Back to hametz with some delicious cupcakes with an Israeli twist

Black Beer Cupcakes

Putting Pesach behind us, let’s get back to real baking.

When I first visited Israel as a child, one of the new tastes I experienced and loved was the iconic Nesher Black Beer (birah shchorah). As a child, the concept of drinking beer, even though it was alcohol free, was so exciting. The taste of this local malt brew was wonderfully caramelly and rich, and to this day, I love the taste, which takes me back to my first visit to Israel.

While cupcakes are definitely a non-Israeli confectionery, one way of bringing a little local into these little cakes is by baking them with black beer. When I came across a wonderful parev cupcake recipe that uses stout beer on Chef Chloe’s wonderful vegan cooking website, I knew I had to make a few adaptations to make it more Israeli by using black beer instead. Black beer is said to also have additional health benefits (although I’m not sure if they survive baking at 180 degrees). The result is a very moist, wonderful chocolate cupcake that’s parev and uses no eggs either.

You can frost these cupcakes with any frosting you wish. I use a Tofutti-based cream cheese frosting for parev, otherwise any butter or cream cheese frosting will work well.

BLACK BEER CUPCAKES

Ingredients

1½ cups flour
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup black beer (birah shchorah – there’s the Nesher brand or Coca Cola’s Malti brand)
½ cup oil
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla

How to do it

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)

2. In a large bowl, mix the flour, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix till just combined.

3. Line a muffin tin with #5 cupcake liners and fill each to about two-thirds full with batter.

4. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Makes 14-16 cupcakes

PAREV FROSTING

Ingredients

A few drops of vanilla extract

How to do it

1. In a medium bowl, mix 90g (3 oz) Tofutti cream cheese and a few drops of vanilla until combined.

2. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix till combined. Continue adding the powdered sugar until you get a good spreading consistency – about 300g (10 oz) powdered sugar (3 cups). (Note: When you use the Tofutti cream cheese to make frosting, you won’t reach a stiff spreading consistency as you do when using butter or cream cheese. This frosting will always be glossy and soft.)

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

1. In a medium bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of soft butter, 100 grams of 25% fat cream cheese (Napoleon) and a few drops of vanilla.

2. When it is smooth, gradually start adding powdered sugar (about 300 grams of powdered sugar in total) and mix until you get a good spreading consistency (the mixture should not fall off the spoon or should not run off the beaters).

VANILLA BUTTER FROSTING

1. In an electric mixer, beat 110g (4 oz)  unsalted butter, 60 ml milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 250 g (10 oz) powdered sugar until completely smooth.

2. Gradually add up to another 250g (10 oz) powdered sugar and beat until the frosting is a smooth spreading consistency.

A New Idea for Mishloach Manot Stuffers – Chocolate Covered Cookie Dough Balls

Chocolate covered cookie dough balls

Purim’s early this year, so I’m in a mad rush to organize my mishlochei manot and get going on my Purim baking. Last year, I posted lots of recipes that you can use to make some fun, home made goodies to add to your mishlochei manot – check out parts I, II and III (Oznei Haman)… But that’s not enough!! A few months ago, I made these really delish chocolate covered cookie dough balls. Now who doesn’t like cookie dough? Then cover them in chocolate, and what’s not to love?

This recipe ensures that the cookie dough is safe as it’s made without eggs. It can also easily be made parev so it’s a great little addition to your give-aways for the chag.

Chag Purim Sameach!

Ingredients

½ cup butter or margarine

1 cup packed brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons water

1¼ cups flour

1/3 cup parev chocolate chips

350 grams (12 ounces) parev dark/semi-sweet chocolate

How to do it

1. Using an electric mixer, beat margarine and brown sugar on high speed until properly creamed for about 5 minutes (to ensure that there are no gritty bits of sugar left)

2. Add vanilla, salt and water and mix till combined.

3. Add flour and mix till combined.

Dipping the chilled cookie dough balls into the melted chocolate

4. Fold in the chocolate chips by hand. Cover dough and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

5. Line two baking sheets with baking paper. With your (very clean) hands, roll the dough into balls that are about 2 cm/1 inch in diameter, and place them on the baking sheets. Freeze for at least 20 minutes.

6. Melt dark chocolate in a double boiler (bring about 5cm/2 inches of water to the boil in a medium-sized pot. In a smaller pot that can easily fit over the bottom pot, break up the chocolate and melt it over the simmering water, making sure that the top pot does touch the water below. Stir until all melted). Allow the melted chocolate to cool to nearly room temperature.

