Berry Swirl Cheesecake

     This cheesecake was the hit of my Mother's Day brunch.  I knew with all the other preparations I wouldn't have time to make everything fresh right before Mother's Day, so I made this about ten days before and put it in the freezer.  I took it out of the freezer the day before and it was as though I had just made it.  The cheesecake has a nice berry flavor but is nice and light which makes it the perfect ending to any meal.
     One of the reasons I like this recipe is that it has a topping and can fill a crack which cheesecakes are notorious for.  I know every recipe book will tell you to wrap the pan in foil and set it in water and you won't have any problem.  I am the proud owner of a whole collection of pans which all seem to leak giving me soggy cheesecakes.  The idea is to provide a humid environment for the cheesecake to bake in.  To that end, I put in several baking dishes filled with water on both sides of my pan and on the rack underneath.  This may not be the perfect solution, but it beats a soggy cheesecake.

                                                                  Berry Swirl Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/2 cups chocolate graham cracker or cookie crumbs
2 tblsp. almonds, finely chopped
5 tblsp. stick margarine, melted

Filling
2 8 oz. containers imitation cream cheese, softened
2 5.5 oz goat cheese,  softened
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup seedless red raspberry jam or berry jam of choice
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. raspberry extract

Topping
1 cup soy sour cream
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp, vanilla
1/4 tsp. raspberry extract
1 tblsp. berry pancake syrup

     Crust:  Mix all three ingredients together and press in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

     Filling:  Mix the imitation cream cheese and goat cheese in a mixer until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time until each is completely incorporated.  Stop the mixer to scrape down the sides if necessary.  Heat the jam until it is smooth but not hot.  Add the remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.  Pour over crust and bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes depending on your oven.  The cheesecake is done when the sides are firm and the center is nearly set.  Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes.

     Topping:  Mix all ingredients together except the pancake syrup and spread over cheesecake.  Measure the pancake syrup and put drops of it all over the cheesecake.  Using a toothpick or knife, swirl them around the cheesecake.  Return to the oven for 5 minutes.
     Let the cheesecake cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator.  Serve cold.
About 12 servings.
     Next week I will share my recipe for chicken Marsala tetrazzini.  It is a twist on the familiar turkey tetrazzini and also combined with chicken Marsala.  See you next time.

Chocolate and White Almond Cupcakes with Filling

     Years ago one of my cousins gave me a wonderful recipe for surprise cupcakes.  The chocolate cake was from scratch and the filling was made from cream cheese and had chocolate chips and nuts.  I loved them every time I made them and always got rave reviews.  Then along came my eating disabilities and no more surprise cupcakes.  After some changes, I was able to adapt the recipe so I could eat it and no one seemed the wiser.  The original from scratch cake had cocoa in it so I now use a cake mix.  A chocolate cake mix actually doesn't have that much chocolate in it and doesn't seem to bother me.  I have changed the filling to soy cream cheese and the chocolate chips to non-dairy chocolate chips.  I recently served these at a baby shower.  The mother-to-be was keeping it a secret whether she was having a boy or girl.  The news would be revealed when the guests ate their cupcake and found the center was not white like they expected but pink for the little girl who is on her way.
     The second cupcake I served at this shower was a white cake with almond extract in it and a pastry cream filling which was also tinted pink.  To get the hole in the cupcake after it bakes to put the filling in, use a teaspoon to scoop it out or I found a handy gadget from King Arthur Flour for about $5 which does the job and makes all the holes uniform.
     I used buttercream frosting with almond extract for the frosting, sprinkled surgar crystals over the top and colored sprinkles over one of the cupcakes to distinguish one from the other.

                                                           Chocolate Cupcakes with Filling

1 chocolate cake mix and ingredients to make it
ingredients for favorite frosting
1 8 oz. container soy cream cheese
1 egg
2 tblsp. sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tblsp. chopped almonds
5 oz. non-dairy chocolate chips

     Mix soy cream cheese, egg and sugar until smooth.  If you are going to add food coloring, carefully add a drop at a time to achieve the desired color.  Add nuts and chocolate chips.
Make cake mix as directed.  Fill muffin pan with cupcake cups 2/3 full.  Top each  with a heaping teaspoon of filling and poke down into batter.  Bake at 350F for about 25 min.  
     When the cupcakes are cool, frost with your favorite frosting.

