Once upon a time, on a culinary trip to the Basque region of Spain, chef Dave Beran stumbled upon a gem of a sweet. It was an amazing, heart-stopping, cannot-stop-eating cheesecake at a teeny, tiny pintxos place. As Dave put it, it was “a happy accident.” Now, this is not your typical cheesecake. It has only five ingredients, comes together in a food processor, and emerges from the oven jiggly and blackened. It is one of the best things you will ever taste and as Dave says, “it’s stupid simple.”
When I was living in Basque country, just outside San Sebastian, I became obsessed with several Spanish sweets. Torrija and Basque cheesecake, especially. There is a pintxos bar in the old town of San Sebastian called La Vina, where they specialise in one thing: tarta de queso, or cheesecake. This is literally the only thing I would go there to eat. They bake approximately ten to fourteen cheesecakes a day, all dark topped and paper ruffled, and they always sell out. This is my version. It works well with acidic fruits such as apricots and citrus. I’ve also made it with poached quince and topped with wild fennel seeds, which was a huge hit. You can either make one large cake or several small ones. If you are going for individual cakes, reduce the baking time to 15 minutes.
We passed on the processed cheese for more flavorful cheddar in our Bacon-Ranch Cheese Balls. To add creaminess and help bind the ingredients, we turned to cream cheese. Incorporating mayonnaise provided additional sticking power for the coating. A few hours in the refrigerator ensured that the cheese balls set up perfectly.
It was the Blackberry Pie recipe from What a Cook Ought to Know about Corn Starch (1909) that inspired mine. I love the bare-bones filling instructions: “Wash blackberries, drain and fill plate quite full. Sprinkle well with sugar. Sift over all, one generous tablespoon . . . [cornstarch].” Done and done. I added lime juice and zest (for a little zing), a bit of butter atop my filling (for richness), and arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch (for a less cloudy filling), and tucked it all into a tender and flaky cream cheese crust.
This velvety cheesecake is made with toasted coconut in the crust plus a shaggy garnish of shredded coconut on the top.
Instead of gritty powdered sugar, this tangy frosting starts with a light vanilla custard made from fresh milk and eggs. That keeps it thick and creamy, but not too rich—perfect for slathering over my Red (Wine) Velvet Cake.
When it’s too hot outside to bake, but you still need a cake, fridge cakes are the answer! Simple and foolproof, this dessert from the new cookbook Fridge Cakes by Jean-Luc Sady is made by layering shortbread and whipped cream with marshmallows and chocolate in a loaf tin, then chilling the cake in the fridge for 3 hours before serving.
Many Czech foods have become an integral part of today’s Texas cuisine—kolaches being one of the most popular examples. The delectable little pastries are traditionally filled with fruits, jams, cheese, or poppy seeds. However, they can be filled with meat, cheese and other savory ingredients as well.
This version of perfect cold weather food incorporates ground annatto seeds to perfume the soup with a musky aroma and splash the potatoes with a sunny disposition.
Tangy yogurt bursting with the electrifying scent of tart lemon.