A (No-Bake) Cheesecake Redux

Mother's Day is a week from Sunday. That's only 10 days away- can you believe that?! Last Mother's Day, I took my mom out to lunch and a day of shopping when I felt a strange movement in my lower abdomen- a tickle that I hadn't felt before. It happened a couple more times then it finally donned on me that it was Hayden kicking me! It was such an awesome feeling and a moment I will never forget. I love that that was the first time I felt him moving inside me. From then on, he just kicked, kicked, kicked and he still does. He loves moving his little feet. 

This Mother's Day will be a special one too because it's the first one as a mother to a living, breathing, beautiful baby boy. I don't care if I get breakfast in bed, whether or not we go out to eat or if I get any gifts wrapped in bows. Hayden is my gift and he's all I need. Well, him and his Poppa. I need him too :-)

I made this no-bake cheesecake a couple years ago with lemon curd and I made it again last month for Easter, only this time I used a jar of Key Lime Curd that I picked up from a Williams-Sonoma Outlet awhile back. You can certainly make your own from scratch if you prefer, I just think a jarred curd is easier. This cheesecake would be a welcome addition to any Mother's Day menu. You bake the crust to set it, but the cheesecake filling is set up with gelatin in the refrigerator so you don't have to worry about overbaking it which means no cracks! and there are no water baths to fool around with. It's also ultra creamy and fluffy and it can be made a couple days in advance. It was light and mousse like and reminded me of key lime pie, but without all the pucker. 

Make this cheesecake for a special Momma in your life, or heck, treat yourself for being so awesome. You could also pass this recipe onto one of your kids and have them make it for you. Yup, that's what I'd do :-). 

 Lime Curd Icebox Cheesecake adapted from HERE
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Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 3 Tbsp. sugar

Filling:

• 1/3 cup prepared lime or lemon curd
• 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice
• 1 envelope (2 3/4 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
• 24 oz. (3 bricks) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon grated lime or lemon zest
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 1/4 cups heavy cream, room temperature

Garnish: 

• 1/3 cup prepared lime or lemon curd (more or less depending on your preference)
• whipped cream

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position.

In a medium bowl, combine graham crackers, sugar and butter. Mix until combined. 

Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan. Bake the crust until it is lightly golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a wire rack before filling.

For the filling: In a small bowl, put the 1/4 cup fresh lime or lemon juice. Sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let it stand until the gelatin softens, about 5 minutes. Microwave the mixture until it is bubbling around the edges and the gelatin dissolves, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

In a large bowl with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, lime or lemon zest, sugar, and salt until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. 

Slowly add the cream and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the gelatin mixture and 1/3 cup of the prepared lime or lemon curd. Beat until the mixture is smooth and airy, about 3 minutes. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and smooth the top.

For the decorative topping: Using a teaspoon, dollop the remaining curd on top of the cheesecake and lightly drag a pairing knife or skewer through the lines to create a marble appearance. Alternately, you could pipe the curd (I put the curd into a Ziploc bag, snipped the corner and piped) into lines or swirls and drag a skewer through it to make other decorative patterns.

Refrigerate the cheesecake until set, at least 6 hours. Remove the sides of the pan, cut into slices and serve.

Serves 12

I mentioned that I made this cheesecake for Easter but I also wanted to show you what my Mom made. She made a Pineapple Angel Lush and served it with fresh berries. It was really light and tasty. Click HERE for the recipe if you're interested. 

Coca-Cola Memories

I've been drinking Coca-Cola ever since I was a wee one. Except I never called it Coca-Cola, it was just "Coke". In fact, I referred to all soft drinks as Coke. What do you call them? Soda, soft drinks, pop? It was as if Coca-Cola was the king of all soft drinks, to me. Maybe it was the red and white striking can, or the fact that we could drink the fizzy beverage out of bottles when I was a kid, and that was just kind of cool. Coca-Cola is still my go-to soft drink when I'm craving something carbonated and refreshing.

Here is a picture of my older brother, Joe, and I bonding over a Coke when we were kidlets. In case you're wondering, that is a pink Miami Vice shirt I'm wearing. And if I remember correctly, he is wearing a He-Man tank. Ahhh, the '80's! Don't be jealous :-)

I've had that picture of my brother and I on my fridge for some time now and I've been wanting to make something sweet and delicious using Coke, when the people at Coca-Cola contacted me and asked if I'd like to make a recipe using the beverage. It just seemed like perfect timing and I couldn't wait to get started. I had so much fun with these cupcakes and photographing all the shiny red accompaniments- from the can to the cherries that topped the mounds of whipped cream on top of the cupcakes. Fun, I tell you!

I perused the My Coke Rewards website for a recipe that I wanted to make and  I couldn't decide if I wanted sweet or savory. But you know me, sweet always wins! I ended up adapting a recipe from Nigella Lawson for Coca-Cola cake and turning it into Coke Float Cupcakes. A Coke float is one of my favorite indulgences. When we were kids and we wanted soda my grandma would pour us a glass half full of Coke, then fill the rest up with milk. Sounds strange, I know, but it was like a less sweet version of a Coke float and it got us to drink our milk. Sneaky Grandma.

