This year my Mr Munchies actually requested a cake for his birthday. It’s totally not like him, he usually leaves it up to me to decide. I guess he was really feeling for cheesecake.
‘Just any cheesecake’, he said.
Me? Make ‘just any cheesecake’?
I don’t think so!!!
Sorry hubby… Just kidding, I’m not sorry, this cheesecake is too good for me to be sorry, and trust me there were no complaints.
Here it is… It’s not ‘just any cheesecake’, it’s a Date, Walnut and Butterscotch Cheesecake (yes, I know you already got that from the title ;))
Make the base as per instructions on the website. Line the bottom and sides of a springform pan (21cm) with baking paper. I filled my base up the 3/4 of the way up the sides and still had some extra left over. Bake prior to filling with cheesecake.
Cheesecake Filling
Pre-heat oven to 150c. Beat cream cheese and sugar until it is smooth. Add vanilla essence, eggs and cream. Beat till smooth and creamy. Pit and chop dates roughly and fold through the cream cheese mixture. Pour into pre-baked tart base. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the cheesecake seems firm with a slight wobble in the middle. Leave out to cool, chill in the fridge for an hour.
Butterscotch Sauce
Place a small pan on medium heat on the stove. Put in the butter and sugar and cook until sugar has dissolved. Once dissolved pour in the cream and set aside. The sauce will thicken as it cools.
To Serve
Place walnuts in butterscotch sauce, drip off excess sauce and set aside to cool. Beat cream until thick. Fill the cream into a piping bag with a star tip and pipe around the edge of the cheesecake and in the centre. Place cooled walnuts on each piped mound. Drizzle butterscotch sauce onto the cheesecake
Tips for a perfect cheesecake
Tap the cheesecake on the table to remove air bubbles. Place a dish of water in the oven while the cheesecake is baking. This makes for a smooth cheesecake without cracks.
Edit: After having someone test my recipe, it came to my attention that I didn’t include a pan size, which can affect the cooking time and texture. So I have updated that above. Also, every time I make this cheesecake the texture is different. Sometimes runny, sometimes thick. It depends on the fat content in the cream cheese as well as how soft the cream cheese is when I beat it. If you a have this problem, don’t despair, whichever way it is runny or thick, it will still work and still be delicious.
Loving the shots I’m getting with my new camera. Mr Munchies gave me a camera for my birthday this year, it is am-a-a-a-a-zing! I’ll be posting another recipe from his birthday soon. This was the cheesecake pre butterscotch drizzle.
Ramadan is now far behind us, I know, but if you’re like us (we tend to stock up on dates, 7kgs worth), you might still have some left over. If you want to use up some dates or just want a datey (totally a word, right?) treat, try these!
These macarons are slightly different to the norm, brown sugar is used to make the meringue instead of the usual white sugar. The brown sugar gives a subtle taste difference as well as a slight creamy tinge.
Brown Sugar Macarons
40g egg white (1 egg white at room temperature)
56g almond meal
72g icing sugar
20g light brown sugar
Measure out your ingredients. Combine almond meal and icing sugar and grind till a fine powder. Whip egg whites till foamy, slowly stream in the brown sugar until egg whites are stiff and glossy. Sift almond meal and icing sugar mixture on top of egg whites and fold until just combined.
Pre heat oven to 150°c. Fill mixture into piping bag and pipe 3cm rounds onto baking paper lined trays. Let mixture sit for 15-30 minutes. Place in oven for 17 minutes (I found that the substitution of brown sugar required the macarons baking for a little longer then usual) or until tops don’t move when pushed with a finger.
Sticky Date Filling
1/2 cup pitted dates (I use medjool)
100g softened butter
3 tblsp cooled butterscotch sauce (recipe below, alternatively you could use 1/4 cup of brown sugar)
Pit dates and place in a bowl, fill with hot water until all the dates are immersed, leave to soak for 10 minutes. Cream butter till fluffy. Drain all excess water from the dates and process till smooth and pasty. Add date paste and butterscotch to butter, beat until combined. Fill a piping bag, ready to fill macarons.
Butterscotch sauce
1 tblsp dark brown sugar
1 tblsp butter
3 tblsp cream
Place sugar and butter on a medium heat on the stove. Mix till sugar dissolves. Add in cream and mix till combined, set aside to cool.
To assemble macarons, pipe sticky date filling into one macaron shell and sandwich with the other. Sticky, datey, yummy macarons!
I recall my first Ramadan after being married, Eid was approaching and I wanted to go full out. I called my mum in a panic and she gave me all the recipes she had, one of which was this date biscuit. I have been making it ever since, for Eid, for Ramadan or just for no reason at all. They’re a great little one to have around the house and since they’re gluten free and I skip the sugar in the original recipe, they’re pretty healthy too.
