Ricotta and Ground Turkey Quiche

Hey everyone Stephanie here. So the other day became somewhat hectic. I was literally running around all day doing errands and to top it off, I had to somehow do all of that, get to work at 7 P.M. and I didn't get off till almost 2 AM. Then the next day also involved some running around.

Well in all that chaos and it was also crazy outside since everyone has to go do their Thanksgiving shopping, I said to Antoinette, "You know that bariatric ricotta bake you make? What if we get a pie crust, add some ground turkey, omit the red sauce and kind of turn it into a quiche?" She really liked the idea so we bought all the things we needed which was 3 things, and we got to work.

I was actually very surprised and very pleased with how it turned out. It was light and airy and somehow the turkey kind of got a breakfast sausage taste to it. Not as in sweet but it tasted like breakfast at 7 PM. All in all it was simple, tasty and if in a rush, the prep time was quick. I made two one with crust, one without. Both ways was very good.

Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy.

Ricotta and Ground Turkey Quiche

Ingredients: (TT= To taste)

• One pre-made pie crust
• 2 Tbsp Italian seasoning divided
• 8oz of Ricotta cheese
• 1 Cup mozzarella cheese (I use the block and cut it into pieces)
• 1/2 lb ground turkey
• Half an onion, small dice
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 3 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
•  TT Salt and Pepper  

Directions: Preheat oven at 375 degrees F.

1.  In a saute pan, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil. Once its hot, add the onion and garlic and saute for about 30 sec. Add the ground turkey, 1 tbsp of Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and cook all the way through.
2. While the turkey cooks, in a large bowl, add  the ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, italian seasoning, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and 4 eggs. Mix well until everything is incorporates. 
3. Once the turkey is cooked, remove from heat. Dock the pie crust, add some of the turkey, ricotta mix, and some of the mozzarella. Keep layering until pie crust is filled almost to the rim
4. Place in oven and cook for 40 minutes. Crust should be golden brown on top edges.
5. Serve and enjoy.

If you don't want it to the crust follow the same steps but omit the crust. The ricotta mix held everything together pretty well. 

Turkey Empanadas ( Pastelillos de pavo)

Hey everyone Staphanie here. So I decided to dig into my roots the other day and turn a party classic into something more healthy and no as fatty. We normally make empanadas aka pastelillos as a party snack. We fill them with a lot of different things, guava paste and dusted with powder sugar, sauce and mozzarella, ground beef, shredded chicken. You name it we might have done it.

So instead of some of those options, we decided to use lean ground beef, 93% meat, 7% fat. We also added chickpeas into the mix for more protein. No deep frying. Oven baked is the best way.

I have to say I was very happy with the recipe. We also made them with country style pork, bbq and sharp cheddar cheese. Also a good pair.

Well here is the recipe and we hope you enjoy it. Buen probecho!

Ground Turkey Empanadas

(Pastelillos de pavo)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 pack of empanadas disks (10)
• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
• 1 onion, minced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• TT Salt & pepper
• 1 tsp tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of water.
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of mozarella, grated 

Procedure:       Preheat oven to 400°F

1. In a medium saute pan, add the olive oil. Once is hot brown the meat with Onion, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Once cooked, add the chickpease, cook for a minute then add the tomato paste and water. Lower heat a bit and let the water reduce. (If you feel bold, semi sweet white wine goes well with it).
3. Once the meat is cooked, turn off and let it cool some so not to burn yourself when assembling.
4. Once assemble, brush the empanadas with olive out and place on baking pan.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I personally like to cook some spiced with the olive oil before brushing it over the empanadas. It helps the dough not taste so bland. It also helps it taste more as if it was deep fried instead of baked. We all deep fried food who doesn't.

Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho

Hi everyone Stephanie here. How crazy has this summer been? Here in NYC they have said its been one of the hotter  summers they have seen in a while. My grandparents are from Puerto Rico and last time I talked to them, they had a drought and they shut down the water in their town. I believe two days without water. They have a storm going their way so hopefully it does bring rain and no damage what so ever.

We have pretty much been lucky. We are still getting rain and cool mornings until we get hit with the afternoon sun. The weather here has been doing very wonderful things towards people that like to grow their own vegetables. We know someone that got an abundant amount of cucumbers and tomatoes. Now when I say abundant, we have so many cucumbers that we ran out of ways to make them.

So yesterday we decided to have a seafood day and with that the idea of the gazpacho was born (that and the humidity). Salmon, crab legs and shrimp. The shrimp we kept them simple. Salt, lemon pepper and olive oil. After when they were almost cooked through, I added a small amount of butter. Sometimes the simpler the better.

