Toasted Coconut Popsicles ~ A Mexican Paleta by La Newyorkina

I'm posting this popsicle recipe first by request, because, as my friend Kathy puts it, "this popsicle is changing my life." It's that delicious! In fact, it's one of the most popular pops flavors at La Newyorkina, and I can see why: it's decadently rich and creamy, but the toasted coconut brings it to a whole new level with it's nutty crunch. It's the perfect icy summer treat! If you like coconut, you will love this.

Toasted Coconut Popsicles ~ A Mexican Paleta by La Newyorkina
from Paletas, by Fany Gerson

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 can (140z) coconut milk
3/4 cup half & half
1 can (13.5oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread shredded coconut in a thin layer on a rimmed cookie sheet. Toast 10-15 minutes, stirring often to ensure even browning and no burning. Remove from oven, and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a blender, combine coconut milk, half & half, sweetened condensed milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth, then stir in the toasted coconut by hand. Pour into molds, and freeze 5+ hours until firm. I store mine wrapped in an airtight container in the freezer, wrapping each pop in a piece of parchment paper to keep them from sticking together.

Popsicles Week and a Giveaway!

If there's one thing I have fallen in love with this summer, it's homemade popsicles! I don't know what your summers are like, but here in the desert that is Southern California, it's hot. HOT HOT HOT. And while it may be gloomy and gray in June, it's always hot in August and September (and sometimes October, November, and December. The weather is wacky and backwards here). All that is to say, we are heading into the hottest part of the year here, the time of year when some icy refreshing pops are in order!

Now if you are like me, you probably are excited about the idea of making popsicles, but don't really know where to start. And if you are like me, you have probably looked at grocery store pops and thought "really? corn syrup and food coloring?? It doesn't get better than that?" Or, you get the "healthy" pops made from all fruit, but they cost like $4 a popsicle! Well, I'm happy to say that making pops at home is a breeze, you can make them however healthy (or decadent!) you like, and I'm here to help get you started! So, drum-roll please.....

This week on Delish is pops week! All week I will be featuring great popsicle recipes and giving away some great popsicle swag to help you get started! Ready to get started? I'm ready! Lets go!

You can make popsicles in just about anything - cups, glasses, ice cube trays, etc., and there are lots of popsicle molds out there as well. But if you want a really awesome popsicle mold, you can't go wrong with this freezer pop mold from Progressive International, an awesome kitchenware company located in Washington. I've used a lot of molds, but this really is the best mold I have ever used, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's sturdy, well made, easy to use, and I LOVE that it uses wooden popsicle sticks, meaning you can make an unlimited amount of pops! As soon as one batch is frozen, you pop them out of the mold and make another. No waiting till you eat the old ones, no fuss. This is the mold I use, and I like it so much I want to give one to you! So our friends over at Progressive International have agreed to give away one popsicle mold as well as two packs of popsicle sticks to one lucky reader!

If you just can't wait to win it, you can pick one up at their website, or on Amazon.com!

The next thing you need to get started are some great recipes. I'm not going to lie: sometimes, I just pour juice into the mold and call it a day. And those pops are great! (In particular, we love popsicles made of the Strawberry Lemonade at Trader Joe's) But you can do so much more, which is why I am pleased to feature recipes from two of my most favorite popsicle recipes books all week long! The first book is called Ice Pop Joy, by Anni Daulter. I cannot even tell you how much I love this book! Anyone who has kids (or is a kid at heart) knows how hard it can be get them to eat healthy. (James? He only eats white food. It kills me. He will eat these pops though!)

Ice Pop Joy is full of incredible, all natural recipes using whole foods and natural sweeteners like honey and agave nectar, and these recipes are so good. All the recipes are so fresh and pure, but with sophisticated blends of flavor I never would have thought of. They leave you feeling like you just ate something really good, that was somehow, miraculously, good for you! They're great for kids, but they are also great, no-guilt treats for grown-ups too! The book is beautifully photographed, and every recipe is a winner. I am so delighted to tell you that the author has agreed to give away a copy of her book to one lucky reader!

I will be featuring recipes from the book all week, but if you want to buy it now, you can find it on Amazon, and you can also check out Anni's e-magazine Bamboo: Conscious Family Living.

