Pound Cake / Homemade Self-Rising Flour / Truvy’s Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake, Regular and Reduced Sugar / Anna Sultana’s Peach Cake with Coconut Frosting / Dump Cake / Orange Marmalade Cake

 

Last Christmas I posted the recipe for Ma’s Pound Cake, and got a request for a pound cake recipe that uses self-rising flour.
Many moons ago I found such a recipe, along with the recipe for self-rising flour, and just like Ma, I made my own tweaks to the recipe.
Self-rising flour is not hard to make, and, if you don’t use it regularly, it’s much cheaper to make your own.

In the movie Steel Magnolias Dolly Parton played a hairdresser named Truvy.
She’s asked about one of her recipes, Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake.
Truvy says, You don't need a recipe.  It's just a cuppa flour, a cuppa sugar, a cuppa fruit cocktail with the juice. Stir and bake in a hot oven until golden brown and bubbly.
Well, apologies to Truvy, but I found that self-rising flour, a cup of milk and a dash of salt added to the recipe, so I added them.
Suit yourself.


Back to the economy…
The holiday bills have been coming in and the food prices have been rising.
Now’s the time to rummage around in the kitchen and use those odd little things that were on sale or seemed like a good idea at the time.
You know - things like cake mixes, pie filling, marmalade, canned fruit, shredded coconut, heavy cream and cake flour.
These recipes will make use of them.
And they’re good and easy, too.


Hints:

About the Pound Cake…
To store, tightly wrap the cake in one layer of foil or two layers of plastic wrap, or place it in a heavy-duty freezer bag. It can be frozen up to one month.
When ready to serve remove it from the freezer and let thaw, wrapped, at room temperature overnight. Once thawed, remove the wrap and serve.

About the Peach Cake with Coconut Frosting… 
The liquid drained from the canned peaches can be added to fruit juices, such as apple and orange, refrigerated, and drunk.

The cake is best stored in the refrigerator.


About the Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake…     
Serve with unsweetened whipped cream to cut the sweetness.
The cake itself is almost too sweet on its own. Ice cream would be sweetness overload.

Any reduced/no sugar added canned fruit can be used in the Reduced Sugar recipe: peaches, blackberries, etc.


About the Dump Cake… 
Chocolate cake mix does not work as well as Devil’s Food.
You can split the batter between two 8x8 pans and it will be baked in 30 minutes.

For a little extra something, you could chop 8 ounces cream cheese.
After pouring the batter into the baking pan randomly poke the cream cheese pieces deeply into the batter.
It will take an extra 15 minutes to bake.

Some cake / filling blends to try:
White cake mix with Peach filling
White cake mix with Raspberry filling

Devil’s Food cake mix and Cherry filling   
Devil’s Food cake mix and Raspberry filling

Yellow cake mix and Cherry filling      
Yellow cake mix with Blueberry filling (add 1 teaspoon lemon extract)
Yellow cake mix and Peach pie filling
Yellow cake mix and Apple filling
Yellow cake mix and Blackberry filling

Strawberry cake mix and Blueberry filling
Strawberry cake mix and Strawberry filling

Vanilla cake mix and Pineapple filling
Vanilla cake mix and Apple filling
Vanilla cake mix and Peach filling

Pineapple cake mix with Blueberry filling
Butter pecan cake mix and Apple filling
Spice cake mix and Apple filling (top with cinnamon sugar)

Lemon cake mix and Blueberry filling
Lemon cake mix and dry Key Lime filling mix (add 1/2 Cup buttermilk)

About the Orange Marmalade Cake… 
Instead of making a circle of marmalade on the inner part of the top before adding the frosting you could frost the entire cake top, then add the remaining marmalade as a garnish on top.                 


                       Pound Cake

Grease and flour 3  9x5 inch loaf pans or 1 large bundt pan

Sift together in a medium bowl
2 1/2 Cups flour
1/2 Cup self-rising flour
Set aside.

Place in a large mixer bowl
1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened
1 Cup oil
2 1/2 Cups sugar
Beat until light and fluffy, about 6 to 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300º F

Add one at a time, making sure each is fully mixed in before adding another
5 large eggs
Reduce speed of mixer to low and, making 3 dry and 2 liquid additions, add flour mixture alternately with
1 Cup milk
Combine well but do not over mix.
Stir in
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).
Place in the preheated oven.
Bake in loaf pans for 30 minutes or in bundt pan for 1 1/2 hours.
A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Allow to cool in the pan(s) for about 10 - 15 minutes.
Turn the cake(s) out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

                       Homemade Self-Rising Flour

Makes 1/2 Cup

Place in a small bowl
1/2 Cup flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Whisk to combine and use as is for each half cup of self-rising flour in the recipe.