Enough ranting, on to the recipe.

Cucumber Avocado Gazpacho 

(I wanted to call it Cucumado but I figure that might be weird)

* TT= To Taste

Ingredients:

  

•  3 Tbsp of Olive oil
• 1 lb cucumber, peeled and seeded.
• 1/2 onion, small diced
• 3 garlic gloves, minced
• 2 avocados, split in half and pit removed
• 1 C plain yogurt or Greek
• 3 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp fresh dill
• 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• TT Salt & pepper

Garnish:

• 1 lb of shrimp, shelled out and cleaned.
• TT Salt & pepper
• Olive oil to coat shrimp

Instructions:

1.  In a saute pan over medium heat, add 3 Tbsp of olive oil. Once its hot add the onions and cook  for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Lower the heat and slowly cook for another 5 minutes. Turn heat off and let cool a bit.
2.  In a blender, add the cucumbers, avocado, lemon juice, onion and garlic with oil, apple cider and fresh dill. Blend for about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add the yogurt and blend again for about another minute.
3.  Place in a air tight bowl, add as much salt and pepper as desired, cover and let it sit in the fridge for 3 hrs or over night. Serve cold and enjoy. 
4. Cook the shrimp about 3 minutes on each side. 
5. Spoon cold soup into a bowl and garnish with cooked shrimp.

There are endless possibilities of garnishes since the soup has more of a creamy consistency. Maybe make some Pico de gallo or some roasted corn salad to pair with it. Anything acidic or smokey will help.

We hope you enjoy.

Coffee Crumb Cake

Good evening everyone. We recently made this crumb cake recipe and we wanted to share it for all of you hard working folks who don't get a chance to sit down for a hot breakfast meal, just a cup of coffee with one of this babies will keep you full and satisfied until lunch break. Not only is it satisfying, crumb cake has a topping unlike most crumb cakes you've had before. This crumb form a nice crunchy sweet layer that won't fall all over your clothes.

Plain Crumb Cake

Ingredients:

Cake Batter:

• 8oz of soften butter
• 12oz of sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 yolks
• 13oz of all purpose flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 2 fl oz of milk or buttermilk
• 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract
• pint (16oz) of fresh fruit (Optional)

Crumb Topping:

• 10oz All purpose flour
• 2.5oz of granulated sugar
• 2.5oz of light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 6oz of melted butter

It is a very wet crumb, so it is best to pull it apart with your hands and spread it across the cake.

Procedure: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Batter:

1. Butter a half sheet pan and line the bottom with parchment.
2. In a large stand mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar until soft and light, add the eggs one at a time, beating well during each addition. Don't forget to scrape the sides.
3. Sift together the flour and baking soda. Combine the milk and yolks. 
4. Add flour and baking soda mixture alternating it with the milk and yolk mixture. Beginning and ending with the flour. Should not take no more than 3 additions.
5. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. 

Optional: if adding fruits, scatter all over the batter, pressing them in lightly. 

Crumb:

1. Add all dry ingredients together and pour the melted butter over them. 
2. Mix well until it forms a coarse crumb by hand.
3. Scatter on top of batter. 
4. Bake the cake for 40 minutes until batter is firm and crumbs are well colored. 

Optional: Sprinkle powder sugar on top. 

 
 

 

Baked Sweet Potato Donuts.

Hi everyone. We acquired some awesome two new doughnut pan and we have gone into a little bit of a craze. This recipe is one of the most simpler out of all the ones we have tried. We hope you enjoy them as much as we did.

Sweet Potato Donuts

 Ingredients:

-1/4 C Vegetable oil

-1/4 C buttermilk

-3 L eggs

-1 C granulated sugar

-1/2 C brown sugar

-1 1/2 C sweet potato, cooked and mashed.

-1 Tbsp pumpkin spice

- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

- 1 3/4 C + 2 tbsp of all purpose flour

Procedure: Preheat oven at 325 degrees F

1. Combine all dry ingredients together, set aside.
2. Combine all wet ingredients together, set aside.
3. Slowly combine all wet into dry, mixing well, making sure there are no lumps.
4. Scoop batter into a piping bag and fill doughnut pan 2/3 full.
5. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes.

When Donuts are cooled, toss in a bag with cinnamon sugar for some extra sweet and crunch.

Bad bloggers BUT good recipes.

