Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cheesecake is a success!

So this morning the first thing I did was to try a taste of my homemade cheesecake with my dad lol. It turned out better than I expected! Although I think I might want to add a bit more lemon zest next time.

The juneberries in my yard are nice and ripe, but it seems the birds got to get a taste of them before me. I haven't been noticing these little changes in my yard. Working all day has its drawbacks I guess... but what's left of the berries are still good. :) I guess I wont be making jam until the raspberries are ripe in about a week or so.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Baked Lemon Cheesecake

Hmm, seems to be a pattern that I update only every now and then. I really need to fix this, so much has been happening in my life to not blog about! I recently found a new part-time job at a Japanese restaurant and take-out called Sozai Banzai that offers homestyle Japanese cooking; the kind of stuff that reminds you of mom's cooking back home. The people there are great and it's fun working with them. They are also giving me a chance to help think up of dessert menus which is literally non-existent at the moment, so I am trying out a bunch of recipes I have on hand to see if they are worthy of being a good afternoon treat or dessert after a meal. This Friday we will serve shiratama anmitsu for a limited time only!

Today I tried baking a simple lemon cheesecake. I haven't made this in forever! It's best to leave this cake in the fridge overnight rather than eating it fresh baked. (which many people find it hard to believe but trust me! )
Like macarons and many other desserts, this cheesecake is best eaten the day after it is baked. Freshness does not always mean the best! So technically I wont know how this baby turned out till tomorrow. Although I have to admit it looks perfectly good to me at the moment. I can't wait to see the creamy white cake on the inside once I slice it. Maybe I will make juneberry jam and whipped cream to go with it while I wait. My raspberry bush isn't quite ready for harvest yet to make raspberry jam.

Here's what the cake looks right out of the oven. Notice that the center is still plump and the crust fills the entire pan. As the cake cools, the still-liquid center will deflate and sink. Don't worry, it is supposed to do that! :) Unfortunately I wont be uploading the recipe even if I find out tomorrow that it's good or not since it will possibly be in the restaurant if it's approved by the staff. Hopefully I will have good news about the taste to report tomorrow!