A baking challenge

Baking is the new unchained melody for urban women (and some men) in my opinion, of course for those who want or like to cook.

Those days are long gone when mothers and grandmothers used to be in the kitchen sweating, huffing, puffing and fathers and uncles were in the living room entertaining guests.  

I never understood the point of having people over and being in the kitchen. Entertaining also means speaking and laughing and spending quality time with the guests you invite.  

Thanks to ovens and new-age ideas of simplistic eating, the days of confined cooking zones are over; we can now break free or should I say “bake free” with ongoing cooking.

The two recipes included here can create a great menu to entertain guests with the addition of a green salad. 

Moussaka
Ingredients:
For the meat sauce-
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 kg mince beef 
500g roma tomatoes (ripe)
3 tbsp tomato paste
3 tsp fresh parsley (chopped)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Salt
Pepper
For the layers-
4 medium aubergines or 4 zucchinis 
Olive oil
63g cheese (cheddar will do)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
Bread crumbs 
For the Béchamel sauce -
90g butter
75g plain flour
800ml milk
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
63 ml kefalograviera cheese (or parmesan)
Salt
Pepper
Method:
To make Béchamel sauce -
Melt butter in a heavy saucepan, stir in flour and cook gently for 2 minutes. Warm milk a little while flour and butter are cooking off. Add milk gradually, stirring constantly with a whisk or a flat bottomed wooden spoon until all the milk is added. Continue to stir until boiling. Boil gently for 2 minutes, remove from heat, stir in nutmeg, cheese and seasonings to taste. Cover the sauce and get on with the following steps -
To make meat sauce -
Put oil and onion in a large saucepan and cook on medium heat until softened. Add garlic, cook a few seconds, and then add mince meat. Increase heat and cook, stirring often, until colour changes. Add the tomato paste (grate tomatoes, halve and squeeze out some of the seeds, discard skins, make paste) and cook off for another minute or so before adding remaining meat sauce ingredients. Season to taste and simmer gently, stirring regularly, on low heat for 40 minutes. Sauce should not be runny. 
To prepare aubergines - 
Wash aubergines, remove stems and cut into 5mm slices. I do not use the first and last slice which is mainly skin. 
Place a layer of aubergine slices on a baking tray, brush each side with oil and cook under a pre-heated grill until lightly browned on each side. Remove to a plate and continue with remaining aubergine. 
To assemble Moussaka -
Brush oven dish with oil. Place a layer of aubergine in the base, top with half of the meat sauce. Remove cover from Bechamel sauce and whisk in the eggs. Pour sauce over meat sauce, spreading evenly. Shred cheese on top. 
Sprinkle breadcrumb lightly to finish it up and bake in pre-heated moderate oven, for 45-50 minutes until top is golden brown. Stand Moussaka for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Time saver's guide:
The Béchamel sauce and meat sauce can be refrigerated for at least one week once made. Just remember to cool it down before putting it into the fridge. For the Béchamel sauce it's better to use a glass or ceramic container. 

Cheese cake with lemon syrup 
Ingredients:
For the filling - 
350g cream cheese, softened
500g ricotta (home-made “chaana” will do too)
4 eggs
1⅓ cups caster sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tbsp spoon grated lemon rind
½ tsp vanilla extract
1½ tbsp spoon corn flour 
1½ tbsp spoon water
For the base -
1⅓ cup almond meal (ground almonds)
1¾ cup all-purpose
1¼ cup caster sugar
90g butter, roughly chopped
or
1 packet Marie Biscuit 
100 gm butter 
For the topping -
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 tbsp spoon lemon zest
2 tbsp spoon lemon rind (spaghetti width)
Method:
To make the base -
Preheat oven to 150°C (350°F), place the almond meal, flour, sugar and butter in a bowl. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until a rough dough forms. Line the base of a lightly greased 20cm-round springform tin with non-stick baking paper. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture into the base. Bake for 15 minutes or until light golden. Refrigerate. 
Or

Put the whole packet of Marie biscuit in an air-tied clear bag, pound with a wooden spoon or tong, crush into chunky powder. Mix butter with the powdered biscuit with your hands into a flakey dough. Line the base of your greased baking tin with non-stick baking paper; press the dough evenly with your thumb creating a base of around 10mm. 
To make the filling -
Place the cream cheese, ricotta, eggs, sugar, lemon juice and rind and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor. Combine the corn-flour and water until smooth and add to the cheese mixture. Process the mixture until smooth. Bring out the baking tin from the refrigerator and lightly grease the sides of the tin. Pour the filling over the base. Tap the tin lightly to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour in low heat. Put a knife through and check if it is set. Turn the oven off if the knife comes out clean and stand the cake for 1 hour, leaving the oven-door closed. Refrigerate until cold. 

To make the topping-
Mix water and sugar and bring to boil. Simmer until mixture sticks to spoon. Remove from stove. Throw in the zest after the syrup has cooled down. Place the lemon rinds on the top of the cake and pour syrup evenly from the middle. Place into the refrigerator for another 15 minutes before serving. 
You can also add dried fruit (I used pineapple) in the topping. Mango, pineapple, kiwi – any dried fruit goes well with recipe but best if it's citrusy or some kind of a berry. 
Time saver's guide: The base made with Marie biscuit is your time saver option.  The syrup can be made beforehand too. 

Photo: Sharmin Rahman