This all started with my clients love for lemon. Most of the times she asks for something with lemons so I figure, why not switch up a recipe instead of scurrying around looking for a recipe that fits her needs. If you have a good recipe base, the possibilities are endless. Like one of my instructors said, know the ratios and everything will fall in place.

This loaf came out amazing with a good flavor, not to tart, but a perfect balance of sweetness, lemon and moisture. I enjoyed a lot how the top caramelized. Looks similar  to a creme brule top.

Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy.

Low Fat Greek Yogurt Lemon Pound Cake

Preheat Oven at 350 degrees F

Ingredients:
-1 ½ C all purpose flour
-2 tbsp  lemon zest
-3 tbsp juice
-1 tsp baking soda
-¾  tsp salt
-¼ tsp baking powder
-1 C sugar
-3 eggs whites
-¼ tsp vanilla extract
-½ tsp lemon extract
-8 oz Greek yogurt
-¼ C 2% Milk
-3 Tbsp oil

Procedure:
1) Coat 8 ½” x ½” loaf pan with cooking spray.
2) Combine flour, lemon zest, baking soda, salt and baking powder; reserve.
3) On medium speed, beat sugar, egg whites, ¼ tsp vanilla extract, ½ tsp lemon extract.
4) Beat in milk, lemon juice and oil until smooth.
5) Gradually add in flour mix until combine; pour into pan.
6) Bake for 50 min or until cake tester comes out clean. 
7) Cool on rack for 15 min. Remove from pan and cool completely.

I'm a terrible blogger ...but have some cream puffs!

As the the title says I'm terrible at blogging ....like really bad. A lot of stuff has gone on is these past few months. Had some serious life changing surgery that I'm still recovering from.  So my baking an bloggering had to be put on hold for awhile...

So anyways here's to a New Year and to better blogging!

A cream puff is a classic little pastry made of a dough called Pate A Choux. It's more of a paste that you use a piping bag to get the form an shapes you desire out of instead of your more bread type doughs.
It's pretty simple to make an  no stand mixer or hand mixer is required in making them. The result is light airy pastry with a neutral taste that can be filled with just about anything you can think of.


Pate A Choux (small batch)

-8 oz of  water
-3 oz of  butter
-1/4 tsp salt
-5 oz of all purpose flour
-5 whole eggs

Instructions(pre heat oven to 425 degrees)

1. Combine water, butter and salt in a large pan over medium heat; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
2. At the boil remove the pan from heat; add the flour, stirring until smooth.
3.Return to heat and cook stirring constantly, until the paste dries slightly and begins to leave the sides of the pan.
4. Let paste cool for about 10 to 15 minutes, then add eggs one by one stirring until fully adsorbed by the paste.
5.  Place paste in to a piping bag with a large round or star tip, squeeze the dough out by counting 1 2 3 in your head then stop squeezing do a semi circle turn then release.  It will take some practice and time to get them just right and with out giving them pointed tops.
6. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, or until well risen. Lower the heat to 350 degrees; continue baking until well colored and dry. Cool completely.

The possibility's for filling are endless, pastry cream, puddings and even jams an jelly's. I was asked the fills these little puffs with sugar free vanilla pudding with a yummy drizzle of melted Nutella on top.

Cream puffs filled with sugar free vanilla pudding and drizzles Nutella.

Cheeseburger Chili

Good evening everyone,

This is Stephanie from Kicken Confections about to post a recipe done at the last minute and it coming out very delicious. We all know how the cheeseburger soup has become very popular this days and I was actually going to try a slow cooked version of it from Pinterest but that didn't turned out as I wanted. I had all the vegetables, stock, and spices ready in the slow cooker, set it up on high and I left to let it cook for 4 hrs. Yeah that was a fail. I never realized the slow cooker was not plugged in so 3 hrs later I go to taste it to see if it needed anything else, yeah.... no it was still raw.

So after almost blowing a fuse for not paying attention, being 4:30PM, to late to cook it for 4 hrs in the slow cooker, I decided to throw everything on a pot and cook it that way. I say that was the best decision I made. It was literally ready to eat by 5:30 PM. So the reason I call it Cheeseburger chili is because of the consistency. Its as stick as chili, and I added a touch of hot sauce to give it that little kick in the back of the throat. I've had cheeseburger soup before and not to brag or anything, but this version is awesome.

Cheeseburger Chili

 Ingredients:

- 2 Lb uncooked beef, 80/20 (80% beef, 20% fat)

- 1 Whole onion

- 4 red skin potatoes, peeled and medium diced

- 3 celery stalks, diced

- 3 carrots, peeled and diced.

