Cars, Sweet Sixteen and the Cheesecake Recipe

A friend of mine had a run-in with another vehicle and her car was left in a bad way. Apparently the guys at the local garage she dealt with were amazing and so she asked me to create a thank you card especially for them. She drives a white Mazda so requested that I illustrate her car, along with a picture of a happy, smiling car mechanic. This was a sweet, simple card to create and, according to my friend, they loved it at the garage. The Hebrew greeting on the card says 'Toda', thank you. I can also show you a 'Sweet 16' card that I created last week because I know that the birthday has now passed. The birthday girl plays the guitar and is very involved in the 'Tzofim' (Scouts) here in Israel, whose badge you can see on the left hand side of the card. I was also asked to emphasize the age '16'. My husband was the delivery boy for this card and reported back that mum was happy with it, and I hope that the birthday girl liked it too.

Last month I wrote about the Jewish festival of Shavuot and showed you a photo of the delicious cheesecake I had made. A few of you wrote to me and requested the recipe, so, courtesy of the charity cookbook 'Modi'in Cuisine', I am happy to tell you how to make 'The Best Cheesecake Recipe Ever':

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

200g butter or margarine, melted

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon flour

Combine and press firmly into the bottom of a 10-inch (25cm) springform pan.

Filling:

16 oz (450g) cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar

4 eggs

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 lemon, juice and pulp

Blend all filling ingredients together until smooth. Pour onto crust and bake at 185° C / 365° F for 25 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Topping:

1 pint sour cream

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Reheat oven to 185° C/ 365°F. Blend topping ingredients well and pour on top of cooled cake. Bake for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.

Optional: sprinkle lightly with more cookie crumbs.

Chill in refridgerator for at least 12 hours.

Bon appétit, or b'tayavon as we say in Hebrew!