I decided to make pancakes with the Kidlet this morning. She had hers with bananas, cinnamon, mixed berries, chocolate, and maple syrup, but I wanted something a bit different for mine. I realized that we still had a bit of mascarpone left in the fridge that needed to be used up. And some cream that was coming up on its expiry date. And lemons in the freezer. So I figured I'd look for some sort of lemon-mascarpone topping that I could make to go on the pancakes.

I found a few different recipes. There was one involving lemon curd that looked really nice, but I didn't want to go to the trouble of making curd for this, so I gave that recipe a miss. In the end, I based my topping loosely on a mascarpone "mousse" recipe that I found floating around the internet. I added a bit more sugar, omitted the salt, added some lemon zest, used less cheese (because I only had a little left), and changed up the mixing order a little, but the basic elements were still there.

Lemon-Mascarpone Whipped Cream

Adapted from Stress Baking

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 2 Tbsp. icing sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 100-150g mascarpone
• zest and juice of 1 lemon

Directions

1. Whip the cream with 1 Tbsp. of the sugar and the vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the cheese with the lemon zest, lemon juice, and the remaining 1 Tbsp. of sugar.
3. Mix ~1/3 of the whipped cream into the mascarpone.
4. Fold in the remaining whipped cream.
5. Serve on pancakes with fresh blueberries or a blueberry compote.

My mom makes fabulous cheesecakes and, over the years, has shared several of her recipes with me. Surprisingly, this is not one of those recipes. I was tempted, but the lure ATK's promise of a "foolproof" cheesecake was too strong. (Plus, there's something very satisfying about getting to check off another recipe in one of my cookbooks.)

I did make a couple very minor changes to the recipe -- mostly to avoid having leftover ingredients -- but I tried to follow the instructions very closely. I don't have much experience with cheesecakes, so I was out of my comfort zone here. It seems to have turned out well though, despite my worries about it being underbaked, overbrowned, or not sweet enough.

I might be tempted to try turning the oven up very slightly next time, but I'm undecided. It did seem cooked in the end, so maybe it's best not to mess with it. I have similar thoughts about the browning step at the end. I felt that even just four minutes at 500°F made it quite dark and wondered if 475°F might not be a more suitable temperature. I may experiment with that next time. I'll see.

Sorry, I forgot to snap any photos and it's all gone now. Another thing to try to remember for next time!

New York Cheesecake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Crust

• 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs (or 6 whole graham crackers, crushed)
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1kg (2.2 lbs) cream cheese, softened
• 135g mascarpone (or more cream cheese)
• 1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 7 large eggs¹

Directions

Crust

1. Place one over rack in the upper middle position and one at the lower middle height.
2. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and brush the bottom of a 23cm (9") springform pan with melted butter.
3. If you're starting with whole graham crackers and have a food processor, this whole procedure can be done with short pulses in the food processor. If you're starting with whole graham crackers and don't have a food processor then a molcajete or a Ziploc back and a rolling pin are probably your best bet for arriving at the crumb stage.
4. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar, mixing well.
5. Add the flour and mix until evenly combined.
6. Pour in the butter and mix with a fork until all the crumbs look moistened.
7. Dump the crumb mixture into the greased pan and press it down firmly to form an even layer.
8. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to tamp it down and smooth it out a bit more.
9. Bake at 160°C (325°F) on the lower middle rack for 12-13 minutes.
10. Set aside to cool while the filling is prepared.

