Cheesecake – after a family recipe

IMG_5052There are some dishes that just don´t taste right when using a different recipes or ordering them in a restaurant. For me, that is true for my mom’s lasagna, my dad´s pasta and this cheesecake. They are just such typical family recipes. I´ve tried different recipes but with what I knew from home in mind, I always ended up being disappointed. Therefore, when it comes to making any of these recipes, I just trust in the ones I have. They are foolproof. At least for me.

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Carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese topping

IMG_4859Holidays are great. I never really appreciated them, If you are a lazy college student like me, it doesn´t really make a difference if it´s Tuesday or Sunday. But since I have to get up early every day to get to my internship I am really thankful for weekends and days off. I am using this long weekend to sleep in and get busy in the kitchen. We are having a big brunch with the family and I wanted to make an Easter recipe. I wasn´t exactly sure what to make though, I am no expert when it comes to traditional Easter recipes. I did however had a huge craving for carrotcake-cupcakes. And if carrots are good enough for the Easter bunny, they sure are good enough for cupcakes. So here we go!

Technically I am kind of cheating with this recipe because I have posted it before. But I love it so much and didn´t want to try a different recipe and be disappointed afterwards. Plus, the cream cheese topping is perfect. I have to admit, I think cupcakes are super cute but sometimes they are just to sweet and sugary. I am not a huge fan of the traditional topping made with butter and sugar but everybody is different. Feel free to try a different topping with this recipe and let me know how it goes.

IMG_4852Makes about 24 cupcakes:

375 g carrots (about 4-5)

250 g flour

3 TL baking powder

275 g sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

Salt

250 g butter

1/2 TL cinnamon

4 eggs

100 g chopped almonds

100 g ground almonds

1) First, peel the carrots and grate them finely on a grater. In a bowl, mix flour, baking powder, sugar, vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and the eggs. Finally add carrots and almonds. Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.

2) Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven at 175° for about 25 minutes. Let the cool completely before adding the topping.

IMG_4906For the topping:

200 g cream cheese

2 tbsp. cream

100 g powdered sugar

1) Mix cream cheese with the cream. Add powdered sugar and mix well with a mixer until you get a fluffy topping. Spread the topping generously on the cupcakes using a knife or a piping bag.

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Rhubarb-strawberry jam

IMG_4766Spring is here. The weather was so great last week, warm and sunny; it almost felt like the beginning of summer. Everything is blooming and blossoming, there are just so many colors everywhere. And I did manage to get a light sunburn just from a picnic in the park. Today was the first day where the weather was grey and rainy so I decided to get me some spring in a jar. With rhubarb-strawberry jam!

I love when rhubarb come in season. It´s a reminder that winter is really over and it means that all the other wonderful summer-fruits are soon in season. I knew I wanted to make something with rhubarb this weekend but I wasn´t quite sure what. The idea to make jam was pretty spontaneous and since rhubarb itself tends to be a bit sour, I decided to add some strawberries as well. Continue reading “Rhubarb-strawberry jam”