All things dairy

It’s just a week away now, Shavuot, the holiday of all things dairy: cheesecake, cheese souffle, quiche, blintzes. Last year we shared a recipe for the perfect cheesecake, tried, tested, true decadence. We’re talking 24 ounces of full fat cream cheese. But for those looking for a lower-fat, yet still yummy version, we also tried out a Ricotta Cheesecake, courtesy of Joy of Baking. Originally a Sicilian dessert, this cheesecake calls for a combination of ricotta and cream cheese, resulting in a slightly more complicated flavor. Note: we didn’t try out the crust or sauce, preferring instead to bake the cake crustless in a springform pan. Even accounting for the ricotta, we found this version rich enough without the buttery graham cracker crust.

But let’s turn to some other favorites. What’s Shavuot without blintzes? Lots of us turn to the frozen Golden variety, because after all who has the time to mess around with first making crepes, then a filling, finally folding and frying. However if you’re up for the challenge, we recommend this recipe for Sweet Cheese Blintzes. Here we get to experiment with another Italian cheese – mascarpone. We liked the smoothness of the soft cheese and the addition of honey and lemon zest.

Another favorite is the sweet noodle kugel. Fat, wide egg noodles. Sour cream blended with cream or cottage cheese. A strong dousing of cinnamon/sugar. A sprinkling of salt. Mix it all together and bake. The best recipe that we’ve tried comes from famed Jewish food writer Claudia Roden. Known for her tome on Jewish food traditions, The Book of Jewish Food, encompassing both the Ashkenaz and Sephardi world, Roden has particular expertise in the foods of North Africa. But she doesn’t disappoint with the recipe for Cheese Lokshen Kugel. We recommend opting for her sweet variety, and adding a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

Are there any other Shavuot recipes you’d like to see? Post a comment or send an email to [email protected].