Cheesecake experiments (PM)

Oh, cheesecake, that is one special cake. And yet, like K, when do I ever eat it? Never that's when. And let me tell you why: my Polish grandmother made the king of cheesecakes. A little sweet, a wonderful sour note, perfect density, a base strong enough to hold it together but not intruding into the overwhelming cheesecakeyness of it. Never has a cheesecake come anywhere near the deliciousness that was Babcia's cheesecake. She kept baking for a long time but as she got into her nineties the baking, unsurprisingly, got rarer. And after she died, the sweet treats really dried up!

Babcia was a great cook and baker, do not get me started on her apple pie (this is another thing to which nothing has ever come close). Periodically I say to my mum, "Do you have Babcia's recipe for this or that" and my mum will tell me it is somewhere or only in Polish or something like that and I'll say, "I really must get it from you" and then I don't, because then I'd probably end up with too much cheesecake or apple pie in the house. But it is time for the excuses to end!!!

I will find that recipe, and sure I will compare it to other good-looking recipes, but there is no question what is going to happen in my kitchen, Babcia's cheesecake will rise like a phoenix from the ashes that are forbidden by Jewish law.

 

Cheesecake experiments (AM)

Cheesecake. One of the all time great cakes. But so easy to eff up, which is why I never order me a slice when I'm out and about. If I'm going to ingest all that fat and sugar, I want to be sure it's going to be worth it. The kind of cheesecake they have for sale at so many cafes, you just can't be sure. It could be too sweet, to claggy, it could have a rubbish base. I don't want to take the risk. And making cheesecake at home isn't something I've done much of, because it results in one have a lot of cheesecake in the house and that's a pretty dangerous zone. But if one doesn't order cheesecake, or make cheesecake, one doesn't get to eat cheesecake. You see the difficulty of my situation. 

I've been in this deadlock for a while and I think it's time to break out. So I'm proposing, for MSC's second cake experiments, that we launch into some cheesecake experiments. 

This is how it's going to pan out.

First we need to lay some ground rules about what makes a good cheesecake. Then we compare some recipes, and each of us picks one to bake. 

Then we bake!

Then we get together and taste.

Then we think about what we've done and what we've learnt and promise one another that whatever happens, we'll never forget this summer.

Ok, the rules for me are simple. I like a pure cheesecake, no fruit or glaze or anything fancy on top. It has to have a hint of sweetness but little more than a hint. The texture needs to occupy that wafer thin space between light and dense. And the base needs to yield to the fork, but be sufficiently solid to hold up against all that cheese. I also think the base should go up the sides too. 

It's a tall order, really. But that's just me. Mate, over to you. 

Nb: most of the cheesecakes pictures above do not fit the bill.