Goat's Milk Ricotta Cake, Chinese Five-Spice Graham Cracker, Goat's Milk Yogurt Pudding, Strawberry, Rhubarb, Lemon Glaze, Lemon Balm & Basil
I wanted to make a dessert that highlighted some amazing goat's milk products that I've been getting for the last couple of years from a place called Cranberry Creek Farm in the Poconos. They sell raw goat's milk, yogurts and handmade cheeses which come from a herd of pasture-raised goats. These goats are allowed to roam free eating seasonal grasses, shrubs, trees and other wild plants. Their diet shows through in the products made from their milk. The raw milk alone has grassy and floral hints to it. When you hear someone talk about a food having a "sense of place" this is what they are talking about. The product tastes like where it is being raised. If you trucked these goats to the west coast their milk would taste totally different. So anyway, I decided to make a dessert, with all local ingredients of course, with some fresh ricotta, yogurt and raw milk from Cranberry Creek Farms.
This cake could be considered a cheesecake since it is made with cheese, however it is much lighter and airier in texture than a typical cheesecake. It was made by whipping the ricotta with some of the yogurt, egg yolks, vanilla paste, sugar and grated lemon rind. Was this was blended nicely I stirred in the egg whites and some flour. I poured the batter into a buttered pan and baked it at 300 degrees until set. I chilled the cake before punching out rounds with a ring mold and glazing them with a thick lemon sugar syrup.
I placed a cup of yogurt and a cup of the goat's milk in a sauce pan with some sugar and agar agar and brought it to a boil, stirring until the sugar and agar were dissolved. I poured the liquid into a shallow pan and chilled it to set into a gel. Once set, I blended the gel with some of the yogurt and creme fraiche and ran it through a tamis, resulting in a thick smooth pudding.
I made a simple graham cracker dough using Chinese 5-spice powder instead of the traditional cinnamon. I chilled the dough before rolling it out in a thin sheet and baking it to a light golden brown. Once cooled I crumbled the crackers.
I vacuum packed some sliced rhubarb with sugar and sliced strawberries and cooked them in a low water bath. This process of cooking rhubarb "sous-vide" breaks down the tough fibers while maintaining the shape and general structure of it. The strawberries were dipped in the lemon syrup just before being plated. And the dish was finished off with some fresh leaves of lemon balm and basil.
Product -
Organic Mara de Bois Strawberries - Culton Organics
Pastured Goat's Milk Ricotta and Yogurt - Cranberry Creek Farms
Organic Lemon Balm - Weaver's Way Farm
Organic Basil - My Garden
This cake could be considered a cheesecake since it is made with cheese, however it is much lighter and airier in texture than a typical cheesecake. It was made by whipping the ricotta with some of the yogurt, egg yolks, vanilla paste, sugar and grated lemon rind. Was this was blended nicely I stirred in the egg whites and some flour. I poured the batter into a buttered pan and baked it at 300 degrees until set. I chilled the cake before punching out rounds with a ring mold and glazing them with a thick lemon sugar syrup.
I placed a cup of yogurt and a cup of the goat's milk in a sauce pan with some sugar and agar agar and brought it to a boil, stirring until the sugar and agar were dissolved. I poured the liquid into a shallow pan and chilled it to set into a gel. Once set, I blended the gel with some of the yogurt and creme fraiche and ran it through a tamis, resulting in a thick smooth pudding.
I made a simple graham cracker dough using Chinese 5-spice powder instead of the traditional cinnamon. I chilled the dough before rolling it out in a thin sheet and baking it to a light golden brown. Once cooled I crumbled the crackers.
I vacuum packed some sliced rhubarb with sugar and sliced strawberries and cooked them in a low water bath. This process of cooking rhubarb "sous-vide" breaks down the tough fibers while maintaining the shape and general structure of it. The strawberries were dipped in the lemon syrup just before being plated. And the dish was finished off with some fresh leaves of lemon balm and basil.
Product -
Organic Mara de Bois Strawberries - Culton Organics
Pastured Goat's Milk Ricotta and Yogurt - Cranberry Creek Farms
Organic Lemon Balm - Weaver's Way Farm
Organic Basil - My Garden