[1] A birthday cheesecake with sprinkles inside (photo from Wine & Glue). [2] Instead of the standard cheesecake graham cracker crust (like this one from Sally’s Baking Addiction), we used a birthday-like sponge cake layer. [3] We love a chocolate ganache topping on cheesecake (photo courtesy Baked By Nature).

Some birthday boys and girls prefer cheesecake to a birthday cake. Even those who like cake may have tired of the conventional cake with buttercream filling and frosting.

If the celebrant is a cheesecake lover, make it a special birthday cheesecake with sprinkles or confetti, and an optional chocolate ganache top.

Plan ahead: the cream cheese needs several hours to soften to room temperature.

We adapted the recipe below from one by Lisa of Wine & Glue.

Lisa calls her recipe Cake Batter Cheesecake, but we changed the name to Birthday Cheesecake because there’s no cake batter.

(On the other hand, if you want to make cake batter ice cream, which does use cake mix for that cake batter taste, head here or here.)

We also added a cake crust adapted from one by King Arthur Flour, and the chocolate ganache frosting for chocoholics.

For more dressed-up cheesecake ideas, check out Pimp Your Cheesecake.

RECIPE: BIRTHDAY CHEESECAKE

Ingredients

 
For The Sponge Cake Crust

 
Plus

 
For A Ganache Top

1. MAKE the crust. Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously butter the bottom and side of a 9- or 8-inch springform pan (preferably nonstick). Wrap the outside with aluminum foil, covering the bottom and extending it all the way up the side (this prevents leakage).

2. SIFT together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks on high for 3 minutes with an electric mixer. With the mixer running, slowly add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until thick, light yellow ribbons form in the bowl, about 5 minutes more. Beat in the extracts.

3. SIFT the flour mixture over the batter and mix it with a spoon, until there are no remaining white flecks (do not over-mix). Blend in the melted butter. In a clean bowl using clean, dry beaters…

4. BEAT the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high, until frothy. Gradually add the remaining sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form (the whites will stand up and look glossy, not dry).

5. FOLD about one-third of the whites into the batter, then fold in the remaining whites. If there are still a few white specks, they’ll disappear during baking.

6. GENTLY SPREAD the batter over the bottom of the pan and bake just until set and golden (not wet or sticky), about 10 minutes. Watch carefully and don’t let the top brown. Touch the cake gently in the center. If it springs back, it’s done. Remove the pan to a wire rack to cool.

7. INCREASE the oven heat to 375°F and prepare the filling. With the mixer on low, using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Then beat in the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and almond extract. Finally, beat in the eggs.

8. CONTINUE mixing until you can no longer see any yolk (it’s O.K. if the batter has a few lumps). Slowly mix in the sprinkles with a spoon.

9. POUR the batter into a 9-inch springform pan and bake for 40 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit for an additional half hour. Remove the pan from the oven, let cool, and chill at least four hours or overnight in the fridge.

10. MAKE the optional ganache. Place the chocolate in a large, heatproof bowl and set aside. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, until it begins to bubble around the edges, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and pour it over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute.

11. WHISK the mixture until the chocolate melts and a smooth ganache forms; about 2 minutes. Pour the ganache over the cheesecake. Leave plain or garnish as desired. If you don’t use sprinkles to garnish, the birthday cake underneath will be a surprise. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

 
MORE BIRTHDAY RECIPES FROM LISA

Add a little luck of the Irish to cheese and other foods, by creating a shamrock garnish made of herbs.

You can apply the same technique to other themes: Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day hearts, stars for Christmas, Independence Day and New Year’s, pumpkins for Halloween, and so forth.

You also can use edible glitter, which provides no flavor but adds gorgeous color.

Spices allow you to play with the colors of the garnish, for example:

 
RECIPE: STENCILED CHEESE

Select any cheese(s) that’s moist enough to hold the herbs: burrata, cream cheese log, goat cheese log, feta, fresh mozzarella, paneer, queso panela or ricotta salata.

Print out the shamrock stencil (or other design) here. Print out a few copies for cutting practice.

