Whenever someone mentions "Flourless Chocolate Cake, Spike is always asking, "How can it be called a cake if it doesn't have flour?" I thought about this today when I was baking Cheese Cake. I don't use flour in my cheese cake recipe. Now I don't make "Flourless Chocolate Cake", I make Flourless Chocolate Torte so that one isn't a problem. But Spike, what about Cheese Cake, do you use flour?

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 12:51 am: Edit

cheese cake aint cake.
its more like a steamed pudding.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Saturday, January 17, 2004 - 12:57 am: Edit

or a creme' carmel without the crust or sugar.
i wonder if you could put cooked sugar on the bottom of cheese pudding and then turn it over after it cools so its the top?
that would taste pretty damn good i bet.
and look kinda different too.
oh and yes, there are cheese pudding recipes with flour in them which would then make them cheese cakes.
my head hurts from all this

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 08:05 pm: Edit

Indoubidably!!!!!!!

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 09:10 pm: Edit

Hey ! Moe !

By Chefmanny (Chefmanny) on Sunday, January 18, 2004 - 10:34 pm: Edit

Hey Larry!!!!!!!!!

By Chefrev (Chefrev) on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 12:49 am: Edit

Look at the grouse!

By Chefrev (Chefrev) on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 12:51 am: Edit

Nyuk nyuk nyuk!

Hoo boy, it's late! 'M goin to bed!

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 12:30 am: Edit

12:51 am !!!!!
jez ChefRev, thats WAYYYYYY past your bedtime.
gotta get up early and fry them donuts! LOL.
(Look at the grouse!)...........was this from a 3 stooges movie???

By Chefrev (Chefrev) on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 03:09 pm: Edit

Spike,

Yep, 3 Stooges. I watched WAY too much TV as a kid!

Back to the subject for just a sec: How is a cheesecake "more like a steamed pudding"?

I know that cheesecakes are usually baked in a bain marie, but the ingredients are very different. Cheesecakes might have some flour in them, but most steamed pudding recipes I've seen called for bread crumbs as a binder. Thoughts?
Anyone? Anyone?

Other cheescake idea: maybe caramelize some sugar on top like a creme brulee? That'd be cool.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Friday, January 23, 2004 - 01:47 am: Edit

or maybe adding more sugar to the crackers on the bottom, which would be the top after its baked.
maybe with enough sugar and some butter it would carmalize. then on top make a dough, add that half way through the baking and then the cruct would be the bottom. yum. like Lindy's in New York years ago. anyone remember that?

By Adelie (Adelie) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 09:01 pm: Edit

Chefspike, I responded to this one in the "too much salt" thread, but see it here as well, so I'll respond here tool.

Viennese pastries are often flourless. They use very finely ground nuts - nut "flours" - instead. And they produce cakes, by any definition - texture, flavor, etc. Hazelnuts are a favorite nut to use in Viennese cakes.

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:03 pm: Edit

Yes!, I'm glad you brought those up. I've been using nuts to make cakes for years.
I even use old dryed cake to make cake.
and Viennese are some of my favorite Pastries.
So what do you bake or make in the kitchen now you have some time on your hands?
and where in Cal. are you?
As you can tell from these threads the Chef's and Student chefs are from all over America and the World and you say food is your hobby(?)well if you ever get stuck or need some advice, just ask anyone here. There are some very smart people here. No question goes unanswered.

By Adelie (Adelie) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:10 pm: Edit

Hey Spike! I can tell that this is a place I'm going to be spending a lot of time. I love to cook - I hate the term "gourmet" and it's connotations of preciousness - and just aspire to be a GOOD cook. But there's so much I don't know, so I can tell that I'll be pestering you pros a lot!

I live in the Pasadena area.

My mom was Austrian, so I grew up with a lot of goodies. The things I do best, baking-wise, include lebkuchen, vanilkippferl, and kuglhupf. I also do a Sachertorte, but it's not one of my favorites; the cake tends to be a bit dry.

Thanks for responding!

By Chefspike (Chefspike) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:34 pm: Edit

DRY Sachertorte ?????????????????????
no, no, no.
brush some simple syrup on it flavored with anything/taste you like.
I like Jack Daniels on mine.
Chef Manny, he's a martini guy.
egual amount sugar and water, heat until hot.
let cool. add your flavoring.
did you forget? didn't your Mom or Grandmother do this back in the old Country?

By Adelie (Adelie) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:56 pm: Edit

No! They made the sponge with a dozen egg whites, so it WAS dry. Then they spread jam between the layers - those that did layers; one of the big controversies about this cake, aside from who gets to own the recipe, is whether it's one layer or two - and jam the top before glazing.

I've only been in Vienna for 24 hours, but I sampled about three versions of Sachertorte, and they were all dry. Until I glopped the fresh schlag on top, of course! It's amazing how a big blob of fresh, very lightly sweetened whipped cream can improve just about anything.

By Andapanda (Andapanda) on Monday, July 26, 2004 - 07:25 pm: Edit

Ja, I have eaten Sachertorte in Vienna too. It was dry.
I was not allowed to watch the 3 stooges. My father said that we'd end up acting like idiots like them. He was disappointed when I told him that one of his sons(me) works as cook, that's c-o-o-k spelled with a "c," not a "k!" Anyone who has worked in the food service trades knows what I'm talking about.
Nevertheless, I did watch the Marx Brothers when he wasn't around. My favorite question was when Zeppo asked, "Viaduct?," "Vhy not a chicken?"