Peach Cheesecake

There`s no chance I can resist the temptation of peaches. That sweet flavor! Paring them with a cheesecake has never been such a good idea. Love it.

How I love summer...mostly for its delicious, fresh fruits. If I could, I would pick them out of a tree or bush all year long, so I can bake with them Unfortunately, there are 3 more seasons. I think this is the reason I don`t like winter: no fruits and veggies. All dead, gone.

I have to admit that, like everybody else, I`d rather eat something juicy and fresh than warm, gooey and sticky during summer. Also, I choose sweet-and-sour rather than very sweet. Do you know what I`m talking about? Never mind, back to our cheesecake

The first time I baked a cheesecake was a while ago. Yeah, it was pretty good, but the crust was almost invisible. And that was a pity because it was made of pretzels with cinnamon. I wanted more. So this time, I almost filled my pan to the half with the crust. I just want to warn you and mention that you can reduce the amount of crackers in this recipe, or use another recipe for homemade graham cracker crust.

Then, the filling. Ah, the filling! It has everything you wish from a cheesecake: creamy texture, sweet yet tart and there are chunks of peaches in there. That`s a bonus, in my opinion.

Oh, I apologize for the pictures. They are horrible, I`m aware of that.

Ingredients:
Crust:
275 gr graham crackers or any digestive biscuits
90 gr butter-melted 
a quarter (1/4) teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cheesecake batter:
1 kg room temperature cream cheese 
4 eggs
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
2/3 buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar
4 peaches, pit removed and diced in medium sized chunks/cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Peach Topping:
2 large peaches, pit removed and chopped
2 Tablespoons water
3 Tablespoons sugar

Directions:
For the Crust:
1. In a food processor or using a rolling pin and a bag, crush the biscuits until they resemble breadcrumbs. Make a well in the center and pour melted butter and add cinnamon. Stir with a fork or a spoon until the mixture resembles "wet" sand, it should stay together when pinched between your index finger and your thumb. If it falls apart, add 20 more grams of melted butter until you reach the right consistency.
Butter a 9-inch(23 cm) diameter round cake pan with removable walls and press the biscuit mixture into it, making sure you cover everything evenly. Bake at 180 C/375 d F for 7 minutes. Take it out and let it cool, but don`t turn the oven off.

For the Cheesecake batter:
1. Cream the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until homogenized. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sugar and beat for 2 more minutes.

2. In a small bowl or a regular cup, mix the buttermilk, vanilla extract and cubed peaches. Add them to the cream cheese batter and beat it well for another minute or so.

3. Pour the resulting batter over the crust in the pan, tap it a few times on your counter to get rid of any air bubbles( so you don`t have cracks in the cheesecake). Put the pan in a high-side square or rectangular cake tin and fill it with hot water until it reaches halfway the wall of the round cake pan. Bake it at 160 d C/325 d F for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the edges look set and the center is still jiggly. 

4. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool completely in there with the door ajar (slightly opened). About 2-3 hours. After such time, remove the cheesecake from the water filled pan and put it in your fridge to set for about 4 hours or overnight.

Just before serving, make the topping:
Put the chopped peaches, sugar and water in a food processor or a blender and turn them into a smooth puree. Put the puree in a medium saucepan, set it over low to medium heat and cook until bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes. Immediately pour the resulting topping over the cheesecake and even it out with a spoon or a spatula. Set it in the fridge for 1 hour, but you can cut into it immediately.

Enjoy. :D

Strawberry Ice Cream

Finally! Strawberries are in season and at their best. I swear I`ve eaten 3 pounds in the last two weeks. I ate so many that now I have a pound hanging around in my fridge. I kinda got tired of them. Whatever, I was craving homemade, creamy and rich ice cream and not the full-of-additives industrial one. Everything that`s homemade tastes at least ten times better.

National Child`s Day was on the 1st of June and my dad asked me what I would like as a gift. I wanted to say that I already have everything I need, but suddenly I realized that an ice cream maker is missing from my kitchen. So we got in the car and traveled to the nearest shop where I knew they were selling such things.

Guess what? I love it. Yes, I love my ice cream maker.

There`s a few things you should know: 
1.If you don`t have an ice cream maker, then your homemade ice cream will not be as creamy and will have ice cristals in it. Also, you can "still"freeze the ice cream but you`ll have to stir it every 15 minutes to incorporate air and therefore to turn it into ice cream. Keep in mind that this is labor intensive and you`d better not try this recipe unless you want it.

2.Don`t fill your ice cream maker more than 3/4 of the way full, as the air will get into the ice cream mixture and the volume will increase.

3.It is very important to use the best quality ingredients you can get your hands on, because it will affect the taste and texture of your ice cream.

4.Don`t be impatient and skip the step with the chilling overnight of both the ice cream mixture and the bowl.

Ingredients:

2 cups whole/full-fat milk

200 ml heavy cream (35%-40% fat content)

5 egg yolks

3/4 cup sugar

291 gr strawberries

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Directions:

1. Put the strawberries along with 2 Tablespoons of sugar in a food processor or blender and turn them into puree. Take a fine mesh sieve and pass the puree through it, in order to get rid of the seeds. Discard the seeds and set the smooth strawberry puree in the fridge.

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the milk and heavy cream together until they start to steam. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until thick and pale in color, for about 3-4 minutes. Add 1/4 of a cup of the hot milk-cream mixture to your egg yolk mixture and whisk constantly. This process is called "tempering". I`ll talk later about that.

3. Cook the mixture stirring constantly over low heat until it becomes thicker or coats the back of a wooden spoon. Transfer the custard in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap to prevent a "skin" form forming and chill 6-8 hours or overnight in your fridge.

4. When the custard has cooled, fold in the strawberry puree along with the lemon and almond extract. 

5. The final step is to freeze the custard in your ice cream maker. Make sure the bowl of your ice cream machine has been frozen well (6-8 hrs in the freezer). Churn it for about 35 minutes, then transfer the resulting ice cream in a container and freeze for at least 2 hours prior to serving. Top with strawberry jam or sauce for a better flavor.