I must be like Holy Mary and am undergoing immaculate conception because that’s the only reason I can think of that explains why I have only been scarfing desserts and chicken karaage. Apparently, I do not eat anymore. Eating involves chewing; I inhale.
Anyway, to appease my cravings I made a lemon cheesecake. (I ostensibly made it for a dinner party, but I used that as an excuse to make it, eat half of it and then take the rest to the party.) I could have easily bought a cheesecake, but I am rather dissatisfied with Japanese cheesecakes I’ve tasted so far. The Japanese version of cheesecake seems to be a mix ricotta cheese with cream cheese, or a mix of cream cheese and a whole lot of whole cream. In short, mine rocked.
I used the same shortbread crust recipe from the lemon bars and the most basic cheesecake filling recipe I could find.




at 6:43 am
Those look good! Trying to get into food blogging, I see. I especially like the first photo with the napkin below.
at 7:06 am
I think I will only blog about cooking in small spaces. I kind of copped out on this one since it’s not so different with the lemon bars.
Also, I will blog about making cinnamon buns in my rice cooker, but that will take place after my Tokyo trip.
at 10:37 am
I still uphold that the worst crime the Japanese have committed against cheesecake is that variety of “cheezukeeki” that comes individually sealed with one of those little plastic tabs that say “do not eat”, in which the “cheesecake” is nothing more than a piece of stale, oily bread that is vaguely cheese-colored with an aroma of sour milk. If you haven’t encountered this yet, you probably will the next time someone brings you an “okashi” offering (either while you’re waiting for something to happen at the schoolboard, or the “omiyage” brought back after Golden Week).
at 12:58 pm
@Murasaki: Honey, I already encountered it! HA HA HA! I know what you mean! In my opinion, you can only have either REAL cheesecake or none at all. These oily cheesecake impersonators are just terrible.
at 1:25 am
I’m so jealous! Baking is one of my top hobbies, but I can’t do anything in my tiny Leopalace apartment with an electric range and a microwave, agh.
at 2:23 am
@Mark: I also live in a LeoPalace. In my last entry, I talk about how I was suffering from oven withdrawal. I was given a toaster oven and now I occasionally toast and bake.
Thanks for commenting.
at 5:43 pm
I’m going to go make some pseudo-cheesecake out of my ricotta cheese now. Mmmmmm…..
Dammit, I just ate my last cookie. No crust.