The second cookbook we will be featuring this week is Paletas, by Fany Gerson. Paletas are Mexican popsicles, and Fany Gerson is the owner of the acclaimed La Newyorkina, a Mexican frozen treats and sweets business in New York. If Ice Pop Joy is refreshing and pure, Paletas is sultry and decadent, featuring classic Mexican flavors: spicy pineapple, Mexican hot chocolate, carmel, avocado, and so on. The toasted coconut pop seriously blew our minds it was SO good! We will be featuring her recipes all week, and Fany has generously agreed to give away a copy of her book to share with you!

Can't wait? But her recipe book on Amazon!

Giveaway details!

To enter, leave a comment telling us your name and your favorite summer dessert! For a second entry, like us on facebook, and come back and leave a second comment! (two entries maximum per person).

Giveaway open until 5pm pacific time, Monday August 15th, when comments will be closed. Winners will be announced Tuesday, August 16th.

Fresh Berry Tartlets with Creamy Vanilla Bean Filling - gluten free! (Or not)

You know how sometimes you land upon a recipe that just has some sort of magic combination of ingredients, and it turns into a family favorite that you make over and over again? This is that recipe. I have made this tart every summer since I discovered it, and I've been tinkering with the recipe until I got it just the way I like it. It's probably the most requested recipe I have, so its about time it went up on the 'ol blog, wouldn't you say?

BTW, I generally adapt recipes from other sources, but this crust recipe is all me! The original called for a graham cracker crust, and when I first started making this gluten-free graham crackers were not available (they are now). That's ok though, because I like this crust way better than a the graham cracker crust, and so does everyone else! There just something special about the nutty almond flour (and this crust) that really brings this dessert up to a whole new level.

And of course, you must make the filling. It is not optional. Do not use something else. This filling is THE BEST THING EVER. It makes pastry cream feel like an ugly stepsister crying in the corner. It's like, as good as cheesecake, but with none of the work. I promise, if you make this, you will never want to use pastry cream again (ok, ok, you might use it again, but you will like this better).

Fresh Berry Tartlets with Creamy Vanilla Bean Filling
makes 1 large tart, or 4-5 individual tartlets

I topped these with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries because that's what was in season, and it looked cute for our 4th of July barbecue, but you can really make these any time of year and use whatever fruit or combination of fruits are fresh and in season. I have made it with peaches and raspberries, cherries, apricots, blackberries, and I bet it would taste great with poached pears, quince, or other fall fruits.

I used to make this as one large tart, but that was always a struggle for me, because as pretty as it looks when you are done making it, it turns into a real mess when you try to cut it up. One I did it as individual tartlets, I was sold: They are just so cute, and they don't fall apart when you slice them into individual portions.

For the Crust
3/4 cup almond flour
1 cup flour (you can use regular flour if gluten is not an issue, or an all purpose gluten-free mix, or yout favorite combination of gluten free flours. For this recipe I use 1/2 a cup sweet rice flour, and 1/2 a cup oat flour)
1 tbs xanthum gum
1/2 a cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar

For the cream cheese vanilla bean filling
8 oz (one stick) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 Vanilla Bean, halved and scraped, or 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste
1/4 cup white sugar

For the topping
2 cups fresh fruit
optional: warmed jam for especially sour fruits, brushed over the top

1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together almond flour and other flour(s), xanthum gum, and sugars. Pour melted butter into flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed through the flour. Press into tart shell, and bake 15 - 20 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven, and cool completely.

2. Make the filling: In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add in vanilla, sugar, and cream. Mix on low until incorporated, then beat on high until cream is light and fluffy. Scrape into cooled tart shell, and top with fruit. If the fruit you have chosen is especially sour, feel free to brush some warmed jam over it. Enjoy!

Dreamy Creamy Coconut Cream Bars

I know this doesn't seem like this has anything to do with coconut cream bars (which are just as creamy and dreamy as they look!), but I have had allergies on the brain lately. Apparently, I am allergic to everything. Cats, dogs, mold, dust, hay, grass, and a host of other things yet unknown. Which is why I have 40 little stickers stuck to my back that are itching like crazy. But it will be good to finally know what it is that I am allergic to to, after not knowing for all this time.

Which has got me to thinking about allergies, because lots of people have them, and not just to dogs and cats and dust and pollen, but to foods as well. Before I knew about my gluten issues, I used to roll my eyes at people with special diets. Like, how pretentious can you get? I can't eat this, I can't eat that, treat me special. Back when I taught, I had a few students who were on gluten-free diets, and they were invariably the most difficult ones. I'm ashamed to say that on more than one occasion, I thought to myself "oh, of course you would be the one on the "gluten-free diet" you annoying kid." Ah, youth. It makes idiots of us all.