                       Truvy’s Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake


Preheat oven to 350º F

Place in an 8 x 8 inch pan
1 Cup butter
Place in oven and let the butter melt in the pan.

While the butter is melting place in a medium bowl
1 Cup self-rising flour
1 Cup sugar
1 Cup fruit cocktail with juice (or any fruit you want to use)
1 Cup milk (optional) 
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Stir together.
When butter is melted, remove pan from oven and pour fruit / flour mixture into the pan.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Cool and serve with unsweetened whipped cream.


                       Cuppa Cuppa Cuppa Cake Reduced Sugar

Preheat oven to 350º F

Place in an 8 x 8 inch pan
1/4 Cup butter
Place in oven and let the butter melt in the oven.

While the butter is melting place in a medium bowl
1 Cup self-rising flour 

1 Cup Splenda 

14 1/2 ounce can no sugar added fruit cocktail with juice
1 Cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
Stir together.
When butter is melted, remove pan from oven and pour fruit / flour mixture into the pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
Cool and serve.


                       Anna Sultana’s Peach Cake with Coconut Frosting

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan
Preheat oven to 350º F

Reserving liquid (see hints), place in a large bowl
1 large can peaches (sliced or halved)
Mash well and add
2 Cups flour
2 Cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
Mix well, pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.
Bake 35 - 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

Coconut Frosting

Place in a medium pot
3/4 Cup sugar
9 ounces evaporated milk
1/2 Cup butter or margarine
1 Cup coconut, shredded
Place over medium heat, bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens.
Remove from heat and stir in
1 Cup nuts, such as chopped walnuts
Spread over cake.


                       Dump Cake

Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan

Preheat oven to 350º F

Place in a large bowl
3 large eggs
Beat well and add
1 box cake mix, any flavour (see hints)
1 can pie filling, any flavour (see hints)
Stir together until well mixed.
Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 45 minutes and test with a toothpick for doneness.
Serve warm or allow to cool.

 

Orange Marmalade Cake

Grease 2 round 9" cake pans
Chill a medium mixer bowl and beaters

Sift together into a medium bowl
3 Cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Set aside.

Place in a large mixer bowl
1 Cup butter, softened
Beat until smooth.
Add, 1/2 Cup at a time
2 Cups sugar
Beat until light and fluffy.

Preheat oven to 325º F

Add one at a time, making sure each is fully mixed in before adding another
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Reduce speed of mixer to low and, making 3 dry and 2 liquid additions, add flour mixture alternately with
1 Cup buttermilk, room temperature
Combine well but do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and tap to remove air bubbles.
Place pans in the preheated oven.
Bake for 35 - 40 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.
Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.
Allow to cool in the pans for 20 minutes.
Turn the layers out, placing the first layer upside down on a cake platter, and the second, right side up, on a plate.

For the orange syrup place in a small pot
1 Cup orange juice
1/4 Cup sugar
Stir together over medium heat until sugar is dissolved.
Using a toothpick, poke holes in each layer, then spoon syrup over each layer allowing it to be completely absorbed before adding more.
Cool completely.

For the filling place in a small pot
12 ounces orange marmalade
Heat until just melted, then let cool 5 minutes.
Spread 2/3 of marmalade over the first layer. Smooth to make an even layer.
Place the second layer, right side up, over the top of the marmalade.
Spread the remaining marmalade on the cake, leaving a 1 1/4 " border around the top.

For the frosting place in the chilled medium mixer bowl
3/4 Cup heavy cream, chilled
3 Tablespoons sugar
Beat until the cream forms stiff peaks.
Gradually fold in
3/4 Cup sour cream, chilled (regular, fat free or low fat)
Stir until the mixture is of a spreading consistency.
Spread on sides and rim of top of cake.
Chill for at least 2 hours - 24 hours is better - before serving.

Anna Sultana’s Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Glaze

The weather here hasn’t been at all Spring-like.

We’ve had hail and snow during the past week.

Well, Spring weather or not, Mother’s Day is coming this Sunday.