- 4 Tbsp Olive oil

- 1/4 cup flour

- 1 cup of milk and 1/2 cup Half and Half, warmed

- 4 cups of chicken broth

- 1/4 cup sour cream

-  2 cups Velveeta  shredded cheese

- 1-8 oz extra sharp cheese, cubed

- 2 cups shredded lettuce

- 3 tomatoes, seeded and medium diced. 

- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 Tbsp A1 sauce

- 1 can of mushrooms

- 1 Tbsp dry oregano

- 1 Tbsp garlic powder

- 1 Tbsp dry mustard powder

- 1 tsp cumin

- 1 Tbsp of Franks Red Hot Sauce

- Salt and Pepper TT (to taste)

Procedure:

1) Add the potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, chicken stock, oregano, cumin, dry mustard powder, and garlic powder to a pot, and bring to a boil. Once it boils, bring it down to a simmer, about 30 min.

2) In a saute pan, add a little bit of oil, when the pot is nice and hot, brown the ground beef, season with salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and A1. Strain and add the meat to the vegetables and cook for 10 minutes. Clean pan to use later.

3) As that cooks, in another pan, add the  4 Tbsp of olive oil, 1/4 cup of flour and mix until a paste forms and there are no lumps. Add the warm milk mixture and whisk until it starts to thickened and boil for 10 seconds.

4) Add the milk mixture to the beef and veg mixture, add the sour cream and stir. Reduce the heat to low and add the shredded cheese and the cubed of cheese, stirring occasionally to not let the dairy products scorch. 

5) In the pan you cooked the beef, add a small about of oil, and saute the mushrooms. After they start to brown, add the lettuce and tomatoes. Add a small amount of water so the lettuce doesn't crisp up and cook until the water reduces.

6) Add the mushroom mixture to the chili mixture, add the hot sauce and stir, bringing it back to a boil. 

7) Once it boils, turn off the heat and is ready to serve. 

Top with anything your heart desires. We used croutons  but I've heard some people like to use tortilla chips.

Also, remember you can always change up the spiced to your taste, and just like chili, it does taste even better the next day.

One more tip: remember to taste as you go. I was afraid to add salt since most stocks come already season and if I didn't taste it after adding the cheese, my product would have been bland. Always taste as you go.

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Hello everyone!

July 15 was my mothers birthday and as the new tradition in our family ever since I graduated culinary school is to bake something for the holidays/ birthdays. Sometimes they ask me for certain things and something I get to do be creative. This year my mom wanted a blueberry and peach cobbler for her birthday. I was rather happy with this choice due to the fact that it is a lot less time consuming than a traditional birthday cake. Not that I don't enjoy making cakes but is fun mixing things up once in a while and is a pretty simple recipe. We hope you enjoy this recipe. Remember you can always customized it to your liking.

We strongly suggest being served warm with a nice scoop of ice cream on top. Delish!

Blueberry Peach Crumble Cobbler

-Preheat oven 400 Degree F

Ingredients:

- 1 pint of blueberry

- 1 pint of peach

- 5 oz sugar

- 1 oz cornstarch

- 1 fl oz water

- 2 oz butter

- 1 tsp lemon zest

- pinch nutbeg

Procedure:

1. Bring 8oz of blueberry and 8oz of peaches to a boil with sugar. 

2. Thicken with cornstarch dissolved in water. 

3. Boil and add butter, lemon zest and nutmeg.

4. Add the rest of the fruits, mix, and fill baking dish with the fruit.

6. Top with crumble and bake for 30 minutes

 Crumble:
-1 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
-3/4 stick of butter, cut into small pieces (6 Tbsp)
-1/4 Cup granulated sugar
-1/4 Cup light brown sugar

1. Mix all ingredients by hand until it forms a nice crumble texture.

*Bakers tip: We strongly recommend using fresh fruits id you are able to. We used frozen and it was to tart without the ice cream.

Chamomile Nilla Wafers

Good evening everyone!
This post is part book review part putting our slight spin on one of the recipes.
The book is called "Treat Yourself"
By Jennifer Steinhauer.
You can find the book here if you are interested, I strongly recommend it. Treat yourself

So far I really really like this book! It has a bunch of recipes that are about childhood goodies like Twinkies, Oreo's, Twix, and Cheetos' and so much more!

We apologize for not posting the recipe sooner but hearing the storm that was a brewing outside, we decided to turn off the computer.

