Last Cake, Next Cake

The reactions to this cheesecake can pretty much be summed up by Julie, who said "Oh my goodness . . . I am totally in love with this cheesecake!"
Monica baked it just for Tom, who's crazy about both coconut and cheesecake, and who was, not surprisingly, crazy about this dessert. Monica is less crazy about either, but "loved the hint of the coconut taste, it's not overly sweet, its like a custard and cheesecake together which makes is super light."
Other people also commented about the texture--Nancy B, for example, liked the "very light texture," and thought it was "nicely flavored."
Lynnette described it as "moist and creamy (as I like it) and unmistakably coconut-y."
Even though Raymond generally prefers "cheesecakes to be made entirely with cream cheese" because he prefers that "dense texture," he praised this cheesecake as "not too cloying or rich but still is silky and decadent and there is no doubt you are eating cheesecake."
On ther other hand, Rachelino compared this version favorably to "the gargantuan triangular bricks of ultrafirm, dry, crumbly cheesecake often billed "New York Cheesecake" here in California."

A number of bakers reported enthusiastic comments from tasters.

Joan's husband told her, "This is as good a cheesecake as one would find anywhere!"
Vicki's husband, who doesn't like the texture of coconut, gave her his verdict: "These are too good to be believed!"
And one of Rachelino's tasters was more specific: he said it was the best cheesecake he'd had in 6 years!

But the best comment went to our FEATURED BAKER, Mendy/ He reported that "One of the fellows who I shared this with at work stated that it was the best cheesecake he had ever had and said: 'You should have a blog!'"
A good thing he does have a blog--otherwise, some of us would never suspect what kinds of gourmet goodies can emerge from a toaster oven. Nor would we know that Israeli vanilla wafers are different than American vanilla wafers.
In this case, what emerged was four mini cheesecakes (made two at a time in a water bath in said toaster oven) plus a half-dozen cheese/cupcakes. Mendy never seems to be fazed by mishaps. Add too much cream of coconut to the mix? No problem--just make some extra cupcakes. Run out of cheesecake crust? No problem--just use crumbled vanilla wafers; straight from the box, they add "a nice extra crunch."

Coming up next week: the Genoise Rose. A "moist and gossamer cornerstone of French baking." This can be made in the special rose tube pan.

If you don't want to make another NordicWare purchase, you can use any 10-inch tube pan.
Remember that this cake is best if it's made 24 hours or more before serving. I baked it the same day I served it, and then had it again the following night. There was a noticeable increase in flavor and tenderness on the second day, so heed Rose's advice.
After that, a cake I'm really looking forward to in this summer that's suddenly turned sultry--an ice cream cake (your choice of ice cream). This one has to be made at least eight hours before serving. Plan your baking carefully the next two weeks!