Because it was one of those students who actually turned me on to the fact that I had a gluten-problem myself. She brought cupcakes to class one day, and her mom chimed in, "and they're gluten free!" Inwardly I rolled my eyes, but after I ate one I thought "Woah. I don't feel sick after eating that cupcake. I always feel sick after eating a cupcake. What is this "gluten" stuff anyway?" And that was the end of that. Within 2 months, I had gone gluten-free for life. I had become the person I mocked. Haha! Life has a way turning things around on you like that.

All that is to say, you never know: it could happen to you. And if it does happen to you, you can take solace in the fact that allergies and intolerances don't mean the end to all good things. If you can't eat gluten (or whatever you happen to be allergic to... Unless you are allergic to coconut!), you can still eat these bars! (If you can eat gluten, you can eat them too, if you can get your hands on them!). I promise, one day you will never miss the gluten at all. I don't!

And what's to miss, when you can have these dreamy creamy coconut cream bars? It sucks to be allergic to stuff. I suppose I will just have to eat another coconut bar to console myself. Poor, poor me. I feel soooo sorry for myself.

Dreamy Creamy Coconut Bars
adapted from Martha Stewart magazine, May 2004

Ingredients
2.5 cups sweetened dried coconut flakes
-----------------------------
1.5 cups white rice flour (or all purpose flour if gluten is not an issue)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick butter, melted
(if you want, you can just use pulsed up sugar cookies instead of the flour and sugar).
----------------------------
1 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can coconut milk
2 cups whole milk
5 eggs yolk
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
-----------------------------
1.5 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake 10-15 minutes (stirring occasionally if needed), until coconut is golden around the edges. Remove and let cool.

2. In a food processor, pulse together 1 cup of the toasted coconut, 1.5 cups rice flour, 1/2 a cup white sugar, and the melted butter. Pulse together 1-2 minutes until mixture is crumbly. Press into a 9x13 glass baking dish, and bake 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove, and let cool.

3. In a large non-reactive sauce pan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1/2 a teaspoon salt. Mix in 1 can coconut milk, 2 cups whole milk, and 5 egg yolks. Whisk over high heat, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat, and whisk in pieces of butter and 1 cup of the toasted coconut.

4. Scrape coconut cream into crust, and smooth with a spatula. Press saran wrap to the surface of the coconut cream, so that no skin forms on the custard. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until cream is completely cooled.

5. In a stand mixer (or by hand if you are buff), beat 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream with 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar, until stiff. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

6. Cut cream and crust into bars. Pipe a zig zag of whipped cream onto each bar (so it looks pretty!) and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Enjoy!

Deep Dark Decadent Chocolate Mousse

When I was a little girl, my mom would take my sister and I out to Sizzler every now and then to eat at the salad bar. We weren't exactly rolling in the money those days, so it was a special treat to go out to a restaurant with mom. And of course, we thought that Sizzler was SO fancy. They had cloth napkins, real plates, waitresses who brought you stuff if you asked for it, and at the end of the meal, chocolate mints on a little tray with the receipt. If there was one thing my sister and I knew, it was that Sizzler was a classy place.

And of course, we loved the salad bar. We always ate the same thing: canned peaches, cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese toast, and if we were especially good, chocolate mousse. Oh, we loved chocolate mousse. Other than the chocolate mints, it was the highlight of the meal, the thing we looked forward to from the moment we stepped in the door. Chocolate mousse was the ultimate ending to a fine dining experience, and my little sister and I looked on chocolate mousse as something so classy, so undeniably fancy, that only Sizzler could make it right.




So I am sure you can imagine how completely crushed we were, as adults, to learn that Sizzler no longer features chocolate mousse as part of their salad bar. Is devastation too strong a word? HARDLY.

Thankfully this story does have a happy ending, and I think we both know it's going to end with a recipe. Though I am sure I am remembering Sizzler's chocolate mousse through the rose-tinted glasses of childhood innocence, this recipe is pretty knock-down good (as good as the original I'll wager), and it's simple too. And of course, you should feel free to mix it up and put your own twist on the recipe: espresso powder, raspberries, mint extract, caramel ribbons - go wild! Or stick with the classic original. Either way, it's sure to be classy.






