Wednesday, March 14, 2007

AND THE WINNER IS...

Carrie Rottenborn, who contributed a recipe to our blog last week and got to pick a cookbook from our impressive selection. Her choice: "The Best Light Recipes," by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine.

If you'd like to win a cookbook, simply enter a recipe in our comment section below. This week, we're looking for recipes that use one of our favorite spring treats, strawberries. To inspire you, here's a recipe from one of our giveaway books, "The Bon Appetit Cookbook." Check back next week to see if you've won; we'll ask you for your contact information so we can arrange for you to come in and choose your cookbook.

STRAWBERRY-TOPPED CHEESECAKE WITH GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST
Serves 12

This cake requires overnight refrigeration, so make it a day before you intend to serve it.
Crust:
20 whole graham crackers, broken
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup packed golden brown sugar

Filling:
4 8-ounce packages Philadelphia bran cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 large eggs

Topping:
2 cups sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 16-ounce containers strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup strawberry or raspberry jelly

For crust: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Finely grind graham crackers in a processor. Add butter and sugar, using on/off turns; process until moist crumbs form. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumbs over bottom and 2 3/4 inches up sides of a 10-inch diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Bake crust 8 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool while making filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling: Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in a large bowl till very smooth. Beat in flour. Add eggs and beat just until blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl.
Pour filling into crust and bake until outer 2-inch edge of cake is puffed and slightly cracked, center is just set and top is brown in spots -- about 50 minutes. Transfer to cake rack. Cool 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

For topping: Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl to blend. Spoon topping over cake, spreading to edge of pan. Bake until topping is just set, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Run knife between top edge of crust and pan sides to loosen. Cook cake completely in pan on rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Release pan sides from cheesecake. Arrange strawberries, points facing up, atop cheesecake, covering completely. Stir jelly in a heavy small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cool to barely lukewarm about 5 minutes. Brush enough jelly over berries to glaze generously.

1 comment:

Sweet Gifts said...

Welcome Spring
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Nell Guthery’s Recipe


3 cups of granulated sugar
2 sticks of margarine
6 eggs
3 cups of PLAIN flour (White Lilly)
8 oz sour cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon soda
2 Tablespoons lemon or vanilla flavoring
1 cup Strawberries
1 cup Blueberries


• Grease 10” tube pan
• Set oven to 325 degrees
• Stir flour and soda together in a bowl and set aside for later use.
• Separate egg whites from yolks.
• Add salt to egg whites and beat until peaks form in a separate bowl from original mix. After beat, put whole bowl in refrigerator.
• Cream butter and sugar in large mixing bowl.
• Add lemon or vanilla flavoring and a pinch of salt to previous mixture
• Add one egg YOLK at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add flour and soda mixture alternately with sour cream.
• Fold in beaten egg whites.
• Bake 1 hour 15 minutes at 325 degrees.

Let cake cool, place on a pretty plate, then add strawberries and blueberries around the bottom of the cake. You can also add a few edible flowers to give it more of a Spring look.

YUMMY!