Eggless Chocolate Cake With Homemade Caramel Sauce And Whipped Cream Frosting

March being special month with couple of birthdays in my house leaves me the challenge to bake eggless cakes for my darlings during this great lent period.  Deciding what to bake for Noah was my dilemma.  He loves chocolate flavor and whipped cream combo, so an ice cream cake was my initial plan.  I had to drop that idea since I realized the minimal space left in my freezer was not going to help me at all.  So I decided to go with something just simple as chocolate and whipped cream, but wanted to give a rich dense texture with some homemade caramel filling.  I had all the cake ingredients ready couple of days before the party.  I had a crowd of 25 to entertain on the party.

 After burning first batch of caramel by experimenting with another recipe and smoking part of the kitchen, I decided to try half the recipe with some milk.  It resulted in curdled & runny liquid that cannot be even categorized under anything related to Caramel.  My third attempt with another recipe with 1/4 cup of sugar resulted in what I was looking for.  As soon as I finished my test batch, I heard the running footsteps from up stairs.  Both Nathan & Nicole came rushing to find out the source of the pleasant smell that they were not able to identify even though they were sent to bed.  It was late night for them, but Nicole wanted to enjoy the warm Caramel with some apples even though she brushed.  She promised me that she will brush again.  The fresh cut apple with warm caramel was divine.

Due to the time limitation, I was not able to style or take good pictures.  It's always a struggle to put together the cake on the day of the party for me.  I also added the layer of complication to this birthday cake by layering two 9' cakes which was taller and needed refrigeration due to whipped cream frosting.  The real challenge was when I realized that my cake caddy's lid was shorter than the height of the cake.  I had to cover the cake and refrigerate to avoid crusting till the party begins.  There was no box in my house that would fit in the refrigerator, even though I had tons of cardboard boxes lying down in the basement.  I finally decided to use my cake caddy's lid with a simple trick.  I inserted 5 long wooden skewers into the center of the cake and had the caddy lid sit on these skewers.  This left the bottom part of the cake open, which was covered by plastic wrap.  After removing a rack from the refrigerator, I was able to fit this tall cake in the refrigerator all covered.  Kids were impressed by Mommy's idea and they were so happy to see the decorated cake.  After giving the kids the strict order to not open the refrigerator till the cake was ready for cutting, I went with the remaining chores of cleaning the kitchen counter and making snacks.  My heart was pounding fast each time when hubby opened and closed the refrigerator as I was not sure how long the skewers were able to hold the Caddy lid.  But it all worked well.  A little bit was left over for the next day and it tasted better than the first day and kids were competing for bigger pieces :).  The cake was perfect with the right balance of sweetness contributed by slightly sweetened whipped cream and creamy caramel.

Ingredients:
3 cups - all purpose flour
1/2 cup - cocoa powder
2 tsp - baking soda
1/2 tsp - salt
1/4 tsp - cinnamon powder
2 cups - sugar
1/3 cup - oil
2 cups - cold brewed coffee
2 tbsp - white vinegar
2 tbsp - pure vanilla extract

Butter/cooking spray to grease the pan

Caramel Sauce
1 cup - brown sugar
1/2 cup - half & half/ heavy cream
1/4 tsp - salt
2 tbsp - butter
1 tsp - vanilla extract

Whipped Cream layering
1 cup - heavy whipping cream
4 tbsp - powdered sugar
1/2 tsp - vanilla extract
Whipped Cream Frosting
2 1/2 cups - heavy whipping cream
10 tbsp - powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp - vanilla extract

Directions:

• Pre- heat oven to 350 °F.
• Sift together flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda and cinnamon powder and keep it aside.
• In a mixing bowl of a stand mixture, beat together sugar, oil, cold coffee, white vinegar and vanilla extract till everything is mixed well.
• Now add the dry ingredients and mix for 30 seconds till the dry ingredients are well incorporated into the wet ingredients.
• Grease a 9' round pan with butter/cooking spray or line the pan with wax/parchment paper.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 40 - 50 minutes or till a tooth pick comes out clean when tested in the center of the cake.  I used a dark metallic pan, so my cooking time was 55 minutes.  Let the cake cool.
• Since this is a layered cake, I made another 9' cake with the same above recipe.  So you have to basically double the above recipe to make two 9' cakes.

