Just an Old Fashioned Cheese Cake {Recipe: Cheese Cake}

This recipe comes from my husband's grandmother. It is the only recipe we have of hers. The recipe is written as a "Cheese Cake" as opposed to cheesecake. It is very different from the cheesecakes I grew up with. Until I tried this cake, I had only had cheesecake made with cream cheese. This recipe uses pot cheese or farmer cheese. This cheese gives the cake a very different texture. 

My mother-in-law gave me a handwritten and illustrated cookbook of family recipes which I treasure. This recipe is included in the book. Because it is the only recipe we have from my husband's grandmother, I want to preserve it here as well. 

This recipe is good, but after making it, I will likely make a few changes to suit our tastes. Mainly, I will cut down on the sugar next time, maybe to 1 cup. In addition, I think lemon zest from 1 lemon would be good in this. My husband's family always served it plain, but I think berries are a must. As shown, I topped it with a bit of blackberry compote and fresh berries. 

Cheese Cake

This recipe is written as my mother-in-law wrote it. The italicized notations I made are to clarify and modify slightly. 

Ingredients

6 eggs

2 cups sugar

little salt (I used 1/4 teaspoon)

1-1/2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons vanilla 

2 pounds pot cheese* 

1 pint sour cream

Beat eggs, add sugar, salt, and cornstarch. Add cheese, sour cream, and vanilla. Pour into a buttered spring mold** and bake at about a 250ºF until done. Test by inserting a silver knife in the center of the cake. It will take about 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours.***Turn off hear and let cake remain in oven for another hour. Remove and allow to cool. Baking time is tricky, you may have to bake it longer. The recipe does not state this, but, after cooling, it should be refrigerated for a few hours or overnight before serving. 

*Pot cheese is difficult to find. Farmer cheese can be used instead. It should be put through a foley mill. (If you don't have a foley mill, I would think putting it in a food processor would work. The cheese can be used as is, but the cake would have more texture to it). 

**I lined the pan with parchment. 

***This cake took over 4 hours to bake before I turned the oven off for the additional hour. It took this long for the cake to set. After doing a little research, apparently this is okay. Cooking a cheesecake low and slow can prevent cracking. It didn't have any cracks!

This is the note my mother-in-law wrote at the bottom of the recipe:

"This is a heavy old fashioned cheese cake but good"

Enjoy!

Discontinued? No Problem {Recipe: Bakery Style Honey-Glazed Bran Muffins}

Our local donut shop used to make the best honey bran muffins, but discontinued making them. They were one of my favorites, so I decided to figure out how to make them at home. They are not exactly like the muffins from the donut shop, but they are really good and will satisfy any cravings for them!

Bakery Style Honey-Glazed Bran Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour or unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup oat bran or wheat bran

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon molasses

Honey Glaze:

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

6 tablespoons slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Coat the wells of a large (6 well) muffin tin with non-stick baking spray; set aside. In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, bran, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg; set aside. In another medium size bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, oil, honey, and molasses. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir until well combined, but be careful not to over mix. 

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the ingredients for the honey glaze, except for the almonds. Distribute the glaze between the muffin wells. Sprinkle a tablespoon of slivered almonds on top of the glaze. Divide the muffin batter on top of the glaze and almonds. 

Place the prepared muffin on baking sheet to catch any glaze that may cook over.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. 

Once the muffins are removed from the oven, loosen around each muffin with a knife (be careful of any baked over glaze, it is HOT!). Place a parchment lined baking sheet or cooling rack* on top of the muffins and careful flip over. The should come right out. If not, tapping the bottom of the muffin tin should help. Remove the muffin tin and if there are any remaining glaze or almonds, scoop them out and put on top of the muffins.  

*The parchment is for easier clean-up. The honey glaze becomes caramelized in the oven and can be hard to remove.

Makes 6 large muffins. 

Note: This recipe would work with a standard 12-well muffin tin, but reduce the baking time to 15-20 minutes. 

Enjoy