Three Cities of Spain cheesecake, creamiest ever

reamy cheesecake? Yes, please! This version of the classic is easy as can be, and the bomb to boot. There's really no other way to say it. When I first discovered this recipe, I knew I would return to it often, and I've made it many, many times in the years since. It's soft, creamy and very, very delicious. Which is not to say that it doesn't firm up properly--it does. It's just not the more "stiff" version so often associated with the New York, plain cheesecake style...

As I've said before, back in "the day," (2000, a lifetime ago in many ways) epicurious.com was THE go-to site for recipes. It still is, in many cases. How much better does it get than the combined recipe libraries of Bon Appetit and Gourmet?

Apparently I either have a very short memory, or I never properly understood the origins of the name of this recipe, but it's not about SPAIN per se, but a cafe in Santa Fe (now closed) where they made this dessert. So if, like me, you were wondering which three cities in Spain? Don't worry about it. Just make some cheesecake and enjoy!

Three Cities of Spain cheesecake
1 crumb-crust recipe made with finely ground graham crackers
3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar

(I often make a larger springform with four packages of cream cheese and five eggs... I also very rarely make the following topping, but when I do, it is quite delicious as well...)

For topping 
16 oz sour cream
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Make crumb crust as directed.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Make filling and bake cake: Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy and add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions. Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken. Let stand in baking pan on a rack 5 minutes. Leave oven on.

Make topping: Stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Drop spoonfuls of topping around edge of cake and spread gently over center, smoothing evenly. Bake cake with topping 10 minutes. Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools.) Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side from pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

My top tips for good cheesecake in general: 
* All ingredients at room temperature make for a much smoother (ie, no lumps) mixture.
* Bake low and slow. I bake at 250, rather than the listed 350 degrees. The cheesecake top will crack nine times out of ten at 350. Take the extra time (will probably add an hour to your overall baking time). If, however, the top does crack: make the topping. It is an excellent disguise to a less-pretty cheesecake surface.

Sweet niece Lucy gave the nicest compliment during the cheesecake eating: "This is the best dessert I have ever eaten!" Bless you, Lu! I agree.

Duo of chocolate cakes, in time for Valentine's Day

hese cakes were requested by the birthday girl a few weeks back when my good friend Megan turned 40. In planning her party, the two must-haves that rose to the top of the list were chocolate cheesecake and chocolate cake (well, and karaoke, but that's a whole 'nother story...).

I have made a birthday chocolate cheesecake for Megan a number of times over the years; her husband has picked up that tradition in recent years--what a great guy, eh?! The chocolate cake I chose (with Megan's approval) to make is an old favorite from Gale Gand, dessert queen extraordinaire. I first made it for a friend's birthday maybe almost a decade ago... but I have made it many times in the intervening years, always to "Yum!'s" and "Tasty!'s."

Either one (or both) would make a fabulous Valentine's Day treat for a dear one (or for yourself!).

Chocolate cake
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
3 cups light brown sugar, packed
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/3 cups sour cream
1 1/2 cups hot coffee

Frosting
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
16 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
8 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 cup cooled coffee
4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans. Cut 3 circles of waxed paper or parchment paper to fit the bottoms of the pans, then press them in.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mix. Add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin. Pour into the prepared pans and bake until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay), about 35 minutes. Halfway through the baking, quickly rotate the pans in the oven to ensure even baking, but otherwise try not to open the oven. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.

In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Drizzle in the melted chocolate and mix. Add the coffee and vanilla and mix. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix until well blended and fluffy. To frost the cake, use a spatula to cover 2 of the cake layers with frosting. Stack them together. Flip the third cake layer over and rest it on the top to create a very flat top for the cake. Frost on the sides and top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chocolate cheesecake
12 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon orange-flavored liqueur, such as Grand Marnier
4 large eggs
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter an 8-inch round springform pan that is at least 2 inches deep.

In a heavy pot, melt the chocolate with the water and liqueur. When melted, remove from the heat and let stand until cool.

In a large mixing bowl, using a handheld elecric mixer at medium speed, beat the eggs with the sugar until well combined, 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the cream cheese, 1/4 pound at a time, until the mixture is very smooth, 5 minutes. Beat in the cooled chocolate and the vanilla. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top edges of the cheesecake are puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to release the cheesecake from the sides (if they haven't already pulled away during the cooling process). Remove the sides of the springform, cover the cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. Bring to room temperature before serving, unless it is a very hot day, in which case, take it out of the fridge at the last minute and enjoy it cold.

For some reason, the cheesecake recipe above doesn't include a crust. That didn't make much sense to me, so I added one. I don't really think it's cheesecake without the crust!

Crust
2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until finely crushed. Mix in a bowl with the sugar and melted butter until well combined. Pour into the sprayed or buttered springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 350. Bring out, cool and proceed with the cheesecake.

Another change I made was adding a chocolate topping. I saw another cheesecake recipe that featured a topping, and it seemed like a way to "fancy it up" a bit.

Topping
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar

Stir cream, chocolate and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over center of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/2 inch of edge and filling any cracks. Chill until topping is set, about 1 hour.

I liked the effect of the topping, though it made cutting the cheesecake a tad more messy... but it's messing cutting a cheesecake anyway, so I say go for it and just keep your knife blade hot under running water and that makes all the difference!

If you are a chocolate fan, I say why wait for Valentine's or any other day? Make a cake today!

(And did you like how I used that oh-so-cheffy word "duo?" I learned that from Top Chef. Don't say watching TV isn't educational.)