Deep Dark Decadent Chocolate Mousse
Adapted from Everyday Food
Serves 4 (or 2, of you are feeling extra decadent!)

It's important to use a high quality dark chocolate in this recipe. If you try to use milk chocolate it will "seize" up, turn hard, and be ruined. You also want a high quality chocolate since the flavor is really going to shine through. I used the 72% Swiss dark chocolate from Trader Joe's (I think!), but I am sure there are plenty of good options out there on the market.

Ingredients
3 oz bittersweet dark chocolate, 60% or higher, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
1/4 cup granulated sugar
pinch of salt

1. Over LOW heat, whisk 4 large egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, anda pinch of salt until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is warm to the touch (2 to 3 minutes). Remove from heat, and whisk in 3 oz chopped bittersweet dark chocolate. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted, then mix in 2 tablespoons cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth.


2. In a stand mixer (or a medium bowl, if you are a sucker for punishment), whip 3/4 cup heavy cream cream until light and fluffy, and soft peaks form (don't over mix, or you will get butter!). With mixer on low, gently mix in 1/2 of the chocolate. Gently fold in remaining chocolate by hand with a rubber spatula. Divide among serving dishes and chill for at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days. Top with whatever pleases your fancy. Enjoy!

Creamy Cool Mint and Chocolate Grasshopper Pie - gluten free! Or not.

This pie is so lowbrow, and I mean that in the best way possible. It's not a pretentious pie. It doesn't have season tickets to the opera. It doesn't drive a Mercedes. It doesn't wear Prada. This is just a down home, Walmart shopping, Ford driving, baseball playing, summer pie. If we lived in "real America" instead of the liberal hippie commune we call California (oh, I love you, you liberal hippie commune!), I imagine we might eat pie like this every day.

And not that this pie would ever say so itself, seeing as it's so unpretentious, but it is also delicious. It's cool. It's creamy. It's got a refreshing mint flavor and a crisp chocolate crust. It's kind of amazing. Perfect for like, I don't know, a barbecue? A picnic? A beach party? Sunday dinner? A midnight snack? Any time you feel like a little kitschy? Any old excuse?







This weekend we had a coed baby shower barbecue at our house (and by the way, men should always be invited to baby showers. So! Much! Fun!). I made some cupcakes (not gluten-free), and I thought I would just pull this out of the freezer so I could enjoy some dessert too. Dude. This pie was practically inhaled it went so fast. And the cupcakes? I still have a million of them. And why shouldn't this cake be popular? It's practically no-bake, it's perfect on a hot summer day, it pairs well with barbecue, what's not to love?

Wait, I think it's talking to you. It say "make me already!" I think you better listen.










Creamy Cool Mint and Chocolate Grasshopper Pie - Gluten free! Or not.

Okay, okay, this pie has the great white Satan in it. You know what I'm talking about. Yep, that's right. This pie calls for cool whip. On most days, I tend to sit up on my high horse and talk about how horrible processed food is (because it is horrible, actually), but, well, not today. Life is short, it's ok to live it up with some cool whip every now and then. I'm not suggesting you make cool whip part of your daily bread, but there are some worse sins I can think of. And honestly, the cool whip is seriously yummy. It's summer! Let's enjoy it, shall we?

Also, let's talk about crusts. My crust is gluten free, and is made out of my gluten-free Girl Scout thin mint cookies. HOWEVER, any other gluten-free chocolate cookie will work, and if gluten is not an issue, Oreo's are just dandy. Whatever cookie you choose, you want it to be crisp, like a graham cracker, not soft and chewy.


For the crust
25 gluten-free Girl Scout thin mint cookies, undipped in chocolate, just the cookie (or other types of chocolate cookie).
1/2 cup butter (one stick), melted


For the pie filling
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 ounces cool whip, extra creamy, thawed
1 teaspoon peppermint flavoring
1/2 cup sugar
green food coloring




Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put 25 chocolate cookies in a food processor, and process until cookies are broken down into crumbs.




Add 1/2 a cup melted butter, and process until crumbs are moist and begin sticking together. Press into a pie plate, using the bottom of a measuring cup to press in firmly. Cook in preheated oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool (I stuck mine in the freezer to hasten the process. You want it to be cold before you put in the filling, or the filling may melt).




