Cheesecake mémoires

I do like cheesecake. I discovered it many years ago in my first trip to US and immediately became addicted to it. I like the creamy texture, the “melting in your mouth” rich soft bite, accompanied by the crusty base usually made with digestive biscuits. I learnt there are many different styles around the world, and it seems cheesecakes are popular in quite all the countries, each one using a different cheese (in Italy we commonly use ricotta or mascarpone). Indeed, this type of cakes has very ancient origins, dating back to Ancient Greece and Roman Empire. Each time I travel to US I look forward to my “cheesecake moment" and this happened recently while I was in New York too. Here I enjoyed the New York style cheesecake, which relies upon heavy cream, usually made with  Philadelphia or cottage cheese, eggs and egg yolks. The taste is rich and smooth, sometimes with a fresh hint of lemon.

A White Chocolate Macadamia mini cheesecake that I found in a famous bakery in the City (Magnolia bakery) was my “little happy thing” in the sadness of the last days of my trip. It was mid-December and one of the first chilliest days of the year, those days when the cold wind cuts your face and it is impossible to stay without gloves and hat. Despite the unfavorable weather conditions, I wanted to take as many pictures as possible, and having to remove my gloves to hold the camera, I nearly had my hands frozen. After peeping all the goodness exposed at the bakery windows, as a refugee with ice sticks instead of fingers (brrrr), I entered that sugar paradise. WOW, a rainbow of all kind of treats appeared at my sight: cupcakes, muffins, pies, cakes, cookies, and yes, cheesecakes. I ordered my mini cheesecake that the clerk packed in a nice little box, like a gift. I also ordered a hot chocolate with cream and begun tasting my cake with great satisfaction. I still remember the moment the liquid chocolate sip encountered the solid smooth bite of the cake, ah cheesecake mémoires!...

The mini cheesecake happened to be not so little, being so tasty and thick, so I left half and finished it the day after. It was the last “good little thing” of my trip to New York and when I think of the sad day of my departure I remember its sweet taste and the bitterness of my last look on the Manhattan skyline from the taxi  to JFK airport. As a coincidence, during my flight back home I listened to some music offered through the inflight entertainment system, and my “flying home” soundtrack consisted mainly of the best of A- HA (the Scandinavian band from the 80’s). I almost cried listening to one of their master works, the song Manhattan skyline, which says “We sit and watch umbrellas fly, I'm trying to keep my newspaper dry, I hear myself say, My boat's leaving now' ...so we shake hands and cry. Now I must wave goodbye, Wave goodbye…”

Anyway, the melancholy of the departure is now “flown” away and since my trip to New York was so magic for all I  experienced in three months, to recreate that intense atmosphere, I decided to bake a white chocolate cheesecake, that I dedicate to the City, together with a poem I wrote while I was there in a bar sipping my cappuccino.

But first the recipe, then the poem.

White chocolate cheesecake

(the recipe is taken from the Italian blog ilmondodiadrenalina.blogspost.com)

300 g chocolate shortbread cookies

80 g melted butter

400 g Philadelphia light

150 g sour cream (you can make it mixing 250 ml liquid cream with 3-4 tablespoons Greek yoghurt and let the compound rest at room temperature for at least two hours)

1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract

2 lightly whisked eggs

300 g white chocolate

Powder bitter cocoa

Wrap a cake mold (20 -23 cm) with baking paper, both the bottom and the rims (to let the paper stick better you can butter the cake mold first). Crumble the cookies to dust and add the melted butter. Pour the compound in the mold and press it to let it thick well. Put the cake mold in the fridge for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 150 ˚C. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie while stirring till it gets a smooth and homogeneous cream and let it cool a little. Work the Philadelphia cheese with a fork, add eggs and stir till you obtain a smooth compound. Then add sour cream, vanilla extract and the melt white chocolate.

Pour the obtained cream in the mold and bake the cheese cake for about 45 min. Leave the cake in the turned off oven for 10 more minutes with door half-open. Let it cool and leave it in the fridge for at least two hours (better if a whole night). Before serving sprinkle with powder bitter cocoa.

 

Poem...

To NYC

I can’t sleep.

The City is watching me.

Eyes. Millions.

Lights. Millions.

Money. Required.

People. Circles.

Stars. Above us.

Loneliness. Homelessness.

I can’t sleep.

The City is reaching me.

Inside of me, steps.

Behind me, voices.

I sweat. Smell approaching.

I can’t stay.

The City is hugging me.

Now I need to talk to you.

Can you hear me?

Loneliness. Silence.

I’m falling down…

Into the arms of America.