Crusts are the foundation of many desserts so it’s important to treat them seriously. When making a crust for a springform pan, it’s important to have options that pair nicely with your dessert. Regular cheesecakes go great with a graham cracker crust but what if you’re not going the traditional route? That apple caramel cheesecake might be better paired with a ginger snap cookie crust or a walnut crust. What if you’re doing something entirely different from a cheesecake or maybe you have a gluten intolerance? Maybe you want to take it to the next level and make a chocolate mouse with a hazelnut crust! Now you can do almost any type of spring form crust if you have access to dry cookies or nuts based on the recipe below.

Every year for the last several years I’ve been experimenting with the seeds that come with my fall pumpkins. I enjoy roasting them and candying them but I’ve always grappled with their often tough mouthfeel. I always seem to be knawing on them for eternity as the texture slowly starts to remind me of sawdust. Every year I’ve tackled this problem differently; usually simmering them in water for a certain amount of time to soften them before roasting. This tactic has only yielded me marginally more tender pumpkin seeds. I needed to take this further.

 

A few months ago I picked up my first slow cooker. After some initial testing I found that slow cooking the pumpkin seeds in water on high (about 210F (99C)) for 10 hours allowed me to roast them to perfection. Using this method, your pumpkin seeds will be crispy on the outside and give way to a subtle chew on the inside as they release their flavors. Oh yeah, the flavor. Now that found the optimum texture, I opted for a savory punch thanks to the shiro miso, paprika and a dash of sugar and cayenne for depth of flavor. Now I can finally really enjoy pumpkin seeds as an easy going snack.

“See those bananas over there?”, I asked, tilting my head towards the end of the aisle at the health food store. “I’ll buy fifteen of ‘em for half price”, I suggested confidently. The cashier paused for a moment, not knowing whether to believe me. Why would anyone want to buy bananas that were almost more suitable for the compost bin than the kitchen for any price? “Sure”, he sighed. He knew they were garbage unless I took them in. I laughed to myself when I realized how excited I was to buy bananas that most people wouldn’t even think of eating. I started to feel bad about not liberating the others but I had to get home- There was work to do! How cool would it be to peel the bananas, purée them and slow cook them into a thick syrup to use as a base for fruit sweetened banana bread? Finally- something to do with all those bananas laying around in your freezer!

Crystallized ginger is somewhat of a magical candy from nature usually made from just ginger, sugar and a little heat to bring the two together. It seems there are almost as many crystallized ginger recipes as there are ginger pieces. After doing extensive testing I learned that the key to successful crystallized ginger boils down to three main things: 

 

Sugar Content

You must have at least a 50% mix of sugar to water mixture ratio in order for the 

ginger to crystallize properly. I opted for a ratio of 1:3 ratio of sugar to water because I felt this promotes maximum crystallization with just the right amount of sweetness. The sugar content allows the ginger to crystallize and also acts as a preservative. The crystallization also lends a tender, soft and slightly chewy mouthfeel that is especially important.

 

Time

The ginger should have sufficient time in the hot sugar mixture so it can soften and the sugar syrup can infuse it. 

 

Drying

I’m not one to dredge crystallized ginger in granulated sugar. In my opinion, properly made crystallized ginger has enough naturally crystallized sugars throughout its interior to need additional sugar added to the exterior. In order to promote this sugar crystallization the ginger must be exposed to heat so the excess water evaporates.

In my opinion, the ultimate cookie is crispy on the outside, yielding to a satisfying chew on the inside. This should not be confused with just a soft cookie. It should resist your bite a little and take a few moments to break down in your mouth as it provides burts of flavor with every chew. In contrast, soft cookies tend to be great on the first bite and disintegrate into nothingness soon after, often leaving you feel like you’re chewing on sweet dust. I’m a huge fan of peanut butter but I find the texture of peanut butter cookies to too often fall into the soft-only or even worse, the crumbly camp. If you scale back on their precious peanut butter they retain their chewy qualities but also quickly turn into regular cookies with just a hint of peanut butter flavor. I set out to find the optimum combination of decadent chewiness while keeping a peanut butter punch as intense as possible (and tossing in chocolate chips for good measure). This tightrope walk is extremely dangerous in that it causes you to eat way too many test cookies as you perfect your recipe.

I’m a huge fan of kimchi because it adds a fascinating crunch and a savory spicy flavor to whatever you pair it with. It seems as if kimchi is one of those foods that becomes more than the sum of its parts after it ferments to perfection. Napa cabbage provides the crunch but also is rich in glutamates, the compounds that are responsible for savory favors, otherwise known as umami. Their had to be a reason why napa cabbage is always part of kimchi!

 

Recently I incorporated kimchi into vegan butter for an increased depth of flavor. The kimchi flavor was less apparent but the butter had a complex flavor unlike anything I’ve tasted. What if I made a puff pastry out of Kimchi Vegan Butter that was designed to deliver a one-two punch of flaky butter and savory flavors that even the most die hard meat eaters would love? The result is Kimchi Puff Pastry with Shiitake Mushrooms and Toasted Pine Nuts. This recipe may look a little daunting but it’s easy if you split it into several nights and refrigerate it as you go. I usually make the Kimchi Vegan Butter and mushrooms one night, prepare the puff pastry and give it a turn or two on the second night and prepare and bake them on the third night.

Trying cake batter ice cream recently I was intrigued of the concept of blending two completely different types of desserts. I loved how the ice cream takes on the unexpected flavor of cake batter but still has the consistency of ice cream. What could I get away with in an attempt to blend flavors and textures that would contrast but also compliment each other? I have a flavor experience burned in my memory from some point in my life where I had vanilla ice cream oozing over a ginger snap cookie. I realized that this was what I must try. Should I grind the ginger snaps and steep them in non-dairy milk or just blend them in the ice cream recipe before processing in the ice cream maker? Would I still need to add the same ratios of ingredients as my Vanilla Ice Cream recipe?