Lemon Cheesecake with Fresh Blueberries

A short, and sweet entry today! This was made for a June Birthday, and I knew it had to be something that can also celebrate summer. What is better than fresh fruit? Although I had to buy these berries from the grocery store I cannot wait for the ones in my garden to ripen! We have so many, and I'm very happy about that. Last year we barely had any! It was very odd! Anyways! This cheesecake is incredibly rich, smooth, and zesty. The white chocolate ganache and whipped cream adds a whole new dimension as well. Feel free to swap blueberries for any other fruit if desired. Strawberries are perfect for Canada Day, but I would swap the lemon zest for orange.

Lemon Cheesecake with Blueberries
serves at least 12

1 cup crushed Dad's cookies or graham crackers
1/2 cup sliced almonds, crushed
1/4 cup melted butter.

Mix together the crumbs, crushed almonds and butter. Spread into a 9 inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees F. Cool to room temperature.

24 ounces cream cheese, soft to room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream *optional, but I find it makes it smoother
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 eggs
zest of one lemon

Decrease oven temperature to 325 degrees F

Wrap tinfoil around the springform pan, coming 2 inches up the sides. Place in a larger pan with high sides. I use a jelly roll pan.

In a large bowl beat the cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add the sugar and beat on medium-low speed for 5 minutes! Yes this may seem odd, but it dissolves the sugar and makes the filling incredibly smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl (after every addition). Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed until just combined. Do not over mix! Scrape down one last time, and add lemon zest.

Pour the mixture into the pan, and smooth out the tops completely. By doing so it won't crack as much if you were to skip this step. Place the pan in the oven and pour in enough water to come up a little bit of the sides of the cheesecake. Bake for 50-60 minutes.

Cool completely to room temperature, then refrigerate over night.

For decorating I melted white chocolate, and spread it across the top of the cake using an offset spatula.

Whip 1 cup whipping cream with a couple tbsp of powdered sugar, and pipe rosettes across the top of the cake in a circle. Pipe tiny stars in the middle, and fill with blueberries. Garnish the rosettes with berries and a little shredded coconut if desired!

Thanks for reading! Happy Summer!

No-Churn Raspberry Cheesecake Icecream Cupcakes

It is the second day of summer! How amazing is that! It feels wonderful to have sunshine, and warm weather. To celebrate I wanted to make one of my most favorite desserts, or snacks. Ice-cream! I have tried making it before in a ice-cream maker. You know the ones with the handles that you have to crank until your arm practically falls off? Well yeah, after that I wasn't too eager to make it again. Lets just say that ice-cream was only good enough to go into milkshakes drenched with chocolate syrup... Anyways! I first saw this recipe back in December. That isn't exactly ice-cream season, so I didn't make it. But I never forgot about it! Recently I made some coconut macaroons that only required a little bit of sweetened condensed milk, so I had some leftover. That was not going to waste! At 4.25 it had to get me another recipe! So I went out, and bought some whipping cream, mixed it all together, and voila! Deliciousness.

These colours are even perfect for Canada Day :)

No-Churn Raspberry Cheesecake Icecream Cups.
Makes 6, easily doubled to make 12.

Line 6 cups in muffin tray with LARGE liners.

100 grams cream cheese (cold!) - 1/2 a block
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream
ripe raspberries
white belgium chocolate chips

In your stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides. Slowly add the sweetened condensed milk while on medium speed. Scrape down the sides. Add the vanilla extract and whipping cream. Switch to the WHISK attachment and whip until medium stiff pikes form. The mixture shouldn't slide away when lifted. Fold in some belgium chocolate chips. (As many as you desire!) I did about 1/3 cup.

Using an icecream scoop (1/4 cup) place 1 scoop of the mixture in each cup.
Mush the raspberries and spread across the top. I did one raspberry per cup. Swirl with a toothpick. Add another scoop of batter ontop of that. Repeat with raspberries. Freeze at least 6 hours! It may be a good idea to let them thaw slightly before eating :)

ENJOY!!!! and happy summer!


Adapted From: Kitchen Simplicity

Banana Muffins! First taste of summer

What a lovely day! The weather was a little bi-polar, but that's to be expected of spring. Okay, maybe not June. Usually by now I can wear shorts to school; not jeans and sweaters like last week... Anyways! I don't really mind a little sprinkle now and then.

To celebrate Spring I wanted to bake something nice and fresh. Although I made my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie last week, it was time for something a little more convenient, something that could be eaten on the go.... A MUFFIN! Just to my luck we had some lovely ripe bananas sitting in our fruit dish. I used my grandma's banana bread recipe, folded in some chocolate chips for my brother, and baked them in muffin tins. They are soft, with a full banana-y taste.

Banana-y? Yes that is a word...
They are one of my favorites! They are made in the same bowl with just a few ingredients. No spices, extracts in this recipe. Just bold banana flavor.

I included some pictures of flowers that are growing in our garden right now :)

Banana Muffins
18 muffins

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 bananas, ripe
chocolate chips (optional)

Pre-heat oven 375 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease lightly.

In a large bowl beat the margarine until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until fully mixed. Add both the eggs and beat until incorperated. Add the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Mix until just combined. Add the bananas and beat until batter is smooth. It's okay to have a couple banana chunks. Easy as that!

Using a muffin scoop (1/4 cup) fill 12 muffin sections. Stir some chocolate chips into the remaining batter if desired. Bake in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on racks for a couple minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Enjoy!!! Smartie cookie icecream sandwiches tomorrow...