This cake always reminds me of my parents.

Ma and I made it when they came up for a visit.

Pop would sit and supervise us as we spread the chocolate filling. 

Every so often he’d say something like 

Do you use that to lay bricks? or 

Can you do stucco work, too?

Ma would give him THE LOOK and he’d wander off until it was time to eat.

As all good things are this cake that is a bit of a project.

You can spread out the work load - bake the cake layers the day or two before.

The layers also freeze well, if you want to lighten the work load this weekend.

Happy Mother's Day!!

Hints:

If you are using all purpose flour in this recipe remove two tablespoons from each cup of flour and 1 1/2 teaspoons from the 1/4 cup.

About the chocolate…

When we made this recipe back in the 90s, a square of baking chocolate was 1 ounce.

For some reason a chocolate company - who couldn’t possible have a baker on staff - has decided to repackage their product so that 4 itty bitty rectangles equal 1 ounce.

I don’t know how your chocolate is packaged, so I’m giving weights.

Use the same bowl for the three meltings without washing after the first two uses.

Just pick a bowl that's large enough for the 4 ounces and coffee.

About the sour cream… use any fat content you prefer.

If you don’t want to use all three layers at one time you can freeze a layer to serve some other time.

About the filling…

If it looks too thick, add a little more cream.

If it’s too thin, add a little more icing sugar.

Don’t have 2 Tablespoons strong coffee? No problem.

Put 2 Tablespoons of water and instant coffee (either regular or decaf) in the bowl. 

Just before serving you can top the cake with raspberries or sliced strawberries if you’re feeding the gang and it will all be eaten at one seating.

If this isn’t going to happen the berries could end up looking a bit sad.

Not to worry. here are other topping ideas: shaved chocolate or chocolate chips, whole or chopped nuts, unwrapped chocolate bonbons, maraschino cherries, cookies, frosting mounds, peaks or flowers… 

Have fun with it. 

Another good cake for special events is

Anna Sultana’s Mocha Cake and Mocha Fudge Frosting

                        Chocolate Cake

Place the rack in the centre of the oven.

grease 3 8 inch round pans

      

Preheat oven to 350º F          

Sift together into a medium bowl

2 1/4 Cups cake & pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Place in a large mixer bowl

1/2 Cup butter, softened

2 1/4 Cups lightly packed brown sugar

3 large eggs

Cream on medium speed of electric mixer for 5 minutes.

While the butter is being creamed, place in a microwaveable bowl 

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

Melt in microwave.

After the butter mixture has been beaten for 5 minutes, beat in

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

the melted chocolate

While you’re adding the dry ingredients and sour cream, heat to boiling

1 Cup water

Add the dry ingredients alternately with

1 Cup sour cream

Mix lightly until smooth.

Stir in the boiling water. The batter will be thin. Don’t worry. It’s okay.

Pour the batter into the greased pans.

Bake until the cake layers are done, about 35 minutes.

A toothpick inserted in the centre of each should come out clean.

Yes, test each one. Trust me.

Let the 3 cake layers cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the pans and place the layers on the racks.

Let them cool completely.

                        Chocolate Filling 

Place in a microwaveable bowl  

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate

Melt in microwave.

Place in a large mixer bowl

1/2 Cup butter, softened

1/3 Cup light cream

the melted unsweetened chocolate

Beat until creamy.

Gradually add in

3 to 3 1/2 Cups sifted icing sugar

Beat until light and fluffy.

Cut 2-inch-wide strips of wax paper.

Place a layer upside down on a serving plate.

Arrange the wax paper under the cake to protect the plate.

Spread some filling over the layer with a spatula.

Place the second layer on top and spread some filling over it.

Place the third layer on top. Do not cover it with the filling.

Smooth the remaining filling over the sides.

Chill 30 minutes.

Remove the wax paper strips.

                        Chocolate Glaze

Place in a microwaveable bowl

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 Tablespoons strong coffee

Heat in a microwave until the chocolate is melted.

Remove from microwave.

Add 

3 Tablespoons butter, softened  

Stir until smooth.

Spread the glaze over the top layer and let it drizzle down the sides.

Anna Sultana’s Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake (Old-Fashioned & Light), the Full Sturgeon Moon and Orion

In less than two weeks it will be September.

September… Autumn… heavier meals, holiday dinners, family get-togethers.

And then there’s getting ready for the mother of all holidays - Christmas.