Caramel Sauce

• Meanwhile the cakes are cooling, you can make the caramel sauce by placing all the ingredients for the caramel sauce except vanilla extract in a heavy bottom sauce pan and bring to boil.
• Cook it for 5 - 7 minutes on medium heat by stirring in between using a wooden spoon.  As it starts to thicken, turn off the burner and add the vanilla and mix well.  Keep it aside to cool.  As it cools, it will thicken and attain the consistency of caramel sauce.

Whipped Frosting

• In a cold mixing bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 cup of whipping cream with 4 tbsp of powdered sugar and 1/2 tsp of vanilla.  Using a whip attachment whip it till soft peaks are developed.  Transfer these to a cold bowl for filling the cake and crumb coating.
• Clean the mixing bowl with ice water and dry.  Now whip together 2 1/2 cup whipping cream, 10 tbsp of powdered sugar and 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract till stiff peaks are formed for about 1-2 minutes.

Assembling the cake

• Cut off the bulged top of the cakes.  Apply1 tbsp of the cold caramel on the cake board/cake stand.
• Place the first cake on the stand and brush the caramel sauce on top of the cake.  Drizzle 1 to 2 tbsp of caramel on the cake and poke few holes into the cake using a skewer, so that the drizzled caramel will be soaking into the cake.
• Now apply a dollop of whipped cream made for layering evenly on the top of the cake.
• Place the second layer of cake and repeat the process of caramel application and drizzling.
• Crumb coat the layered cake with left over whipped cream prepared for layering.
• Use the second batch of whipped cream for frosting the cake.  I used a 2D Wilton tip to make the design on the cake after leveling the cake with Angled Spatula.  The design on the side was done using Wilton Decorating Triangle.  The top part of the cake was decorated with some shaved chocolate.

Notes:

• You can just make one 9' cake and divide it into half to make a layered cake instead of two 9' cakes if you don't want your cake to be taller.  If  you are just using one 9' cake, adjust the recipe for whipped frosting to half.
• Don't over beat the frosting.  It took me between 1-2 minutes to get a stiff consistency for the frosting.  Over beating the whipping cream will result in curdled frosting which will not be good for piping.
• You can use Meringue powder or gelatin to stabilize the whipping cream if you are not keen about vegetarian cake.
• Refrigerate the cake covered till ready to use. 
• There will be some left over caramel from the above recipe that you can enjoy with ice creams or dessert of your choice or even with apples.
• You can use a electric hand mixer or even use a wired whisk to whip the cream for frosting.  Make sure the whisk and bowl are very cold.
• You don't need fancy equipments and tools to decorate this cake.  You can use a regular flat spatula to level the frosting and use a fork to make design on the sides.  Instead of making flowers with frosting, pour melted cold chocolate and caramel over the cake.  Top with some chocolate shavings.  I used a vegetable peeler to shave the chocolate.

Asparagus And Shallots in Roasted Coconut Gravy / Asparagus Ulli Theeyal

My Grandma's recipes were very famous among relatives, friends and in our neighborhood.   But I don't have much memory of her cooking; all that I remember was that she used to give instructions to daughter-in-laws and the maid.  Theeyal was her favorite dish and the one made with bitter gourd and green mango was a usual thing at my grandma's house.  Her legacy of Theeyal is continued by her daughter-in-laws including my Mom (because my Dad loves it :)..).  My Mom experiments this South Indian, typical Keralite dish with the vegetables that are available here.  She has few good versions apart from the traditional ones, but she always makes this Asparagus and Shallots version when we visit them as Nathan loves Theeyal.

Typically Theeyal is made with certain vegetables cooked in roasted coconut gravy along with shallots.  The roasting of coconut with some spices imparts the distinct flavor to this dish which can vary from light brown to dark brown in color.  I prefer my Theeyal to be medium brown than dark brown.  Over roasting of coconut will tend to give a burnt and bitter taste for Theeyal, so I try to avoid burning the coconut by roasting it in very low heat.  Due to the lengthy dry roasting process, I only make Theeyal during Onam or lent season.  Theeyal when served with a steaming bowl of par boiled rice and some buttermilk seasoned with ginger, shallots, green chili and curry leaves (Pacha Mooru) is something I could eat everyday.

