Cardamom and Tea

biscoff cheesecake with sumac strawberries

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Cooking at home on Valentine’s Day is a lovely opportunity to skip the crowds, the restaurant floors with identical two-seaters as far as the eye can see, and the half-hearted and overpriced prix fixe Valentine’s Day menus. Stay in, cook together, and watch an old movie with a silly amount of transatlantic accents. And definitely enjoy this biscoff cheesecake with sumac strawberries. It’s sweet, tangy, and creamy, and leftovers keep wonderfully for days.

When I think of Valentine’s Day dessert, I always think strawberries, even though they’re woefully out of season in the US. So I usually end up finding a way to incorporate them while doing something extra to emphasize their flavor. The sumac in this recipe gives the strawberries a bit of extra berry flavor and tartness. So even if you’re working with sad February berries, you’ll be bringing out the best in them. Think strawberry rhubarb flavor in the middle of winter. Feel free to skip the sumac if you don’t have it around (or if your berries are perfect as is).

You can also totally use frozen berries for the puréed glaze, which will add some peak-strawberry flavor to the whole cake. Frozen berries’ texture isn’t ideal for enjoying whole, but they are much more flavorful than fresh ones out of season. Plus, they work great in any puréed applications. You can use leftover frozen berries + chocolate milk to make smoothies next Saturday morning. Maybe even blend in a piece of leftover biscoff cheesecake if you’re feeling it.

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biscoff cheesecake with sumac strawberries

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5 from 1 review

loosely adapted from this King Arthur Flour Recipe

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 4 hours
  • Yield: 8 standard or 12 small pieces

Ingredients

for the cheesecake:

  • 24 Biscoff Lotus cookies (185g)*
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted (55g), plus more for coating the pan
  • 1 tablespoons sugar (15g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (1g)
  • 2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 2 large eggs (110g)
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar (135g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (1.5g)
  • 16 oz small strawberries (455g)**

for the glaze:

  • 8oz medium strawberries (227g)
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch (10g)
  • 1/2 cup sugar (100g)
  • 2 tablespoons sumac (10g)

Instructions

  1. For the cheesecake: Preheat the oven to 350° F convection (177° C).
  2. Finely grind the cookies in a food processor.
  3. Add the melted butter, sugar, and salt, and process until everything is well-blended.
  4. Lightly coat the sides of an 8 or 9-inch cheesecake round with oil or butter. Place the crumbly crust in the cheesecake round, and press it down into 1 even layer. Use a glass, measuring cup, or something else that has a flat bottom to press it compactly.
  5. Place the cheesecake round on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Let it cool a little while you work on the filling, and leave the oven on.
  6. Whisk the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and salt together until completely smooth (whisk slowly so you don’t incorporate too much air).
  7. Pour the filling into the crust.
  8. Bake for about 30 minutes, until it’s just a little jiggly in the very center. Remove from the oven and let it cool to room temperature, then let it chill for at least 3 hours until it’s completely cold.
  9. Once it’s chilled, remove from the pan and place on a serving tray.
  10. Cut the tops off the strawberries, and then place them cut-side-down on the cheesecake.
  11. For the glaze: Hull the 8 oz of strawberries and place them with the cornstarch, sugar, and sumac in a small saucepan, and use an immersion blender to process until smooth (or use a food processor).
  12. Bring the puree to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer for about 1-2 minutes until the cornstarch activates and it thickens. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve. Once you’re ready to use it, add a few drops of water and rewarm in the microwave until it’s a brushable consistency.
  13. Brush the strawberries generously with the glaze.

Notes

* Feel free to instead use graham crackers. Just use 1 tablespoon more butter with them.

** If you don’t have small strawberries, no worries—hull and slice them, and fan them out in a pretty design on the surface instead.

To store and make ahead: This keeps super well in the fridge. If you’re making it for guests, you can make it about 12-24 hours ahead of time and chill it (you might want to brush it with the glaze at the last moment, so it doesn’t get messed up from cling wrap). After a day or so, the strawberries will start weeping a little, but the leftovers are still amazing. If you want to store it longer, it freezes beautifully. I like to individually wrap them in plastic wrap, and then freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.

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Persian love madeleines

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These cute little madeleine cookies are inspired by Persian love cake! I’ve flavored the batter with cardamom and almond, topped them with a rose glaze, and zhuzhed them up with rose and pistachio. Madeleines are notoriously wonderful right out of the oven (hi fellow lit majors!), so I’ve never gotten into topping them with chocolate. While they’re delightful that way, I just can never bring myself to wait for them to cool.

So be sure to decorate these madeleine cookies right out of the oven, and enjoy them while they’re still warm. You simply dip them in a light, lemony glaze, then immediately roll them in pistachios and rose petals. Persian love cake is brushed with syrup or glazed with icing, and this creates a similar effect. If you don’t serve them warm, leftovers keep really well too (see the note below the recipe for instructions on storing them long-term).

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Persian love madeleines

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5 from 1 review

  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 2 hours
  • Yield: about 20 madeleines

Ingredients

for the madeleines:

  • 115g unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing
  • 3 large eggs (165g), at room temperature
  • 125g sugar (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
  • 2 teaspoons rosewater (10g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 100g flour (3/4 cup)
  • 40g almond meal (1/3 cup)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Special equipment: 1 madeleine tray

for the glaze and decorations:

  • 50g powdered sugar (1/3 cup)
  • 15g lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
  • 5g rosewater (1 teaspoon)
  • Finely ground green pistachios
  • Edible rose petals

Instructions

  1. Melt the butter in the microwave. While you work on the rest of the ingredients, set aside and let it cool so it’s just warm.
  2. Combine the eggs, sugar, rosewater, and lemon zest in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Whisk at high speed for about 4-5 minutes, until it’s very thick and pale (the trail of the batter should fall off the beaters and disappear into itself after 1 full second).
  3. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the flour, almond meal, cardamom, baking powder, and salt, and place 1/2 in a sifter. Sift 1/2 of the dry ingredients over the egg mixture, and gently fold them in, followed by the other 1/2 (don’t over-mix).
  4. If the butter has cooled completely, slightly warm it in the microwave. Stir about 1/2 cup of the batter into the warm butter, then add the warm butter back into the batter and fold together (again, don’t overmix). Place it in the refrigerator and let it chill for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
  5. Once you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) convection* and generously grease a madeleine tray with more butter.
  6. Scoop about 2-3 tablespoons of batter into each shell (it will vary, depending on their size). Smooth out their tops a bit with an offset spatula or knife
  7. Bake for about 12 minutes, until their centers puff up and their edges lightly brown.
  8. While they bake, make the glaze: combine the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and rosewater into a translucent glaze. Cover while you wait on the madeleines to bake.
  9. Once the madeleines come out of the oven, pop them out of the tray. Dip the tops in the glaze, immediately roll in/sprinkle with the pistachios and rose petals while they’re still wet. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

* If you don’t have convection, no worries, they just might take a couple more minutes to bake through and brown.

To make ahead/store: If you want to make these ahead, I highly recommend making the batter ahead and baking them at the last minute. The batter will keep perfectly well in the fridge for 24 hours. The madeleines themselves should absolutely never, ever, ever go in the refrigerator. They should be enjoyed shortly after baking, and if you have any left over, freeze them and thaw as needed.

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