No-Bake Cheesecake-this one’s with Wild Blueberries and Cranberries

June was a month of cakes and bakes for me and rightly so since, June is also the Birthday month for A-who is blessed with an eternal sweet tooth! It is surprising to see someone loving sweets to the extent that he does, especially for someone like me who is not at all fond of sweets except maybe chocolates or an occasional ice-cream. (Surprisingly A doesn’t like chocolates! Opposites attract I guess 🙂 )

After we got married I would be amazed to see him eat Kheer or similar Indian sweets for breakfast. I am someone who cannot have even jam on my bread to start the day with; Maybe later in the day but no sweets to start my day !
And I almost envy the fact that even after indulging in so many sweet treats every day he hardly puts on excess weight! I balance for that even without as much as smelling the sweets!

Ok so back to the No-bake Cheesecake. For his birthday I had to make something, as I mentioned earlier, without chocolate in it. With the 6+ hrs. random Power cuts it was only sensible to not bake a cake. I bought some Cream Cheese and dried Blueberries from Mumbai when I went there shopping for my son’s birthday.
A GSE guest from Maine  had gifted us a lovely bottle of Wild Maine Blueberry jam and I had secured it for a long time, to be used for a special occasion. A’s birthday was the perfect occasion and so I made this No-bake Blueberry-Cranberry cheesecake specially for him.

I loved this recipe for the crust where the base of the cheese cake was made using Pecans and Maple syrup, both of which I had.
For the cheese cake filling I adapted this recipe from Epicurious flavoring it with a Cranberry -Blueberry spread.
I made a dried Wild Blueberry – Cranberry compote of sorts, spiced with a little cinnamon for the topping once the cheesecake had set.
The end result was an incredibly zesty cheesecake. The tart cherries complimented the sweetness of the cheesecake fabulously.

Here’s the recipe:
For the Maple Pecan Crust:
~12-15 Digestive biscuits, crushed to crumbs (I used Britannia Nutrichoice)
¼ cup pecans ground
2tbsps Maple syrup
For the filling:
2-8 ounce packets Philadelphia Cream Cheese (I used Kraft’s)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
~1/2 cup sugar (or to taste)
3tbsps Cranberry with Blueberyy fruit spread
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
For the Berry compote for topping:
½ cup dried Wild Blueberries
½ cup dried cranberries
~4-5 tbsps Wild Maine Blueberry Jam
A pinch of Cinnamon powder

Method:

For the Base/crust:
Mix the crumbs, Pecan powder and maple syrup.
Cover the bottom of a 9” spring form pan with silver foil (I found that the cheese cake could be removed easily from the base this way)
Press the crumb mixture evenly into the base of the spring-form pan
Refrigerate till you make the filling.
For the filling:
Sprinkle gelatine evenly over the water in a small pan to soften. Keep it for~8-10 minutes
Stir on low heat till the Gelatine dissolves completely. Keep aside.
Blend cream cheese, cream and sugar with a hand blender until smooth
Add the berry spread and blend.
Add the dissolved gelatine and blend well.
Pour the filling over the base crust.
Chill overnight till firm in the centre and sides.
For the berry topping:
Heat the jam in a small saucepan over low flame. Add the dried berries and Cinnamon powder and mix nicely to coat.
Cool and pour over the chilled Cheesecake.
Chill for 1-2 more hrs further.

Run a knife along the sides of the cheese cake. Unlock the spring and gently slide out the pan over the cake.
Slice and serve (optionally with whipped cream)

Jammy Buns

I have been intending to try out this particular recipe for a long time. Lack of time is a major factor that has constrained me from doing so. When Nandita announced ‘Baking for Breakfast’ as the theme for WBB#7 I decided to finally make it.Thanks Nandita for that .Baking is one culinary activity I plan to take up regularly. I am still at the trial stage. That is I still try my baked recipes on others! Thanks to food blogging and events like this I can hone my baking skill! I found this recipe in a lovely book ‘Baking- Simple cookery’, a collection of recipes by a team of experts. (No names on the book)  

 I had most of the ingredients – Wheat flour and Cranberries were the ingredients that tempted me to try out this recipe! And I found it to be very simple for a novice baker like me.

