One of my all time favorite dessert cookbooks is ” Rosie’s Bakery All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed, No-Holds-Barred Baking Book” by Judy Rosenberg.  There are many recipes I use from this sweet packed baking book but my favorite is the Cream Cheese Pound Cake.  I use this recipe for a cake and I also add blueberries and bake muffins and bread.  You can freeze this bread and it makes a great gift for a friend with a sweet tooth.  It’s also a go to dessert, pretty easy and delicious!

INGREDIENTS:
• 3 cups of flour
• 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) butter at room temp
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese at room temp
• 3 cups of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 6 large eggs at room temp

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly grease your 10 inch tube pan or two bread pans with no stick cooking spray.

• Cream the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a medium mixing bowl at med-high speed until light and fluffy.

• Stop once or twice to scrape bowl.

• Add eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, scrape bowl while mixing.  Once all of the eggs are added mix for 30 seconds more.

• Stir in the flour, then mix on low speed.  Scrape the bowl and blend until batter is smooth.

• Add 1 ½ cups of blueberries. (Before adding, toss blueberries in a tablespoon of flour.  This will keep the berries from dropping to the bottom).

• Pour the batter into prepared pans.

• Bake until top is golden and center is dry, not wet.  For a cake 1 ½ hour, for bread approximately 1 hour.

• Cool completely before unmolding.  Serve cake with berries and whipped cream.

Enjoy!

This is Tammy Kleber’s recipe for her delicious “Three Cities of Spain” cheesecake.

CRUST INGREDIENTS:
• 1 ½ cups (5 oz) finely ground graham crackers or cookies such as chocolate or vanilla wafers, or gingersnaps.
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt

FILLING INGREDIENTS:
• 3 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened (I use Neufachel)
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup sugar

TOPPING INGREDIENTS:
• 16 oz sour cream
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

• Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a springform pan.  Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

• Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer or food processor until fluffy and add eggs one at a time, then vanilla and sugar, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

• Put spring form pan with crust on a shallow baking pan (to catch drips).  Pour filling into crust and bake in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until cake is set 3 inches from edge but center is still slightly wobbly when pan shakes gently.

• Let stand in baking pan on a rack 5 minutes.  Leave oven on.

• Stir together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla.  Drop teaspoonfuls of topping around edge of cake and spread gently over center, smoothing evenly.

• Bake cake with topping 10 minutes,

• Cool completely in spring from pan on rack. (Cake will continue to set as it cools)  Chill cake, loosely covered at least 6 hours.  Remove side from pan and transfer to plate.  Best when brought to room temperature before serving.

OTHER IDEAS:  BLUEBERRY TOPPING

INGREDIENTS:
• 1 ½ pints (3 cups) blueberries
• ¾ Cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoons cornstarch

DIRECTIONS:

• Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over med-high heat.

• Bring to a simmer and cook until berries break down, about 4 minutes.

• Let cool, then refrigerate, covered until cold (up to 3 days).

Note:  Unlike the gluey topping you find in a can, this one cooks down to a syrup using the fresh berries.  Can try this with other berries and fruit as well.