Happy 4th of July!

Here is wishing everyone a day filled with sun and delicious food--wherever you are in the world!

Visitandine, American version : see the original recipe here!

Strawberry Charlotte

I'm always under the impression that the taller a cake, the harder it was to make. Take a three tiered wedding cake with three different flavors and various filling and frosting flavors. Not an easy go, right?

Well, you might counter that most two-layer cakes aren't really a big deal to bake--a simple chocolate cake with chocolate ganache, for example, or a spicy carrot cake. Sure, maybe you're right, but I like to think of tall cakes as being all special and fancy, therefore time consuming.

Back in Berlin, where I just spent a week, I was told there would be layer cakes galore. To my surprise, there were more fruit tarts and "simple" cakes than anything else. Notice I say to my surprise and not my disappointment. How would anyone ever be disappointed by a rhubarb crumble cake? Wait, let me add to that: How would anyone ever be disappointed by a rhubarb crumble cake eaten sitting on lounge chairs by a lake in the sun? That's better. And yes, that was a rhetorical question, because even if you didn't like rhubarb you would have loved this cake.

Anyway, tall cakes are a festive treat for me, and I can't find anything better to celebrate than the beginning of summer. France has finally gotten warm again, and a trip to Saint Dié was in order a week ago when I got back from the States. As you may know by now, Saint Dié for me means family, obviously, but also a big kitchen and an array of pans I have absolutely no space for in Paris.

Tall cake craving + cake-specific pan = Charlotte aux Fraises!

Can you keep a secret? A strawberry charlotte is tall, but it isn't really hard to make. Just forget you ever read that now, and pretend it took you a few grueling hours next time you make it.

In many countries, a charlotte is actually made with bread, but in France the ladyfingers--called biscuits à la cuillère over here--take over. Inside the fortification of ladyfingers, a charlotte houses a sweet mousse of any kind of fruit you'd like. Strawberry is a classic, and they are in season, so I went with that. You could definitely make your own ladyfingers for this, but nice ones are easily found in France and buying them made it all that easier.

Paired with some fresh strawberries on the side and a few sprigs of mint, this is a really nice summertime dessert--and just might satisfy your next craving for a tall cake.

Charlotte aux Fraises

Note: You'll need a pan that is round and high for this recipe if you don't have a special charlotte pan--you could even use a bowl with high and relatively straight sides. A fluted brioche pan works just fine, too.

3/4 c. (140g) granulated sugar

1/2 TB raspberry alcohol (or any other fruit that would pair nicely with strawberries)

3/4 TB (10g, or 5 sheets) gelatin

1 pound (500g) strawberries, hulled--save 4 large or 6 medium and cut sideways into slices
1 lemon

1 3/4 c. heavy cream (approx. 45 cl, very cold

1 TB confectioner's sugar

25 ladyfingers

Bring 3/4 c. of water and 1/3 c. + 1 TB of the granulated sugar to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and let cool; add alcohol.

If using sheet gelatin, place in a bowl of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. (Instructions for powdered gelatin come later.)

Place strawberries (except the sliced ones) in a blender with the juice of one lemon and blend until smooth. Press into a sieve to obtain a smooth puree. Put about one quarter of the coulis in a separate bowl, and sprinkle powdered gelatin on top if using. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Heat the coulis mixed with gelatin on low heat, and mix in remaining granulated sugar. If using sheet gelatin, wring it to remove all excess water and add to mixture. Once gelatin and sugar have dissolved, remove from heat and mix the warm and cold coulis. Let cool at room temperature, and place in freezer for ten minutes to thicken (or refrigerator for thirty minutes).

With a stand or handheld mixer, beat heavy cream to stiff peaks, incorporating confectioner's sugar when soft peaks form. Make sure heavy cream is cold enough--it can be placed in the freezer for 15 minutes prior to beating if necessary. Place whipped cream in refrigerator until use.

In a large bowl, delicately mix whipped cream and strawberry coulis until combined.

Set pan on a workspace. Working one by one, lightly dip each ladyfinger into the prepared syrup and place in pan. For the top of the cake, place smooth side against the pan. For the sides, place ladyfingers rounded side against the pan.

Pour 1/3 of whipped cream mixture into pan, topping with half of the sliced strawberries. Pour another 1/3 on top, followed by strawberries, and the remaining cream. If you have extra cream, leave it in the refrigerator to use for decorating the cake when serving.

Top whipped cream with one last layer of ladyfingers dipped in syrup, to 'close' the cake. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

When serving, gently flip pan over onto a plate. Garnish with reserved whipped cream, strawberries, and mint.

Un Cheesecake fait toujours du Bien

C'est l'été, ou du moins ça l'était chez moi aux Etats-Unis avant que je ne rentre en France. Lors d'un été normal, donc, il fait chaud--et qui dit chaud dit envie de fraîcheur. Rien de tel qu'une salade de concombres croquants, ou de nectarines bien juteuses qu'on mange toute la journée.

Et puis, il y a le cheesecake. Eh non, ce n'est pas un plat particulièrement léger, mais c'est tellement bon qu'à vrai dire on s'en fiche complètement. Le plus drôle, c'est qu'il semblerait que la fascination pour ce fameux cheesecake soit quasiment plus grande en France qu'aux Etats-Unis. Le cheesecake est partout, et il a ses groupies, qui ne rateraient ses apparitions dans divers restaurants et cafés pour rien.

