WHAT MAKES A PERFECT CHEESECAKE-NEW YORK STYLE CHEESECAKE PART TWO



NEWYORK STYLE CHEESECAKE

 I already knocked myself out writing a blog entry about my favorite dessert THE CHEESECAKE a few weeks ago.
I had posted a picture of the first ever cheesecake that I baked at home ALL by myself  using my own recipe ,way back in 2007 in that blog entry.
Now,after reading that blog entry, people want to see a BIGGER, CLOSE UP of that cake.


So, that calls for a PART TWO of the cheesecake blog entry.

This time I am going to talk MORE ABOUT WHAT MAKES A PERFECT CHEESECAKE

FEATURES OF A GOOD CHEESECAKE BASE

1/It should be of even thickness.It should neither be too thick nor too thin.Look at my picture to see what is a good thickness ( I can't believe it was my first attempt)

2/It should be crisp even after baking and continue to remain crisp even during the days of storage in your fridge(as if people are not going to gobble it up the very day you make it)

3/It should not be too sweet

4/It should not have any biscuit base on the sides.Biscuit base is just for the base.(Duh, that is why it is called a base/That means the cheesecake mixture must be good enough to be able to stand strong on its own)

FEATURES OF A GOOD CHEESECAKE FILLING

1/It should be plain(I have explained  about this in my previous entry about cheesecake,read there)

2/The top of the filling should not have cracks.(look at my picture, that is how it must look)

3/The whole height of the filling should NOT HAVE ANY HOLES or airpockets in it.

4/It should have a smooth mouth feel after you put it into your mouth

5/It should have an even creamy color

6/It should not be too sweet

7/It should not be brown or burnt anywhere, nor in the filling ,nor in the base or anywhere else.


POSTNOTE: Recipes not included due to plagiarism concerns.I device and design my own recipes all the time and I am saving up all recipes for a FUTURE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.

(Interested Cookbook publishers/food magazines/book agents/TV production houses , Please quote a valid office postal address and phone number along with your work email while sending a proposal to me.I regret to say that I am unable to respond to people contacting me with no OFFICIAL postal address or office phone number)

TAGS:cheesecake,newyork_style_cheesecake,desserts,baking

LECINQBLOG'S CLASSIC HOLIDAY FRUIT CAKE

BAKED CLASSIC FRUITCAKE

I love making FRUITCAKES during holiday season.I love the taste.I also love the momories associated with fruitcake.To read my memories associated with FRUITCAKE, go read the oldest blog entry in the fruitcake series(look in the archives or tagcloud)

This above picture I posted is what I call a classic shape of a fruit cake.
The very original recipe of a fruit cake is a BOILED ONE.They would pour the mixture into a bowl shaped similar to my cake and then steam boil it...

However, much like all other foodpictures and the recipes that I post on my FOOD blog, THE RECIPE IS MY OWN and different from the original one.I device my own recipes(find it easy that way and my recipes fit my own requirement better)

This above fruitcake has been made by baking in a DRY OVEN(no steaming or boiling involved)
This fruitcake is also a VEGAN FRUITCAKE.Completely animal product free.It tastes BETTER than a non-vegan fruitcake too.
TRY MAKING A BAKED FRUITCAKE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON...very yummy.

POSTNOTE: Recipes not included due to plagiarism concerns.I device and design my own recipes all the time and I am saving up all recipes for a FUTURE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.
(Interested Cookbook publishers/food magazines/book agents/TV production houses , Please quote a valid office postal address and phone number along with your work email while sending a proposal to me.I regret to say that I am unable to respond to people contacting me with no OFFICIAL postal address or office phone number)

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SHAPE OF A BUNDT MOULD-HOLIDAY CAKES-MINI BUNDT

FESTIVE LOOKING BUNDT FRUITCAKES

Look AT that picture! Very festive looking and very enticing,no?
I love fruit cake.I already wrote another blog entry about Why I love making fruit cake during the holiday season .Go read it first.
This blog entry is more about the COOKING SCIENCE behind the BUNDT

WHAT IS A BUNDT?
A bundt is,simply put, A CAKE WITH A HOLE

HOW DOES A BUNDT GET A HOLE?
Simple ! It is cooked in a special bundt mould which looks more like a GUTTERED RING OF METAL. We pour the cake batter in this "metal Gutter of sorts" and then bake it.
Voila ! Cake with a hole in the center

DOES THE BUNDT MOULD HAVE A SCIENTIFIC REASON OR IS IT YET ANOTHER FANCY CAKE SHAPE?
Well, contrary to what people might assume that a bundt is just some fancy cake with a hole , the real bundt moIld was possibly made for scientific reasons.

