1.   Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 ½ c graham cracker crumbs (or any other hard biscuit/cookie crushed)
1 T sugar (optional)
¼ c melted butter/margarine

Filling:

500g cream cheese, room temperature
½ c sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 t vanilla
½ c fresh or frozen fruit (if using frozen, don’t defrost!), chocolate chips, broken up candy pieces, whatever you fancy! (optional)  Additionally or alternatively, you can decorate the top of the cheesecake with jam (again, optional)

Directions:

Crust:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Combine cookie crumbs and sugar if using.  Stir in melted butter and mix to combine.  Press into greased pie tin.  Bake for about 8 min until crust is dry and darkened around the edges.  Cool completely.  When cool, freeze for at least 30 minutes.

Filling:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with a large pan half full of boiling water on the bottom rack.  Leave pan of water in oven while baking cheesecake if possible.  Beat cream cheese at medium speed of electric handheld mixer until smooth.  Beat in sugar gradually until combined.  Beat eggs in one at a time on low speed.  Stir in vanilla.  Fold in fruit/chocolate/candy.  Pour filling into frozen crust.  Decorate top with jam if desired.  Bake for about 40 min or until edges are slightly puffed and center jiggles slightly.  Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.  Once cooled, cover and chill for 8 at least 8 hours.

2.   Caramel Cake (your birthday cake)

Ingredients:

 Cake:

1 c sour cream or plain yogurt
¼ c milk
1 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 ¾ c flour
2 t bp
½ t salt
½ t vanilla
1 c chocolate chunks 

Caramel frosting:

½ c butter/margaring
1 cup powdered/icing sugar
½ c reserved cake batter
½ c evaporated milk
1 t vanilla

Directions:

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine sour cream and milk.  Set aside.  Cream butter and gradually add sugar.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  In a separate bowl combine flour, bp and salt.  Add flour mixture to creamed mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Stir in vanilla.  Fold in chocolate.  Remove ½ cup cake batter to use in frosting.  Pour batter into two 9 inch greased and lightly floured cake pans.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then remove to wire racks to cool completely.  Cake must be completely cool prior to frosting it.

Frosting:
Heat butter in pot over low heat, stirring constantly until browned.  Remove from heat.  Stir in icing sugar, cake batter and evaporated milk.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with whisk until smooth, bubbly and thickened.  Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and cool slightly.  Frost the top of one cake and place the other cake on top.  Continue to frost the top and sides of the cake tower.

3.   Pastry for Pies and Tarts

 Ingredients:

2 ½ c flour
½ t salt
½ t bp
½ lb vegetable fat/lard
1 egg
½ T vinegar (½ T is equal to 1 ½ t)
cold water

Directions:
Mix flour, salt and bp.  Cut in lard with two knives or a pastry blender.  Beat egg in a 1/3 c measuring cup, add vinegar and enough water to fill.  Add to flour mixture with an additional 2 t of cold water and mix lightly until if forms a ball.  Chill before use.   Makes enough crust for the bottom of two pies.  Dough can be frozen if wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and covered in foil or placed in a Ziploc bag.  To use frozen dough defrost completely for 24 hours in refrigerator.

Note:  When rolling out pastry for recipes ensure that the surface of the table and the pastry is dusted with flour so that the dough does not stick to the table surface or the rolling pin.  Add more flour to the top of the pastry as necessary to prevent sticking.   

4.  Butter Tarts

Ingredients:
pastry – see recipe I.c.1.

¼ c butter, softened
½ c b sugar
½ t vanilla
1 egg
½ c maple syrup
½ c raisins

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Roll out pastry to approximately ¼ inch thick.  Cut out circles of pastry and press them firmly into a greased muffin tin.  Prick pastry shells with fork on sides and bottom.  Beat butter, sugar, vanilla, egg, syrup and raisins together.  Pour filling into shells about 2/3 full.  Bake 15-18 minutes until pastry is golden. 

5. Jam/Fruit Tarts

Ingredients:
pastry – see recipe I.c.1.
jam

Directions:                           
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Roll out pastry to approximately ¼ inch thick.  Cut out circles of pastry and press them firmly into a greased muffin tin.  Prick pastry shells with fork on sides and bottom.  Fill shells 2/3 full with jam.  Bake 15-18 minutes or until pastry is golden. 

    6. Apple Pie

 Ingredients:

 Â½ pastry recipe – see recipe I.c.1.

 Filling:

6 c apples, thinly sliced (approximately 6 large apples)
2 T lemon juice
¾ c sugar
¼ c flour
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
½ c raisins (optional)

 
Topping:

½ c flour + 2 T flour
½ c b sugar
cinnamon and nutmeg (optional)
3 T butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Roll out pastry to ¼ inch thick.  Press into greased pie tin and prick pastry with fork.  Combine apples with lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins.  In a separate bowl make topping by combining flour, b sugar and cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cut in butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.  Pour apples into pie shell.  Sprinkle with topping.  Bake for 25 minutes covered with foil and then 25-30 minutes without foil, until topping is crisp and pastry is golden. 

Note:  If you don’t want the pie to be runny, as soon as you take the pie out of the oven, tilt the pie gently over the sink to drain any excess liquid. 

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