Writing and Cake.

SUMMER LOVING BLOG TOUR GUIDE

Welcome to the SUMMER LOVING BLOG TOUR with my fellow Anaiah Press authors running from June 22 – July 2. Find out more about our blogging crew here. If you missed a post you can catch up by visiting the main page.

Summer Blog Tour…

A Recipe from The Christmas Confusion…

So, this is a different blog post for me. Usually, I write about my books or about the process of writing or a devotion. But, I wanted to do something different—and baking is my jam. Literally, because my actual jam doesn’t usually set well. My specialty is cheesecake. I’m a professor for my day job and for many years, I’ve brought any variety of cheesecake my students ask for to department events. However, THIS cheesecake is only for very special occasions held at my house (since it doesn’t travel well). At the same time, the taste is out of this world.

In the book, the hero brings the heroine red velvet (I didn’t mention cheesecake because it was a novella and I was cutting words) instead of flowers because he knows her so well. I mean, everyone knows women love flowers, but cake.

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake (original found in Post & Courier newspaper)

For the cheesecake:

20 oz. bar cream cheese (20 oz.), room temperature (mixture of full fat and non)

¾ cups granulated sugar

½ t. finely grated lemon zest, plus ½ T. fresh lemon juice

¼ t salt

2 large eggs

½ cup low-fat sour cream (I’m not fooling myself, but why not try?)

For the cake:

2 ½ c. cake flour (measure the same for all-purpose but take back 2 T.)

1 ½ c. sugar

1 t. baking soda

1 T. cocoa powder

1 t. salt

2 eggs (always assume large eggs in a recipe unless told otherwise)

1 ½ c. vegetable oil

1 c. non-fat buttermilk

2 T. (1 oz.) red food coloring

1 t. vanilla extract

1 t. white vinegar

For the frosting:

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

12 oz. butter, softened (I told you, only for special occasions)

1 ½ t. vanilla extract

3 c. confectioners’ sugar

1 bar white or dark chocolate (optional for decoration), I used Ghirardelli

For the cheesecake:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set a kettle of water to boil. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until fluffy, scraping down side of bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest and juice, and salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down side of bowl after each addition. Beat in sour cream.

Cut parchment paper in a circle and line the bottom of the cheesecake pan. Wrap bottom half of pan in foil. Pour in filling; place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up side of spring form. Bake until just set in center, about 45 minutes.

Remove pan from water; let cool 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge; let cool completely. Cover; chill overnight, then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze.

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl.

Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide batter evenly between 2 greased and floured 9” round cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Let cakes cool 5 minutes, then invert each on a plate, then invert again onto a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely then level.

Frosting:

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add sugar and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes.

Assembly:

Place bottom layer on cake stand. Remove cheesecake from freezer, unwrap, and remove from metal bottom, then peel off parchment paper. Place cheesecake layer on top of the bottom layer of the red velvet cake. If the cheesecake is wider than the cake, and it is necessary to trim it, wait approximately 10 minutes for the cheesecake to soften, then trim it with a knife. Place top layer of cake on top of the cheesecake, and coat with a generous layer of the cream cheese frosting to act as the crumb coat. Be careful not to get any red velvet crumbs in the bowl of frosting! Refrigerate approximately 30 minutes, then frost with as much of the remaining frosting as necessary. Top with shaved white chocolate and/or shaved dark chocolate. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (This cake doesn’t have to stay in the fridge until immediately before serving, so don’t worry if you have a 30 minute lapse between the refrigerator and serving.)

Thank you for reading! By the way, if the above is too much, the red velvet cake and frosting are delicious by themselves. Also, if you want more recipes (most won’t be this difficult) and if you’d like to learn more about my books, please follow me on any of my social media below:

Website/Blog: https://www.christinasinisi.com/

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Twitter: @ChristinaSinisi

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