You can make a regular stencil or a reverse stencil, both shown in the photo.

Ingredients

 
________________
*Blend two or three herbs: dill, chervil, chives, parsley or tarragon, etc.

[1] Shamrock style with a stencil (photo and recipe idea courtesy Vermont Creamery). [2] Spices and herbs provide colors for any occasion (photo courtesy Renegade Expressions).

1. CUT out the shamrock stencil and press it firmly onto the cheese.

2. PRESS the herbs into the stencil. You can place a piece of plastic wrap over the herbs for easier pressing.

3. GENTLY PEEL off the plastic and stencil. Clean the lines with a pointed tweezers, as needed.

4. SERVE with bread, crackers and fruit (apples, grapes, orange/mandarin segments, pears, etc).
 
 
TIP FOR SLICED FRUIT

Instead of coating apples or pears in lemon juice to keep them from browning, coat them in calcium-fortified 100% apple juice.

Here are more ways to keep fruits from browning.

[1] Irish Coffee in the traditional stemmed Irish Coffee glass. The recipe is below (photo © Barmano).

[2] Puttin’ On The Ritz, with a chocolate ribbon garnish (photo © Ritz Hotel).

[3] Irish espresso, a riff on Irish Coffee (recipe #3 below, photo © Tullamore D.E.W.)

[4] Tullamore D.E.W., a delish Irish whiskey that we used in all the recipes below (photo © Tullamore D.E.W.)

January 25th is National Irish Coffee Day, and for that occasion, we received an Irish Coffee recipe created by Tullamore D.E.W. Brand Ambassador Tim Herlihy. Tullamore claims its the best Irish Coffee recipe. Is it time to compare different recipes in a taste test?

Tim may have consumed more, different Irish Coffee recipes than anyone else. So when he created his own recipe, we paid attention. It’s now the off dial Irish Coffee recipe of Tullamore D.E.W., our favorite Irish whiskey, a version of the original

The first appeared in the U.S. in 1952 when journalist Stan Delaplane tasted it in Ireland and convinced his friend, the owner of the Buena Vista Café in San Francisco, to put Irish Coffee on his menu (it was made with Tullamore D.E.W.).

Tim crafted his version after the Irish Coffee first made in 1943 thrown together in 1943 for cold travelers in a chilly seaplane terminal in Ireland (the scoop).

Tim likes it as an after-dinner drink, but it can warm you up anytime. Bartender’s Tip: With all hot drink recipes, preheat the goblet or mug by first rinsing it with hot water (we use the microwave).

There’s also a recipe for Irish Espresso below (recipe #2).

If you don’t like coffee, a recipe for Irish Hot Chocolate follows it (recipe #3).
 
 
RECIPE #1: TIM HERLIHY’S TULLAMORE D.E.W. IRISH COFFEE

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT a clear-stemmed glass with very hot water. Add the sugar and brewed coffee and stir well until the sugar has melted. Then stir in the Tullamore D.E.W.

2. GENTLY WHIP the heavy cream by shaking it in a blender bottle, a.k.a. with a protein shaker with blender ball. We love this shaker, for scrambled eggs, instant soups and drinks, etc. and mixes (Here’s our review).

You want a still somewhat loose, not stiff consistency. (You can also achieve this with a hand mixer.)

3. POUR the cream over the back of a hot teaspoon to create the top layer of the drink, and prevent the cream from penetrating the coffee layer.

4. GARNISH with grated nutmeg or cinnamon.

Variations From THE NIBBLE

 
 
RECIPE #2: IRISH ESPRESSO (IRISH COFFEE SHOTS)

Traditional Irish coffee combines whiskey, brown sugar, black coffee, and heavy cream. In these shots, coffee liqueur substitutes for the coffee and sugar, and Irish cream liqueur takes the place of the whiskey and cream.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. ADD the Tullamore D.E.W. and coffee liqueur to a mixing glass. Stir and pour into shot glasses.

2. THICKEN the heavy cream slightly with a hand-held mixer or blender bottle. Top each shot with fresh cream and garnish with coffee beans.