Date Biscuits
125g softened butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tblsp syrup* (I usually use agave, but honey is good too)
2 cups chopped dates
1 cup chopped nuts (I use a combination of pecan and walnut)
2 cups coconut + 1/2 cup extra
Pre-heat oven to 180c. Beat butter till creamy, add in egg, vanilla and syrup, beat till combined, at this stage the butter mixture may look curdled, but don’t worry it’s suppose to. Add in dates, nuts and 2 cups coconut and mix again. Roll in balls and coat in remaining coconut. Lay on baking paper and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden.
*I sometimes do skip the syrup as the medjool dates I use are sweet and juicy enough, but I do think it needs that little extra sweetness to give it some pop, so stick with the syrup.
If you’re wondering why these biscuits look familiar, they’re from my last post Eid Dessert Table (pictured below). And now you all have the recipe too.
This Date Biscuit recipe is great if you have extra dates lying around approaching Eid, or if you just want to make a yummy datey treat for Eid, give these a go.
Eid is fast approaching, where did the time go? Eid is a pretty special time with lots of yummy food and treats, and of course we’d like to display them in an appealing way. Dessert tables are all the rage at the moment so Siddiqa (from Cupcakes with Siddiqa) and I decided to put together a dessert table for ideas and inspiration.
Here’s some of my tips for creating a perfect dessert table at home:
Colour scheme – when choosing a theme, consider the colours of treats you usually make as well as any serving ware and decorative items you may already have
Is there enough? – for a dessert table to look appealing it’s necessary to have a few items displayed 5/6 is a good place to start but be sure not to overcrowd your table
Vary the items on the table – having a range of items ensures there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy
Commercial foods – Don’t be afraid to have store bought items on your table, marshmallows, lollies, chocolates all make great additions to dessert tables and take some pressure of you as well
Decorations – Use anything you have around the house, old scarves, flowers and even decorative home wares. These can add texture to the table and help liven it up
Height – If you have a focus item, make it pop by giving it some height. You can do this easily by putting plates above upside down bowls for a make shift cake stand or even using boxes wrapped in themed paper
Move things – Play around with different placement of items, just ensure you don’t leave to much blank space on the table as it will look empty. Choose to go symmetrical or asymmetrical, keep in mind with symmetrical placements you’ll have to have two sets of everything whereas asymmetrical allows for more freedom of placement.
Here’s the list of treats we featured on our table:
The Burfee frosting was a little invention I had been working on and I am so glad it turned out the way it did, it was exactly what I was hoping for. I can’t wait to get this recipe up for all of you!
Hope these posts help you bring a little pizazz to your Eid day this year.
Ramadhaan has dawned upon us once again. Dates are out in full force, from fruit shops, to grocery stores and even the local supermarket chain. Dates are very nutritious, full of fibre and great to stave off hunger pangs, no wonder it’s the perfect food to break fast with. The best part is that this wonderful treat is not only good for you, it tastes good and most importantly it’s Sunnah!
We go through a lot of dates during Ramadhaan, so I’ve come up with some date recipes to spice things up a little. There’s no doubt that dates taste great just by themselves, but if you do want to try something a little different, are having guests over or even need a treat outside of Ramadhaan, give these a go.
Pistachio Cashew Dates
Split date on 1 side and remove pit. Crush pistachio and cashews. You’ll need 1 tsp of nuts per date. Fill dates with crushed nuts.
Coconut Almond Dates
This is an old classic. Split date on 1 side and remove pit. Fill 1 almond in each date. Heat butter on stove, throw in coconut, again you’ll need approximately 1 tsp per date. Roll dates in heated butter and coconut mixture.
Cream Cheese Walnut Dates
Split date on 1 side and remove pit. Fill each date with approx. 1/2 tsp cream cheese and 1 walnut which you can crush by hand. This is my personal favourite, it’s a recipe given to me by a friend. Thanks Christina!
Give these a try sometime, great during Ramadhaan or any time really. Ramadhaan Mubarak to everyone out there, hope you all have a blessed month.
… not a dinner date. A medjool date, or whatever type you like really!
It is a sunnah of our Prophet (pbuh) to break your fast with dates and water. “If one of you is fasting, he should break his fast with dates. If dates are not available, then with water, for water is purifying.” [Ahmad]
I know we all would have stocked up on dates before the start of Ramadhaan so if you’re looking for some new ways to use your dates here’s one, date filled with nuts, you could almost call it a date baklava.
Nut filled dates
Ingredients
6 tsp nuts of your choice (I used cashews and pistachios)
12 dates ( I used medjool)
Note: the ratio is approximately 1 tsp of nuts to 2 dates
Method
Slice dates on one end and remove pit. Grind nuts in food processor or grinder. Fill each date with a teaspoon of ground nuts and serve.
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