 Theeyal is one of the main dishes of Keralites vegetarian feast (Sadhya).

Here is the Asparagus and Shallots Theeyal recipe that my Mom makes.

Ingredients:
15 - Asparagus stems
1/3 cup - small Shallots/pearl onions sliced
4 - green chili split
1 tsp - tamarind paste/a small tamarind ball
1/2 cup - water
1 1/2 tsp - oil
1 - small tomato cubed into 4 pieces
1 tsp - oil
salt to taste

For dry roasting
1 1/2 cup - fresh / frozen grated coconut thawed
1/4 cup - thinly sliced shallots/pearl onions
1 tsp - coriander powder
1/2 tsp - chili powder
1/8 tsp - fenugreek powder
1/3 cup water

Tempering/Tadka
4 - pearl onions thinly sliced
1/4 tsp - mustard seeds
1 - dry red chili
1 sprig - fresh curry leaves
2 tsp - oil

Directions:

1. Dry roast the grated coconut and sliced shallots on very low heat in a cast iron pan or non stick pan for 15 - 20 minutes or till the coconut turns medium brown as shown in the picture by continuously stirring.  Add the coriander powder, chili powder and fenugreek powder and roast for 2 minutes on low heat. Turn off the stove and let it cool.  Grind the dry roasted ingredients with 1/3 cup water into a smooth paste.
2. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup luke warm water.  Once soaked well, strain the pulp and save it.
3. Wash the asparagus and pat dry with kitchen towel.  Cut the wood stem of the asparagus and discard.  If the stem is too thick, split them into half and cut them into 3 cm long pieces.
4. In a non stick wok or deep pan, saute the asparagus with shallots and green chili in 1 1/2 tsp oil till the asparagus is cooked but still have the green color for 2- 3 minutes.  Add salt to taste.  Remove the asparagus from the pan and keep it aside.
5. Add 1 tsp of oil to the same pan and saute the cubed tomato for 1 minute.  Now add the coconut paste and tamarind juice without the pulp into the pan.  Add 1/4 -1/2 cup of water if the gravy is thick.  Add the sauteed asparagus-shallot mix to the pan and cook till gravy boils for 2-3 minutes.  Adjust the salt.  Turn off the burner.
6. In a non-stick pan, splutter mustard seeds in 2 tsp of oil.  Add the shallots and dry red chili and cook till it gets golden brown.  Turn off the burner and add the curry leaves to the tempered onions.
7. Garnish the Theeyal with the tadka/tempered mustard and onions and serve the Theeyal with steaming plain rice and seasoned buttermilk.

Tips to grind the Roasted Coconut without an expensive blender

• If you don't have a good blender, use a spice grinder/clean coffee grinder to grind the warm dry roasted coconut till its powdered well and the ground coconut starts to stick to the sides..  Now transfer this into a blender and add enough water to grind it into a smooth paste. 
• It is important to roast the coconut well to attain the right taste and to get a smooth coconut gravy. 
•  If the coconut is not roasted well, it is hard to grind it into a smooth paste and the theeyal will not impart the authentic flavor. 
• Make sure that you don't over roast the coconut and burn it.

Roasted Fennel, Sweet Potatoes And Arugula Salad

Amidst the confusion of the times, the conflicts of conscience, and the turmoil of daily living, an abiding faith becomes an anchor to our lives. ~Thomas S. Monson

How meaningful is that quote?  I have the habit of listening to the FM radio on the way to my work and sometimes way back from work.  My kids also get a share of the world news. For the past 2 weeks they have been following the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines and it was heartbreaking when the announcement came that the plane was lost in the Ocean.  Yesterday when I told them the news, they were so upset.  I still like to hope for the best since there was no solid evidence attained to prove that it was lost in the ocean.  Hoping for the best and abiding in your faith keep you hanging in there to hurdle the day to day trials and tribulations.  It always concerns when you don't hear from someone you know for sometime or you don't see them for long time.  I started noticing this homeless lady from last year summer on my commute to work.  She carries 2 large bags on her hands and walks everyday on the sidewalk of a busy street.  She then disappeared during winter, but when I saw her yesterday on the street walking, there was a slight relief inside that she is still there.  We may not need to know someone personally to have a concern or care for someone.  For all the 239 people who boarded the Malaysian flight and the families who are desperately waiting for their return, all we could do is hope their prayers be answered and their ordeal come to a closure soon.