Ingredients Per Drink

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the ingredients in a goblet or mug. Add the whipped cream. Sprinkle with chocolate flakes.

There are several distinct styles of whiskey in the world—American (rye and bourbon), Irish, Canadian and Scotch.

While all are produced in a broadly similar way, there are substantial differences in the final product that are based on the choice of grains, the type of still, the number of distillations, the maturation period and the type of oak barrels in which the whiskey is matured.

The end result is that each country’s whiskey has its own distinctive characteristics.

Irish whiskey is smooth and clean-tasting, a result of triple distillation. It’s the only triple-distilled whiskey in the world. Here’s the scoop.
 
 
WHISKEY VS. WHISKY
The word comes from the the Gaelic uisce, pronounced ISH-ka, and the Scottish uisge, pronounced USH-ka. They became isky and usky and then evolved to the modern English whisky.

Canadians spell “whisky” without the “e,” as do the Scots and most other countries except Ireland and the U.S.

Scholars can’t determine why the “e” was dropped by the Scots many centuries ago. One theory is that the Irish made whiskey first and pronounced it with a broad “e.” When the Scots began to make it, they dropped the “e” to differentiate their product.

A 1968 directive of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms specifies “whisky” as the official U.S. spelling, but allows the alternative spelling, “whiskey,” which most U.S. producers prefer.

Check out the language of whiskey in our Whiskey Glossary.
 
 
 
ALCOHOL DISTILLATION

Alcohol distillation was discovered in the late eighth century by an Arab scholar, Abu Masa Jabir ibn Hayyam, “the father of modern chemistry.” Among other discoveries were acetic acid, citric acid, tartaric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and aqua regia, one of the few substances that can dissolve gold, and crystalization.

Jabir invented many types of now-basic chemical laboratory equipment. One was the alembic still, the al-ambiq.

When Jabir distilled wine, he created the world’s first distilled alcohol, and discovered a liquid that had benefits as medicine.

Since this equipment was often used to boil powdered antimony into a liquid called al-kohl (used to make the cosmetic kohl), the liquid became known as alcohol and the al-ambiq became the modern alembic still.

[4] A 15th-century portrait of Abu Musa Jabir ibn Hayyan, also known as Geber (courtesy Wikipedia).

[5] His early distillation still.

[6] A later illustration of the early alembic still (still images courtesy Crystal Links).

Missionary monks brought the recipe to Ireland.

The secret process for distilling alcohol from wine was written down for the first time in a European language around 1300. It was accomplished by Arnaldus de Villanova (Arnald of Villanova), a Spanish physician, scholar, and professor of medicine in Montpellier, France, who was fluent in several languages including Arabic. (He also discovered carbon dioxide and developed pure alcohol).

He called the distilled alcohol aqua vitae, water of life. It translated to aquavit (Scandinavia), eau de vie (France) and vodka (Poland and Russia).

Villanova believed it would “prolong life, clear away ill humors, revive the heart and maintain youth.” Others claimed it also alleviated diseases of the brain, nerves, and joints; calmed toothaches; cured blindness, speech defects and paralysis; and warded off the Black Death. (Needless to say, it does none of these things, except perhaps putting one to sleep so as not to feel the toothache.)

In 1478, 48 years after the invention of the printing press, the first book on distillation was published. It became a best-seller, with 14 printings in 20 years.

[source]

[2] A Reuben on marble rye (photo © Boar’s Head).

[3] A Turkey Reuben on plain rye instead of pumpernickel (photo © National Turkey Federation).

[4] Mini reuben sandwiches for cocktail appetizers, available at Mackenzie Limited (photo © Mackenzie Limited).

As the story goes, Reuben Kulakofsky (1873-1960), a Jewish Lithuanian-born wholesale grocer, invented the sandwich in the late 1920s for his weekly poker game. He may have had input from members of the group, which held forth in the Blackstone Hotel from about 1920 through 1935.

The Reuben he created is a grilled or toasted sandwich on rye or pumpernickel, with generous amounts of corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and either Russian or Thousand Island dressing (the difference is the pickle relish in the latter).

