Strangers and Cheesecake

We meet people everyday. Strangers who might be passing by in a shopping mall, the driver in the car next to yours at the red lights, a greeting with a friend's friend. Many will simply slip by without notice. When Chance decides to stop and allow an encounter, with some, there is an automatic click, where one goes "ah, we can get along". Perhaps this is the all-elusive "spark" that some are looking for. Others, we are more cautious in approaching or getting close, though that can certainly change with time. Yet others, we will instinctively avoid or even have a mild dislike right from the start.

While I do not personally believe in phenomenons such as love at first sight (how do you even know it's love when you don't know anything about a person? Can one really understand their own feelings within a mere few seconds of first sighting? I think not..), our power of observation and intuition is something we rely on more heavily than we know. The way we've been brought up, our prejudice, our bias, our preferences are all attributes to how we deal with the situation where we meet someone for the first time. Feelings are not irrational, they can be explained- if one allows it to be explained, but often, Denial pays a visit and Logic is cast out.

We all start off as strangers at one point, and perhaps after a certain period of time of getting to know someone and becoming friends/partners, we become strangers once more, almost like an expiry date stamped onto a relationship. 

From baKEE

Back a few days ago, I decided to make something. I can't remember the last time I cooked something proper (or something that wasn't put together in a matter of minutes as a quick meal), but there are times when Life feels overwhelmingly hectic and hobbies like baking get pushed into a tiny corner.

From baKEE

I made this cake the day my black chicken died. She lived with a brown one and they came as a pair from my good friend BT and her husband GZ, who visited 4 years ago randomly delivering two tiny chicks in a cardboard Coke carton. Today, one is left.

Torta Di Ricotta is a famous cheesecake, sold in Pasticceria Papa located in places like Fivedock and Bondi Beach. This replica recipe was from here and it was actually quite an easy recipe to follow, however!! dealing with pastries has never been my forte, so I did a pretty shoddy job of it.

Simply put, it's a ricotta cheesecake enclosed by a pastry. The pastry itself is very forgiving because it doesn't have to be flaky- meaning the butter doesn't need to be kept freezing cold and in whole lumps. 100g butter creamed with 1/4 cup caster sugar, then add in 1 egg and 1/4 cup cream, whisk till really well combined before pouring in 2 cups of plain flour and 3 tsp baking powder to form a dough. Fridge it for 10 minutes before rolling out to fit a springform pan's base, oven it 180 degrees for 5 mins.

That's another thing I don't have. Despite baking so much, I... don't have a springform pan. Nor a Kitchenaid.  I suppose cakes can be baked into any shape and size, so I used a loaf pan instead.

From baKEE

The filling: 2 eggs, 1/8 cup caster sugar, mixed till fluffy, then in a separate bowl, 250g cream cheese with another 1/8 cup sugar, creamed. Add vanilla, 1/4 cup cream and the cream cheese into the egg and sugar mixture, whisk till combined. Throw in 500g of ricotta, mix well.

Once the base is baked and cooled, surround the rim of the pan with pastry, pour in filling, cover with a pastry lid before baking in 180 degree oven for 45 mins. Leave in the oven for 20 mins with the door ajar after baking before taking it out to cool. Fridge. Done.

This was actually a lot of effort, but for such a big cheesecake, it will last you surprisingly long because it's so rich and filling. A small slice will suffice. Verdict? It's a good cheesecake. Really good, but you can imagine there's a whole block of cream cheese plus 500g ricotta AND cream in it, this thing is not for the faint-hearted at all. 

Thanks, wholesome-cook for the recipe!