2023 Labor Day Issue

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COOKING WITH SCRATCH © Uglier is Better by BARBARA SIMMONS Photos by KAREN FUCITO When I was 11, I visited my German relatives in Wiesbaden with my dad. It was my job to pick up fresh Kaiser rolls with poppyseeds from the Abt family bakery every morning. Abt’s was just across the street from my Tante Lucie’s house. There was also a Konditorei (confectionery) a little farther up the block. Abt’s always had, in addition to the Kaiser rolls, several kinds of bread and some modestlooking sweet pastries, like crumb cakes and plain-looking things like “Äpfel im Schlafrock” (apples in nightgowns—a kind of apple dumpling). Everything was reliably delicious from Abt the baker. The Konditorei down the block sold beautiful, ornately decorated cakes for special occasions, fancy pastries and ice cream and had tables where you could sit with coffee and a slice of their fancy cakes. I remember tasting one of the buttercream encrusted behemoths from the Konditorei at one of the relatives’ homes and was so disappointed. Pretty, yes, but it missed the mark on flavor. I decided then and there that homely baked goods tasted better. The Konditorei cakes were decorated with buttercreams that were flavored with liqueurs, the cake parts were usually way too dense— ugh, and sometimes they were even decorated with chocolate coffee beans. Yuck! Not so appealing to an 11-year-old kid. I decided the uglier the better. I learned to bake from my mother. I have to say, most of the things she baked were on the homely side but compensated for their looks with their delicious flavors. The plum cake she made, topped with two pounds of plums, looked impressive, but wasn’t exactly pretty. Her strawberry tart glistened under its mantle of red glaze—also not a showstopper, but it was absolutely bursting with flavor. Since it is blueberry season somewhere, I felt motivated to offer a blueberry recipe in this issue. My mother, Gertrude, and I didn’t bake much with blueberries, probably because the region that she came from, Hessen, doesn’t grow a lot of blueberries. German blueberries are grown mostly in the southern region of Bavaria. I do like blueberries, though, and have experimented with a few recipes that I’ve added to my baking repertoire. I have managed to make some great blueberry muffins from Deb Perleman’s Perfect Blueberry Muffin recipe. (smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/perfectblueberry-muffins) But I was intrigued by a recipe for blueberry cheesecake that I found on a German website. It reminded me of my official birthday cheesecake that Gertrude made for me every year. That cake, too, was not much of a looker. It had sort of a fluffy filling made with cottage cheese and whipped egg whites with raisins and cinnamon. The original German recipe called for quark (a German dairy product similar in texture and flavor to low-fat Greek yogurt.) Gertrude had to force the cottage cheese through a Foley food mill to imitate its texture. Quark was not available at all when I was growing up, and now I only see it once in a blue moon at a few fancy supermarkets. (I look every time I visit one!) Don’t worry though, dear reader, I won’t be sending you on an ingredients wild goose chase in this column! We will be using cream cheese and Greek yogurt here. 36 LAKE HOPATCONG NEWS Labor Day 2023
Blueberry Cheesecake This recipe uses a technique that I’ve seen in several German cake recipes. It is a two-step method, and you need to use a springform pan. First the crust is made and pressed into the bottom and sides of the pan. The filling is added afterwards, and then baked and released from the springform when cooled. The cake is held up by the crust that goes up the sides. The original German recipe calls for one kilo (6 ½ cups) of blueberries, so this cake is loaded! Ingredients Crust: 1 1/3 cups flour 5 tablespoons butter ¼ cup lemon-scented sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 egg 2 tablespoons milk 1½ teaspoons baking powder Filling: 3 pints (6 cups) blueberries, picked over, washed and drained in a colander 3 tablespoons butter ½ cup lemon-scented sugar 1-8-ounce package cream cheese, softened to room temperature 1/3 cup Greek yogurt (5% or 10% milkfat) 2 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla 1½ tablespoons cornstarch Juice from ½ of a lemon Procedure 1. First, make the lemon-scented sugar. Before starting both the crust and the filling, mix all of the sugar from the recipe (¾ of a cup of sugar, total, plus the grated rind of a whole lemon). Massage the grated lemon rind into the sugar with your fingertips until it is well incorporated. This infuses the cake with a beautiful lemon flavor and fragrance that complement the blueberries really well. 2. Heat the oven to 350°. 3. Generously butter a 9” springform pan. 4. Make the crust: Cream the butter and lemon-scented sugar together. Add in the egg and milk. Add the flour, salt and baking powder. Mix until the dough comes together- it will be clumpy. Add the dough into the springform pan and, using your fist, press it into the bottom, bringing the edges of the dough about halfway up the sides of the pan. 5. Make the filling. Sprinkle the cornstarch over the blueberries and toss well to coat. Add the coated blueberries into the dough-lined springform pan. Beat the butter, lemon-scented sugar, cream cheese and yogurt together until smooth. Add in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour the filling over the blueberries. Holding the filled springform pan firmly in both hands, gently tap it on the counter to distribute the filling evenly. 6. Bake for 65-70 minutes, until it is no longer wobbly in the center when the pan is jiggled. 7. Remove to a rack and refrigerate for an hour before serving. NATURAL GAS CONVERSIONS Reliable HVAC Heating and Air- Conditioning 973-361-2146 License# 19HC00310200 John W. FAust Jr. www.atthelakejewelry.com Is something hairy going on at home? (Leaks? Drains?) $ 25 off your next hairy situation! Coupon must be presented at time of service. Applies only to work performed. Cannot be used for dispatch/diagnostic fees. No cash value. Cannot be combined with any other discounts. Remember...we will never ask how it happened! TIRED OF POOR SERVICE OR Septic Pumping • Drain Cleaning •Septic Repairs NOT Sewer GETTING & Water Lines A CALL • Septic BACK? Design Septic Installations • Grease Pumping Call Wilson Services. Talk with a real person who can help with all of your septic, sewer, 973-383-2112 water, or electrical service needs. 973-383-2112 WilsonServices.com NJ Lic # 13VH4508600 Septic Pumping* Any $ 25 $ 50 Electrical Service* lakehopatcongnews.com 37 *Only valid with work performed, invoice of $250
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