple strudel", but I used orange juice instead of rum.

I made another batch of dough and made a savoury strudel, I stuffed it with a very middle eastern dish wich is "Shawerma" and "middle eastern rice flavored with cardamom and cinnamon" .

I had some dough so, I filled it with rasberry puree, and it was nice too !!

Trying to make the dough more and more thinner was really exciting for all my family members and of course for me.

this is my photo when I was 3 years old ! I did not know at this time that I will be a daring baker :)))

And here you are the same picture after 32 years soo clear under the thin layer of my strudel dough !

My kids photo too was a part in this wonderful strudel's party..

The question now is that I have a lot of strudel now at home, we will not be able to finish it in one night, what can I do ??

It can be freezed well :)))

Can't wait to know what is the next challenge !!!!

Love from my heart to all of you, daring bakers are the best !!!!

Cheese cake Festival !! 4th DB challenge !!

Cheese cake??? Who does not love it ???

This month's challenge was "cheese cake", it let for us a wide space to create!!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I made three kinds of cheese cake , before talking about it, I would like to thank Jenny and her friend, the recipe is quite excellent.

My first cheese cake was two layers one flavored with lemon and the second was flavored with rose blossoms water, and topped with a mix of rose jam + hibiscus jam, it gave the cheese cake a new awesome flavor.

Forgot to tell you that I made Graham crackers at home, I really loved it !!

Here you are some of the first cheese cake pics.
Second kind was a cheesecake with threee layers, first a vanilla one, the second is dark chocolate and the third was a cafe au lait, I topped it with a caramel chocolate ganache and butter scotch sauce and Macadamia nuts praline. Here you are some of the pics, it was really yummy !!

Third one was a plain one flavored with vanilla & one TBS of lime juice, but I topped it with a coconut cream and fruits " loquat, nectarine, banana, strawberry" and I served it with a strawberry coulis and some shredded coconut.

It really was a hit and a dessert plate to die for !!

The recipe was excellent, here you are and sure it is now my favorite.
The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
And don't forget to check back throughout the month, in case the recipe has been modified. Happy baking!
Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:
crust:2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar1 tsp. vanilla extract
cheesecake:3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature1 cup / 210 g sugar3 large eggs1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream1 tbsp. lemon juice1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake
DIRECTIONS:1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.
2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.
3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.
4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.
5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.
Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.
Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!
Some variations from the recipe creator:
** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)
** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).
** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.
** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.
** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of "coins" of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.
Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):
**Key lime - add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.
**Cheesecakelets - put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Thanks and wish you like my ckes, we really enjoyed it !!