cheesecake

Easter 2025

Alleluia! Christ is Risen!

As always, our Easter celebration really begins with the start of the Holy Triduum on Maundry Thursday. As it turns out, that was the most beautiful day of the whole Easter weekend, and the last time we’d see blue skies!

On Friday, I did a bit of prep work for Sunday…I tried a new (very successful!) recipe for flatbreads, and also made hot cross buns:

We went back to church Friday evening, and the cloudy skies seemed appropriate for the day.

On Saturday, we did some more work…Ladybug frosted the cupcakes she made the day before, and I baked a baklava cheesecake.

We also made our 2025 Paschal candle while watching Rick Steves’ European Easter…both are important Holy Saturday traditions to us.

And then my favorite church service of the entire year…with a twist. The overnight rain made it impossible to begin the Great Vigil of Easter outside by the bonfire as usual, so we had a “bonfire” in the back of the sanctuary to start the service. All things considered, it was a good solution to a soggy problem!

We always get Wendy’s on the way home from church on Saturday evening:

And then back to church this morning for the most celebratory service of the year!

The family photo isn’t quite right without Bunny, but she couldn’t get away from school to join us…we’ll see her in a few weeks for graduation, though!

Our Easter breakfast was a bit simpler than I’ve made some years…scrambled eggs, sausage, a fruit salad, pomegranate juice, and like last year, 13 kinds of mini donuts!

We had fun watching the first two My Big Fat Greek Wedding movies, and I made lavender matchas for those who enjoy them:

And I set the table, featuring the new Paschal candle and a new bunny napkin fold that incorporated the Cadbury Creme Eggs I had picked up:

I found some time to check into Animal Crossing, and Roald was nice enough to take a picture with me!

I made a menu of Greek foods for dinner…souvlaki and gyros, with our favorite toppings and flatbread, fried feta, Greek salad, and spanakopita, plus the hot cross buns…kind of minus the crosses, which mostly melted to the plastic wrap!

And for dessert, the baklava cheesecake:

After how long Lent always seems, Holy Week, and especially the Holy Triduum and Easter Sunday itself go by so quickly, but we had a lovely celebration…Happy Easter!

The Top Five–Food Photos of 2024

The New Year is approaching, which means it’s time to take a look back at some of my favorite photos of the year. We’re starting with food photos, and the first one is the only main course on the “Top Five” list…burrito night! I love how colorful this plate is (and I also remember how delicious the meal was!).

Next up is a Black Forest cheesecake…this was one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever made…Turkey liked it so much, I made it again for his birthday!

The cake I made for Donald Duck’s birthday didn’t turn out quite like I had planned, but that’s ok, because I like the way I actually made it even better!

This apple pie mocktail might be the prettiest drink photo I’ve ever taken!

And finally, the white chocolate-cranberry cupcakes I made for Santa Lucia Day, which might be the prettiest dessert photo I’ve ever taken!

Stay tuned for a look back at more of my favorites from 2024!

Tasty Tuesday–A Year of Cheesecakes

This has kind of been “The Year of the Cheesecake” around here. I didn’t set out to make 12 cheesecakes (averaging one a month), but I reached a point in the late summer where I realized that I had already made so many, I might as well go for a year’s worth. I didn’t make exactly 12 of them…there was a repeat because Turkey liked one so much he asked me to make it again for his birthday. And there was one failure (a cranberry cheesecake with a gingersnap crust) that we won’t talk about. I also didn’t literally make one a month…some months I made more (and once I made two in one week!), and I didn’t make a single cheesecake the entire summer. But in the end, I had 12 unique successes, starting with a delightful eggnog variety early in the year:

The Black Forest was one of the most popular…this is the flavor I made again for Turkey’s birthday.

S’mores is a natural cheesecake flavor because so many already have a graham cracker crust, and chocolate cheesecakes are also very popular…just add marshmallows and you’re done!

I won’t even tell you how many Oreos went into this cookies ‘n’ cream cheesecake!

I made a traditional Chicago style cheesecake, which was plain except for a simple topping of fresh raspberries…I think it had the best texture of all the cheesecakes I made!