In a stand mixer, combine 8 ounces cream cheese...




... and 1/2 cup sugar. Whip on high until sugar is dissolved into cream cheese, and cream cheese is light and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.




Add 1 teaspoon peppermint extract. Mix to combine.




Add 8 ounces cool whip and mix until incorporated.




Add a few drops of food coloring (I used about 5 drops, but how green you want it is really a matter of preference). Mix thoroughly.




Filling with be firm but soft. Scrape filling into prepared crust, spreading evenly. Refridgerate at least 2 hours so it can firm up. Alternatively, pie can be frozen.




enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Fool with Ruby Port Wine

My goodness, is it still strawberry season? It feels like it's been strawberry season for ever. You think I'd be bored of strawberries by now... but... well, I'm not. Call me crazy, but this week I sort of, well, splurged. I bought 8 lbs of strawberries. But they were only $1 a pound! The temptation was too hard to resist. I know. I'm so weak.

The thing is, I'm having a hard time coming up with creative ideas for what to do with all these strawberries. I already made jam. Got any other suggestions? (But please. Don't suggest I eat them plain. I've already eaten 4 lbs that way.)

Ok, I lied. I'm a big fat liar. I did come up with this. It's a strawberry fool. And as Nate, His Pickyness said, "wow. this is pretty good!" See? if His Pickyness likes it, you will too. It's practically a law of physics.

A fool, by the way, is a fruit puree folded into whipped cream, usually accompanied by some kind of liquor. (A fool is also something else that is fun to joke about, but I'm not going to start dragging out the ol' Shakespeare references today). It's great for summer... because you don't have to turn on your oven. Or your stove. And no fancy-pants equipment or ingredients required! Well, except for the port. But I don't think buying a bottle of port is especially punishing. Poor me, what will I ever do with the rest of this bottle of delicious port? It's going to be some hard labor finishing it off, I tell you. (sarcasm? yes). On the other hand, if you just decided to skip the port, this would still be amazing. I'm really humble about my recipes, can you tell?





But seriously, this recipe is simplicity at it's finest, and also? Will totally knock your socks off. Or your guests' socks. They will be wondering how many hours over a hot stove you labored to make this beauty, and also, where are their socks? (I know, that was awful. Let's just get to the recipe, shall we?).

Oh, and also? If you have any suggestions for using up the rest of these strawberries, I am all ears. Please. Save me from these 4 lbs of strawberries.







Fresh Strawberry Fool with Ruby Port Wine

ingredients
2.5 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon ruby port wine



Whip 1 cup whipping cream in a stand mixer. When cream begins to form soft peaks, add 1/4 cup sugar. Whip on high until stiff peaks form. Don't overwhip - you'll make butter. (true fact).




Place 2.5 cups strawberries in a blender.




Add 1/4 cup sugar




Puree until just smooth. It's ok if there are a few small lumps. They are tasty, tasty lumps.




Add 2 cups strawberry puree to whipped cream. (reserve 1/2 cup strawberry puree for later).




Add 1 tablespoon ruby port wine to whipped cream and strawberries.




Fold strawberry puree, ruby port, and whipped cream gently together.




layer whipped cream mixture together with reserved strawberry puree. Swirl it around to look really artsy and impressive.


enjoy!

Creamy Banana Caramel Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Crust and Caramel Rum Sauce

Remember that lemon cheesecake disaster? The one where the cheesecake puffed, burned, cracked, and tasted a little bit like a lemon flavored kitchen sponge? It was a disaster. An epic disaster. I have made so many awful cheesecakes, I officially named cheesecake as my NEMESIS.

Well. Guess what. Just guess. No really!

I WIN. That's what. I finally made a cheesecake that didn't suck sweaty goat balls. That's right. This cheesecake is good.





No, wait. This cheesecake is GREAT. Dare I say it? This is the best cheesecake I have ever had. Ever. And that's saying something. Because I love cheesecake. A lot. And I know a good cake from a bad cake. And this cake is awesome.

You might be arching your eyebrows skeptically about the flavor. Banana cheesecake? Is that actually good?

YES.

YES, YES, YES! Have you ever had bananas foster? It was good, right? This cheesecake is a little like that. The cheesecake is smooth and creamy, with just a hint of mellow banana flavor, dark sweet rum, and vanilla. And don't forget the generous, rum infused ribbons of dulce de leche caramel. The crust is made of crushed macadamia nuts and unsweetened coconut. And it's topped with dark rum caramel sauce. It's kind of amazing.