This recipe so far has turned into one of our favorites. The base is based off those classic Nilla wafers you find it your store . The box treat's are golden in color very crumbly and thin with a strong vanilla taste to them. The ones from the book capture the taste almost perfectly. The texture is a bit moister, softer and no offense to the original box type but it doesn't have a bunch of preservatives or other "interesting ingredient's in them." So if you like the taste of these types of cookies without the added stuff  you would probably enjoy the recipe and the book.

Nilla Wafers  

Pre heat oven to 315 degrees
Ingredients:
-1 Stick Salted Butter
-1 Cup Sugar
-2 Large Eggs
-2 Tbsp of vanilla extract
-2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
-1 Tsp baking powder
-1 Tbsp fresh chamomile (what we added)


Procedure
1. Line to baking sheets with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. In the bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg one at a time until mix has thicken and pale yellow, make sure to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla and chamomile, mix until smooth.
4. Add the flour and baking soda together in a separate bowl then slowly mix the dry  in to the butter mixture until everything is incorporated.
5. Transfer the dough in to a piping bag and make quarter sized rounds of dough , 2 inch's apart .
6. Bake the cookies for18-20 minuets or until golden brown.

* The chamomile added a nice extra dimension to the taste. I would consider this a very good tea cookie or imagine making a banana pudding with these little babies. Very refreshing.

Chocolate Delight Muffins

Hey everyone!

Diving in head first into my not so experience world of gluten free baking. My client was really craving chocolate and it had to be gluten free and sugar free. This task was difficult since I am a big believer chocolate and sugar are BFFL's. We basically went with the base of the other muffins but with a few changes that we have posted here before and hoped that it would work out.

To my surprise, they came out really good. They were moist, fluffy, and risen nicely.

The recipe is simple, easy to put together, and you only need a hand mixer to make it. We hope you enjoy it specially if you're looking for a light on sugar chocolate treat.

Gluten Free Chocolate Muffin       Yield: 15 muffins

Preheat: 350 degrees F

Ingredients: 

 -1 1/2 Cups rice flour

- 1/2 Cup cocoa powder

-2 Tsp baking powder

-1 egg

- 1 1/4 Cup of Chobani greek yogurt

- 2 Tsp Vanilla extract

-2/3 Cups Honey

- 3oz  dark chocolate, roughly chopped (Optional)

Procedure:
1. Add all your dries together.
2. Add all your wets together.
3. Using a hand mixer or a whisk, mix dries into wet until batter is smooth.
4. Place cupcake liners in your standard 12 piece cupcake pan, spray the liner with cooking spray and add one large spoonful of the batter in to each cup. If there is extra batter left, try to spread it out as equally as possible.
5. Bake for 20 minuets or till you the center is not jiggly.

So shiny!

Green Market Potato Salad

Good evening everyone.

Today we are going to add our potato salad recipe. We recently got a chance to go to the Greenpoint Brooklyn farmers market in McCarren Park were we got to buy a lot of summer produce. We made our way to the last tent and went nuts. Onions, scallions both white and red (which I have never seen red), Dill, cilantro, carrots, chamomile, chives (which are expensive in the regular supermarket), radishes, long leaf arugula, etc. I got a sniff of the dill and I just got a craving for potato salad.

The reason is called Green Market Potato Salad is because a lot of the ingredients I used in it came from the market, with some pimiento for added taste and color. If you live in Brooklyn or happen to be near the park on a Saturday, make your way to the market. Their products won't disappoint.

Green Market Potato Salad

Ingredients:  *TT= To taste

- 5 Lb  red skin potato, rinsed and cut into fours

- 3 Tbsp of fresh dill

- 3 Tbsp of fresh cilantro

- 2 Tbsp of fresh chives

- 4 Tbsp of Goya pimiento 

- 4 Tbsp of pimiento juice

- 1/4 Cup of sour cream

- 1/2 Cup of Mayonnaise

- Salt and pepper *TT 

Procedure:

1. Bring the potatoes to a boil until tender. I say a good 10 minutes should get them nice and tender, but also it depends on their size.

2. While that is cooking, dice the pimiento,chives, and measure out the juice of the pimiento. Set aside.

3. Mince the cilantro and dill. Set aside

4. Once the potatoes are cooked, carefully drain and rinse in cold water until they are warm.

5. Place the potatoes in a bowl and add all the greens, pimiento and juice. Stir until combine.

6. Add the sour cream, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and mix well together.

7. Cover and chill in the fridge for a good 2 hours before serving.

You can use less Mayonnaise and more sour cream or visa-verse. Also for a healthier substitute, replace mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt, and maybe add a little bit of fresh lemon juice.

