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Tangerine Cheesecake

Crust
1 cup flour, unsifted
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon tangerine rind, grated
1/2 cup butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix flour, sugar and grated tangerine rind in bowl. Add butter, egg yolk and vanilla extract. Cut in with pastry blender and then knead with fingers until smooth. Pat 1/3 of dough over bottom of 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake for 5 minutes or until golden. Cool. Pat remaining dough evenly around sides to 1/2 inch from top.

Filling
40 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon tangerine rind, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4 cup tangerine juice

Place cream cheese in large bowl of electric mixer and beat at low speed until smooth and creamy. Mix together sugar, flour, grated tangerine rind and salt. Gradually beat in to cream cheese, continuing to use low speed. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, one at a time. Blend in tangerine juice. Pour into prepared pan. Place aluminum foil under pan on oven rack and bake in 400 degree F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until crust browns lightly.

Reduce heat to 225 degrees F and bake 1 hour and 20 minutes longer. Cool slowly (do not put in cold place) and then refrigerate.

Tangerine Topping
2/3 cup ground tangerines, seeds
    removed before grinding
1 cup granulated sugar

To grind tangerines, cut into pieces and remove seeds. Put through medium blade of food chopper or grind in an electric blender. Measure and place in saucepan. Add sugar. Stir over moderate heat until sugar dissolves. Cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick like marmalade, 20 to 30 minutes.

Cool and spoon over top of cheesecake before serving.

Serves 12.

Flourless Chocolate Torte

A treasured family recipe for Passover chocolate-apple torte, updated to be lower in fat and still incredibly rich-tasting.

8 servings

Active Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup matzo meal
• 1/3 cup walnuts
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup grated peeled apple, preferably Delicious
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 8 large egg whites, at room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine matzo meal and walnuts in a food processor; process until nuts are finely chopped. Spread on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Let cool.
3. Whisk eggs, 3/4 cup sugar and vanilla in a large bowl until blended. Stir in the matzo mixture, apple, cocoa and chocolate.
4. Beat egg whites and salt in large, clean bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining 1/2 cup sugar 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating until glossy and stiff peaks form.
5. Stir one-quarter of the beaten whites into the batter. Gently fold in remaining whites with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into an ungreased 9-inch springform pan, spreading evenly. Tap pan lightly on counter to release air bubbles.
6. Bake torte until top springs back when touched lightly and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. With a knife, loosen edges of torte. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. (Torte will sink in center.)
7. Remove pan sides and place torte on a serving platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 261 calories; 6 g fat (2 g sat, 1 g mono); 53 mg cholesterol; 47 g carbohydrates; 7 g protein; 2 g fiber; 220 mg sodium; 129 mg potassium.

3 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1/2 starch, 2 1/2 other carbohydrate, 1 fat

Key Lime Meringue Cake

A cake with a meringue? Though not unheard of, this one is definitely a flight of fancy, a cakey version of Key lime pie.

12 servings

Active Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 1/2 hours

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature (see Cake-Baking Tips)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest, preferably Key lime (see Ingredient notes)
• 3 tablespoons almond oil, or canola oil

LIME FILLING

• 1 14-ounce can nonfat sweetened condensed milk, (not evaporated milk)
• 1/3 cup lime juice, preferably Key lime
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest, preferably Key lime

MERINGUE

• 2 large egg whites, at room temperature, or equivalent dried egg whites, reconstituted according to package directions (see Ingredient notes)
• 1/4 cup sugar

• PREPARATION

  1. To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray with flour (see Tip); alternatively, coat the pans with regular cooking spray, line them with parchment paper and spray the paper.
  2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and salt in a medium bowl.
  3. Beat 4 eggs and 2/3 cup sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until pale yellow and doubled in volume, 5 to 10 minutes. Beat in vanilla and 1 teaspoon lime zest.
  4. With a rubber spatula, gently fold almond (or canola) oil into the egg mixture, using long, even strokes, until just incorporated. Add the flour mixture; gently stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter between the pans; spread to the edges and gently rap the pans against the counter once or twice to settle the batter.
  5. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the layers onto the rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, if using, and let cool completely, about 45 minutes.
  6. To prepare lime filling: Whisk condensed milk, lime juice and 1 teaspoon lime zest in a medium bowl until combined. Refrigerate until thickened, at least 30 minutes or overnight.
  7. To prepare meringue: Beat egg whites in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 1/4 cup sugar in a slow, steady stream. Continue beating until stiff peaks form.
  8. Position oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source; preheat broiler. Transfer one layer, bottom-side down, to a large baking sheet. Spread the meringue on top of the cake, creating decorative peaks and valleys in the meringue with a rubber spatula. Broil until lightly browned, watching carefully to prevent burning, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  9. To assemble cake: Place the plain layer, top-side down, on a serving plate; spread the lime filling on top. Cover with the meringue-topped layer.

  TIPS & NOTES

  • Make Ahead Tip: Wrap the cake layers in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 1 day. Cover and refrigerate the lime filling for up to 1 day. Prepare meringue and assemble the cake just before serving.
  • Cake-Baking Tips:
  • When using cake pans, they must be greased and floured to create a thin layer of protection against the oven's heat. For greater convenience, use a cooking spray that has flour in the mix, such as Pam for Baking, Baker's Joy or Crisco No-Stick Flour Spray.
  • Whole-wheat pastry flour has less gluten-forming potential than regular whole-wheat flour, making it a better choice for tender baked goods.
  • To properly measure flour when baking, use a spoon to lightly scoop flour from its container into a measuring cup. Once in the measuring cup, use a knife or other straight edge to level the flour with the top of the cup. If the measuring cup is dipped directly into the container—a common mistake—the flour will be packed into the cup and result in extra flour being added to the recipe, yielding tough, dense baked goods.
  • Room-temperature butter for a batter is one of the biggest culinary missteps. In fact, butter must be below 68°F to trap air molecules and build structure. Otherwise, the fat will be liquefied and the cake will be flat. To get “cool” butter: Cut refrigerated butter into chunks and let them sit in a bowl for 5 minutes before beating.
  • Eggs must be at room temperature for the proteins to unwind enough to support the cake's crumb. Either set the eggs out on the counter for 15 minutes or submerge them in their shells in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.
  • Although you cannot overbeat the eggs, sugar and butter, you can overbeat the flour. If you do, you'll develop the gluten and create a quick bread rather than a layer cake. Beat the flour just until there are no white grains of undissolved flour visible but not until the batter is smooth.
  • Ingredient notes: Key limes are more fragrant, acidic and juicy than the common Persian lime found in U.S. markets. Look for the small, round limes with yellow-green skin in the specialty-produce section of supermarkets or Latin food markets.
  • Dried egg whites are pasteurized—a wise choice when making an uncooked meringue. They are also convenient when you have no use for leftover yolks. You'll find them in the baking or natural-foods section of most supermarkets.

  NUTRITION

  Per serving: 244 calories; 5 g fat (1 g sat, 3 g mono); 75 mg cholesterol; 43 g carbohydrates; 6 g protein; 1 g fiber; 116 mg sodium; 359 mg potassium.
  3 Carbohydrate Serving
  Exchanges: 3 other carbohydrates, 1 fat