Si on se penche sur le cheesecake version américaine, on voit que la discussion devient tout de suite beaucoup plus technique. Des articles, non, des livres entiers sont consacrés à l'art du cheesecake parfait. Mais c'est quoi, d'abord, un cheesecake parfait?

Pour la majorité des individus, un bon cheesecake est soyeux sans être trop lourd en bouche. Pas de grumeaux, une crust croquante mais pas trop non plus, et bien evidemment pas de gélatine. Ah, ça, non: le cheesecake sans cuisson, ce n'est pas un cheesecake. Ensuite se pose la question du mode de cuisson--certains privilégient le bain marie et la cuisson lente, pour que le cheesecake ne se "casse" pas. Effectivement, on obtient souvent de petites cassures sur le dessus du cheesecake lorsque le mélange au cream cheese cuit. Mais après tout, si on le sert à l'assiette et on ne compte pas vendre son cheesecake entier, une cassure ne fait de mal à personne.

Du coup, dans la famille on préfère l'option de cuisson simple, sans bain marie. Tout de suite, c'est beaucoup plus facile: on mélange, on fait cuire, on laisse reposer et on met au frais. Quelques heures plus tard, la magie a operé, et voilà: un cheesecake au gout parfait, prêt à être dégusté. J'irais même jusqu'à dire que je dois mon teint rosé et frais à cette recette familiale qui fait mon bonheur depuis mon plus jeune âge. Enfin bon, on me répondra que ce sont plutôt les carottes...mais je n'en crois rien.

Essayez-le, vous verrez bien: même par un été à 20 degrés, le cheesecake rend beau et heureux. Servez-le tout seul, ou alors accompagné d'un coulis rapide de fraises (des fraises équetées et coupées, cuites avec du jus de citron et un peu de sucre, puis mixées quelques secondes).

Un dernier petit conseil: ça peut sembler un peu fatigant d'aller chercher du vrai Philadelphia Cream Cheese, et tentant de remplacer par autre chose--mauvaise idée! La quantité d'eau dans les St Moret, fromages blanc et autres Kiri ne correspond pas au cream cheese et vous pourrez dire au revoir à la consistance crémeuse de ce "vrai de vrai" cheesecake.

Cheesecake

pour 6 à 8 personnes 

160g graham crackers finement écrasés ou mixés (utiliser des sablés ou speculoos si besoin)
150g beurre ramolli
240g sucre en poudre
680g Philadelphia cream cheese, ramolli
2 cuillères à cafe extrait de vanille liquide
3 oeufs
120g crème fraîche


Mélanger les gâteaux, le beurre, et 50g de sucre dans un bol. Repartir le mélange dans un moule à charnière de 20cm de diamètre préalablement beurré. Bien faire remonter le mélange sur les côtés du moule et presser pour le garder en place.

Battre le cream cheese pour l'aérer. Ajouter le sucre restant et la vanille. Ajouter les oeufs un à un puis la crème fraîche.

Verser la préparation dans le moule et cuire une heure dans un four préchauffé à 180 degrés. Eteindre le four, entrouvrir la porte et y laisser le cheesecake pendant une heure. Réfrigérer au moins 4 heures avant de démouler et de servir.

Classic No-Fuss Cheesecake

I'm not afraid to admit that I have one too many recipe clippings.

See, I bought this great little set of drawers from Ikea a year ago: red metal, European letter-sized drawers. They were itnitally meant to house electronic cords, scrap paper, and obviously classwork and readings. Once I filled it up, I was so happy about having two drawers left empty. For once, I managed not to clutter something up!

One week later: "Hey, this is a great place to store recipe clippings!"

And yet another week later...no more empty drawers. But that's what drawers are for, so I don't mind all that much. The only problem is, I don't manage to get around to a tenth of the recipes I store in there. I imagine I am definitely not alone in this situation, but I do have a strange habit. I collect cheesecake recipes, imagining that I will try every single one. The tweaks about water baths and that special way of pouring the filling into the pan? My drawer covers that. New York style, classic style, old-fashioned, you name it. I am the cheesecake queen... without a cheesecake. All those recipes are great, but I haven't tried a single one of them.

Hand me the family cheesecake recipe, however, and I'll go right ahead. No water baths here, or cheesecakes so high you feel like Alice in Wonderland. This is the simple, back-of-the-box version--and it's great. Sure, it might crack here or there, but as long as you're not selling it whole, does anyone really mind? The creaminess is there and so is the cheesecake taste we all like to remember (unless you dislike that particular taste, which unfortunately does exist). It may seem a little heavy for Summer temperatures, or at least that's what I thought, but it isn't. Add a little fresh strawberry or raspberry coulis, and you've got yourself the perfect dessert to go with a fresh seasonal salad.

Although, maybe after all that cheesecake, you won't be tempted to do any drawer cleaning--those unused recipes will have to wait.

PS: Expect to see a French post on the same topic in a week or so!

Classic Cheesecake

serves approximately 8 to 10

1 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs

1/3 c. butter, softened

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

3 8 oz packages cream cheese, softened

2 TS vanilla extract

3 eggs

1 c. sour cream

Thoroughly blend first two ingredients and 1/4 c. sugar. Press mixture firmly against the bottom and 2.5 inches up sides of an 8-in springform pan.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add remaining 1 c. sugar and vanilla extract. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Blend in sour cream.

Spread in prepared pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven, 60 to 70 minutes or until firm. Turn off oven. Leaving door slightly ajar, allow cheesecake to remain in oven 1 hour. Cool in pan.

Chill 4 hours or overnight.