I have been stumbled on Fennel recipes for a long time on blogsphere and was deliberately putting it away into the back burner due to my prejudice.  Even though we use the seeds in Indian cooking, I was never daring enough to use the bulb.  The other day I got a chance to check out the farmer's market that was opened recently near my home.  The Fennel bulb was so gorgeous and fresh sitting on the produce aisle which was hard to bypass.  So I picked up them and came home and tried this wonderful salad.  This was one of the best warm salads I had tasted.  The aroma of roasted fennel was so divine and it didn't have the pungent taste after cooking.  I made them yesterday again and my kids ate them without adding it to the salad greens.  You could even serve it as a snack.  I was totally impressed by the way it turned out and I highly recommend you to try this recipe.  I even sent a snapshot of the salad to my friend soon after taking the first bite.  So you could imagine how excited I am to share the recipe!!!

Fennel bulb not only tastes wonderful, they are very healthy too. 

Here are the health benefits of Fennel: 

•  The phytonutrient Anethole, found in fennel has shown to reduce inflammation and to help prevent the occurrence of cancer.

•  They are the excellent source of Vitamin C, an antioxidant that can neutralize the free radicals and boost up the immune system.

•  The high content of fiber, folate and potassium in Fennel bulb promotes cardiovascular and colon health.

Tips to select and store Fennel Bulb

 A fresh Fennel bulb will be clean, firm and solid without spots or bruises.  These white bulbs usually are sold with stalks and they should have fragrant aroma.  They are available from fall through early spring.  You can store them in refrigerator with plastic wrap for retaining their crispiness for 1 week.  It is better to use them when they are crisp and fresh.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 - bulb fennel
1 - sweet potato
1 clove - garlic minced
1 tbsp - brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp - extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp - ground pepper
1/4 tsp - red chili flakes
sea salt to taste

Salad
4 cups - Mixed greens/Baby Spinach/Arugula

Red Wine Vinaigrette
1/4 cup - Red wine (I used homemade beets wine)
2 tbsp - extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp - apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp - crushed black pepper
1/8 tsp - red chili flakes
1/8 tsp - minced garlic (optional)
1 tbsp - honey

Directions:

• Add all the ingredients for the Vinaigrette in a bottle and secure the lid and shake well.  Keep it refrigerated till ready to use.
• Pre heat oven to 400 ° F.
• Wash the fennel and cut the stalk and little bit of the base part.  Slice them length wise into thick pieces as shown in the above picture.
• Scrub the sweet potatoes, wash and pat dry.  Cut them into bite size pieces.
• Sprinkle all the ingredients for seasoning over the fennel and sweet potatoes and drizzle with olive oil.  Transfer to a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, by flipping the veggies after 10 minutes. Let it cool and get to luke warm temperature.
• Divide the greens of your choice for the salad in the 2 salad bowl.  Top them with half the quantity of the roasted fennel &  sweet potatoes in each bowl.  Drizzle with the vinaigrette and enjoy the warm salad.  Its absolutely delicious!!!
  
  

Curried Yellow Peas With Potatoes And Kale

Blogging had changed my perception of food!!!  I remember myself as a picky eater and the traits are inherited by my kids too.  But the blogging world had extended the horizon for me to a vast spectrum of food that I would have never tried years ago.  It impacted the eating habits of my whole family.  I still remember to this day, the first expression of my kids when I served the Roasted Brussels Sprouts to my kids.  The very look on my daughter's face after taking the first bite was hilarious.  But now they absolutely love them. 

Other vegetables and grains I may not have tried before are stocked in my refrigerator & pantry now.   Being a person who never liked to even try something new has transformed into someone who would at least give it a shot is the big change I noticed in myself since blogging.  Appreciating different cuisines;  experimenting them in my kitchen; enjoying them with my family are the perks of blogging.