I DIDN'T GOOGLE up the Bundt...But , Given the SMARTIE PANTS, PHYSICIAN WOMAN THAT ALSO COOKS AND LOVES SCIENCE WHILE SHE IS AT IT,
I am going to attempt to CONCOT a theory by myself.

HERE GOES MY PERSONALLY CONCOCTED THEORY"

SERVING SIZE BUNDT CAKE

Most cakes if NOT cooked for the required period in a dry baking oven, end up being UNCOOKED in the center.
The reason why a cake ends up uncooked in the center is mostly because that is the part to which the heat takes longest to reach.
The edges of the cake are usually in contact to the sides of the cake tin.
The bottom of the cake lies in contact with the bottom of the cake tin.
The center top of the batter is where it is not in contact with any hot metal during the baking period.

HERE IS WHERE THE BUNDT mould HELPS..
When there is no batter in the center, then we AVOID the possibility of having an uncooked batter.Right?

Also, because of its "GUTTERED RING" SHAPE, it allows a greater surface area of contact of the cake batter with a hot metal surface during baking.That ensures EVEN COOKING.

Also, given that there is no batter in the center, we will be able to cook the whole cake in a shorter time,and thus will end up with a more MOIST CAKE for the same time of cooking.

There ya go, THE SCIENCE OF COOKING of Bundt.
LOL.
Just had to let my nerd out in the food blog

I see far too many DUMB FOOD BLOG on the net. I figured, I must REVAMP the whole FOOD BLOG SCENE by throwing in a dash of SCIENCE BANTER into it.(I know I know, ALTON BROWN quickly comes to mind.I like him too)

POSTNOTE: Recipes not included due to plagiarism concerns.I device and design my own recipes all the time and I am saving up all recipes for a FUTURE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.

(Interested Cookbook publishers/food magazines/book agents/TV production houses , Please quote a valid office postal address and phone number along with your work email while sending a proposal to me.I regret to say that I am unable to respond to people contacting me with no OFFICIAL postal address or office phone number)

tags:desserts,cakes,bundt,fruticake,holiday_cakes,baking

How to make a HOLIDAY FRUIT AND NUT CAKE- Vegan cake recipes

These pictures are from 2009.

Each year,I get into FRUITCAKE BAKING MODE sometime around november....Just to remind myself of the "fruitcake times" from childhood.
My father used to get a lot of fruitcakes as CORPORATE gifts during the Holiday season .He also used to get a lot of fruit baskets and greeting cards during holiday season. Our fridge used to be stuffed with all the food gifts he got given during that season.Needless,each year, the whole of december and january , I would end up eating large slices of fruitcake each afternoon after I came back from school...YUM...Awww,childhood memories!

I just included three STEP BY STEP-HOW TO MAKE A FRUITCAKE pictures in this blog entry.



I haven't gone into details of the recipe , Just a simple THREE STEP pic collection

STEP 1 =SOAK

STEP 2 =BATTER

STEP 3 = BAKE

THIS IS A VEGAN RECIPE..

How did this vegan fruitcake taste compared to a non vegan one?

Actually, In all honesty, It tasted fresher and just as tasty .Infact,if I gave it to someone and never told them it was vegan,they would not know the difference.Except that, they might find it TASTIER THAN USUAL.

TAGS:vegan,cakes,baking,fruitcake,Fruit_and_nut_cake,soaked_cakes,holiday_cakes,food,food_pictures

POSTNOTE: Recipes not included due to plagiarism concerns.I device and design my own recipes all the time and I am saving up all recipes for a FUTURE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.

(Interested Cookbook publishers/food magazines/book agents/TV production houses , Please quote a valid office postal address and phone number along with your work email while sending a proposal to me.I regret to say that I am unable to respond to people contacting me with no OFFICIAL postal address or office phone number)

Homemade and vegan> Date and Nut Chocolate cookies

I don't buy supermarket cookies.First off, they are either not CRISP enough for me or they are too "refined and processed" in "taste and texture".Some of them are too sweet too.Some of them are too chemical tasting and make me too thirsty after I eat them.

Needless to mention, at one point of life, I started making my own cookies at home.

After I went vegan in 2009, I started making vegan cookies too.

This picture was taken by me in 2011

Had a  pack of DATES lying around in my refrigerator..yeah, yeah, I refrigerate them .Decided to make DATE COOKIES.

The Recipe is my own , just like always.

Dates are a great source of iron and chock full of sugars.Sugars give energy...Thus, DATES ARE great energy foods to give to growing children or adolescent girls who have just attained menarche and tend to lose blood each month during menstruation and are also growing tall each day.

