today i'm so excited because i will bring you along as we prepare to celebrate shavuot in our
orthodox sephardic jewish family i will share with you my easy and foolproof cheesecake recipe with
all my tips and tricks to make it perfect every time i will show you how i shape my favorite
bapka recipe as a rose two ways in honor of shavuot as well as how my daughters and i
shape and decorate our challah for Shavuot if you're new here hi my name is Sara Malka
and on my channel i share all facets of my orthodox sephardic jewish life
as a full-time working mom with small kiddos so don't forget to leave this video a big thumbs up
and subscribe to our channel let me put on a pretty tichel/ headscarf and let's jump into it
shavuot is part of our SHALOSH REGALIM or three main jewish holidays it is celebrated for two
days outside of israel and for only one day in israel one of the main reason we celebrate
shavuot is because we received on that day the ten commandments on Har Sinai or mount sinai
and albeit it was in the middle of the desert mount sinai was covered with flowers and greenery
to commemorate this miracle we decorate our houses and the synagogues with flowers and for me i add
as many food shaped like flowers or at least decorated with flowers and vibrant colors like my
challah and my cheesecake for my cheesecake recipe i preheat the oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit
and in my food processor i add 15 graham crackers and i turn them into crumbs i sometimes use
oreo cookies or lotus cookies it is so delicious i make sure to stop and scrape off the side of
the bowl to avoid having big pieces of cookies in my crust then i add my packed brown sugar
i add my melted unsalted butter or my vegan butter if i make my cheesecake non-dairy
then i will mix everything thoroughly i will also try not to forget to stop the
food processor often to scrape down the wall of my processor
then i will add half a teaspoon of kosher salt to reveal all the flavors in my cheesecake i also add
my secret ingredient a teaspoon of lemon zest to add another dimension to my cheesecake and to help
balance the sweetness of the filling and it makes a huge difference i mix everything again together
and i gracefully let out my anger on my mixer to make sure everything is mixed
this next tip has been a game changer for me instead of leaving the bottom of my spring form
with the lip facing upward i reverse the bottom of my spring form to allow an easy releasing of
my cheesecake this makes a huge difference then i butter the bottom and the sides of my spring form
i like to add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of my spring form to have an even
easier time to release my cheesecake to make a made for measured parchment paper
i will fold six times my parchment paper in a triangle shape
then i will take the center of my spring form as my guide
and i will cut my parchment paper a bit shorter than the outer edge of my spring form and voila
i have the perfect size parchment paper i put the paper in my mold i close my mold of course
and then i will add my cheesecake crust in the spring form at this point i want for my crust
to have the consistency of wet sand because this will yield the best cheesecake crust
i firmly pack the crust using the bottom of a glass to create a crust of equal
thickness throughout the spring form for my second cheesecake i have pushed the crumbs higher against
the rim of the springform to create a large border like a new york style cheesecake i put the crust
in the oven at 350 degrees fahrenheit for six to eight minutes or until golden
i take out my mixer and change my challah bowl for the cake bowl i use my mixer with
my paddle attachment and i could also use my hand mixer but i would only use it on low speed
to my bowl i add my cream cheese that was at room temperature i mix everything until
there's no more lumps then i add my sugar and incorporate it fully to the cream cheese
i add my kosher salt which makes everything delicious i also add some vanilla extract i add
five large eggs after making sure that they are without blood spots i add them one by one a super
tip to add eggs one by one is to use a square container it makes everything so much easier
once the eggs are incorporated i will stop the mixing to avoid incorporating too much
air which would make the cheesecake crack at this point the batter is still quite thick
i add my sour cream to add creaminess to my amazing shavuot cheesecake recipe
to add even more dimension to the cheesecake i will add some lemon juice the cheesecake mixture
is now much more fluid and creates a continuous ribbon which is what i'm looking for the beautiful
golden crust is now ready and cooled down and before putting the filling inside the springform
i will cover it with a triple layer of aluminum foil (the aluminum foil will be recycled!) i
will be folding the edges first and then creating horns that will help me to carry the cheesecake
and also to make sure that the water from the water bath will not come inside
i usually add the boiling water in the roasting pan once it is in the oven to avoid carrying it
with boiling water but i wanted to show you that when i will put my spring form in my roasting pan
the bottom of the spring form will be covered by an inch of water not more i pour the filling
in the crust the filling will almost reach the top of my spring form and it is perfectly fine