Delicious and crispy Jammy Buns for WBB #7 hosted by the versatile Nandita.   

For 12 Jammy buns

175 g Plain flour (2 cups)

175 g Wheat flour(2 cups)

2 tsp baking powder

150 g butter

125 g caster sugar

50 g dried cranberries(I used orange flavoured)

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp milk

4-5 tbsp mixed fruit jam 

The original recipe used golden caster sugar and raspberry jam. I have used white sugar and mixed fruit jam instead.  Preheat oven to 190 oC/ 375oF 10 minutes before baking. Lightly oil a baking sheet.Sift the flours along with the baking powder into a bowl.Cut the butter into small pieces. Rub the butter into the flours untill it resembles coarse breadcrumbs.Stir in the sugar and cranberries.Stir in the beaten egg and milk.Mix to form a firm dough. Divide the mixture into 12 and roll into balls.Place the dough balls on the baking tray, leaving enough space for expansion. Press the thumb into the centre of each ball making a small hollow. Spoon a little jam in each hollow. Pinch lightly to seal the tops. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. 

Jammy Buns were delicious and turned out to be good for a first attempt. You have to excuse a little rocky shape for my crisp buns since my little one helped me do it. He was down with a severe bout of Dysentry and I had to entertain him!!

Marble cake with Cranberries

      

Some very good reasons prompted me to make this cake:

#- I found dried Orange flavoured Cranberries in the supermarket here. I had never tasted Cranberries before. Many people here don’t even know what are Cranberries. I was one of them! But I am very experimentive with my cooking and hence grabbed the packets of Dried Cranberries as soon as I saw them. ( that too at an offer I couldn’t resist1 pk. Free with the other! J)  

#- My niece turns three this week and came down from Mumbai to visit us this weekend. I wanted to bake a cake for her b’day – celebrating in advance. Kids generally like Chocolate flavoured cakes.

#-I had baked a plain Marble cake 2 years ago with one of my very good friend, Deepa’s recipe. My hubby kept on asking me to bake it again (that’s his way of appreciating my food!) But I never got around making it till now!

 Dried Cranberries, Chocolate Flavour and hubby’s request all put into one I baked – Marble cake with Cranberries.

(I have lost Deepa’s Marble Cake recipe which I scribbled on a piece of paper. So I just added the ingredients in proportions I faintly recalled J)

250 gm Maida (All purpose flour)

250 gm powdered sugar

250 gm butter (I used Amul)

4 eggs

½ tsp baking powder

3-4 drops Vanilla essence

2 tsp Cocoa powder

1tbsp Milk

¾ cup dried Orange flavoured Cranberries

Sieve Maida and baking powder together. Keep it aside. In a bowl cream the sugar and butter. Beat it in one direction using a cake spatula till light and fluffy. Beat eggs (just 1 spin in the mixer).Add some beaten eggs to the sugar-butter mixture and mix properly. Repeat till all the beaten eggs are mixed properly with the sugar butter mixture. Fold in some sieved Maida and baking powder mix. Repeat for the rest of the Maida. Add milk. The mixture should be of dropping consistency. Adjust the amount of milk accordingly.Add Vanilla essence and mix properly.Add the dried Cranberries and mix. Divide the mixture into two. Keep one portion as it is. To the other half add Cocoa powder and mix well. Grease a round (any shape will do) baking pan, dust it with Maida.Alternatively put 1 spoon of the Vanilla and Cocoa mixture in the pan.Bake it in a preheated oven at 180^oC for about 35-40 minutes or till a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean.Cool on a wire rack.

   

I had three little helpers with me aged :3 yrs, 16 months and 10 months!They could hardly wait to cut the cake. So there was no chance of a photograph before the cake was cut!My little niece has cut this cake and mami’s(aunty’s) Marble Cake with Cranberries was a hit with her.

Have to bake it again next weekend for my dear hubby since he could get only a piece of it-indication that the cake came out really well!