Thank you to

Tea Lady

for choosing this delicious recipe

from Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful cookbook entitled: 

Baking From My Home to Yours.

This cheesecake is smooth and lucious.  It is a short cheesecake and the graham cracker crust was taller than the cheesecake itself, and was a little messy and caused the surface of the cheesecake to not be smooth like most cheesecakes are. 

If I were to make this cheesecake again, I would add a little more melted butter to the crust recipe, so that it would hold together better, as it was very crumbly.  I also would add more chocolate to this recipe, as 4 ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate didn’t seem to be enough to give this cheesecake’s name justice.

Thank you to

Beth from Someone’s in the Kichen with Brina

(another person who lives in Baltimore)

who chose the recipe for this week’s “Tuesdays with Dorie”

This pie is very good and presents itself very nicely.  However, it took additional time to bake, I am assuming because of the chocolate? 

I baked this pie for an additional 30 minutes and it still “jiggled” when I took it from the oven.  I allowed it to cool, took some pictures of the whole pie and then sliced into it, and oh no!  It was so runny and the chocolate, sugary filling came oozing out and did not look appealing.  So, that is the reason that I am only including a picture of the entire pie, prior to slicing. 

Overall, the addition of the espresso powder was a very nice spice to add, as this seemed to cut the sweetness of the “usual pecan pie.”  The addition of the chocolate seemed to take away from the original pecan pie taste for me.  So, the next time I bake this pie, I will add only 1 teaspoon of the espresso powder and will leave out the chocolate.

Ken loves Apple Pancakes.  He especially loves the ones served from the Original Pancake House.  I have been trying over the years to duplicate this recipe and while visiting my beloved mom and dad in Charlotte over Thanksgiving, Ken and Richard (Ann’s husband) had the opportunity to enjoy another apple pancake!  I was more determined than ever to give it another try and come up with the ect apple pancake.  

The Apple Pancake contains eggs, flour, milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, butter and apples. It takes about 40 minutes to bake in either an iron skillet  or a pyrex pie plate and is served all puffed up and steaming hot.

The name doesn’t do this masterpiece justice.  The Apple Pancake really isn’t much like a pancake at all. It’s more a like a souffle or really, really moist bread pudding. The only way to truly appreciate it is to try one yourself.

 This recipe is so good that Ken said it was actually better than the ones from the Original House.   Do yourself a favor and try this recipe today! Your home will smell great all day long too. 

 Ingredients:

5 Tablespoons of butter.
2 Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin.

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Cup Flour
1 Cup Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Vanilla

4 Eggs
1/2 Cup Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
 

Method:

In either a mixing bowl or a blender, whip the 4 eggs for about 4 to 5 minutes until light and airy.  Add the flour, milk and vanilla.  Mix well.  In another bowl, mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and remaining cinnamon.

Add the 5 tablespoons of  butter to a 10 inch Pyrex pie deep dish and put in a preheated, 400 degree oven. When the butter is completely melted remove from oven.

Peel the apples and slice them thin.  Place the apple slices into a small skillet and add 1/2 cup of water, 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/8 cup of brown sugar.  Bring to a boil and then simmer while the butter is melting in the oven.

Now pour the batter into the buttered Pyrex dish and pour the apples and all of the juice over the batter, no need to stir it.  

Next, cover the entire apple and batter mixture with the brown sugar, crystal sugar and cinnamon blend and place into the oven for 40 minutes exactly.  

The pancake will be all puffed and golden and steaming hot.