If you want to take a look at my other vegan cookies,Please search in my archives for VEGAN SUGAR COOKIES..

TAGS:dates,cookies,baking,energy_foods,Foods_to_given_growing_teens,vegan

POSTNOTE: Recipes not included due to plagiarism concerns.I device and design my own recipes all the time and I am saving up all recipes for a FUTURE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.

(Interested Cookbook publishers/food magazines/book agents/TV production houses , Please quote a valid office postal address and phone number along with your work email while sending a proposal to me.I regret to say that I am unable to respond to people contacting me with no OFFICIAL postal address or office phone number)

HOMEMADE-Newyork Style Plain Cheesecake

This picture was taken by me way back in 2007.I WAS NOT vegan then.I was Ovolactovegetarian then.

Out of all desserts, CHEESECAKE is one of my favorite desserts.

Buying and gobbling up tons of cheesecakes is just,OH SO EASY...

Attempting to make them just to match your needs is a whole other story..

Most commercial cheesecakes are "TOO EMBELLISHED" in my opinion.

Any topping essentially RUINS the simple classiness of a cheesecake.

Also, people have started  making chocolate cheesecake and other such flavored cheesecakes,which again ruins the simple classy rich taste of a plain cheesecake.

The concept of a cheesecake is all about SIMPLE decadence...not berry toppings and chocolate flavor.If you want chocolate flavor, go eat a rich chocolate cake,why the heck are you ruining cheesecake?...LOL

After much research on cheesecake recipes and cooking techniques, I decided to make my own cheesecake.

I LIKE PLAIN NEWYORK STYLE CHEESECAKE.

In my opinion,An AUTHENTIC cheesecake is BAKED..

I know a lot of people who just put a lot of flavored creme cheese on a biscuit base and freeze it and call it CHEESECAKE...

Well, a frozen anything is NOT A CAKE....essentially..DUH!

I made this cheesecake using a WATERBATH OVEN BAKE technique...

This was my FIRST ATTEMPT AT MAKING cheesecake...AND BOY , IT CAME OUT SO SO WELL...

Tags:cheesecake,Newyork_style_cheesecake,plain_cheesecake,baking,desserts,ovolactovegetarian,food,food_pictures

POSTNOTE: Recipes not included due to plagiarism concerns.I device and design my own recipes all the time and I am saving up all recipes for a FUTURE VEGETARIAN COOKBOOK.

(Interested Cookbook publishers/food magazines/book agents/TV production houses , Please quote a valid office postal address and phone number along with your work email while sending a proposal to me.I regret to say that I am unable to respond to people contacting me with no OFFICIAL postal address or office phone number)

My vegan bread baking adventures from 2009

MY BAKING ADVENTURES IN 2009 
I became a full fledged baking expert in 2009.
After i realized that I was getting better at baking, I invested in a new Tiny oven-just for baking bread.
Good investment..Plus, I  purchased it for a bargain coz it was the last piece on sale in that category of appliances at the mega appliance place!
Becoming a bread baker was a big kitchen achievement for me coz, Though i am a great chef.. I had never till 2009 forayed into baking my own bread .
But now, all I ever eat is homemade bread,from scratch, from Whole wheat flour,with toppings and additions and condiments of my choice suiting my moods .

It doesn't really work out cheaper per say in terms of cost(a wee weee wee bit cheaper, maybe) .It can work out cheaper if you plan it well and choose portions and ingredients wisely and then buy in bulk-esp the wheat flour.
All i can say is, It won't definitely turn out pricier than store bought bread.
Plus, homemade bread won't have any of those PRESERVATIVES, STABILIZERS, SOFTENERS and other crap that store bought bread WILL FOR SURE contain.(pssst,read the ingredients label of your store bought bread the next time and you will gasp!)

I have noticed that my homemade bread keeps as well as my store bought ones if not for longer if i store them in the refrigerator right away.

Being vegan, I pack all of my lunches, snack packs, water bottle etc while i go to work.These homemade baking goodies work well for my packed lunches.
I am big big bread expert now..All self experimentation I say! I don't even feel the need to measure flour or yeast these days, That is how much of a bread making expert I am  now..So, big BREAD MAKING YEAR for me, this 2009. Very thankful and proud for that.
I would suggest that all of you play around with whole wheat flour and try baking.It is fun, and as you go along, TRUST ME , you get better at it.
The whole wheat bread will turn out a wee bit denser and heavier than the refined white flour breads.But I like texture, and i like it dense.I like the bagel chewy factor in my bread.
That is the joy of bread making though-you can choose your ingredients..If you are a fan of those uber spongy wonderbread loafs..go ahead  and use refined white flour instead of whole wheat flour