I think I just might be making this again. RIGHT NOW. No really.





Creamy Banana Caramel Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Crust and Caramel Run Sauce

This month I joined an awesome baking club called The Daring Bakers. Each month, everyone in the club makes the same "challenge" recipe, then reveals said recipe on the same day on their blogs! Is that fun or what?

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

I think this might be a MAGIC recipe. I have made so many bad cheesecakes, but this one came out perfectly, and it was so easy! After so many throw aways, it's great to have a winner. It's definitely going in my permanent file.


Ingredients

1 macadamia nut crust with coconut flakes

For the cheesecake:
3 sticks cream cheese (8oz each) room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 medium banana (not too ripe!)
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 can dulce de leche

Rum Caramel Sauce:
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup light brown sugar
3 tbs butter


ok, lets get started! FIRST: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bring a LARGE pot of water to boil on the stove for your water bath.





Got that cream cheese? I hope it's room temperature! It really makes a difference. In fact, I recommend everything be room temperature - the cream cheese, the eggs, and the milk. It goes together much more smoothly, with no lumps.



Place your cream cheese in a stand mixer. Add the sugar.



Beat together until sugar is incorporated, 2-3 minutes. Try not to sample too much. Not that I have ANY IDEA how good sugar creamed into cream cheese tastes. Nope. No idea whatsoever.



Add the eggs one at a time, mixing each one in completely before adding the next. TIP: Mix on LOW until just incorporated. Overmixing will make the cake rise too much in the oven.



Add the heavy cream. Also mix this in on LOW. See above for why. You know, if you forgot.



Now add a tablespoon of this.



And don't forget a tablespoon of THIS!



Now for the fun part.



Puree a banana in a food processor (or a blender). You want it really smooth. This is not a banana chunk cheesecake (yuck).



Now gently mix it all up together. GENTLY. Like, until it is JUST mixed. It will be very runny. That's ok! Pour the cheesecake batter into whatever mold you are using, and fill it up HALF WAY. (I used ramkins. Next time I will use a springform pan. Ramkins were hard).



Ready for some MORE FUN? Mix this up with a bit of rum until it is syrrupy. MMmmmm. Dulce de leche. Put a couple of blobs in and GENTLY mix some of this stuff in with a knife or a fork. You want to make ribbons. Try not to sample too much. But, well, if you do... you're stronger than I am.



Fill your pans up to the top, and top with more dulce the leche. You can make a pretty swirly design on top like I did. Remember that boiling water at the beginning? Put your cheesecakes in a BIG pan, and fill the big pan up with water, until the cheesecake(s) are 1/2 way submerged. This slows the cooking down, and keeps the cheesecakes from burning or cracking.

Now put those babies in the over, and bake for 45-55 minutes (less if you are making small cheesecakes like me). You know it's done when the outer ring is firm, but the center is still jiggly.



Turn your oven off, and let the cheesecake sit in the slowly cooking over for ONE HOUR. Then remove the cheesecakes from the water bath, and let them continue to cool on the counter. This SLOW cooling will also help to keep them from cracking.

Finally, refrigerate them overnight before unmolding.


Caramel Rum Sauce

This sauce is SO SIMPLE, but powerfully, and I mean POWERFULLY tasty. And also? Kind of fun! There is fire involved. That's all I'm going to say. FOR NOW.



This is all you need: Butter, golden grown sugar, and dark rum.



Start by melting 2 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan (Don't use ANYTHING no stick. We are going to be playing with fire here. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt).



Add 1/4 cup brown sugar.



Heat on HIGH until the sugar is melted, and the sauce is bubbly.



Remember the rum? You need 1/4 cup dark rum. And some matches. (Really).



Add the rum to the bubbly sugar. Light a match - don't get too close! Those flames can shoop up to three feet high! Gently swirl the sauce as it flambes, so that the alcohol comes to the surface and is burned up by the flames.



Voila! Rum sauce. TO DIE FOR. Really. SO GOOD. Especially with bananas.





Now put it all together. This one is to celebrate Baby James' birthday! And by that, I mean what should have been his birthday - his due date! Happy zero little dude! Wait, what? You are too young to each cheesecake. Oh, ok. I guess mommy can eat your piece for you. :D