Cook Like a Rock Star (41 page)

1
Put the almonds in a food processor and pulse until pulverized.

2
Add the butter, sugar, all-purpose flour, almond flour, egg yolk, and salt and pulse, pulse, pulse until the mixture is the consistency of grated Parmigiano cheese.

3
Add 1 tablespoon cold water to the mix and pulse two or three times—the dough should start to come together in a ball. If the mixture is still very dry and crumbly, add 1 more tablespoon cold water. Check the consistency of the dough by squeezing a handful—if the dough sticks together, it’s done. If not, pulse the dough with 1 to 2 more tablespoons water.

4
When the dough has come together, dump it out onto a clean, lightly floured work surface. Using the heel of your hand, schmear the dough straight forward and then roll it back with your fingertips. Repeat this process one or two more times, dusting with flour if it sticks. Form the dough into a flat disk, wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes. (All this could have totally been done ahead of time—like yesterday or even last week!)

5
Take the dough out of the fridge 20 to 30 minutes before you’re ready to use it and let it come to room temperature.

6
Preheat the oven to 425°F.

7
On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough ⅛ to ¼ inch thick. Lay the dough in a 10-inch tart pan, pressing it gently into the pan. Tear off a little piece of dough from the edge and roll it into a “dough ball.” Dip the dough ball in flour and use it to push the dough into the sides of the tart pan. Trim the edge of the dough by rolling the pin over the top of the pan to create a clean edge; remove the excess dough.

8
Gently line the dough with a piece of aluminum foil, pressing it into the sides of the tart to keep them tall and straight. Fill the tart with 1 pound of dry beans or rice, put the pan on a baking sheet, and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the beans and foil and bake for another 2 to 3 minutes, until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool.

FOR THE LEMON CURD

1
Preheat the oven to 300°F.

2
In a small saucepan, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs, and salt and whisk until it reaches a homogeneous consistency.

3
Place the saucepan on the stove and bring to medium heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter 2 pats at a time, continuing to mix until well combined.

4
Pour the lemon curd into the prepared tart shell and bake until the lemon curd has set, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely before cutting.

Lemony fresh!

Hazelnut Cake with Nutella Mousse

SERVES: 6 TO 8 • TIME: ABOUT 1½ HOURS

I LOOOOOVE Nutella. I can happily eat it straight out of the jar, so whipping it up into a mousse and serving it with a hazelnut cake just makes sense. It’s nutty, chocolaty, and creamy all at once—what’s not to love? As far as I’m concerned, anything with Nutella sells itself.

MISE EN PLACE

FOR THE CAKE

12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan

1½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan

1½ cups unhusked hazelnuts,
toasted

1 cup sugar

½ cup hazelnut paste

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of kosher salt

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

FOR THE MOUSSE

1½ cups Nutella

½ cup mascarpone or cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream, chilled

FOR THE CAKE

1
Preheat the oven to 325°F.

2
Butter and flour a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

3
In a food processor, pulse the hazelnuts until coarsely chopped. Reserve.

4
In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar, hazelnut paste, and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.

5
Beat in the eggs one at a time.

6
Add the baking powder, salt, and cocoa and beat to combine.

7
Gradually add the flour, stopping the beater when it is just combined.

8
Fold 1 cup of the chopped hazelnuts into the batter, reserving the rest for garnish.

9
Transfer the cake batter to the prepared pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

10
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pan, and let cool completely.

FOR THE MOUSSE

1
In a large mixing bowl, combine the Nutella and mascarpone.

2
In another large bowl, beat the heavy cream to
soft peaks
—you can use an electric beater here or just a whisk and good old-fashioned elbow grease.

3
Add a spoonful of the whipped cream to the Nutella mixture and stir until you don’t see any streaks.

4
Using a rubber spatula, fold a third of the remaining whipped cream into the Nutella mixture. To do this, lift the mixture gently from underneath, bring the spatula up, turn it over, and
fold
the mixture over as you rotate the bowl slowly. You want to do this gently; the point is to keep it fluffy and not squish the air out of the whipped cream. Repeat this process two more times with the remaining whipped cream. You’re done when you should have a fluffy, homogeneous mixture.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKES

1
Cut the cake into 3-inch squares or rounds and cut each of these in half equatorially.

2
Schmear the Nutella mousse on both the bottom and the top half of each of the hazelnut cakes, then give each of the cakes a light sprinkey-dink of the chopped hazelnuts. Place the top half back on the bottom and serve immediately.

That’s just hazel-NUTTY!

Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Spiced Nilla Wafer Crust

SERVES: 8 TO 12 • TIME: ABOUT 1½ HOURS, PLUS COOLING TIME

My favorite thing about cheesecake is the texture. I like a dry, dense New York–style cheesecake over a light, creamy one. By using goat cheese in addition to cream cheese, this recipe gives me a fabulous texture that’s slightly crumbly, a bit tangy, and has just the perfect hint of sweetness. Add to that a spectacularly spiced crust, and an old classic is totally new and exciting again!

MISE EN PLACE

FOR THE CRUST

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan

2 cups Nilla wafer crumbs

¼ cup sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

2 grates of fresh nutmeg

Pinch of kosher salt

FOR THE FILLING

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 12-ounce log of goat cheese

12 ounces sour cream

4 large eggs

1½ cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

FOR THE CRUST

1
Butter a 9-inch springform pan.

2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the Nilla wafer crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and butter. Stir together until well combined and homogeneous.

3
Use your fingers to press the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Reserve.

FOR THE FILLING

1
Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2
In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and goat cheese together until light and fluffy. Add the sour cream and continue beating until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in each until thoroughly mixed before adding the next one. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until just combined.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE

1
Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes; rotate the baking sheet and cook for another 25 to 30 minutes or until the filling is set. If the filling starts to color, tent the springform pan with aluminum foil.

2
Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely before serving (it continues to set as it cools).

Say cheese … cake!

The cake will continue to set as it cools, but it’s best served after it has been refrigerated overnight and has really firmed up.