Cheesecake

I think a proper cheesecake needs time and a lot of care, so I never bother with no bake cheesecake, really! I mean why would I? To me that's just a joke, I could grab some cream cheese and spread it on a cracker, there you go! Okay, I might be a bit too strict here, and again I am repeating myself, but there are things that take time - so does a cheesecake. And do not even think about using anything, but full-fat cream cheese! If you scroll down you might be a bit shocked about the amount is needed for this huge baby, but hey, that's not an everyday treat! And to be totally honest, I do not enjoy this cake at all. It is just not my cup of tea, but I do love to bake it for others. And yes, the base is biscuit and molten butter - which is again something that goes against my philosophy of baking, but I do make an exception for this cake, because those who get it as a surprise do want it this way. It is very rare that I bake it, I guess that is also why I have the patience to bake it in water bath, changing the temprature on the way - to make sure no cracks on this rich, creamy vanilla scented deliciousness - and to chill it overnight.

Ingredients

Yields 26 cm cake

For the crust:
about 15 petit beurre
100 ml molten butter + for the form
pinch of salt

For the cheesecake:
1500 g cream cheese
350 g sugar
70 g flour
200 ml crème fraîche
seeds of a vanilla pod
zest of a lemon
5 large eggs

1. Preaheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Butter your springform pan really well and wrap it in foil.
3. Crush the petit beurre in a food processor and stir it together with molten butter. Transfer it to the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes, then let it cool.
4. For the cheesecake beat cream chesse until fluffy, then stir in sugar, flour, crème fraîche, vanilla seeds, zest of a lemon - mix well.
5. Stir in the eggs one by one.
6. Pour mixture on top of the previoulsy baked crust.
7. Transfer the form into the water bath in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
8. Reduce to 160°C and bake for another 30 minutes.
9. Open the oven halfway and leave the cheesecake there for 1 hour.
10. Remove cheesecake from the oven and let it cool completly.
11. Chill it for at least 5 hours but better over night!

Hozzávalók:

26 cm-es tortához

Az alaphoz:
kb 15 darab keksz
100 ml olvasztott vaj + a forma kikenéséhez
csipet só

A sajttortához:
1500 g krémsajt
350 g cukor
70 g liszt
200 ml crème fraîche vagy tejföl, de jó zsíros!
1 vaníliarúd kikapart magja
1 citrom reszelt héja
5 nagy tojás

1. Melegítsük elő a sütőt 180°C-ra.
2. Vajazzunk ki egy sütőformát és csomagoljuk fóliába a forma oldalát és alját.
3. Aprítsuk fel a kekszet és keverjük össze az olvasztott vajjal, majd nyomkodjuk a sütőforma aljába és süssük 10 percig, majd hagyjuk kihűlni.
4. A sajttortához verjük habosra a krémsajtot, majd adjuk hozzá a cukrot, lisztet, crème fraîche-t, vaníliát és a citromhéjat és keverjük simára.
5. Keverjük egyenként bele a tojásokat.
6. Önstük a keveréket a már megsült alapra.
7.  Tegyük a formát a sütőben előkészített vízfürdőbe és süssük 45 percig.
8. Csökkentsük a hőmérsékletet 160°C-ra és süssük még 30 percig.
9. Nyissuk ki félig a sütő ajtaját és hagyjuk benne a sajttortát 1 órán keresztül.
10. Vegyük ki a tortát és hagyjuk teljesen kihűlni.
11. Tegyük a hűtőbe legalább 5 órára, de inkább egy teljes éjszakára.

Chocolate & hazelnut biscotti

Occasionally, I like to have some sweet treats in my cupboard which are nice to dunk into tea, coffee, hot chocolate or maybe vin santo, well not the chocolate one for sure. Not that I need an excuse to bake, but this time I really had to convince myself to finally do something with the jar of hazelnuts that somehow just did not seem to get empty. Even after making chocolate-hazelnut spread twice, it seemed the jar has not bottom. I thought the quickest would be to whip up this biscotti. It's pretty easy to get it together and although it has to be backed twice, it is done in a flash. And what's not to love about them?! I guess it's time for espresso!