7. Dip the dough balls. Remove one tray of cookie dough balls from the freezer. One by one, drop each ball into the melted chocolate, using two forks, roll it in the chocolate until it’s completely covered. Remove the ball and place it back on the baking sheet. When you’ve done all the balls, put the tray back in the fridge and repeat the process with the second tray.

8. Chill for at least 20 minutes and store in refrigerator until your serve them or give them as a gift.

A Nasty Weather Spice Cake

As Israel is hit with some of the worst winter weather we’ve seen in decades, so many of us are stuck at home (and happily so when you see what’s happening out there.) What could be better than using this time to bake a really yummy spice cake that fills the house with the perfect smells of winter?

I love spice cakes, and it’s one of those tastes that takes me back to my childhood. It took me a while, but I finally found a really fool-proof recipe that’s simple and tastes wonderful. I top it off with the most delicious brown butter frosting, which I really have to resist eating before I spread it on the cake. It’s a really perfect cake/frosting combination and I can’t think of any other frosting that would work this well with this cake.

Bake this before your kids get home from school, and treat them to a really yummy mid-week dessert treat without having to overwork yourself.

Spice Cake with Browned Butter Frosting

SPICE CAKE

Ingredients

½ cup softened butter

2 eggs

2 cups  flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 ½ cups sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

How to do it

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)

2. Beat the butter, sugar and vanilla in a mixer well combined. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until well combined.

3. In a separate bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and spices. Add the dry mixture alternately with the buttermilk to the egg mixture, beating on low speed until just combined.

4. Line two 20 cm round (8 inches) cake pans or one 28 cm (11 inch) springform pan with baking paper and spray with non-stick spray. Pour the batter into the pan(s) and bake for 30 to 35 minutes for the round pans, or 35 to 40 minutes for springform, or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool the cake completely before frosting it.

BROWN BUTTER FROSTING

The taste of the browned butter is just amazing. Make sure you get the butter to a nice brown color – don’t be afraid, it’s very hard to mess this one up. 

This recipe is for the two-layered cake. Halve it for the springform-sized cake.

Ingredients

¾ cup softened butter

6 cups (600g)  powdered sugar

About 4 tablespoons milk

2 teaspoons vanilla

How to do it

1. Heat butter in a small saucepan over low heat until melted and continue heating until butter turns golden brown – once you see specks of dark brown appearing at the bottom of the saucepan, remove from heat.

2. In a large mixing bowl combine powdered sugar, 4 tablespoons of milk, and the vanilla. Add the browned butter (try to avoid pouring in all of the brown bits at the bottom, but don’t stress if it all goes in). Beat with an electric mixer on low speed or by hand, until combined. If the mixture is too hard, add a little more milk until you reach a spreading consistency. (Tip: When adding additional liquid to frosting, make sure to add it very slowly – a few drops at a time and mix it it well before adding more. Frosting can very quickly go from hard to too runny.)

Updating my Crunchie Recipe

Crunchies, aka Flapjacks

I love it when I find a new recipe for something I’ve successfully made before, and it’s even better than the original.

A few months ago I posted a recipe for South African Crunchie bars – a hearty sweet oatmeal and syrup bar that is very more-ish and should definitely no be made when you’re trying to watch those calories. I stumbled on a cooking show on TV, on which the presenter was baking what the British call flapjacks (in the US and South Africa that’s what we call small pancakes, but I’m willing to forgive the strange choice of name because the recipe is wonderful.) I made some adjustments for ingredients that aren’t readily available in Israel and had a go. They came out perfectly with a really caramel-like taste. So I had to update my original recipe.  They are quick and extremely easy to make so give them a go – you won’t regret it.

CRUNCHIES / FLAPJACKS

Ingredients

175 g butter (6 oz) butter (you can also use margarine to make it parev, but the butter gives it a most delicious taste)

¾ cup Golden Syrup (there really is no substitute…in Israel it can be found in specialty food stores)

¾ cup brown sugar

350 g (12 oz) rolled oats (about 3½ cups)

1 teaspoon baking powder

How to do it

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150°C (300°F). Line a 30 x 20 cm (12 x 9 inch) baking pan with baking paper and spray with non-stick spray.

2. In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter over low heat. When melted, add the syrup and sugar and stir over medium-low heat until the sugar is all dissolved.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the oats and baking powder until all the oats are coated with the syrup mixture.

4. Press down evenly into the pan and bake for about 40 minutes. The top will look golden brown when it’s done.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down for about 10-15 minutes. Remove the whole thing with the baking paper and place it on a cutting board. Using a long, sharp knife, cut the crunchies into squares before they are completely cooled.