                                                          White Almond Cupcakes with Filling

1 white cake mix and ingredient to make it
1 tsp. almond extract
 ingredients for favorite frosting
Pastry Cream
1 cup lactose free milk
3 egg yolks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tblsp. cornstarch
1 tblsp. stick margarine
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. almond extract
2/3 cup non-dairy whipped cream

     Make cake mix as directed using the 1 tsp. almond extract as part of the liquid.  Bake as directed.
     To make the pastry cream:  using a saucepan over med-low heat, heat milk to barely simmering.  While that is heating, combine egg yolks, sugar and cornstarch in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.  Stir the milk into the egg mixture and then return to pan.  Bring back to a boil, over med-low heat whisking constantly and boil one minute.  Remove from heat and add margarine, vanilla and almond extract.  Stir to melt the margarine.  If you want to color the pastry cream, carefully add a drop of food color a drop at a time until you achieve the desired color,  (I made this several times and not matter how much I whisked, I still had lumps, so I put my mixture in a collander and stirred so I could separate the lumps.  It is an extra step, but at least I didn't have lumps.)
Transfer custard to a bowl and place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top to prevent it forming a crust.  When it is cold, mix in the non-dairy whipped cream.  Fill the cupcakes and frost as desired.
     Next week I'm going to share my recipe for Berry Swirl Cheesecake.  It is was the star at the Mother's Day brunch this year.  Until next time.

Brownies

     I thought I would never have another brownie in my life.  But I have gotten braver with my experiments and decided to keep trying until I came up with a brownie which wasn't too cakey or too fudgy.  Some people might wonder what was wrong with either one of those, and really if that's what you want, you should make that.  But a true brownie is in between.
     I made my brownies in a size 8 x 8 glass dish sprayed with vegetable spray.  Also, I toasted the nuts first and then sprinkled them on top of the batter just before it went into the oven.  I learned this trick from "Cook's Illustrated" magazine from an article written be Erika Bruce.  She noticed that the nuts in the batter steamed during the baking became soggy.

                                                                       Brownies

1/2 cup chopped almonds
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 non-dairy semi-sweet chocolate chips
6 tblsp. stick margarine
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

      After almonds are chopped, toast in a low temperature oven until just turning brown.  Set aside.
      Combine flour and baking powder and set aside.
      Melt chocolate chips and stick margarine in a saucepan over low heat or in the microwave stirring frequently to make sure they don't burn.  When the mixture is smooth, whisk in sugar and then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla.  Add flour mixture in small additions whisking to make sure it is thoroughly combined.
      Transfer batter to pan and use spatula to make sure it is level and in all corners.  Sprinkle nuts on top.
      Bake at 325 for about 31 minutes.  Brownies are done when toothpick inserted in center almost comes out clean.  Brownies are easier to remove from pan when they are cool.
      Next week I will share my recipe for two different filled cupcakes.  I recently hosted a baby shower where the mother-to-be wanted announce the gender of the baby at the shower.  The announcement was made by the color of the filling in the cupcakes.  More about that next time.

    

Cream of Chicken with Rice Soup

     I would love to use the convenience of canned creamed soups.  There are healthy ones now with minimum calories and salt.  However, they still have that problem of having milk or cream in them so I have had to come up with my own.  The good part is I am able to control the ingredients, and once you are sure you like this recipe, you can double the recipe so you can take it to work to heat for lunch or to have as a course with dinner.
     Here are some hints I have learned.  First, it is worth the time to brown the mushrooms and then simmer them in the Marsala wine until the wine is gone.  It adds a flavor boost and the alcohol will be gone so sensative stomachs will not be bothered.  Second hint, after you wash the celery, remove the strings.  It will be easier to digest.  Third hint, I use the cooked chickens from the grocery store.   It saves me time from cooking a chicken.

                                                    Cream of Chicken with Rice Soup

1 box mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 tlbsp. stick margarine
1/3 cup Marsala wine
1 cooked chicken breast, skin removed and cut in 1/2 in. cubes
1 carrot peeled and sliced
1 celery rib washed, strings removed then chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp. onion powder
2 14.5 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. white pepper
3 bay leaf
1/8 tsp. cumin
3 tblsp. stick margarine
1/4 cup flour
2 cups lactose free milk

     In a skillet sprayed with vegetable spray, melt the 2 tblsp. margarine.  Add the mushrooms and stir occasionally until the mushrooms are browned.  Turn off the flame and add the wine.  Turn the flame on low and let the mushrooms simmer until the liquid is gone.  Set aside
     In a saucepan add the chicken and next nine ingredients along with the mushrooms.  Bring to a boil and turn the flame down so they simmer.
     In another saucepan melt 3 tblsp. stick margarine.  Over it sift 1/4 cup of flour.  Stir together until there is a paste.  Then add the milk and whisk together.  Once they are mixed together, turn the flame to medium-low until the mixture simmers and begins to thicken.  When it is thick, mix it with the ingredients in the saucepan with the chicken.  If the soup is too thick, add more chicken broth or milk.  Depending on the size of your servings, serves about 4 people.
     Next week I'll share my brownie recipe.  I thought I would never get this perfected, but finally I believe I have.  See you next time.