Ingredients

2 eggs
200 g sugar
200 g flour
100 g cocoa powder
200 g hazelnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preaheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Beat eggs with sugar until pale and fluffy. Stir in the flour, cocoa, baking powder and the hazelnut. Using moistened hands, halve dough and form 2 loaves on a baking sheet. Bake around 20 minutes, then let them cool.
3. Cut loaves into 1,5 cm thick slices and bake for another 15 minutes.

Hozzávalók:

2 tojás
200 g cukor
200 g liszt
100 g kakaópor
200 g mogyoró
1 teáskanál sütõpor

1. Melegítsük elő a sütőt 160 °C -ra.
2. Verjük a tojásokat a cukorral habosra. Adjuk hozzá a mogyorót, sütőport, kakaópor és a lisztet. Gyúrjuk nedves kezünkkel össze és formázzunk két kb. 4 cm széles lapos rudat. Süssük 20 percig 160°-on, majd hagyjuk kihűlni.
3. Ezután vágjuk kb 1,5 cm vastag szeletekre és süssük újabb 15 percig.

Hungarian lángos

Lángos is a deep fried flat bread that is served warm and usually topped with sour cream and grated cheese or garlic butter (a fabulous combination, if you ask me!). Honestly, I have no clue why this treat that's pretty oily & heavy is so popular in summer?! However if you spend the whole day at the lake or swimming pool you sure get hungry and crave something like this, at least if you spent your childhood in Hungary. For sure Hungarian streetfood at its best! Traditonally, this dish was made from leftover bread dough and baked in a brick oven, that's where probably its name dervies from the word láng, which means flame. My lángos is stuffed with sheep milk cheese and herbs (in other words: perfection) - inspired by an old family recipe.

Ingredients

(Yields 8 stuffed lángos)

For the dough:
4 2/3 cup flour plus extra for rolling out
3 medium potatoes
1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast
about 2 cups milk, lukewarm
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

For the stuffing:
500 g sheep milk quark (for example bryndza) or ricotta
2 bunches of chives
bunch of dill
salt, if you used ricotta
pepper
vegetable oil for frying

1. Boil potatoes and let them cool completely.
2. Crumble yeast and add sugar to 1/2 cup of lukewarm milk and let it stand until the yeast swims on top.
3. Sift flour into a large bowl, add salt and mix well. Finely grate potatoes and add to the flour. Make a mould and pour yeast-milk into it and start to knead the dough together. As soon as the dough starts to get together gradually add more milk and oil and knead it until it all comes together into a ball and you have a soft, but not sticky dough. Dust the top with flour, cover with a cloth and let it stand for an hour or until it has doubled its size.
4. Finely chop herbs and mix it with the sheep milk quark or ricotta. Season with salt if using ricotta. If you use bryndza salt is not necessary as it's a salty fresh cheese.
5. Dust a working surface with flour, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and shape into balls. Divide filling into 8 portions. Roll out the balls one by one, put filling into the middle, then flip the side of the dough to cover the filling and shape balls again. Carefully roll the stuffed balls out.
6. Fill a frying pan with 2 inches of oil an heat. Once it's hot, fry the stuffed flatbreads over medium heat until golden brown.

Serve with yoghurt or sour cream.

Hozzávalók:
400 g liszt
30 g élesztő
2 közepes burgonya
1 ek napraforgóolaj
5 g só
300 ml langyos tej
csipet cukor
olaj a sütéshez
300 g juhtúró
egy csokor kapor
egy csokor újhagyma

1. A töltelékhez keverjük össze a juhtúrót a finomra vágott kaporral és a karikára vágott újhagymával.
2. Az élesztőt futassuk fel 100 ml langyos tejben egy csipet cukorral. A liszt közepébe csináljunk egy mélyedést és öntsük bele a tejet, a krumplinyomón átnyomott krumplit, az olajat és a sót és gyúrjunk puha tésztát. Hagyjuk kelni körülbelül egy órát.
3. Vágjuk a megkelt tésztát egyforma darabokra, nyújtsuk ki és halmozzuk a tölteléket a közepére, majd a széleket hajtsuk be, mintha egy batyut formáznánk. Nyújtsuk ki a lángost újra, majd süssük ki forró olajban.