Makes about 36 squares.

Hanukkah’s coming…anyone for quick doughnut muffins?

It’s amazing how quickly the year goes by. It didn’t feel like that long ago that I was experimenting with oven-baked latkes for Hanukkah 2011, and here it is again.

Last year’s oven-baked recipes went down like, well, hot cakes! So if you’re looking for them, click here for the Oven Baked Potato Latkes and the Oven Baked Cauliflower, Zucchini and Leek Latkes. I’ve also been glad to see that you’re all looking for great ideas for your Hanukkah tables and have been checking out The Jewish Hostess’ wonderful ideas for beautiful Hanukkah tables.

Last year’s successful recipes clearly showed me that not everyone wants to eat traditional Hanukkah food dripping with oil. Personally, I’m not a fan, and my family and I loved the shift to oven-baked goodies. So this year, I decided it was time to take on the doughnut. While this recipe for doughnut muffins doesn’t create a muffin that tastes exactly like a doughnut (or so my husband says), it’s really quick to prepare and the result is delicious and a clear nod to the Hanukkah favorite. My kids were very happy to eat these and voted in favor.

Happy Hanukkah!

Hanukkah doughnut muffins

HANUKKAH DOUGHNUT MUFFINS

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup flour

¾ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

100 ml (3.3 fl oz)  buttermilk

2 beaten eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup butter melted

12 teaspoons seedless jam (preferably raspberry or cherry, but apricot is also good)

2 tablespoon powdered sugar

How to do it

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170°C (325°F). Line a 12 hole muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and baking soda.

3. Mix the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and add to the flour mix. Add the melted butter and mix until just combined.

4. Fill the muffin cups to just halfway up (about one heaped tablespoon). This should leave you with about one third of the mixture to use for the top.

5. Make a little well in the center of each muffin using a teaspoon, and fill each well with a teaspoon of jam. Cover each muffin with batter (about a half a tablespoon each).

6. Bake for about 18 minutes or until the muffins are springy when touched.

7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Using a small hand sifter, dust each muffin generously with powdered sugar.

These are delicious when served warm, but are yummy cold as well.

Makes 12.

One year of Kosher Blogging (and a cake recipe too)

One year ago today I posted my first Kosher Blogger post (chicken soup, of course). Hard to believe it, but time certainly flies when you’re having fun. And the past year has been truly fun, sharing my recipes with you, getting your feedback, “meeting” fellow food bloggers, doing lots of cooking and photographing my food.

This one-year milestone is a time to look back on the highlights of the year (thanks to WordPress’ great stats feature) and share some of them with you.

Global followers: The diversity of nations that pop up onto my stats page every day never ceases to amaze me. While most people using my site come from the US, Israel, South Africa and Canada, I love the fact that I have visits from people living in countries such as Bagladesh, Zambia, Qatar, Jamaica, Brunei, and more.

Popular posts: My most popular post was Israeli Flag Cupcakes for Yom Ha’atzmaut, followed by Brisket for Pesach and then Oven Baked Potato Latkes. Clearly, chaggim bring out the cooks in you! Next in line was the Israeli stuffed vegetables.

Sharing the spotlight: One of the nicest aspects of writing a blog is experiencing the generosity of the food blogging community out there. There’s no place for competition here, instead, there’s the warm embrace of fellow bloggers who are happy to share my link and whose links I love having on mine. Sending the most visits to my blog is the wonderful Jewish Hostess. Not only is Marlene so generous in giving me space on her wonderful blog, she’s also inspires me to come up with my own creative table ideas. This being the case, I am so pleased that the Jewish Hostess is the Number 1 destination that my users visit from my blog roll.

Lemon Mousse Cake (the last piece barely saved for a photo)

OK, so enough with the reminiscing and the statistics – time for a recipe! You can’t celebrate without a cake, and for this special day, I wanted to share one of my favorite cakes with you, which, fortunately, can easily be parev. I love lemon desserts. A sweet and tangy light note is a great way to finish a meal. When I first saw this recipe, I was a little intimidated as it seemed a little complex, using more than one bowl, gelatin and with the goal of being alight, mousse cake. I in fact it’s a lot less intimidating than it seems, and it has never failed. I once again have to stress that gelatin is not difficult to use. Just follow my instructions, and you’ll have in in the bag (or bowl). My biggest problem with this cake is saving a slice to photograph. It really does fly off the plate because it’s light and delicious – a great dessert combo and a wonderful way to celebrate a special day.