Yes, it feels like it was Christmas a month ago.

Time may fly when you’re having fun, but when you’re past 60, both fun and misery whiz by at warp speed.

Just the thought of the upcoming ‘festivities’ is making me nervous.

Time to follow The Golden Girls’ example and have a slice of cheesecake.

About a week ago I posted the recipe for Ma’s Quiche Lorraine.

Not a cheesecake, but a nice dairy dish.

It’s been a few months since I posted Ma’s Ricotta Cheesecake recipe.

That was back in April, and I posted it to get us through preparing our taxes.

I know, tax season feels like it was just a couple of days ago.

At this rate we’ll be doing taxes again next month.

I digress. Back to the cheesecake…

Ricotta cheesecakes give you that comforting texture with a bit less fat and calories.

For more ways to use ricotta check this post.

For us seniors time has speeded up, while our metabolism has slowed down, so we have to keep an eye on what we eat.

No problem… some of the lighter calorie foods, like ricotta, have charms of their own.

Ricotta makes a lovely cheesecake, with or without the lemon.

Be good to yourself and bake a cheesecake.

And remember to stop at one serving.

Hints:

If you’d like to make this recipe a little healthier, use 6 ounces oil instead of 1 Cup butter - or 3 ounces oil and 1/2 Cup butter - in the cake layer.

Don’t have grated lemon rind? A teaspoon of lemon extract is just as good.

                                   Old-Fashioned Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

Serves 16 to 20 

Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan

Cake Layer

Combine in a medium bowl

2 Cups flour

1/2 Cup confectioners’ sugar

Cut in

1 Cup butter

Pat the mixture into the greased baking pan.

Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350º F

Place in a large bowl 

3 eggs, lightly beaten

30 ounces ricotta cheese

3/4 Cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind

Beat until well blended.

Spoon the ricotta mixture on top of the cake layer.

Bake for 60 minutes, or until lightly browned and a knife inserted 2 inches

from the centre should come out clean.

LEAVE THE CHEESECAKE IN THE OVEN.

Turn off the oven and leave the door open a crack - prop it with a spoon.

Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the oven.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for one hour. 

Refrigerate overnight. 

Before serving dust with 

confectioners’ sugar

Cut into squares. 

The leftover squares can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator.

                                   Light Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

Serves 10 to 12

Combine in a medium bowl

1 cup graham cracker crumbs 

3 Tablespoons melted butter
Press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan and chill. 

Place the oven rack in the middle of the oven.

Preheat the oven to 325º F

Place in a medium bowl 

15 ounces light ricotta cheese 

1/2 Cup light sour cream 

1/2 Cup sugar 

3 large egg yolks

2 Tablespoons flour 

1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon rind 

Beat until well blended.

Place in a large mixer bowl 

3 large egg whites

Beat egg whites until stiff.

Using a spatula, push the beaten whites to one side.

Pour the cheese mixture into the empty space next to the beaten whites.

Fold in the beaten whites just enough to combine. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Pour into prepared springform pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

A knife inserted between edge and middle should come out clean, while the middle will quiver a tiny bit.

Remove from oven and run a knife all around the inside edge of the pan. 

Place pan on a rack and let cool to room temperature. 

Cover and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.

Serve garnished with, or without, fresh fruit

The leftover cheesecake can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator.

Here are a few more cheesecake recipes:

Carmela Soprano's La Pastiera

Carmela Soprano's Cassata / Iced Sponge Cake with Ricotta Filling

Carmela Soprano's La Pastiera - Easter Ricotta Pie, Italian Style

Carmela Soprano's New Jersey Cheesecake recipe / Graham Wafer Crust

Carmela Soprano's Pasticiotti / Tartlets with Vanilla Cream Filling

Carmela Soprano's Pizza Rustica recipe / Pizza Gaina 

Carmela Soprano's Ricotta Cheesecake / Uses for Ricotta

Carmela Soprano's Ricotta - Pineapple Pie (Cheesecake)

The 1960s Co-Op Refrigerator Cheesecake

Lindy's Cheesecake with Red Cherry Glaze, New York Style Cheesecake

Sweetened Condensed Milk Cheesecake, with and without fruit 

Anna Sultana's Qassatat ta I-Irkotta (Small ricotta pie, Maltese Style)

About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

August 23 – The Moon is at apogee at 7:11 a.m., meaning it’s farthest away from Earth in its orbit. An easy way to remember: Apogee “A” = Away

August 24 – Set your alarms for 90 minutes before sunrise to see an unobstructed view of Mercury along the horizon.

