food & dining
It’s a Piece of Cake!
1½ cups flour
hese two recipes are very differ-
ent but equally delicious.

The first, a vanilla riff on a classic
Italian lemon ricotta cake, leans heavily
into dairy and requires a bit of effort
but is truly delicious.

The second, a pareve/vegan choco-
late cake designed to feed one or two,
is a classic pantry recipe that is surpris-
ingly tasty. Most reasonably stocked
kitchens will be equipped with the
ingredients needed for the chocolate
cake, and it is simple to make.

For the glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
2-3 tablespoons milk (adjust for
proper consistency)
T Vanilla Ricotta Cake | Dairy
Makes 1 9-inch cake
I had a surplus of ricotta cheese in
my fridge recently; I’m a sucker for
“buy 2, get one free” promotions. I
used two containers for lasagna and
mulled the third.

One rainy Saturday, I had the urge to
bake, and this cake suggested itself.

The original recipe calls for lemon
instead of vanilla, and I had no lemons
but, given the weather, I was loathe
to venture out. I had plenty of vanilla,
both extract and paste, so I went with
that. If you don’t have vanilla paste, just
use an extra teaspoon of extract.

The results were great; over the next
several days, two guests who claim to
“not like cake” came back for seconds.

If you prefer the lemon version, simply
omit the vanilla from both the batter
and the glaze. For the cake, use the
zest and juice of 1 whole lemon or 1
tablespoon of lemon extract. For the
glaze, use the juice and zest of ½
lemon or 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.

Butter and powdered sugar for the
pan 1½ sticks butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
1 15-ounce container ricotta
cheese 3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
22 MAY 18, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Heat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan with
butter, then dust it with about ¼ cup of
powdered sugar. Set it aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a
mixer, then add the ricotta and beat
until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the
eggs, one at a time, and blend, then
add the vanilla extract and paste, if
using. Add the baking soda and salt,
then add the flour and mix briefly until
just combined (do not overmix or the
cake will be heavy).

Pour the batter into the prepared
pan and bake it for 45 minutes until
the center springs back and the cake
is a light golden brown. Cool the cake
for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove
the rim.

While the cake is cooling, make the
glaze: Mix all the ingredients with a
fork or whisk it until smooth. When the
cake is completely cool, drizzle the
glaze over the top.

Wacky Cake | Pareve
This cake lived up to its name. I teach
a monthly cooking class at JCHAI, an
organization that supports individuals
with disabilities to live independently.

We have a great time, and the students
leave with the fruits of their labor to
enjoy in their apartments.

Recently, one of the students
requested a chocolate cake for the
next lesson. Because of the logistics,
we always create individual portions
for the participants to take home, so I
sought a single-serving recipe.

I found this “wacky cake,” a rich
chocolate cake that is reputed to date
to the World War II era when cooks
had to work around rationing. I scaled
it to a small quantity, and it was shock-
ingly delicious.

When I introduced the recipe, I
explained the cake’s history and the
need for cooks at the time to be
creative due to shortages of staple
ingredients such as butter and eggs.

We made the cakes, put them in the
oven, and one of the participants
remarked about the sugarless cake
and asked about other cakes that had
similar substitutions.

I was like, “What do you mean
‘sugarless’?” and then I checked the
recipe … somehow I had omitted the
sugar from the written recipe. Even
though I had brought a bag of sugar
to the demo kitchen, it never made it
into the batter. Rut-roh.

I semi-panicked; there wasn’t
much to do now that the cakes were
baking. But cooking requires the
ability to pivot, and that’s what we
did. I ransacked the demo kitchen
for remedies, and we found Nutella,
chocolate syrup, milk, Marshmallow
Fluff, a can of frosting and sprinkles.

We mixed the chocolate syrup with
the milk and, when the cakes came
out, soaked the cake with it, tres
leches style. Then we offered the
students the other ingredients to top
and decorate the cakes. It wasn’t
the goal, but it worked out pretty
well. And now I have a plan for next
month’s class: chocolate cake with
sugar. Mini Chocolate Cake
Serves 1 or 2
One beautiful thing about this cake
is the lack of mess — you mix the
batter right in the pan!
½ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
powder Pinch salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons oil
¾ teaspoon white vinegar
⅓ cup hot water
Grease a mini loaf pan. Heat your
oven to 350 degrees F.

In the pan, mix the dry ingredients
with a fork or a small whisk. Make 3
little wells in the mixture. In one well,
place the vanilla, another the oil and
the last the vinegar. Pour the hot water
over the whole mixture. Whisk until
blended. Bake it for about 18 minutes
until the middle of the cake is done
and no longer wet.

Let the cake cool slightly, and top as
desired with frosting, chocolate syrup,
caramel, butterscotch, jam, whipped
cream, ice cream, etc. ■
Keri White is a Philadelphia-based
freelance food writer.

Photo by Keri White
Keri White



bonus digital content
food & dining
Nana’s Cheesecake for Shavuot
Jessica Grann
I ’m going back to basics this Shavuot with
my mother’s classic cheesecake recipe.

It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t
love a good, old-fashioned cheesecake.

There are a lot of different recipes floating
around in my family, but this is the one that
was made for special occasions.