LEMON MOUSSE CAKE

Ingredients

Crust

1½ packets of Petite Beurre biscuits crushed (about 2 cups crumbs)

100 g (3.5 oz) melted butter or margarine

Mousse

2 teaspoon gelatin powder

3 tablespoons room temperature water

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¾ cup sugar

4 egg yolks

4 egg whites

1 tablespoon sugar

Pinch of salt

1 cup sweet cream or non-dairy cream

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar or powdered sugar (do not use if using non-dairy cream, which is sweetened already)

How to do it

Crumb base

Crust

1. Line the bottom of a 28 cm (11 inch) spring form pan with baking paper

2. Mix the crumbs and the melted butter and evenly line the bottom of the pan (I use the bottom of a cup measure to flatten the crumbs). Place in the refrigerator to set while you prepare the mousse.

Mousse

Fold the egg whites into the lemon mixture so no white shows

3. Mix the gelatin and the water in a small saucepan. Over low heat, stir constantly until all the gelatin granules dissolve (a few minutes). Set aside to cool.

4. In a small saucepan, whisk the lemon juice, ¾ cup sugar and yolks together until combined. Bring to a low boil (very small bubbles) over medium heat while constantly stirring (about 5 minutes), making sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the saucepan. Remove from heat and allow to thicken up a little – about 5 minutes. Add the gelatin, mix well, strain into a separate bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. (Note: By straining this mixture, you will remove all those hard bits of egg that aren’t pleasant to bite into, so it’s worth the little bit of extra effort.)

5. In a mixer, whisk the egg whites, 1 tablespoon sugar and salt until you reach very stiff peaks. On the lowest beating speed, add the lemon mixture and mix till just combined. Remove from the mixer and fold the mixture gently until there is no more egg white showing.

6. Pour the mousse over the crumbs, cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Mousse ready for refrigeration

7. Beat the cream and vanilla/powdered sugar (use sugar for dairy version only) and spread over the top of the cake. Refrigerate until serving.

Tip: Use a knife dipped in boiling water to cut the cake for a smooth slice. Serves about 12-14

Updating the Rosh Hashana Honey Cake

I’m not a huge fan of the honey cake. I’ve rarely tasted one that isn’t dry and sticks in the throat. The recipe that I have been using for honey cake all these years is “OK”, but not more. So of course it’s not one I was ever going to share on my blog – only the best for you!

So I decided it was time to update my recipe and give it a twist. Why not cupcakes? They’re so in fashion that a honey cake version almost demands being made this Rosh Hashana. So after a few less than successful attempts at adjusting my recipe and making it cupcake-friendly, I think I’ve done it! My loyal testers (my husband and kids) gave them a hearty thumbs up, and that’s all I needed to proceed to the next step – sharing the recipe on my blog.

This recipe is still based on the cake we used to eat at home, which my mother called “Ginger Cake” and not honey cake. The reason was that she flavored it liberally with ginger powder, which gave the cake a really fragrant spicy taste, which I love. This recipe is still heavy on the ginger because it just tastes good!

I made two different frostings to go with them, another update to the traditionally dry cake – one is a honey glaze and the other is a tofu cream cheese frosting (which is my favorite).

I have made these parev, but you can use butter instead of margarine for a slightly creamier flavor, and you can use regular cream cheese instead of the tofu version.

HONEY CUPCAKES WITH TWO FROSTINGS

Ingredients

2 eggs

2/3 cups sugar

½ cup margarine/butter

½ honey

1½ cups flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

2 teaspoons ginger powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch of salt

How to do it

Honey Cupcakes with honey glaze and parev cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F)

2. Line two muffin tins with #5 size cupcake liners

3. Whisk the sugar and margarine in a mixer on high speed until creamy. Add the eggs and whisk for a few minutes until the mixture has lightened and has a fluffy consistency.

4. Add the honey and mix on medium speed to combine.

5. Add all the dry ingredients and mix on slow speed until just combined – resist the urge to eat all the batter…

6. Using a tablespoon, fill the cupcakes liners no more than halfway up – the batter rises quite high in the oven, but does drop afterwards.

7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out of the center of a cupcake clean.

Makes about 22 cupcakes

Frostings

Honey Glaze

Mix together 8 tablespoons honey, 8 tablespoons icing sugar and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Slowly add hot water until you reach a runny consistency – the mixture will be slightly translucent.