Among the poker players was the hotel’s owner, Charles Schimmel, who added it to the Blackstone’s lunch menu, where it was quite popular.

But the Reuben Sandwich became known nationally when a hotel employee won a national contest with the recipe.

The National Sandwich Idea Contest was a promotion held during National Sandwich Month, to inspire professional cooks to create excitement in the sandwich category. It was sponsored by the Chicago-based Wheat Flour Institute.

The first winners were announced in 1956, and top honors went to Fern Snider, a cook at the Blackstone [source]. The sandwich recipe was provided (restaurant-sized, for 48 sandwiches!) to restaurants nationwide.

Another story credits Arnold Reuben (1883-1970), the German-Jewish owner of Reuben’s Delicatessen in New York City (open 1908 to 2001, changing locations numerous times).

In a 1938 interview with Arnold Manoff, a writer with the Federal Writers’ Project of the WPA, Arnold Reuben details his creation of the “Reuben Special,” but it was made with roast beef, not corned beef, in 1926 [source—a seven-page transcript of the interview].

He also claims, in that interview, to have created the concept of sandwiches named for celebrities. That claim is not contested.

The evidence says Omaha wins. But it took until March 2013, in Omaha, for the mayor to proclaim March 14th as Reuben Sandwich Day.

Check out our Sandwich Glossary for other sandwich histories.
 
 
REUBEN SANDWICH VARIATIONS

The Reuben has been adapted many times over, including a substitute of pastrami, turkey (photo #2) or tongue for the corned beef, and coleslaw for the sauerkraut. Rye or marble rye (photo #2) can stand in for the pumpernickel.

Some variations aren’t grilled (so the cheese isn’t melted, alas). Some variations:

 
We’ve also published recipes for Reuben Egg Rolls (photo #6) and Reuben Collard Wraps (photo #7).

A Reuben on a pumpernickel bagel (photo #8): Oy vey! A pumpernickel wrap sandwich is a much better homage (they’re made by Tumaro’s and can be found nationwide, including at Walmart).

How about Reuben Tacos?

This year we have Reuben Biscuits (photo #5). The recipe follows.
 

Thanks to King Arthur Flour for this variation (photo #5). Prep time is 15-20 minutes, bake time is 22-24 minutes.

The muffins are delicious with scrambled eggs.

Ingredients For 15 Biscuits

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet, or line it with parchment.

2. WHISK together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar. Work the butter into the flour until the mixture is unevenly crumbly. Mix in the cheese, ham and sauerkraut until evenly distributed.

3. WHISK together the sour cream and milk and add to the dough, stirring to combine. The dough should be sticky. Drop the dough by the 1/4-cupful onto the prepared baking sheet (a muffin scoop works well here).

The biscuits can be spaced quite close together. About 1″ apart is fine.

4. BRUSH the biscuits with a bit of cream; this will help their crust brown.

5. BAKE the biscuits for 22 to 24 minutes, until they’re golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool slightly in the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. Thousand Island dressing is a nice accompaniment.
 
 
MORE REUBEN RECIPES

[6] An Egg Roll Reuben (photo © Dietz & Watson).

[7] A Reuben Collard Wrap (photo © Spring Vegan [now closed]).

[8] Reuben on a pumpernickel bagel—with added mustard. Oy vey! (photo © National Turkey Federation).

It’s easy to learn how to cut and slice the correct, efficient, safe way. You’ll feel good about it, too (photos courtesy Wüsthof).

Most likely, we learned from watching food prepared at home or on TV, or simply by freestyling.

After all, we’re intelligent; we can figure it out. Right?

Not exactly.

Unless you can do the following to your satisfaction, you’ll benefit by investing a few minutes on the Wüsthof website.

You’ll become a better cook just by seeing:

 
WÜSTHOF KNIFE SKILLS VIDEOS

General Skills

 
Proteins

Learn how to break down whole chicken or filet a whole fish, and you’ll enjoy big savings, too.

 
Produce

Each is succinct, enabling you to play it as many times as you need without wasting time.

So grab your phone or tablet, head to the kitchen, pull out a cutting board and start cutting—the right way.