Cheesecake

Despite the apricot topping, this is a savory dish, not a dessert, and it’s a knockout addition to an appetizer buffet. Be sure to pat the bell peppers dry with paper towels and don’t chop them too fine or they will turn the cheese filling pink. Note that the pan size is a bit unusual so make sure you have the right one before you start the recipe.

Blending Fair Trade coffee with Fair Trade cocoa allows us to support those who serve the world coffee and chocolate. It also helps us celebrate the classic European flavor combination of coffee and chocolate, mixed here as you might find them in an Italian café, with tangy mascarpone cheese and lemon. To make the cookie crumbs for the crust, see the recipe for Chocolate Sugar Dough (page 132) or buy plain cookies (like Pepperidge Farm Chocolate Chessman). Toss about twenty cookies of either type in the blender, pulse two or three times, and you will have dark chocolate cookie crumbs. You’ll need a cheesecake or springform pan, and most grocery store versions of this work fine. When the cake is baked and chilled, release the latch, slice, and serve. Be sure to clean your knife with a warm wet towel for each slice.

No large sign—just a plaque next to a simple security button—tells you that this is the gate to a simple building housing the Cercle Bernard Lazare. The center was named in memory of Bernard Lazare, who, during the Dreyfus Affair, was a left-wing literary critic, anarchist, Zionist, and newspaper editor. He bravely defended Captain Dreyfus, and won over Jewish artists such as Camille Pissarro to the cause. The center sponsors Jewish cultural events, choosing not to advertise its location because of previous anti-Semitic attacks. When I entered this very bare-boned building, it was full of activity. Jeanine Franier came out of the kitchen to greet me, bringing along a waft of the delicious aromas from her oven. Every Thursday, before the center’s weekly lectures, she cooks. She believes that people listen to lecturers more attentively if they know a little food will be served. Regardless of what her staff cooks as a main course, this cheesecake from her Polish past is served for dessert. It has become an integral part of the lectures, and was published in the Cercle’s cookbook, called Quand Nos Boubés Font la Cuisine (When Grandmothers Cook), which she wrote in part as a fund-raising device, in part as a way of preserving a culture that is rapidly being forgotten. The cheesecake reminds me of many I ate all over France, including the one at Finkelsztajn’s Delicatessen in Paris. It tastes clearly of its delicate component parts, unlike the creamy block of cheesecake with a graham-cracker crust we find in the United States.

Long, slow baking in the convection oven produces a beautiful cake, one that has a silky texture. A bit of flour in the mixture makes the cake easier to cut. This makes a large cheesecake, ideal for a party. Top it with fresh berries in season or use one of the variations below.

This delicate cheesecake is cooked in a water bath and steamed for a supremely light texture. To make sure the homemade-gingersnap-cookie crust stays crisp, wrap the cake pan inside and out with heavy-duty, 18"-wide aluminum foil.

Dulce de leche, a rich caramel sauce popular in Latin countries, flavors the filling and also serves as a soft glaze for the bars. A sprinkling of sea salt turns this dessert into a craveable salty-sweet treat.

This delicious dessert requires a little bit of planning. The day before baking the cheesecake, drain the ricotta in the fridge. Once the cheesecake is baked, it needs to chill one day to firm up. For the proper texture, be sure to use fresh ricotta cheese; it's available at some supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and Italian markets.

The key to this deeply flavored cheesecake? Reduced maple syrup. The sweet-tart compote is a delicious—and pretty—accompaniment.

Combining bittersweet chocolate and cocoa powder intensifies the chocolaty essence of this cheesecake to the nth degree. Silken tofu brings a delicate creaminess to the filling while also taking the place of eggs by acting as a binding agent.

Top these delicious bite-size cheesecakes with fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and/or blueberries.

This recipe wasn't created, per se; it was a happy accident. One of our new (though lovely) bakers was working on a tray of brownies and pulled them out too early from the oven. They were too underdone for sale, so we cut some out, pressed them into the bottom of a springform pan, and used them as the base of our cheesecake. It has been on our menu ever since.

The difference between fresh and commercially prepared ricotta is proven dramatically with this cheesecake. Made with the commercial product, it tastes bland and somewhat grainy. When prepared with fresh ricotta, however, the cake dissolves creamily on the tongue and the ricotta's delicate sweetness shines through clean and true. To further emphasize the ricotta, we keep the other flavors to a minimum—just a smidgen of cinnamon, lemon zest, and vanilla is all you need.

The airy ricotta filling—with chocolate chips and flecks of candied orange peel speckled throughout—makes for a perfect marriage of Italian and American.