Using a tablespoon, you can glaze the cupcakes when they are still warm, and they will absorb the glaze for a slightly sticky cupcake. You can also wait until they are cool to glaze.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Mix together 2/3 cup Tofutti cream cheese and 3 teaspoons of honey till smooth. Gradually add about 5-6 cups of icing sugar, until you reach a spreading consistency. Note: With the Tofutti cheese, you will always have a slightly runny consistency. If you use regular cream cheese, you will achieve a consistency that’s more stable and can easily be piped out of a bag if required. If you want to pipe the frosting, you will need a larger quantity of frosting.

Spread frosting on completely cooled cupcakes.

Back with an easy, tasty summer mousse dessert

With apologies for my absence, I am back with something sweet.

Summer is the time for those delicious desserts that you serve nice and cold from the fridge. But it’s also the time when you don’t want to spend too many hours in the kitchen. I was given this recipe for a vanilla chocolate mousse dessert years ago, and I never get tired of it. With easy ingredients and the option of making it parev, it’s a winner. I usually make this diary, as it uses milk and cream, but substitute the milk and cream with soy milk and non-dairy cream, and this recipe will work just as well. The crowning glory here is the chocolate mousse, which is a classic parev favorite, so  this dessert will stay tasty, whether you’r making it dairy or parev.

Vanilla Chocolate Mousse Dessert

VANILLA CHOCOLATE MOUSSE DESSERT

Ingredients

250 g (9 oz) vanilla petit beurre cookies

2 cups very strong, hot coffee

1½ packets of instant vanilla pudding

1 cup whipping cream or non-diary cream

200g dark chocolate

1 cup milk or soy milk

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

Break up cookies to fill in the spaces for the base

4 eggs separated

How to do it

1. Dip petit beurre cookies in the hot coffee and line the bottom of a large round baking dish or glass dish (about 28cm/11 inch diameter) with one layer

2. Beat the cream until is just starts to thicken. Then add the milk and whisk in the vanilla pudding powder until smooth. Pour over the biscuit base.

Pour the vanilla layer over the cookies

3. Add another layer of coffee dipped cookies on top of the vanilla layer, cover and refrigerate to set.

4. While the vanilla layer is setting, melt the chocolate in a small saucepan with the butter/margarine until smooth. Remove from heat and let the chocolate cool a little.

5. Beat the yolks and carefully add them to the chocolate, mixing well all the time so you don’t allow them to cook.

Stiff egg whites that don’t drop off the beaters

6. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Take a large mixing spoon of the egg whites and carefully fold them into the yolk mixture to loosen it before you incorporate it into the whites. Do not forgo this step – if you do, your mousse won’t be as light and airy as it should be. Then add the yolk mixture to the whites, and fold together carefully until it is all incorporated. Pour the mousse over the vanilla layer and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Very easy parev ice cream

Parev chocolate chip ice cream with grate chocolate garnish

Years ago, not long after I got married, my late mother arrived on a visit to Israel with a pile of yellow A4 pages on which she had hand written some of her favorite recipes. The truth is that not all her favorites were my favorites, but I kept them anyway. Some I used and referred to; others I ignored. Needless to say, after she passed away, these aging pieces of paper with my mother’s distinctive handwriting because priceless to me and even if I wasn’t going to use all the recipes, I certainly wasn’t planning on disposing of them.

So while I had resigned myself to the fact that some of these recipes weren’t every going to be made, one day not long ago I did take a quick glance at one that looked like, in spite of my initial misgiving, could be OK. It was a recipe for a parev coffee ice cream. I always remember the parev desserts of my childhood tasting like the parev cream they were made of, in other words, fake. In South Africa it was Orly Whip that gave parev desserts their artificial taste. Nevertheless, in need of a new parev dessert for my repertoire, I decided to give this one a go. Not only did it turn out well, but when I had finished serving dessert, the teenagers at my Shabbat dinner table grabbed the bowl and licked last remnants of the ice cream. Now that’s what I call success.

This recipe makes a large amount of ice cream, so I split the basic mixture in half and made one half with the coffee ingredients and the other half with grated dark chocolate. Both were wonderful, and the non-adults loved the chocolate chip version the best. You can also opt for just one flavor (if you’re having kids, go for the chocolate chip).

This can be made several days ahead of time and kept in the freezer.

