alexist

Last night I finally baked the banana cake (damn bananas took over a week to get really ripe. Our kitchen must be too cold. Oh, and there was a mysterious sour cream shortage at the supermarket :/ ) It domed a bit more than usual but tastes yummy. I should stop eating it. If it weren't for the trick of having super-ripe bananas in the house, banana cake would be one of my favourite whip-up cakes--simple to make, single layer, tastes perfect without anything on it.

This morning, I've made a cheesecake to take to Andy and Nay's tonight. I'm really pleased because last time I did it I finally cracked the baking problem. The problem with cheesecake is the cracks. I'd tried the water bath method, and while it doesn't crack, I wasn't pleased with the texture--my cheesecake has whipped egg whites in it, and it actually tastes better if it falls after baking. Then I read that cracking is due to surface tension. If you release the tension by running a knife round the edge as soon as it's finished baking, no cracks. I tried it and it works perfectly--and less fuss than a water bath!

ETA: Teach me to be over-confident: I've got some small surface cracks. My fault, though, I poured the sour cream on then remembered i'd not run the knife round. It's easier to do before putting the topping on. Still... 2 lbs of Philadelphia and a pint of sour cream on top. You can't go wrong ;)