These cupcakes were kind of like that too. I started off with a cocoa cupcake infused with Coca-Cola, then added a Coca-Cola glaze and topped it off with a healthy scoop of vanilla ice cream and/or lightly whipped cream. I was a happy camper! The Coca-Cola taste was subtle against the chocolate, but it was distinguishable. I liked the glaze under the cream because it kept the cupcake from getting soggy as the ice cream melted and remained nice and light and fluffy. The glaze also added a bit of sweetness and added another texture to the dessert.

I ended up making two different versions because I'm indecisive and I like having options. I liked the ones with ice cream but I have to say the cupcake version with whipped cream and a cherry were my favorite. It was just the perfect package all wrapped up in a red foil liner. It was creamy, sweet, fluffy and fun and I felt like a kid again sitting in my grandma's kitchen. After all my hard work in the kitchen I rewarded myself with a coke float. I was on a sugar high the rest of the afternoon, but it was well worth it. I hope you'll treat yourself to one too.

Coke Float Cupcakes adapted from Nigella Lawson

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For The Cakes: 

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa
• 3/4 cup Coca-Cola

For The Glaze: 

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa
• 3 Tbsp. Coca-Cola
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Garnish: 

• vanilla ice cream
• whipped cream
• maraschino cherries
• sprinkles

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line with paper liners and set aside. 

For The Cupcakes: In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Beat the egg, buttermilk and vanilla in a measuring cup and set aside. 

In a heavy-based saucepan, melt the butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola, heating it gently. Pour into the dry ingredients, stir well with a wooden spoon, and then add the liquid ingredients from the measuring cup, beating until it is well blended.

Pour into prepared muffin tin and bake for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For The Glaze: Sift the powdered sugar and set aside. In a heavy-based saucepan, combine the butter, Coca-Cola and cocoa and stir over a low heat until the butter has melted. Remove from the heat, add the vanilla, and spoon in the sifted sugar, beating as you do, until you’ve got a good, spreadable, but still runny, icing.

Carefully dip the top of the cupcakes into the glaze allowing the excess to drip off or simply spoon the glaze over the cupcakes while they are still warm, place on a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Serving: Once the cakes have cooled and the glaze has set, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or lightly sweetened whipped cream, cherries and sprinkles.

Makes about 15 cupcakes

DrinkCompensation was provided by Coca-Cola, but Coca-Cola is not a sponsor, administrator, or involved in any other way with this post. All opinions expressed are my own and not those of Coca-Cola.

Drink Coke. Make Cupcakes. Be Happy. 

For more Coca-Cola recipes, head on over to My Coke Rewards for more inspiration. 

An All Occasion Cake & A Winner

Last month for The Cake Slice Bakers we made individual warm chocolate cakes and they were delicious. You might be saying to yourself, "I don't remember seeing individual warm chocolate cakes. Where are they?" And rightfully so. I never blogged them because they looked like wrinkled old men and I didn't like any of the pictures. They didn't look good but they sure were tasty. Who knew "wrinkled old men" cakes could be so good? haha! You can click over to Becca's blog, Cookie Jar Treats, for the recipe if you're interested. I'm also linking to her blog because she is the lucky winner of Baking Basics & Beyond. Congrats Becca- email me with your address!

This month we baked a Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake Bundt. Yes, that's a mouthful but there's not one part of that title that I don't like. This cake has winner written all over it and it was a nice addition to our Easter dinner. I made the cake the day before we needed it and when it came down to serving it Sunday evening I was too full to eat dessert. So I didn't get a slice until the following day and I have to tell you- even on day three, this cake was not the least bit dry! I tend to shy away from pound cakes because they can be too dense and heavy and sometimes dry, but this one has changed my mind.

I only had one slice of this cake and when I was done, I was wishing I had another. It was so light and fluffy with just the faintest taste of orange zest speckled through the cake. The star of the cake was the cinnamon swirl running throughout the cake, which made it sweet and spicy. Mr. H said it reminded him a lot of a breakfast coffee cake because it was so lightly sweetened. He's right, this cake would be nice at breakfast or for dessert any time of year.

On a side note, this is what Hayden gets to go while Mommy takes pictures of food. (He's going to have so many questions someday.) He loves sitting in his highchair and "playing drums" on the arm rests or looking at the trees through the kitchen windows. On this particular day he was enjoying a snack. He is quite the curious eater and wants to try everything I eat. He follows my fork and watches me pick my food up and put it in my mouth. Just the other day at dinner while he was sitting on my lap, he reached out for my fork and put it in his mouth. I was eating gnocchi with tomato cream sauce and he loved it. :-)

Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake from The Cake Book
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Cinnamon Streusel Swirl:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Buttermilk Pound Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (1/4 ground teaspoon nutmeg may be substituted)
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 cup buttermilk

Garnish:

• powdered sugar for dusting

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour and shake out the excess.

For the Cinnamon Swirl: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, breaking up any large lumps of brown sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until blended and crumbly.

For the Pound Cake: Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom (or nutmeg) into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at a medium speed until very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 4 minutes. At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract and orange zest. At low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions and mixing just until well combined.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the batter. Scrape the remaining batter on top and smooth it into an even layer.

Bake the cake for 65 to 75 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely.

Dust the cake lightly with powdered sugar right before serving.