There is never a bad time of year to
eat cheesecake, but it’s an expectation
for Shavuot. This has a beautifully dense
yet creamy consistency that’s scented with
lemon, and I can’t get enough of the graham
cracker crust. It also has a sour cream layer
on top which makes it look and taste divine.

You don’t need to be a talented baker to
get a great result from this recipe — it’s easy
to follow and has easy-to-find ingredients. I
can’t bake this too often because we can’t
stop eating it. There are three distinct steps
in this recipe, which are outlined below.

Nana’s Cheesecake
Serves 10-12
Ingredients Graham cracker crust:
1 cup finely crushed graham crackers
(1 sleeve of crackers makes 1 cup)
¼ cup melted butter. You can use salted
butter. (If you have unsalted butter,
add a small pinch of sea salt to the
mixture.) 3 tablespoons sugar
⅛ teaspoon cinnamon
Photos by Jessica Grann
Cheesecake filling:
3 8-ounce bricks of full-fat cream
cheese ¾ cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
3 eggs
Sour cream top layer:
1 cup (8 ounces) full-fat sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
This recipe requires a 9-inch springform
pan. It’s also imperative that all of the dairy
is at room temperature. Room temperature
doesn’t mean warm, but if the cream cheese
is too cool to the touch it won’t mix correctly.

I usually put all of the dairy products and the
eggs on the counter 2 hours before I bake.

Prepare the crust first. You can hand
crush the graham crackers by placing them
in a large plastic food storage bag and
going over them with a rolling pin. I throw
them in the food processor. If there are any
larger pieces left intact, crumble them with
your fingers.

Place the crushed graham crackers in a
small bowl, and mix in the melted butter,
sugar and cinnamon. The cinnamon does
something special for this cheesecake. It’s
so light that you don’t really taste it, but
the crust doesn’t taste as good if you
omit it. I think that the cinnamon plays
well with the lemon.

Mix the ingredients — the consistency
will be very light and almost sandy. You can
make this ahead of time and leave it on the
counter until you’re ready to bake.

Preheat your oven to 325 F and place the
rack in the center of the oven.

Pour the graham cracker crumbs into the
springform pan. Gently press the crumbs
down with your hands, spreading them
evenly across the bottom of the pan to
create a crust.

Bake for 8-10 minutes and remove from
the oven.

While the crust is baking you can mix the
cheesecake batter. Using either a whisk
or a paddle attachment, add the cream
cheese to the bowl and mix it on medium-
low for 2 minutes, until smooth.

Add the sugar, lemon juice and lemon
zest, and mix for another minute before
adding the eggs, one at a time. As soon as
the yellow of the egg yolk looks mixed into
the batter, it’s time to add the next egg.

Once blended, turn the speed up to
medium and mix it for another minute.

Stop the mixer, scrape the bowl
and mix it again on low speed for one
more minute. You may see some small
lumps even if it’s well mixed; they will
bake into the cheesecake, so don’t worry
about them.

Gently pour the batter over the graham
cracker crust.

Reduce the heat of the oven to 300 F.

and bake for 55 minutes. Don’t open the
oven door during this time.

I don’t use a water bath, or bain-marie,
with springform pans; I don’t want to add
the extra layers of tinfoil or plastic bags that
are needed to prevent water from seeping
into the cake pan. As an added precaution
against cracking, you can place a large
baking pan or wide pot with hot water onto
the lower shelf of the oven. I often choose a
pan that is larger than the springform pan in
case there are unexpected leaks; that way,
any mess falls into the water instead of all
over my oven.

I’ve been giving myself some grace
when cheesecakes crack. I make the
same recipe consistently and have
been doing so for decades. I think
that weather has a lot to do with the
outcome. Sometimes they crack and
sometimes they don’t. If it cracks, let it go.

Embrace the crack and fill it with a special
sauce like a berry coulis or fresh berries,
chocolate sauce, etc.

The last step is to mix the sour cream,
vanilla and sugar in a small bowl by
hand. The top of the cheesecake has this
beautiful, creamy layer, and it won’t sweat
like some cheesecakes can. Remove the
cheesecake from the oven immediately
when the timer goes off.

Using a rubber spatula, pour the sour
cream mixture over the cheesecake and
gently spread it across the top.

Return the cheesecake to the oven and
bake for an additional 10 minutes.

I have had good results taking this
cheesecake immediately out of the oven to
cool on my stovetop, but out of precaution
I usually let cheesecakes cool in the oven
for at least half an hour. If you do this, turn
the oven off, open the oven door and leave
it in a cracked position. You can let the
cheesecake cool completely in the oven, or
you can take it out after half an hour and let
it rest on your counter.

Once it’s cool, run a sharp knife around
the edges and release the spring on the
pan. I prefer to leave the springform sides
around the cake while refrigerating to
support it and protect it from anything that
may fall onto it. I place a dinner plate over
the pan and refrigerate overnight. Avoid
plastic wrap at this point; it will ruin the
finish. It is essential to let the cake rest overnight.

You put in effort and you want to have the
best result. Wishing you an inspiring holiday
of Shavuot. ■
Jessica Grann is a home chef living
in Pittsburgh.

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