August 26 – August’s full Sturgeon Moon at 7:56 a.m.  In this phase the visible Moon is fully illuminated by direct sunlight. Although the Moon is only technically in this phase for a few seconds, it is considered full for the entire day of the event and appears full for three days.

August 27 & 28 – The Moon is now in a waning gibbous phase following a full Moon, so a daytime view is visible after sunrise the 27th in the eastern sky, and in the western sky on the 28th.

August 29 – Orion the Hunter rises before dawn and can be seen by the three stars that make up Orion’s belt. See if you can also spot the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, a.k.a., the Dog Star.

Anna Sultana’s Sweet Heart Pound Cake for Mother’s Day

The weather’s been so odd lately.

Guess what - Mother’s Day is this weekend.

You’ve been reminded.

A light cake goes well with anything, whether it's a formal meal or a barbecue.

Speaking of Mothers and cake, I just remembered a cake that Ma surprised us with one Spring day.

She told us that the clipping said that it had a sweet tart flavour.

I forget who started it, but we started to tease her about making a sweet heart cake.

Well, you know how family jokes go… from then on we called it Ma’s Sweet Heart Cake.

And we enjoyed it every time she made it.

Actually, that name suits it.

It’s delicious and uses up whatever you have in your fruit bowl.

In my book, anything that is that accommodating is a sweet heart of a recipe.

Hints:

You can line a greased regular loaf pan with parchment paper leaving about a 2 inch overhang on the sides, so that you can remove it easily.

This is a cake that is open to suggestions.

You can use 1 Tablespoon each of your favourite three from the following: orange zest, lemon zest, lime zest and grapefruit zest, finely grated, instead of 3 Tablespoons of just one type of zest.

Or you can use half and half, or two to one. Your choice. It’s your cake.

Zest is a handy thing to have. You can wrap zest in plastic wrap or aluminum.

You can also place it in a small freezable bag or container.

It stays good up to a month.

Instead of the orange or lemon extract you can use 2 Tablespoons of any citrus juice or vanilla extract in the cake.

You can also top the cake with a Simple Syrup:

Place in a heatproof measuring cup or bowl

3  Tablespoons water

Heat water in a microwave until hot. 

Add 

1/4 Cup sugar

Stir to dissolve. 

Stir in 

1  Tablespoon lime juice

1  Tablespoon lime zest, finely grated

Allow simple syrup to cool to room temperature. 

Brush the simple syrup over the completely cooled cake. 

Let the simple syrup soak into the cake before serving, at least 15 minutes.

About the syrup… 

instead of the lime juice and zest, you can use orange, lemon or grapefruit.

If you’re in a rush, or Mom prefers a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, that works, too.

Like I said: it’s your cake.

Your Mom prefers banana pound cake? No problem. Make

Anna Sultana’s Banana Pound Cake With Caramel Glaze

                                                Sweet Heart Pound Cake

Heavily grease and flour a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan

Sift together in a medium bowl

1 3/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Set aside.

Combine in a small bowl

1/4 Cup sour cream

1  teaspoon orange or lemon extract

3 Tablespoons of orange, lemon, lime or grapefruit zest, finely grated (or see hints)

Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350º F

Place in a large mixer bowl

1 Cup butter

1 Cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar

Beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Add, one at a time, beating well after each addition

4 large eggs

Add half of the dry ingredients into the large mixer bowl.

Blend on low speed until just combined. 

Add in all of the sour cream mixture. Mix until well blended. 

Add in the remaining dry ingredients. Blend just enough to combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Place into the preheated oven. 

Bake for 70 to 75 minutes.

A toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.

Remove from oven and allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. 

Run a knife around, between the cake and the cake pan, to loosen the cake.

Carefully remove the cake from the pan.

Place onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

When cooled, place the cake on a pretty serving platter.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting:

                                                Frosting 

Place in a medium bowl

3 Cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon lemon or orange extract

Add 

1/4 Cup water gradually, beating until the glaze is  smooth.

Spread the frosting over the cake.

