by Clair on December 8, 2009
Recently I went to see the movie Julie & Julia with my mum. For those of you that haven’t seen the movie or read a review, it is all about how one woman, Julie, starts a blog that chronicles cooking her way through all the recipes in Julia Child’s “How To Master French Cooking”. In 365 days. There are over 500 recipes in the book, all quite complex with traditional French techniques, so this would have been quite a feat.
It was a lovely movie, and showed that no matter what happened each day, whether work tested her or her relationship was going through a difficult patch, Julie would start cooking, and Julia Child, through her cookbook, became the one person who made everything better. Cooking can do that.
The movie resonated deeply with me. I love cooking and find it very therapeutic, and throughout the years have come across quite a few men and women who, through their cookbooks, tv shows, newspaper and magazine articles and websites have influenced my cooking and helped improve it.
People like Margaret Fulton, who taught me to cook my first dish (pikelets at age six), Stephanie Alexander, who provided an invaluable resource through her food bible ‘The Cooks Companion’ when I first moved out of home, and of course the wonderful Maggie Beer, the woman who can cook anything and make it look easy, have all had a huge influence on what I cook, and the way I cook it. The woman who has had the biggest influence on my cooking though is my mother. She has always had a passion for great food, and showed me that fresh produce matched with good cooking skills can produce spectacular meals (and she has produced plenty!!).
Working in IT, I understand how technology can help people stumble across things that they may have never tried previously and perhaps even give them a go. Through thecookbook.com.au I hope to instil a passion for food and provide inspiration, tips and tricks and things that I have learnt through all of the people that have inspired me, to a whole new generation of ‘could be’ cooks.
I would love to know who or what inspires you in the kitchen; is it your family, friends, ‘celebrity’ cooks or chefs, or even a trip to the market to find good ingredients? Please leave your comments to share with others!
by Clair on February 9, 2009
For lovers of cheesecake, this home made, simple lemon cheesecake recipe is perfectly creamy and delicious! You might like to add a fruit sauce (such as a raspberry coulis) for serving, or top the finished cheesecake with fresh chopped berries and serve with thickened cream or ice cream.
When baking cheesecakes, ensure that your oven is not too hot, as the top may crack (if you find your oven cooks food more quickly than most recipes state, you should reduce the oven temperature of this recipe by 10-20ºC). Also, do not over beat the mixture (mix until just combined), as over beating may result in a sunken cheesecake.
I have adapted this easy recipe from Stephanie Alexander’s Best-Ever Cheesecake recipe (from ‘The Cooks Companion’) and made it more ‘lemony’ to suit my taste buds.
Easy Baked Lemon Cheesecake Recipe Ingredients
- 100g butter, melted
- 300g wheatmeal biscuits, finely crushed (either with a rolling pin in a plastic bag, or in a food processor)
- 500g cream cheese (full fat cream cheese from your local deli or Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
- 200g caster sugar
- 1 tbsp cornflour
- 3 eggs
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Rind of 2 lemons, finely grated
- few drops pure vanilla
- pinch of salt
- 2 cups sour cream
Easy Baked Lemon Cheesecake Recipe Method
Preheat oven to 180ºC. Brush the base and sides of a 22cm x 6cm deep springform cake tin with a little of the melted butter, then remove the base. Cut and fit a circle of baking paper in the base, brush paper with a little of the butter, then reassemble the tin.
Take 2 x 80cm lengths of foil and fold both in half length ways. Place the foil strips in a cross formation on your bench. Sit the base of the tin in the middle of the cross and draw the foil up the sides to create a ‘cup’ that the tin sits in (you want to try and get the edges of the foil up to the top of the side of the tin to stop water from leaking into the cheesecake when baking). Instead of creating your own waterproof cup out of foil, you may want to purchase a round foil tray that is slightly larger than your tin; most supermarkets stock these kinds of products.
Throughly mix the melted butter with the crushed biscuits and pour into the prepared spring form tin. Using a smooth glass (you could use a tumbler or an old jam jar) press the mixture firmly and evenly onto the sides and base of the tin.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in the cornflour, then the eggs, one at a time, beating each time until just combined. Add the lemon juice, rind, vanilla and salt, beat quickly, then add the sour cream and beat until just combined.
Pour the mixture into the prepared base, then place the spring form tin and foil liner into a large baking dish. Fill the baking dish with boiling water halfway up the side of the foil liner (try not to fill above the liner, or you may end up with a soggy cheesecake base). Place in the oven and bake for 50 minutes, then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to stand in the oven (with the door closed) for a further hour.
Remove the cheesecake from the oven and the foil liner, and cool completely on a cake rack. Place in the fridge and refrigerate for 4-6 hours, or preferably overnight.
