It occurred to me as I read the following passage form St. Catherine of Sienna this morning that it applies to cheesecake.
The eternal Father, indescribably kind and tender, turned his eye to this soul and spoke to her thus:
‘O dearest daughter, I have determined to show my mercy and loving kindness to the world, and I choose to provide for mankind all that is good. But man, ignorant, turns into a death-giving thing what I gave him in order to give life. Not only ignorant, but cruel: cruel to himself. But still I go on providing. For this reason I want you to know: whatever I give to man, I do it out of my great providence.
. . . I gave man memory, . . . I gave man intellect, . . . I gave man the desire to love, sharing in the tenderness of the Holy Spirit, so that he might love the things that his intellect had understood and seen . . . By my kind providence I did all this solely that man might be able to understand me and enjoy me, rejoicing in my vision for all eternity. . . . [i]
What I mean is this. God has given us many good gifts; all of the good things of this world, along with memory, intellect, and the gift of love; what we do with them is up to us. Sometimes in handling these things we are ignorant and cruel to ourselves, but He doesn’t withdraw His good gifts from us. One slice of cheesecake leads to Him, two slices is a repellent surfeit, three slices ad nauseam leads to a slow death by not taking care of ourselves. He has given us these gracious gifts in order that we might be able to understand and enjoy Him. After all, what is the chief end of man but to glorify God and enjoy him for ever?[ii] In understanding, loving, and enjoying God we find in Him the true form of all the lovely things that He has made to lead us to Him; they are His gift to us, eternal in the heavens.
Here is the filling for our family cheesecake recipe, but use your own crust. Be aware; we think that a graham cracker crumb crust, or sugary syrups on the top are a disgusting thing to do to a good cheesecake filling because the flavours are too strong.
2 lb. cream cheese8 oz. sugar
3 large eggs
2 oz. flour
½ pint sour cream
I tsp. good vanilla essence
A pinch of salt
To make the filling, mix the cream cheese with sugar, flour, cream cheese, vanilla essence and salt. Beat eggs until thick and lemon coloured and fold into cheese mixture. Put into aluminum baking tin lined with pastry, flatten it out, smooth the top and bake in a moderate oven (350ᵒ). If you place your cheesecake pan in a larger pan of water it will prevent cracking. For this reason we don’t use a spring pan. That way the outer edge of your cheesecake won't bake faster than the centre causing it to soufflé, sink, or crack. Don’t over bake; a cheesecake is done when the centre is still wobbles. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack for an hour or more to cool. The residual heat will continue to cook the cheesecake until it sets.
The recipe is my gift to you that you might understand and enjoy God, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good![iii] Once slice, perhaps even a generous one, leads to Him, but watch out, more than that is gluttony.[iv]
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