PAREV COFFEE AND CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM

Ingredients

500 ml (1 pint) non-dairy cream

1½ cups sugar

5 eggs separated

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons coffee liqueur

3 tablespoon instant coffee granules

50g (2 oz) grated dark or semi-sweet chocolate (parev)

How to do it

1. In a large bowl, beat the non-dairy cream until it’s stiff.

Instead of grating the chocolate, you can also use a large, sharp knife to roughly slice it

2. Add the egg yolks, vanilla and sugar and beat well.

3. Divide the mixture in two (if you decided to only make one flavor, then don’t divide the mixture, and double the quantities of the flavoring in step 4 below that you choose)

4. In one bowl, add the coffee liqueur and the coffee granules and mix well till combined. In the other bowl, add the grated chocolate and mix well.

5. In a mixer, beat the egg whites until they are very stiff. Fold into each of the flavors (half and half) until the whites are combined and you have a creamy consistency.

6. Pour each flavor into a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap and freeze.

Cheesecake!

Cheesecake!

Who needs to come up with a catchy headline for a cheesecake blog two days before Shavuot? Clearly I don’t think I do!

Cheesecake has become as synonymous with Shavuot as donuts have with Hanukkah. I find this a little odd seeing as there are so many dairy desserts that are just as delicious, if not more, waiting in the culinary Jewish wings, wishing they were the automatic Shavuot meal ender. But it’s the humble cheesecake that’s slipped into the top spot, so that’s what we do.

My husband isn’t a big cheesecake fan, so I only make cheesecake on Shavuot. And don’t tell anyone, but I am not crazy about cheesecake either. I’m always on the lookout for the perfect cheesecake, and rarely find it. I don’t enjoy them when they’re too sweet, as baked cheesecakes often are. But then if they’re not sweet enough, they often taste chalky. So with my fussiness about cheesecake, I find that the non-baked version suits me and family far better.

This is a recipe I’ve been making for years for a no-bake cheesecake that’s made with…gelatin. Now I may have just lost a whole lot of you, but please don’t go! Gelatin is not as scary as it seems.

I use the Kosher pure gelatin that comes in sachets (28g boxes in Israel). I dissolve it in water on the lowest flame on the stove. It’s as simple as dissolving sugar in water – you keep stirring until all the granules are dissolved, which takes about 3-5 minutes. Once that’s done, you let the mixture cool a little and add it to whatever needs jellifying! It’s really that simple. Note: Gelatin works really effectively. When you first pour it into your mixture, you will barely notice it’s there – it won’t start setting immediately. But don’t worry, it will. Have patience.

Once this cake is set, you can top it with a variety of toppings, for example, you can spread cherry pie pilling over the top. I sometimes drain a can of apricot halves, and when the cake has been in the fridge for about half an hour, I arrange them on the top of the cake, pushing them into the semi-set cheese mixture. You can do the same with any fresh or canned fruit you like – try it with fresh strawberries or kiwi, or both.

I love this cake because it’s light, uses 9% cheese, and is just the right amount of sweet for me. It’s also a nice cold dessert for those warm late spring Shavuot days.

Chag sameach!

NO-BAKE CHEESE CAKE

Ingredients

About 170g (6 oz) Petit Beurre cookies crushed

100g (3½ oz) melted butter

(Optional) ½ cup walnuts or pecans finely crushed

150g (5 oz) softened butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

500g (1 lb) 9% smooth white cheese (Ski in Israel)

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind

1 tablespoon lemon juice

14g (½oz) Kosher pure gelatin (this is one sachet out of a two sachet package)

¾ cup cold water

Using the bottom of a one-cup measure, smooth the cookie base out evenly

How to do it

1. Mix the cookies and melted butter together well until all the crumbs are coated. If you are adding nuts, reduce the cookie amount accordingly. Press onto the bottom of a 26cm (10 inch) springform pan. Tip: to get an even surface, use the back of a one-cup measure to press the crumbs down and all the way to the sides. Place in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

2. Pour the water into a small saucepan. Add the gelatin and stir. Place on a very low flame.  Keep stirring until all the granules are dissolved, which takes about 3-4 minutes. Set the mixture aside while you make the rest of the filling.

Keep stirring till all the gelatin is dissolved and the liquid is clear

3. In a mixer, add the softened butter, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and rind. Beat well until combined. Stop the mixer now and again to scrape the bottom of the bowl – this mixture tends to stick to the bottom, so you need to avoid this by scraping with a spatula once or twice.

4. Add the cheese to the butter mixture and mix until well combined and creamy.

Gelatin is ready to come off the heat – a few small granules at the bottom of the pot won’t be a problem.

5. Slowly pour the gelatin into the mixture while beating slowly. When it’s all combined, pour into the cooled cookie base, cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. You can add any topping of your choice.

Serves 12-14.