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Lemon Myrtle No-bake Cheesecake

lemon myrtle cheesecake

This recipe had two firsts for me—firstly, my first foray into using native Australian spices which I had been eyeing up at various venues for quite some time. Secondly, my first no-bake cheesecake, which I’m chagrined to say that I should have made a long time ago. When you grow up with maybe the world’s best baked cheesecake, it’s hard to admit (and I’ve argued several times) that anything but a baked cheesecake is worth anyone’s time or calories. I stand corrected. No-bake cheesecakes are lighter and just as satisfying as baked cheesecakes, though I do think that the two are in rather separate categories and thusly shouldn’t be compared (it’d be like comparing a gorgeous chocolate mousse to chocolate pate—I mean seriously, couldn’t you just eat one on top of the other?).

Suffice it to say, this cheesecake was gorgeous, and a complete success. It was light in texture and had a great balance between crust and filling, and the lemon myrtle lent such a unique flavour. It smells and tastes of a combination of lemon, lime, and lemongrass, a little potent and exotic but entirely flavourful and versatile. Interestingly, all the Aussies who I’ve shown it to have never used it before, though I wouldn’t describe it as uncommon either. It goes magnificently with all sorts of dishes, from cheesecake and sweetbreads to fish and chicken, as well as teas and herbal blends. I have a good little tin of it to use up, so you’ll be seeing more lemon myrtle recipes eventually! I haven’t found any sites that export to North America, but seriously, if you want some I can easily head over to the Oxfam shop and buy you a 70 g tin for $8. It’s amazing stuff.

If you don’t have access to any lemon myrtle, consider using lemon or orange zest instead, with a pinch of cloves or honey or somesuch. Or make it a simple cheesecake without any flavouring, which will be just as delicious!

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Edited: August 26th, 2010

Kiwi Raspberry Pound Cake

This might be a weird thing to admit, especially for a food writer, but I’m usually not into cake. Good cake is one thing, but it seems to have become standard issue for cakes to be over-iced and topped with all manner of decorations which taste like plastic (something that looks like chocolate just shouldn’t taste like plastic—it breaks my heart every single time!). There are of course exceptions—my cousin’s home-decorated cakes are phenomenal works of art and her butter cream recipe is amazing—but I cringe far too often when I see cakes brought out at events. I could even be described as wary when it comes to baking cake. My family (and Luke’s, fortunately) has a few tried and true recipes which are delicious, and even if they are full fat, at least you don’t also have to eat half a pound of icing sugar that someone’s piled on top—I firmly believe that cake should be good enough to stand on its own merit.

Okay, my griping over… pound cake is just one of those rich and versatile recipes that you can use for every day additions to lunchboxes, or serve up to guests to go with afternoon tea, or even during various holidays. It can be a stand-alone plain cake, or you can get creative and add various fruits or other fillings for a variety of options. I used up some kiwis and some frozen raspberries that were in my fridge in this recipe, but you could also use any number of fresh, frozen, or dried fruits for a unique cake. I’ve written out some variations that you could try at the end of the recipe.

Pound cakes, you’ll be happy know, keep very well covered at room temperature. Or, you can wrap a portion of the cake in heavy foil and freeze for up to a month. They get their name from the ingredients used—traditionally, a pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Nothing wrong with any of those ingredients! On with the cake…

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Edited: July 17th, 2010

Beautiful Baked Cheesecake

IMG_6327

Cheesecake might just hold a special spot in every girl’s heart. It’s the queen of all desserts: creamy, rich, and so amazingly delicious that surely none of those calories really count, right? Cheesecake was one of our favourite girl’s night traditions in Revelstoke. Zala’s Steak and Pizza House has amazing, home made, baked cheesecake every night, and you have to be careful before all the good flavours—such as apple & caramel, mint chocolate chip, or Turtle—are gone. Mixed with a martini or two, we’ve had some great times there.

Of equal if not higher stature is my mom’s baked cheesecake. Whenever we had a dinner party or potluck to go to, we brought the dessert. It’s just tradition! You just had to pay really close attention to when dessert came out, or else you might miss out on getting a slice. This recipe adapts itself to a few different varieties—including chocolate—which I’ve written about below.

Make sure you make this cheesecake only if you’ll have help eating it. Otherwise, don’t blame me if you scarf down the whole thing! It’s not particularly difficult to make, but requires a bit of patience and thought. Make the night before so it has time to cool and set, or early in the morning before it needs to be served. (And send me a piece while you’re at it?)

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Edited: June 29th, 2010

Mixed Berry Flaugnarde

berry clafoutis

I’m realizing as I’ve been writing up these last few recipes that I’m starting to acquire a lot of new cookbooks. This recipe is from one of them—a promotional cookbook published by Philadelphia (yes, the cream cheese brand). They had a deal at the grocery store that you got one for free if you bought two items of cream cheese—so who was I to say no?! The production value of the book is beautiful, and the photography is fantastic. There certainly isn’t anything wrong with plenty of recipes that call for cream cheese, either!

This is a very simple dessert to make, and—while not exactly healthy—can be easily justified as a little breakfast treat too. (Or maybe that’s just me, I can justify chocolate mousse for breakfast too!)

Fun fact! This recipe is called a ‘clafoutis’ in the cookbook, but after a bit of Wikipedia-ing (that’s nowhere near as cool a verb as Googling), it is revealed that a clafoutis is a flan-like dish made with black cherries. When other fruits are used, it’s a flaugnarde. (Which I’d argue shares an etymological root with flan.)

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Edited: March 22nd, 2010