Irresistible Pumpkin Cheesecake Courtesy of Warren Brown

Posted: October 27, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Recipes | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Warren Brown - "United Cakes of America"

I was shopping at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago, when on impulse, I picked up one can of pumpkin (the store had strategically positioned the display at the end of the aisle).  Since then, every time I opened the cupboard, this lonely can was staring me in the face, and I was determined to find something to do with it.  The obvious solution would have been to make a pumpkin pie, but I’m not a fan of pumpkin pie.  I do, however, love apple pie, my mother’s apple pie in particular, but I digress.

A solution arrived in the form of Warren Brown, founder and owner of Washington DC’s CakeLove and Love Cafe, who appeared on the Today Show this morning.  Yes, he offered his recipe for pumpkin pie, but even better, he prepared his take on Pumpkin cheesecake.  Now, that’s a pumpkin dessert about which I can get excited.  And there was a Pumpkin clove pound cake with Cream cheese icing, which sounds pretty fabulous as well.  In fact, they both have such great potential that I’m not sure which dessert to choose for my single can of pumpkin.

The cheesecake recipe is included below, and here’s the link to the Today Show site where you can find the recipes for all three desserts.  And, if you’ve not heard of Warren Brown, he has an amazing story to tell about how he found his passion.  It’s an inspirational a read.

But, back to food … pick your perfect pumpkin dessert and get cooking!

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Recipe: Pumpkin cheesecake

Warren Brown

Ingredients
  • For the graham cracker crust
  • 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted
  • 5 ounces graham crackers, crushed into powder
  • 3 tablespoons super fine granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • For the pumpkin cheesecake
  • 1 1/2 pounds Philly brand cream cheese
  • 10 ounces (1 1/4 cups) super-fine granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon dry ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves, freshly ground
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice (powder)
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 15-ounce can of pumpkin (unsweetened)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons dark rum (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  • 5 eggs (large)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
Preparation

To make the graham cracker crust:

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees and set the rack on the middle shelf.

Stir to combine graham crackers through salt in a bowl. Drizzle melted butter over ingredients and mix until evenly moistened.

Spray bottom and interior sides of one (1) cake pan (9-inch-by-3-inch) or individual baking dishes with non-stick spray.

Scoop crust ingredients into pans and press down evenly until smooth.  Use a flat bottom tool for best results (we use a baking mallet).

Bake until fragrant and  browned at the edges, about 15 minutes. Remove and cool on counter.

To make the cheesecake:

Prep ahead of time to remove some of the water content from the canned pumpkin:
Double fold plain white paper towels on a cookie sheet. Scoop pumpkin onto the towels and spread to height of 1/2 inch. Cover with single layer of paper towel; let sit for 30 minutes.

Whisk to combine the pumpkin, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Batter directions:
In a stand mixer with the flat beater, beat to smooth out the cream cheese on slow to medium speed for about 1 minute.

Combine sugar through salt in a medium bowl and whisk to blend.

Scrape cream cheese from sides, reduce mixer to  lowest speed, add sugar mixture one third at a time. Allow each scoop to incorporate thoroughly before proceeding. To avoid aerating the batter, don’t run mixer on higher speeds than low.

Add the pumpkin mixture 1/4 cup at a time, waiting between additions for the contents to combine with the base batter.

Add the eggs one at a time, waiting between additions for the contents to combine with the base batter.

Add the cream in a slow drizzle. Stop the mixer, scrape the sides and run on low for another 20 seconds.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans filling no more than 3/4 of the way. (The 9-inch-by-3-inch pan should hold one recipe with room to spare at the top. Higher pan helps protect from undue browning across the top.)

Place the filled cake pan in a roasting pan with high sides and place on the rack in the preheated oven. Pour enough steaming water between the cake pan and roasting pan to come about 2/3 up the side of the cake pan. Bake until the center is slightly wobbly when the pan is shaken, about 80 to 90 minutes.

Turn off heat, prop oven door ajar, and leave alone for 60 minutes.

Remove pan from water bath and cool on the counter until it’s room temperature. Cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.

Remove from the cake pan by warming the bottom, either over an open flame for a few seconds or in a water bath. Place parchment, plastic wrap or wax paper over top of the cake before inverting to remove the cake. Quickly turn over to place on a cake plate.

Serve chilled with freshly whipped cream or ice cream of choice.

Four is the Magic Number – “Desserts 4 Today”

Posted: August 26, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Books | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Last week, I attended the August Book Club, hosted by medabistro’s GalleyCat blog.  Five writers, all accomplished in their respective fields, read from their books.  It was an interesting mix: Jewish Chick Lit, a memoir about the effects of hip-hop culture, a dissection of what Goldman Sachs was really doing heading into the economic meltdown, a fictional tale of 8 women who pass through New York’s famed Four Seasons Hotel, and a dessert cookbook, which is the topic of this post.

"Desserts 4 Today: FLAVORFUL DESSERTS with just FOUR INGREDIENTS"

Abigail Johnson Dodge, or Abby Dodge per her website, is the author of Desserts 4 Today, “four” being the operative word.  As she pointed out in her talk (it’s kind of hard to do a “reading” from a cookbook), there are so many wonderful things associated with the number four: four seasons in the year, four suits in a deck of cards, The Beatles (aka “The Fab Four”), the four-leafed clover … you get the idea.  In her case, “four” represents the number of ingredients in every dessert recipe in the book.  Pretty nifty.

She mentioned a few decidedly easy-to-prepare desserts (a few in the form of a cocktail), some with surprising ingredients like jalapeno peppers and mint.  There are Flourless Chocolate Mousse Bites and Flaky Cinnamon Sugar Crisps and  Minty Melon Sorbet and Individual Blackberry Napoleons.  Should you be missing one of the ingredients or want to jazz the recipe up a bit, she offers “Switch-Ins,” like brown sugar for granulated sugar or graham cracker crumbs for crushed vanilla wafer cookies, and recommendations to “Gussy It Up” and “Change It Up.”

Abby Dodge had a creative marketing idea for the book reading (probably not surprising given that this is her seventh cookbook).  Each attendee received a postcard with a photo of her cookbook cover on the front and the recipe for Nutella Fudge Brownies on the back, as well as a brownie sample, which I ate, of course.  And, I loved it, of course.  (Mind you, I am someone who cannot keep Nutella in the house for fear that I eat the entire jar in one sitting, and who, when visiting her three lovely nieces, who also love Nutella, has resorted to eating their leftover toast crusts to get my fix.)

Desserts 4 Today will be available on Amazon in September.  So get your order in now.  And, to hold you over until the book arrives, I am including the recipe for brownies.

Eat deliciously well.

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Nutella Fudge Brownies (makes 12)

The 4 ingredients: Nutella spread (1/2 cup); large egg (1); all-purpose flour (5 tablespoons); hazelnuts (chopped, 1/4 cup).

1.  Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lina 12-cup mini muffin pan with paper or foil liners

2.  Put the Nutella and egg in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth and well blended.  Add the flour and whisk until blended.

3.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins (about 3/4 full) and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

4.  Bake until a toothpick comes out with wet, gooey crumbs, 11 to 12 minutes.  Set on rack to cool completely.  Serve immediately or cover and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Switch-Ins:  In place of the hazelnuts, switch in one of the following:

* ground cinnamon (1/4 teaspoon, add with the flour)

* peanuts, chopped (1/4 cup)