Also you can always add more or less of the greens to your personal preference.

Enjoy!

 

Apple Crumble Cheesecake

 Hey everyone Antoinette here and we would love to share this awesome new recipe of ours!

  This recipe came up as a random idea for my Poppas 93rd birthday. It was something different. He always wanted me to make him apple turn overs but I couldn't just make him that for his birthday. He also likes cheesecake so why not combine them both?

My Poppa means a lot to me , He is a WWII Veteran  and a hard working no-frills kinda of guy. I wanted this cake to be special and I wanted him to enjoy every bit of it. Everything on this cheese cake is made from scratch, from the crust on the bottom to the crumble on top of the cake. The cake went over very well. I knew this when my Poppa who eats like a bird went in for a 2nd slice! I really hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did, it was soo good that I'm thinking about making it again for the 4th of July.

Apples
-2 apples (we used golden delicious) but you could use a different type like Granny smith.
-1 Tbsp light brown sugar.
-1 Tbsp granulated sugar
-2 tsp ground cinnamon.
-2 tsp corn starch.
-1/2 tsp ground ginger.
-1/4 tsp freshly grated nut meg.
-1/8 tsp ground clove.
-The juice of half a lemon. 
-A pinch of kosher salt.
-1 tsp of butter.

Apple preparation
1. Peel, core and slice the apples in to medium wedges.
2.Combine apple slices with the sugar,salt and spices, make sure they all get evenly coated.
3. Drain the excess liquid and place the apples with the butter in to a saute pan.
4. Add lemon juice then cook the apples till the become a bit softer and warm.
5. Add the 2 tsp of corn starch mix till it starts to stick to the apples.
Set apples aside till later.

Crumb topping
-1 1/4 all purpose flour
-2 1/2 Tbsp light brown sugar
-1/2 tsp cinnamon
-3/4 ounce butter  (0.75)

Crumb topping preparation
1. Combine all of the ingredients together until it resembles grated cheese.
Set aside till later

Pate Sablee ( bottom crust)
-3 1/2 ounces cold butter cut in to small cubes
-Pinch of salt
-1 1/2 ounces powdered sugar
-1/4 tsp vanilla extract
-5 1/2 ounces all purpose flour
-1   egg yolk

Pate Sablee ( bottom crust) preparation
1. Combine butter, salt, confectioners sugar and vanilla in a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix on a low speed till just about crumbly.
2. Beat in egg and half the flour, scrape down the sides of the bow.
3. Add the remaining flour and combine till fully incorporated.
4.Spread crust evenly with your hands across the bottom of a per-greased and parchment lined 8-inch cake pan.


Bake in the oven at 325 degrees F for about 20 to 25 minutes, until light golden and baked through.
Remove from oven an let cool completely.

Cheesecake batter  yields one 8 inch cheesecake
1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese
6 ounces of granulated sugar
1/4 fluid ounce of vanilla extract
1/4 fluid ounce strained fresh lemon juice
3 eggs

Cheesecake preparation
1. Grease the sides of your pan again
2.With the paddle on lowest speed,beat cream cheese smooth, stop mixer an scrape down bowl and beater.
3.With mixer running on the lowest speed, add sugar in a stream, stop and scrape.
4.Add vanilla, lemon juice and 1egg, mix only until absorbed.
5.Add the remaining eggs one at a time, scrape down bowl between each addition. Mix till well incorporated.
6. Take your pan with the pre-baked crust and start lining the bottom with the apple slices, start from the edges and worked in words until crust in completely covered.
7. Pour cheese cake batter in to the cake pan, then place the cheese cake in to a water bath. The water should come up to at least half way of the cake pan.
8. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 55 minutes or until light colored and firm except for the very center. 
9. 5 minutes before the bake time is up, slide the cheesecake out of the oven and liberally top it with the crumbs.
10. Wrap and cool for at least 3 hrs but is better if done overnight. 

Everyone said it was smooth, creamy, the richness was to die for, and the apples were crispy, tart from the lemon, and sweet from the apples themselves. The crust was delicious and with the apples it definitely added an extra dimension of flavor.

Apple Crumble Cheesecake

Apples cooking

Bottom Crust

Layered with apples

Cheesecake out of the oven

A slice from heaven

Happy Birthday Poppa!!