i smooth the top of my cheesecake then i will bake it for 45 minutes at 350 degrees fahrenheit
then lower the oven at 325 degrees fahrenheit for another 30 to 40 minutes until the top is golden
while the cheesecake is baking i will prepare a glaze for my cheesecake and i will leave the
recipe in the description box below when i take out my cheesecake from the oven
i will put it right away on a cooling rack at this point my cheesecake should be
wiggly in the middle which is what i'm looking for
after 20 minutes of cooling i use a paring knife to liberate the side of my cheesecake it will make
the unmolding and releasing of the cheesecake way more easy once almost cooled down i will pour my
glaze on top i will cover my cheesecake and leave it in the fridge overnight or at least 4 hours
if i'm in a rush the next day i will complete the decoration with fresh fruits here i'm using
verified currants or groseilles before cutting my cheesecake i put my knife in boiling water
then i wipe it dry that will allow me to cut the perfect slices without the cheesecake filling
sticking to the blade of my knife rendering the most delicious and perfect cheesecake slice
for my amazing flower-shaped babka for shavuot i have already shared my amazing and decadent
cinnamon and chocolate babka recipe and i will leave the recipes in the link above
in the description box below once the dough is ready using a rolling pin i will roll out
my dough to form a rectangle of about nine by 17 inches and about a sixth of an inch in thickness
then i will spread my filling whether chocolate cinnamon or jam here i will be using my favorite
dairy-free chocolate spread for two bapkas and my homemade cinnamon filling for the two others
whether the cinnamon chocolate or jam filling i spread a generous amount of them
i make sure to leave about an inch free of filling on the sides of my dough to avoid for the filling
to ooze out and it also allows me to have an easier time rolling my babka a pro tip i have
learned is not to use the tip of my fingers to roll the dough instead i use the length of
my fingers to roll the babka in a log it helps the babka to be rolled evenly and to avoid for
it to stick to my fingers once the dough is fully shaped i roll it a few times onto itself to even
out the filling and form a straight and equal log i pinch the ends for the filling to stay inside
for my first babka rose i cut my dough in the middle making sure i leave the top
uncut i start rolling the dough from one extremity onto itself and when i arrive at the junction
i will deepen the cut and create a soft curve and i will continue rolling the dough onto itself
i tuck gently the end under the babka and i place it in a round baking pan lined with parchment
paper for the second rose i cut the dough in the middle leaving the top uncut i twist the
two extremities together then i roll it unto itself tucking the end under the babka i repeat
the same process with my jam filling and i am left with this amazing babka rose for my challah i have
already given you my amazing and foolproof challah recipe with all my tips and tricks including how
i shop for the best ingredients to make my perfect challah every time so i will leave the link to the
recipe and the video in the description box below and in the link above for my first ROSE CHALLAH i
will take about 150 grams of dough and form a log i take my rolling pin and create a long and narrow
rectangle i cut my dough in three leaving about a quarter of the length uncut i braid the bottom
three strands making sure that the braid stays flat if you feel that braiding is intimidating
you can also do it with only two strands twisting them around each other making sure they stay flat
at the end of the braid i tuck the edges as flat as i can i roll the braid loosely onto itself
when i arrive at the end i tuck the large tail around the head of the rose to form a leaf
i separate the petals to add more dimension to my rose
and it's ready to be baked after being proofed of course!
my daughter Leah wanted to show you how she makes her roses she takes a long strand of
dough and with the pizza cutter she makes little cuts in the dough she rolls the dough onto itself
then she separates the petals to make her rose even prettier and voila an easy challah rose
for my bigger challah i love decorating them i do my classic 6 strands challah ( I COULD HAVE
USED ANY CHALLAH SHAPE)using my daughters song to remember how to braid my challah
second to the top first in the middle
second to the top first in the middle when i have completed the braiding of my challah i
brush my challah with my egg wash and then i place sunflower seeds on my challah to form a flower
on this challah i added the sunflower seeds only on one side of the challah but on the
other one i added them all over here is how our big decorated challah looks like once baked
and here are beautiful roses i have to admit that i absolutely love the details of the challah roses
with the petals and the leaves i think that
all our beautiful challot will add a beautiful touch of elegance on shavuot
thank you for being here it means the world to me know that in my book you are a true friend
if you're here with me until the end please write in the comments I LOVE SHAVUOT so i know i was not
alone and if nobody told you today know that YOU ARE LOVED and YOU ARE ENOUGH just the way you are
until next time stay safe stay blessed and don't forget to FRUM IT UP