Jun 23, 2010

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!

15 comments:

Jenn said...

Congrats Mendy! It's well deserved. I loved your mini cheesecake and your co-worker's comment :).


Marie - lovely pan! Looks so pretty. Am envious. In the spirit of no space, couldn't get this pan, though I currently covet the sweetheart rose and the daisy pan. Sigh!

I love your quoting everyone. Sounds like a REAL reporter. Also, it helps as I haven't gotten to everyone's blog :).

Lois B said...

Congratulations, Mendy! Beautiful little cakes. I'm so glad you DO have a blog, but I guess you'll have to start talking it up more.

All the cakes and write-ups are so tempting. I'll have to do this one on a free choice week!

Monica said...

Yep.. Mendy totally deserves it - FELICITACIONES! I totally love the mini individual cheesecakes (I made a note on the book for the next time!).

Marie... great write up (as always) and I'm loving the cake pan, but I been put on notice of "NO MORE SHOPPING FOR CAKE PANS" "sigh". So I guess I will have to come up with something else.

I still don't know if I will have time to bake this cake over the weekend, we are taking a road trip to attend Tom's sister in law baby shower, so depending how tired I am, I may OR MAY NOT participate this weekend.

Nicola said...

Well done Mendy!

I am sorry to have missed the glory that was the coconut cheesecake. At the time I was busy making cake after cake after cake for my bride and groom taste tester and didn't fancy another cake lingering on my bench.

But now it is Wednesday, and the cakes are all but gone and I wish there was a coconut cheesecake to carry us through until the genoise...

Great wrap up Marie - they really help when time seems to evaporate like cocoa and boiling water.

Vicki said...

Yay, Mendy! I don't know which I enjoy more-seeing what emerges from the toaster oven, the history lessons or the adorable pictures of your lovely family. But that fellow is right, you certainly should have a blog!

Katya said...

Wow, so many raves. Mine will be up shortly, in the meantime, I'm considering getting a toaster oven myself to stop complaints about so much baking in a heat wave...

evil cake lady said...

Congrats Mendy! I always enjoy reading your posts, and I love your new profile photo! You have really opened my eyes to the wonders of the toaster oven.

Great write up Marie!

So...10 inch tube pan...like an angel food cake pan? Or a bundt pan? What do you all think?

Mendy said...

ב''ה

Thanks for featuring me Marie! :)

For my next trick I shall attempt the large genoise in the toaster... ;)

Jenniffer said...

Looks delicious! Keep up the great work!!!

Jenn said...

ECL, I think it's more of a bundt pan.

I wonder how the cake will taste, it seem so plain (no buttercream).

Hanaâ said...

Meny, congratulations on being Feature Baker of the week. The new profile photo is really cute!

Jenn, I'm thinking of using beurre noisette for this cake (that'll up the flavor). I also find myself into "zests" these days, so I'll probably add some lemon or orange zest. If memory serves me right, the syrup uses Grand Marnier so I will be subbing orange juice, so I might use orange zest in the cake to match.

Katya said...

Made it yesterday, just one comment. Make sure the really is all blended in--even though I sifted, I got timid and found myself with some flour bubbles.

I skipped the glaze altogether--I know, sacrelige with genoise, but it already tasted good and I couldn't face all that stickiness in current nyc humidity.

lola said...

Would mini-bundt pans work for this recipe? What about freezing the cake and then defrosting before applying the syrup? If the mini pans would work, they would be great little cakes to pull out for a quick dessert. Thanks. This will be my first participation.

Jenn said...

Hanaa, I think it uses triple sec, so similar to grand marnier.
Great idea with beurre noiseete and zests. I might follow you there.

Katya, thanks for sharing. It's good to know that it taste good even w/o the glaze.

lola said...

I just finished baking 12 mini-bundt cakes, using 1/2 of the recipe. Unfortunately, the cakes stuck in the pan, although I used Baker's Joy. They are light and airy and taste delicious. I think I will make a sort of trifle, since they are not pretty. I live in a very humid climate, so they are resting in the refrigerator after cooling. I am not sure whether to post my less than perfect cakes or not. A good recipe to try again though.