I might have crossed the legumes and grains aisle so many times in Indian store without paying attention to these yellow peas, as peas was never my favorite.  My elder son also tries to avoid it if possible, which he inherited from me :).  It was a month ago I started using these yellow peas and realized what I was missing. To my surprise, the whole family devoured each and every bit of the peas curry with Roti when I made it for the first time.  That gave me the courage to pair it with healthy green kale and it was an instant winner.  The yellowish peas stewed in masala with cubes of potatoes and dressed with green kale gives this curry an appeasing look that even a picky eater cannot resist.  When fresh peas are not available, it is always good to have a pack of dried peas in your pantry to enjoy it.

Are you interested in knowing more about dried peas?

Health Benefits

• Dried peas are a good source of cholesterol lowering fiber and helps to maintain healthy levels of blood sugar. 
• They are good source of heart healthy nutrient like Potassium that can reduce high blood pressure.
• Dried peas provide energy to burn with its high fiber content.
• Dried peas is an excellent source of mineral called molybdenum that can detoxify sulfites.  Sulfites are preservatives used in foods that can cause increased heart beat, headache and even disorientation to people who are sensitive to it.  A cup of cooked peas can help you if you are sensitive to sulfites.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup - dry yellow peas
4 cups - water
1 cup - onion chopped
1 tsp - oil
1 tbsp - garlic ginger paste
1 tsp - Kashmiri Chili powder (refer notes)
1/2 tsp - garam masala
1 tsp - chhole masala (refer notes)
1/2 tsp - turmeric powder
1 - medium size tomato chopped
1 cup - potatoes peel and cubed into bite size
1/2 cup - water
1/2 tsp - dry fenugreek leaves
1 tbsp - oil
salt to taste

Tadka/seasoned topping
2 cups - chopped fresh kale leaves (refer notes)
1/4 cup - chopped Cilantro
1/4 tsp - mustard seeds
2 tbsp - thinly sliced shallots
1 1/2 tsp - oil

Directions:

• Soak 1 1/2 cup dry yellow peas in water for 8 hrs or over night. Drain the water and wash twice.  Place the soaked peas in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Cook till 4 whistle blows.  Turn off the burner and let it cool.
• While the peas is getting cooked, you could make the tadka.  Take a cast iron pan or non stick pan and splutter 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds in 1 1/2 tsp oil.  Add the sliced shallots and cook till light golden brown.  Now add the chopped Kale and mix well.  Season with salt and cook for 1 minute.  Turn off the burner and add the chopped Cilantro leaves.  Transfer the Tadka to another bowl and set aside.  Clean the pan with a paper towel.
• In the same cast iron pan, add 1 tsp of oil and 1 cup of chopped onions. Add a pinch of salt and saute till the onions are light brown color.  Remove the onions and let it cool.  Add 1 to 2 tbsp of water and make a paste out of this caramelized onion in a food processor or blender.
• Add 1 tbsp of oil to the same pan and add the caramelized onion paste and ginger garlic paste.  Cook till the raw smell of garlic is gone.  Add turmeric powder, chili powder, garam masala, Chhole masala.  Cook for a minute.  Now add the chopped tomato and cook till it is mushy. Add the cubed potatoes and stir for another minute. Adjust the salt.  Turn off the burner.
• Transfer the prepared masala from the above step to the pressure cooker with cooked peas.  Add 1/2 cup of water to the pressure cooker.  Close the lid and cook till 2 whistle comes.  Turn off the burner and let the pressure subside completely.  Open the pressure cooker and add the dry fenugreek leaves by rubbing them between your hands.
• Add the prepared Kale tadka to the curried peas, give a stir.  Enjoy it with vegetable pulao or Indian flat breads like Roti, Naan or Chapathi.

Tips to make the curry easily in less amount of time

• Make the caramelized onion paste ahead and freeze - I always make a batch of caramelized onion paste with 3 or 4 big onions and freeze them.  The best way to store them is by first freezing them in a glass container like a rectangular pyrex container.  Once the onions are set, take the container out and let it sit in room temperature for 5 minutes.  Now using a serrated knife, cut the frozen paste into cubes.  Transfer the cubes in a zip lock bag or any freezer safe container.  So when you want to make any curry that needs a thick gravy, just take 2 or 3 cubes and  throw it along with ginger garlic paste.  This makes my life easier on weekdays to cook something Indian.
• When the peas is getting cook, make the Tadka with kale and the masala for the curry.  This will cut down the cooking time and helps to prepare the curry within 30 minutes.