Sprinkle over the top

3 Tablespoons of lemon or orange zest, finely grated

About the sky, thanks to the folks at The Farmers' Almanac…

Look to the southeast after dark to see Jupiter, shining at magnitude -2.5 in Libra. The king of the planets reached its opposition to the Sun on May 8th, so it’s up practically all night this month. Jupiter is edging slowly westward toward from the 2½-magnitude star Alpha (α) Librae (Zubenelgenubi) nearby.

May 15 - New Moon, 7:48 a.m. In this phase, the Moon is not illuminated by direct sunlight and is completely invisible to the naked eye.

May 17 - Look to the west-northwest sky at dusk to see the slender crescent Moon, 9-percent illuminated, to the left of the brilliant planet Venus. Venus hangs at practically the same height, moderately low in the west-northwest during twilight all through the month of May.

Cheesecake with Strawberry Glaze from the 1960’s Argo® Cornstarch Box and Mercury Retrograde

Tax time AND Friday the 13th? Sheesh!!

I don’t know if today’s being Friday the 13th is as bad as when Mercury is in retrograde, but it does spook some people.

Some people do stress out for one or for the other or for both.

And wouldn’t you know it, Mercury is in retrograde until April 15th this year.

So, when they come together during tax time it seems to me that it’s time to do whatever you need to do to calm yourself.

A slice of cheesecake works for me.

I recently posted a recipe for a ricotta cheesecake - Ricotta and Cream Cheese Pie.

A reader asked if I had the recipe for the cheesecake recipe that used to be printed on the Argo® cornstarch box, from back in the 60s when it came in a cardboard box. 

Of course I do. Ma made it, so it’s an old favourite.

It’s amazing how many different cheesecake recipes there are in the world.

This recipe uses small curd cottage cheese instead of ricotta.

The texture is a little different since the curds add a bit of bite to the filling.

That can be fixed (see Hints), if the lumps bother you.

If they don’t, make a cheesecake, have a slice and relax a bit.

After eating a slice please get back to your taxes.

Mercury retrograde doesn’t work as an excuse with the tax folks.

Trust me.

Hints:

On the box it said about the cottager cheese: 

“Use as dry a cream style variety as possible.” 

It also said: “Sieve cottage cheese into large mixing bowl.”

You can also put the cottage cheese in a blender and blend until it is as smooth as you want it to be.

This recipe can also be made in an angel food cake pan, preferable with a springform pan bottom.

The cake will rise above the pan, then settle back down. 

This cake has been known to get cracks on top.

Some people put a pan of water next to, or on the rack below, the cheesecake. Others wrap the springform pan with foil and then put the cheesecake pan in the pan of water.

But sometimes the cake will crack on top, even with a pan of water placed in the oven.

No big problem. It’s still delicious.

About slicing cheesecake…

I’ve heard of people slicing the cake with unflavoured dental floss. Really. 

They just stretch a longish piece of floss across the cake, hold it tight, and bring it down. Then they let go of one end and pull the floss through to cut the cake in half.

Then they turn the cake, and repeat as needed for the number of slices they want.

I think most folks just use a big knife or pie server. 

I know I do.

The cheesecake can be frozen whole or in slices. 

                        Cheesecake

Serves 12

Preheat oven to 325º F

Grease a 9 inch springform pan

Dust with 

2 Tablespoons graham cracker crumbs

Set aside.

Sieve in large mixing bowl

2 Cups small curd cottage cheese

Add

2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

Beat at high speed until well blended and creamy. 

Beating at high speed, blend in

1 1/2 Cups sugar

4 eggs, slightly beaten

Reduce speed to low.

Add 

1/3 Cup Argo® corn starch

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat until blended. 

Add 

1/2 Cup margarine, melted

2 Cups sour cream 

Blend with low speed.

Pour mixture into prepared pan. 

Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until firm around edges. 

Turn the oven off. Let the cake stand in the oven for 2 hours. 

Remove the pan from the oven, and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Chill overnight for best results. 

Remove sides of pan and serve plain, or with your favourite fruit topping.

While you have the box of Argo® Corn Starch out you can make

                        Strawberry Glaze

Place in a saucepan

1 Tablespoon Argo® Corn Starch

1/4 Cup water

1/3 Cup Karo® Light Corn Syrup

Stir together.

Add 

1/4 Cup crushed fresh or frozen strawberries, peaches or blueberries

Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 1 minute. Strain. 

Stir in 

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Cool slightly.

Drizzle glaze over cake and top with fresh fruit just before serving.