The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Sixties Cookbook (26 page)

CHAPTER 6

SHOWSTOPPERS: DESSERTS

Y
et another reason why we love the Sixties—dinner always came with dessert. Even if it was only a little ramekin of fruit cocktail or a Sara Lee cake from the freezer, you could expect a happy ending.

Desserts in the Sixties were colorful, over-the-top, and usually on fire. The Moors have been igniting their food since the fourteenth century, but the practice didn’t really catch on in America until the 1950s and ’60s. It became an easy way to end your dinner party with a bang. Popular flaming desserts included baked Alaska, crêpes Suzette, cherries jubilee, and pretty much anything you squirted 80 proof rum over.

If the dessert didn’t have liquor on it, then there was often booze in it. No one thought twice about serving grasshopper pie, with its high crème de menthe content, to kids. There are plenty of desserts here that don’t require a photo ID, and we also give tips on how to cook without alcohol on
page 169
. In some cases, the booze is the dessert’s
raison d’être
, so if you don’t want to cook with hooch, make something else.

Flambé

The actual term for igniting warmed alcohol over food is
flambé
or “flamed” in French. Some chefs argue it creates a chemical reaction that changes the flavor of food, while others dismiss it as pure showmanship. In either case, we’re in!

High Spirited Desserts

Not all desserts included alcohol just for show. Some used it for fun. Or to sell more product. In the mid-twentieth century, Knox Unflavored Gelatine and Heublein Cordials copublished a collection of “high spirited desserts” to encourage the use of their products together. The pamphlet suggested that if a cook adopted a “devil-may-care attitude” toward baking with booze, dinner guests would “click their heels with glee over a superb dessert.” When they weren’t falling into it, we’re guessing.

TIP TOE INN’S LATTICE-TOPPED CHERRY CHEESECAKE

MAKES 10 TO 12 SERVINGS

When Rick moved to Manhattan, his first restaurant job was on the Upper West Side. Whenever he served cheesecake to customers of a certain age, they would shake their heads and mutter, “It’s good, but not as good as Tip Toe Inn’s,” a famous Jewish delicatessen that had been shuttered for years—even then. By a strange twist of fate, he later worked with Sarabeth Levine, one of New York’s best bakers . . . and a member of the family that owned the Tip Toe. While the small, nondescript restaurant was far from the madding Midtown crowd, its cherry cheesecake attracted patrons from all over the city. What made theirs tops in a city known for the creamy dessert? A delectable sugar cookie lattice crust. Master this recipe, and people will start crossing your town to feast on it.

SUGAR COOKIE DOUGH CRUST

1½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

7 tablespoons (1 stick minus 1 tablespoon) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into ½-inch cubes

⅓ cup sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 large egg, beaten, for glazing

FILLING

2 pounds cream cheese, softened at room temperature for at least 2 hours

1 cup sugar

¾ cup sour cream

4 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons all-purpose flour, for dusting cookie dough

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

1.
To make the cookie dough, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed until light in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk, sour cream, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in the flour mixture, just until it clumps together.

2.
Divide the dough in half. Shape each portion into a thick disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate just until chilled and firm enough to roll out, about 30 minutes.

3.
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

4.
Lightly flour the work surface. Roll out 1 dough disk (keep the remaining dough refrigerated) into a 10-inch-diameter round about ⅛ inch thick. Using the bottom of the springform pan as a template, cut out the dough into a 9-inch round, discarding the trimmings. Transfer the round to the lined baking sheet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough round while baking the cheesecake.

5.
Roll out the second dough disk into a 10-inch-diameter round about ⅛ inch thick, trim into a 9-inch round as before, and fit into the bottom of the springform pan. Pierce the dough all over with a fork. Bake until the crust is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.

6.
Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Beat the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl often, just until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, then gradually beat in the eggs. Beat in the cornstarch and vanilla. Pour into the pan with the warm crust.

7.
Return to the oven and bake until the sides of the cheesecake have risen slightly and are barely beginning to color (the center of the filling will still jiggle when the pan is gently shaken and look unset), about 45 minutes.