Notes:

• Kashmiri chilli gives the bright color without the heat.  You can substitute it with Paprika powder if you don't have Kashmiri Chilli powder.  Make sure you cook the Paprika along with other masala powder to remove the raw smell.
• You can use spinach instead of Kale.
• You can get the Chhole masala powder from Indian stores.
• The dry fenugreek powder gives a unique north Indian flavor to this dish.
• I like the gravy of this curry to be thick instead of runny.  So I used less amount of water.  Feel free to increase the volume of the water if you don't prefer a thick gravy.
• Don't skip the step of adding caramelized onion paste to this curry.  Trust me, it adds a nice flavor to this dish.

Easy Eggless No Bake Mango Cheese Cake

One week passed by without any blog post which left an inhibiting sense of guilt in me.  On the other hand, a prudent decision made to post one recipe per week seemed cumbersome.  'Well, I have several reasons to justify the passive mode' my brain tried to mitigate the situation.  But I was reminded to circumvent the frenzied schedule accompanied by stupendous laziness and post something by the weekly fb page manager notification that warned my inactivity.  That was a boost to revitalize the blogger in me.

Since I started baking, I make birthday cakes for everyone in my family except for myself :).  Once in a while I like to grumble that I wish somebody baked a cake for me :)...

My hubby, lil Noah and my Mom share their birthdays in the month of March.  So March is special for me and their birthday falls mostly around the great lent time.  Following the tradition of great lent, we usually give up non-vegetarian food during the 50 days period.  So it is a challenge each year to bake eggless cakes for their birthday.  But I have used gelatin, which is an animal product in this recipe.  You could very well use agar agar instead of gelatin if you want.  This year I planned ahead and wanted to bake the Mango Cheesecake.  Mango being my hubby's favorite fruit, I knew that he will be delighted to see the surprise cake.

  I made this small 6'' cake while he was at work.  Nicole took the charge in crushing the graham crackers and together we whipped up this easy breezy no bake eggless mango cheese cake.  I served this delectable dessert on his birthday after a vegetarian lunch.  Since it was a small cake, we gobbled them in minutes without any traces.  The only complaint I heard was that 'Mommy why you didn't make a bigger cake?'

Yields - 6 inch round cake that serves 5-6

Ingredients:
1 pkg /8 oz - cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 cup - mango puree without pulp
1/2 cup - sugar
3/4 cup - low fat milk
1 tbsp - unflavored gelatin or use agar agar (7 - 8 gms)
1/4 cup - water
1 1/2 cup - crushed graham crackers
1/3 cup - melted butter
1/4 cup - mango puree

Directions:

• Take a 6'' round spring form pan and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper or wax paper.
• Mix 1/3 cup melted butter with 1 1/2 cup crushed graham crackers till everything is wet.
• Press the graham cracker butter mix on to the bottom of the spring form pan with your fingers to form a firm base for the cheese cake.
• Microwave 1/4 cup water in a microwave safe bowl for 1 minute or till it boils.
• Add the gelatin to the hot water and mix till it dissolves completely. 
• Add the gelatin mix to 3/4 cup of mango puree and keep it aside.
• Blend cream cheese, sugar and milk in a blender till everything is mixed well. Now add the mango gelatin mix to the blended mix.  Blend for 20 seconds.
• Pour the mix over the graham cracker base.  Cover with a cling wrap and refrigerate for minimum of 2-4 hrs or over night.
• When the cheese cake is set and ready to be served, gently release the cake out of the spring form pan.  Peel off the wax paper/parchment paper from the sides.  Using a wide spatula, lift up the cake from the base (including the parchment paper) of the spring form pan and transfer to the serving platter/cake stand.
• Pour 1/4 cup of mango puree over the cake and top with fruit pieces for the final touch.

Notes:

• You don't need a spring form pan to make this, you could use a pyrex glass container or a cake pan to make this cheese cake.
• If you don't have a food processor to crush the graham cracker, just take the crackers in a bowl and crush it with the base of a heavy coffee cup that has a flat base.
• Don't forget to use wax paper or parchment paper to line the base and the sides of the spring form pan.  This makes it easy to release the cake from the pan.
• Left overs can be covered and refrigerated. 
• This cheese cake has the texture of a pudding rather than a firm cheese cake.