Filling

1. Reduce oven temperature to 95°C (200°F) and carefully grease the sides of the springform pan with a bit of melted butter.
2. Beat the softened cream cheese and mascarpone (if using) with 3/4 c. of the sugar for ~1 minute.
3. Add the remaining 3/4 c. sugar and beat for another minute.
4. Scrape down the bowl and add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat for 1 more minute.
5. Beat in the eggs one or two at a time.
6. If desired, strain the filling through a fine mesh strainer.²
7. Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan and set aside for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to the surface.
8. Gently draw the tines of a fork across the surface to pop the air bubbles.³
9. Bake the cheesecake on the lower middle rack at 95°C (200°F) for 3-3.5 hours⁴. If you don't mind poking a thermometer into the top of the cake -- which seems criminal if you went to the effort of straining the filling and popping all the bubbles on the surface -- then you can test for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Look for an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F).
10. Remove the cake from the oven and preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F).
11. Once the oven is preheated, place the cake on the upper middle rack and bake for another few minutes⁵ until the top is well-browned. Watch it carefully!
12. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
13. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, then continue cooling, in pan on wire rack, for 2-3 hours.
14. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 6-24 hours⁶ before serving.
15. Serve as-is or with a fruit compote of your choice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for six eggs + 2 yolks. This would definitely make the cake richer, but I didn't want to have to deal with figuring out what to do with two leftover egg whites, so I just put in an extra whole egg in place of the two yolks. This doesn't seem to have hurt the cake any. ^Back
2 I skipped this step. ^Back
3 I did do this step, but it didn't seem to work very well. A lot of the air bubbles seemed very reluctant to pop. I'm sure it's beneficial if you want the smoothest possible top, but I'd be inclined not to bother next time. It's fiddly and the bubbles don't bother me enough for it to be worthwhile. ^Back
4 Mine needed every minute of the full 3.5 hours. To the point where I was worried that it was still a bit underdone at the end of baking. I think it was fine in the end, but it made me a bit nervous. ^Back
5 ATK suggests 4-12 minutes, which is a pretty wide range. Mine was already quite dark after 4 minutes. As noted above, I think I would be tempted to try browning it at 250°C (475°F) next time, just to see how it goes. ^Back
6 Mine definitely didn't get a full six hours in the fridge before cutting, but it seemed none the worse for wear for it. ^Back

This is a pretty standard sourdough, but made with a very high hydration starter. All of the liquid for the dough is in the starter. You let it ferment and then just add flour and salt. No additional liquid is added.

Fred Bread

Slightly adapted from Sourdough Companion

Ingredients

Starter/Preferment

• 2g ripe/active starter (100% hydration)
• 483g water
• 268g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour

Dough

• starter/preferment (from above)
• 430g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour
• 12g coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Mix starter into water in a large bowl.
2. Add flour and thoroughly combine.
3. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 24-36 hours. (I cut mine a bit short because I was worried about overfermenting it, but I probably should've let it go at least 24.)
4. Add 430g more flour to the starter mixture and mix well.
5. Cover and let stand for 30-60 minutes.
6. Add the salt and knead it in.
7. Let stand at room temperature for 4-6 hours, stretching every hour or two.
8. Divide into two equal portions, round each portion, cover, and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
9. Shape each portion into a loaf and place each in a floured banneton.
10. Cover the bannetons and transfer to fridge for 12-18 hours.
11. Preheat oven to 250°C (475°F), grease a baking sheet, and sprinkle it with cornmeal.
12. Pour some boiling wter into a roasting pan and place it on the bottom rack of the preheated oven.
13. Turn the risen loaves out onto the prepared baking sheet and spritz the crusts with a little water.
14. Slash the loaves as desired.
15. Bake on middle rack (above roasting pan) at 250°C (475°F) for 15 minutes.
16. Remove roasting pan from oven and reduce oven temperature to 200°C (400°F).
17. Bake loaves for another 10 minutes at 200°C (400°F). Check for doness. Add a little more time if needed.
18. Turn off oven and leave loaves inside for another 10 minutes.
19. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool.

Almond-Poppyseed Muffins (Sourdough)

My bread plans got slightly derailed so I ended up making different, non-sourdough bread, a chocolate cake, and these muffins instead. I'm pretty happy with how they came out. They're light, tender, and a bit sweet without being cloying.

