Taunton Press Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook: 50 To-die-for Recipes for New York-style Cheescake

The story:When I was working in London years ago, there was an amazing bakery near Green Park that made the most sumptuous cheesecake I have ever tasted. It was so good I used to buy a whole one every Friday.The cake was nothing like you buy in cold food stores or supermarkets today with their oversweet taste and pork gelatine. This was good fill-you-up slightly tart (tangy) heavy set cheesecake with melt in the mouth yumminess which resonated on your taste buds to linger longer before it disappeared to the nether regions. One slice is all you could eat at a sitting, spectacular.Now that I no longer work near or am in commuting distance of this cheesecake heaven, I thought I would see if I could find a book on the subject and make my own ÜThe book:Comprising of 170 pages with a red and white striped hardcover with Junior’s logo and complimentary decorative dust jacket. Measuring 9.5”x 8.5”x 0.75”.The story of Junior’s Cheesecake thankfully only takes up four pages regarding how it all began on Cherry Street in 1904 to their sale of 2,400 cheesecakes on QVC TV in 1995. Short, sweet and to the point (no pun intended) excellent.Junior’s Cheesecake 101 gives tips and techniques from the cake crust-there are four variants, filling, preparing the pan, water bath and chilling, decorating tips, cutting professional slices and troubleshooting. Chocolate curls and web, traditional and whipped chocolate ganache and how to melt chocolate (direct heat, microwave, double boiler). Cream toppings-there are three and strawberry sauce. Then it is packed with different cheesecake recipes right up to page 168, the remaining two pages being the index.Being American of course the measurements are all in cups. There is no conversion chart within the book. All the ingredients are easily obtainable in the UK.Page thirty-five displays a photograph of Junior’s Original New York Cheesecake (it looks exactly the same as the one I used to buy) and triggered memories of me walking up the street to the underground station all those years ago, balancing a large cake box with my precious cargo inside. I have not tried any of the recipes yet and there are some interesting combinations. After I have tackled the Original New York cheesecake, I have my eye on the Cappuccino one and the Tiramisu. I’ll update as and when, in the meantime ...The verdict:Simple and straightforward with enough pictures for those who like visual guidance of the end product.Could be problematic for those who don’t like cup measurements.

As a Home Economist who is also a cookery demonstrator, I own very many recipe books (over 3000), in general, I am disappointed by American recipe books, they do not seem to match up to our British palate, which now-a-days is very highly skilled in its expectation of sensational flavours. I therefore ordered this book with some trepidation. However, having made the New York cheesecake I was bowled over by the flavour & texture & am now ready to run amok with many more of the recipes.As the title suggests there are 50 recipes contained in the book. Chapters are as follows:The story of Junior's cheesecakesJunior's cheesecakes 101Junior's favouritesCheesecakes with fruitCelebration cheesecakesWe love cheesecakesWe love chocolateLittle fellasSkyscraper cheesecakesJunior's 101 has an host of informative tips, such as preparing the pan, no cracks please, is it done yet?, the water bath, chilling, professional slices, baking a better cheesecake plus 3 pages of trouble shooting set out in table form, with headings of "problem", "probable causes", "solutions".One striking thing about these cheesecakes is that the bases are not made from crushed up biscuits, but rather a sort of whisked sponge mixture into which you add melted butter of all things. Is does work, as unlikely as it sounds.Some pointers to assist you. I made the 8" (20 cm) version of the NY cheesecake; it was far too much in quantity & would have been better fitted into a larger 9" (23 cm) spring form tin. The cake base was so full of air (made in my Kitchen aid stand mixer - perhaps this introduced too much air????) that it came half way up the tin & did not deflate on cooling before I filled with the cheesy topping, too much of this too (perhaps something was lost in translation with the quantity measurement conversion, but the end result did not indicate this). Because of this I have deducted a star. All this contrived to make some Vesuvius areas where the cheesecake rose up on baking. This did detract from its finished appearance, but it tasted out of this world.I was also concerned about corn flour in the filling, but it was completely undetectable, & contributed to the great mouth feel of the cheesecake as well as adding stability to the filling.As for the water bath method of cooking, I would now not dream of making a cheesecake without a water bath since Juniors have introduced me to this method for cheesecake baking, it is fab. I also own the "The Cheesecake Bible" by George Geary, who does not use the water bath method, yet I applied it to his recipes with great success. No more cracked tops.If you cook with an Aga, as I do. Use the Baking Oven for cooking the cheesecakes. Sit the cake tin, lined outside with tin foil (to prevent ingress of water) in the large deep roasting tin, & pour boiling water into the tin to come half way up the cheesecake tin. Hang the roasting tin, containing the cheesecake tin, on the 3rd set of runners (3 down). One hour & 15 minutes works perfectly, also for the other book I mention above, use this time in the Aga with the water bath method, although timings there are said to be generally 55 minutes max, ignore this, the water bath method takes a little longer to cook the cheesecake.I am looking forward to trying some of the other recipes; the chocolate section is swoon worthy. It is worth weighing the American measures as you use them, so next time you come to make a recipe you can just weigh the ingredients. I cannot get my head round using cups of melted butter etc, because it seems too wasteful.Katy Thompson - Home Economist & Aga Cookery Demonstrator

In just 1 word .... FABULOUS recipesFirst you learn how to make a crust, with many varieties to combine them with different fillingsSecond you get a lot of different recipes for the filling.All is explained very well for 8 and 9 inch backing tray'sIf you love cheesecakes you really need this book.

good as a souvenir if you visited the Junior's cheesecake cafe in NY

great book!! can't wait to make the recipes