I was in my matcha-lavender era during the spring:

My first autumn cheesecake was inspired by cinnamon rolls:

The Biscoff cookie butter cheesecake was one of my all-time favorites!

I’ve made a pumpkin cheesecake in the past, but never pumpkin chocolate chip (until this fall):

Butterscotch is another great flavor for fall!

I’m currently in my Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake era, and luckily for me, they had a recipe utilizing my favorite holiday snack cakes on their website!

And finally, another favorite that I made once last year…a gingerbread cheesecake with a gingersnap crust and topped with a gingerbread mousse that’s so delicious, it could stand on its own as a dessert!

I know 12 cheesecakes stretched out over the course of a year doesn’t sound like much, but they are a big commitment of both time and money, and I’ve never put so much effort into baking them regularly before! It was a fun little baking project for 2024!

First Day of School 2024

Today we kicked off the 2024-25 school year, Ladybug’s last year in our little homeschool. I organized the school room as best as I could so we could start fresh, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to find room for all of the books (and Lego sets!) in our collection!

As always, there were Schultüte to open first thing:

And pictures to take. Ladybug is in 12th grade this year, and Chickadee is now a junior high student in 7th grade!

We did some work this morning, but not every subject:

I had to run out to the orthodontist with Turkey before he heads back to college, so we stopped for a first day of school treat at Scooter’s…pumpkin spice season has arrived!

And then, as we usually do, we got to work building our Lego set(s). I decided that instead of a larger set, I would get the mini Disney castles we didn’t already have, so we could complete that collection. Even I got to build this year, because I still had the Sleeping Beauty castle I picked up while we were at the Mall of America this summer!

It a lovely little collection, but I don’t know what we’ll do for space if they make more castles…and at the same time, I really hope they do a replica of the castle at Disneyland Paris!

For dinner, I made one of Ladybug’s favorites…pot roast and green beans. And we enjoyed a cinnamon roll cheesecake for dessert.

It was a great kickoff to the new school year!

Chicago Day

Yesterday, 3/12, was “Chicago Day” or “312 Day” because the original Chicago area code (the first area code for my home phone number when I was a child!) was 312. It split several times over the years (I had two additional area codes as the Chicagoland area codes continued to be exhausted), and now the city itself has more than code, just like New York and Los Angeles. Anyway, to celebrate Chicago, I made one of our favorite dinners, Chicago-style pizza, and a new dessert, Chicago-style cheesecake (which has 8 oz. more cream cheese than New York-style, making it a fluffier dessert).

And I’m not done, because tomorrow is STL Day, celebrating the 314!

Tasty Tuesday: The Top Five–Food Photos of 2023

Time for a look at my favorite food photos from 2023! Most of them are dessert photos (hey, it’s not my fault desserts are so photogenic!), but let’s start with a spread I made featuring white borscht last winter:

Now on to the desserts. This white chocolate blueberry-lemon cheesecake was not only delicious, it looked amazing!

I also thought this cake I made for Ladybug’s 16th birthday was beautiful:

Linzer äugen (or Spitzbuben) are one of my favorite cookies to bake (and eat!) and they always look so lovely:

And most recently, the peppermint chip cake I made for Christmas Eve:

I’m including a bonus photo, because it’s not of something I made myself, but this Rainbow Cone just looks too good not to share!

This is just the beginning…stayed tuned for more “Top Five” lists for 2023, and then my year in review!

First Day of School 2023

I decided to do something different this year, and start the new school year on a Friday, so we could spend a day doing only the fun, first-day-of-school stuff, and not worry about diving into the work until next week. Last night, I made sure the school room was ready to go…I made a few minor changes this year, but for the most part, our setup is the same as it has been:

I also got the Schultüte assembled:

After we look through our materials for the year, pictures are always a priority:

I decided we needed a fun outing to kick things off, so we drove all the way to Livingston, IL (about 40 minutes away) to the Twistee Treat Diner at The Pink Elephant for ice cream cones. It’s on Historic Route 66, and we’ve driven by it every time we’ve gone to Chicago, and I thought the time was finally right to check it out!