Almond-Poppyseed Muffing

Slightly adapted from Sourdough Companion

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 400g ripe/active sourdough starter (100% hydration)
• 1/4 c. honey
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 50g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. almond flour/meal
• 1/4 c. poppyseeds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a muffin tin.
2. Combine the coconut oil, starter, honey, almond extract, and vanilla and mix well.
3. Sift in flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the almond flour and poppyseeds as well. Do not stir until after all the dry ingredients have been added.
4. Mix everything together.
5. Spoon into prepared muffin tin (makes twelve 5cm/2" muffins).
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15 minutes.
7. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
8. Serve plain or with butter and/or jam.

This claims to be a chili recipe. While it does involve beans and tomatoes and chilies, it also involves a three-nut paste and the overall effect is much closer to a korma than any chili I've ever had. Thus, I am deciding that it's really a mislabeled korma after all. Either way, it's very good. I served it with some fried rice and a simple bottle gourd squash curry.

Three-Bean Korma

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-4 fresh green Thai, finger, or jalapeño chilies, chopped
• 1 (400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1-2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies (or 1 part cayenne + 3 parts paprika)
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika (optional)
• 2 tsp. Dhania-Jeera Masala
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3 c. water, divided
• 1/2 c. raw pine nuts
• 1/2 c. raw cashew nuts
• 1/2 c. raw pistachio nuts
• scant 2 c. cooked pinto beans
• scant 2 c. cooked kidney beans
• scant 2 c. cooked black beans
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion, celery, carrot, grlic, and fresh chilies and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, ground chilies, paprika (if using), masala, salt, and turmeric.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, pour 1/4 c. of the water into a blender followed by all of the nuts and purée.
6. Add the nut paste to the tomato mixture.
7. Pour the remaining water into the blender and whizz it round to wash out the blender. Add this nutty water to the pot as well.
8. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low, coer, and smmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
10. Reduce heat to low and cook for another 15 minutes.
11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Masala Bhaat (Maharashtrian-Style Fried Rice)

I wanted a rice dish to serve with my bean korma/chili and figured I'd finally give this fried rice recipe a go. The flavour is quite different from Chinese-style fried rices that I've tried. TM quite liked the peanuts in the mix. The Kidlet decidedly did not. I was pretty ambivalent overall, but it did make a nice accompaniment to the korma, so that was all I really needed from it.

Masala Bhaat

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 potato, cubed and immersed in cold water
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/3 c. raw peanuts
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
• 3 c. cooked rice, cooled
• 1 c. frozen green peas
• 1 tsp. sambhar masala
• 15 fresh or frozen curry leaves
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Drain the potato cubes and set aside.
2. Preheat a wok over medium-high heat.
3. Once the wok is good and hot, drizze the oil down the sides and swirl it in the bottom.
4. Add the mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they've stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
5. Add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 5-10 seconds.
6. Add the onion, peanuts, sesame seeds, and potatoes and stir-fry for until the potatoes start to crisp up (5-10 minutes).
7. Break up the rice and add it to the wok.
8. Stir-fry for a minute or two, then add the peas, masala, and curry leaves.
9. Stir-fry for another 5 minutes.
10. Add the tomato and cook, stirring frequently, until warmed (2-4 minutes).
11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Chocolate Bundt Cake (Sourdough)

I know I've already made a bunch of sourdough chocolate cakes, but I wanted to try this one, so here it is. I'm pretty happy with it overall, but I do find that I can taste the baking soda a bit. That said, I had fed my starter very recently and it wasn't even fully ripened yet let alone reaching the acidity levels of discard, so it's possible that there just wasn't enough acid to react with the soda and that's why it tastes a bit off.

Chocolate Bundt Cake

Slightly adapted from Northwest Sourdough

Ingredients

• 225g sourdough discard
• 1/2 c. oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 170g dark chocolate, melted
• 200g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 c. boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a Bundt pan.
2. Combine discard/starter, oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla and mix well.
3. Pour in the melted chocolate and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, soft together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to combine.
6. Add the boiling water and mix well.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-40 minutes.
8. Let cool in pan for ~10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.
9. Serve with whipped cream and berries.