Zoinks. I feel like I’ve started most of my blog posts of late by saying:
Can you believe it’s ___________?
Well, I’ll spare us all the silly platitude today because I don’t want to risk becoming redundant or God forbid, you should begin to consistently skim my first paragraphs. That would be awful. HA. As you might have noticed, I’ve been on a slow and weak decrease lately when it comes to blogging. Not for lack of writing drive but simply because I can’t find the time! Frankly, I miss you quite a bit on days when I fail to write, or share images from my life so I’ll buck up and get back on the wagon. Ok? Ok.
Details from the weekend are as follow:
I did an enormous amount of domestic goddessing. As you know, I am an exponent of baking and cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients. Dinner on Sunday consisted of gorgeous tilapia fillets baked in lemon, garlic and white wine sauce; bedded on an al dente patch of fettuccine, asparagus and button mushrooms. For dessert I made the raspberry cheesecake you see above. If you’d like your own little slice of heaven, follow these directions:
I like to make a traditional zwieback crust for this cake which I tend to bake in a spring pan. Also, I don’t actually use zwieback, I use graham crackers but I really like saying zwieback so i pretend it’s what I’m using just so I can say the word over and over again.
Zwieback Crust:
Blend 1 1/2 cups of zwieback until the substance is quite fine
Stir the crumbs with
1/4 cup of icing sugar (or confectioners sugar as the Americans like to say)
6tbsp of melted butter (please use the real thing and not margarine)
Pat the crust into the spring pan to the desired thickness and then pop it in the fridge or freezer to chill.
Next we make the cheesecake filling. I used a sour cream cheesecake recipe which turns out gorgeously. Whilst the crust is chilling I like to preheat the oven to about 375F.
I mix together, very well:
2 beaten eggs
3/4 pound of cream cheese (if you’re watching the circumference of your thighs, you can use a lovely Neufchatel cheese which boasts 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese and tastes just as well, in my humble opinion)
1/2 cup of sugar
1tsp lemon juice OR 1/2tsp vanilla
1/2tsp salt
Pour this mixture on top of the chilled zwieback crust and then bake it for about 25 minutes. Upon removal from the oven, dust the top with cinnamon and let it cool to room temperature.
Once this layer has cooled, heat the oven to 425F and whip up your second layer for the cake:
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
2tbsp sugar
1/2tsp vanilla
1/8tsp salt
Blend it all smoothly and pour this on top of the first cheesecake layer. pop it in the oven for about 8 minutes so that it glazes nicely. When you remove it from the oven let it cool to room temperature again before chilling it in the fridge for 6 to 12 hours.
Ok. My twist on this recipe is that I like to make a raspberry sauce for the top of the cake. It’s really simple. I whip fruit sauces up all the time to top ice creams or to put between cake layers. The fresher the fruit the better, of course but on the weekend, I used frozen raspberries I purchased at the farmer’s market in the summer.
My raspberry sauce:
3 cups of raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
1tsp lemon juice
Throw these ingredients in a saucepan and heat it up. Once the berries are broken down, I like to add one table spoon of flour to thicken the sauce up a bit — not so important if you’re pouring the sauce over ice cream but I want the sauce to sit thick on the surface of the cheesecake. Once it has thickened, let it cool and pour it on top of the cake before you serve it.
Easy peasy.
Besides the cheesecake, I baked bread, cleaned half the floors in the house, eradicated a schwack of kitchen junk, planted tulips, washed a few loads of laundry and did a 5 mile run and a 9 mile run…I’d sometimes like to do something thrilling that takes me out of my home every single weekend, but I ignore so much house work during the week that the weekend is really the best time to round up the dust bunnies.
Now, onto the business at hand:
These are some of the jewels I’ll be listing in the Etsy shop today. The stones I used are: Picasso jasper, turquoise, imperial jasper, Montana agate, green quartz, fresh water pearls, Burro Creek jasper, Willow Creek jasper, purple chalcedony and enameled copper! Ring sizes range from US size 6 to 11. I’m quite entranced by a number of these beauties and can hardly wait to see where I ship them off to!
I’m off to properly photograph everything and should begin listing around noon! See you then chickadees!
XO
Plume
This American says "powdered sugar." Maybe that's a midwestern term? Emily?
I still ask for things in shops and restaurants here and just receive funny looks sometimes. Can't teach an old dog new words apparently.
Such a beautiful handful of plumage!
…oh how…IMPRESSIVE plume…everybody here… too…was running&RUNNING&running…but mE…it was quite a marathon of the spirited/gifted souls/soles… tee hee…
Wowzers lady you have been BUSY!
Oh how I want to "kiess" you! Kiess being my word verification for this reply…but the new jewels are lovely!
Happy Tuesday! Go out and vote! or eat cupcakes…
I do all my goddessing in my head so I am incredibly impressed, like super duper impressed. Happy Tuesday!
zweiback – that is fun to say, may be my new favorite word, thanks!
Oh my, I cannot wait to watch your shop update unfold like fireworks on the Fourth of July, all of the color,contour,texture,and silvery shimmer! Looks like your time off served you well.
This is my mother's cheesecake recipe, and the only one I have used for years. I try others but always come back to this one. So…believe me, you are all going to LOVE it. Sometimes, I even cover it with a thin chocolate layer:)
Mmm, I do love icing sugar (says this Canuck).
^_^
Wowzer-what a pile of sparklers!!
*mouth droooooooooooling*
yumm cheesecake. and a 9 mile run? that pretty impressive.
Truly flabbergasted by your work today, lady-bird. The Inheritance Necklace took my breath away. In fact, I was so stunned I nearly forgot to hide my internet window as people passed behind me. (I'm sneaking Plume Updates from work)
Anyway, will definitely be trying your cheeeeeesecake recipe. I just finished my last batch of Pumpkin Cranberry bread and I'm feeling the withdrawal of baked goods.
Will you be posting piccies of you Halloween costumes? I'm curious what you managed to pull out of the bag! Take care and have a great evening!
<3 Marina
You have made my day!in between the serious work , little flutters of excitement as you listed each new creation, total fun for me hopefully you had a wonderful day too!I shall enjoy the paper lantern earrings forever ( or at least as long as this Earth suit lasts ) And will give them to my beautiful daughter so their sweet energy will continue to live on as I transition to starlight. Light and love , Laura
I reallt want to see your Hallowe'en costumes fairly badly little miss!
wow. those are lots of steps to that recipe.
That's a serious shop update full of kaleidescopic amazing gorgeousness …. whoa missy! It's incredible. My socks are knocked off. Seriously. They flew off sometime around 1:30 pm, and I haven't been able to find them since. You owe me one pair of socks lady!!
xo
that cake looks *gorgeous*. your domesticity is putting my meager pumpkin bar-ing to shame. 🙂
Early bird gets the Plume! I couldn't get to my computer till this afternoon and !WOW! It was there and gone! Beautiful to look at, if not not hold! Thanks for the delish eye candy and cheesecake!
My pleasure:)