Would it even be the first day of school if we didn’t build a Lego set? I decided the Disney Villains Icons set would be a nice bridge from our fairy tale themed summer school…it’s a very clever set, and the girls let me build the Sleeping Beauty part. We’ll just ignore the hard time they gave me over the VHS tape build!

A (poison) apple for the teacher!

Ladybug requested a special dinner from Lilo and Stitch: The Official Cookbook. She really wanted to try the Pelekai Sweet and Sour Pork, and it was excellent! I also made a super decadent, super chocolatey cheesecake for dessert.

I really liked starting the school year this way…it was nice not to have to immediately get started on our actual work! I think we just might do it this way again next year (which will be Ladybug’s last first day of school with me)!

Tasty Tuesday–White Chocolate Blueberry-Lemon Cheesecake

Once I perfected my white chocolate raspberry cheesecake recipe, I started wondering what other kinds of cheesecakes I could make following the same basic recipe. For my first attempt, I went with one of my favorite flavor combinations, blueberry-lemon. It turned out just as well (although maybe not quite as pretty coming out of the cheesecake pan), and the flavor is amazing…I think I like it even better! The real star of the recipe is the sauce, which would also be good on pancakes and waffles, ice cream, and anything else you can think of!

Blueberry Lemon Sauce:

  • 10 oz. frozen blueberries
  • 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch

Combine blueberries, lemon juice, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue boiling until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer. Refrigerate overnight.

Graham Cracker Crust:

  • 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all three ingredients together, then press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature. When cool, place in freezer for at least an hour.

Cheesecake:

  • 2 cups white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 24 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp. lemon extract

Preheat oven to 325. Melt white chocolate chips and half-and-half in double boiler; cool slightly. Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add lemon zest, lemon extract, and melted white chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour half of the batter over frozen crust. Spoon 3 Tbsp. blueberry sauce over batter. Slowly pour in remaining cheesecake batter. Spoon 3 Tbsp. blueberry sauce over top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect. Bake in the preheated oven until top is set, 60-75 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes. Cool cheesecake to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Serve with remaining blueberry sauce

Tasty Tuesday–White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

I’ve been tinkering with this cheesecake recipe for a while, and I have it to a point where it’s the single best cheesecake I’ve ever made!

Raspberry Sauce:

  • 10 oz. frozen raspberries
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch

Combine raspberries, water, sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and continue boiling until sauce is thick, about 5 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. Refrigerate overnight.

Graham Cracker Crust:

  • 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 Tbsp. sugar
  • 6 Tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all three ingredients together, then press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, then cool to room temperature. When cool, place in freezer for at least an hour.

Cheesecake:

  • 2 cups white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup half-and-half
  • 24 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325. Melt white chocolate chips and half-and-half in double boiler; cool slightly. Mix cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and melted white chocolate mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour half of the batter over frozen crust. Spoon 3 Tbsp. raspberry sauce over batter. Slowly pour in remaining cheesecake batter. Spoon 3 Tbsp. raspberry sauce over top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect. Bake in the preheated oven until top is set, 60-75 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes. Cool cheesecake to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

Tasty Tuesday–A Day Inspired by Final Fantasy XIV

Ladybug has been wanting to prepare a meal (or two!) using recipes from The Ultimate Final Fantasy XIV Online Cookbook, and we decided that spring break was the perfect opportunity. So last Wednesday, we had a day of Final Fantasy XIV-themed foods, starting with a “Sandwich Basket” for lunch. It included egg salad, roast beef with horseradish sauce, and lettuce, tomato, and avocado varieties:

For dinner, she choose “Deep-Fried Okeanis,” which was pretty much a schnitzel that would also work well for pork katsu sandwiches. It was served with some herb roasted potatoes that were really good.

Every good themed meal needs a special drink, so we made “The Black Shroud Lemonade,” which had a simple syrup made of honey and sugar…that gave it a unique flavor that I really enjoyed!

And for dessert, we made a “Rolanberry Cheesecake,” which had a combination of cherries, strawberries, and raspberries in the sauce. It was really delicious, and it didn’t crack at all!

I’m not really familiar with the game itself, but it certainly did provide us with a lot of good food!