DOUGH 1. Pour warm water into a bowl. Add sugar and yeast. Stir gently and let stand for 5–10 minutes until foamy. 2. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. 3. Add the yeast mixture and olive oil to the flour. 4. Mix with a spoon until a rough dough forms. 5. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface. Knead for 7–10 minutes until smooth, soft, and elastic. 6. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 45–60 minutes, until doubled in size. 7. Punch down the dough. Shape into a ball and let rest 10 minutes before stretching. TOPPING 8. Preheat oven to 475–500°F (245–260°C). Place a baking stone or baking sheet inside to preheat. 9. Wash tomatoes and slice thinly. Lightly salt and set aside. Slice or tear mozzarella and pat dry. 10. Stretch dough into a 10–12 inch circle on parchment paper. 11. Spread tomato sauce evenly, leaving a small border. 12. Distribute mozzarella over the sauce. Arrange tomatoes on top. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle oregano if using. 13. Transfer pizza (with parchment) onto the hot surface. Bake 8–12 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling. Remove from oven. Add fresh basil if desired. Slice and serve immediately.

   Apricot jam can be replaced with another favorite jam (preferably light) or honey. Butter and cream cheese should be at room temperature. You will need 2 large bowls. 1. Preheat the oven to 356F (180 C). Line the bottom of a baking pan with parchment paper. Prepare a larger pan so that the baking pan can fit in it. We will pour water into it. 2. Bring a small saucepan of water to the boil. Place 160 g of cream cheese in a large bowl. Place the bowl with the cheese on the saucepan and whisk until the cream cheese is warm. Add 20 g of butter. Whisk the mixture until the butter melts. 3. Pour in 50 ml of milk and whisk again until smooth. Remove the bowl from the saucepan. 4. Mix 30 g of flour and 10 g of cornstarch. Sift into the cream mixture and whisk. 5. Separate the whites and yolks. 6. Stir the yolks into the cream mixture. Set aside. 7. In a second large bowl, combine 4 whites and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Whisk until stiff peaks form. Add 80 g of sugar in three stages, whisking very thoroughly. Whisk the whites until soft peaks form. 8. Add 1/3 of the whites to the cheese mixture and mix with a whisk. Pour the cheese mixture into the whites and mix with a silicone spatula very carefully, moving from the bottom up, turning. Mix until all the ingredients are mixed (the mixture will be quite liquid.) 9. Pour the mixture into a baking dish. Place the baking dish into a larger dish. Fill the larger dish with hot water 1/3 full. And place in the oven on the middle shelf. 10. Bake for 20 minutes. Open the oven for 10 seconds. Reduce the temperature to 230F(110C) and bake for another 60 minutes. 11. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, turn the pan over, tap it lightly so that the cheesecake falls out. Turn it over onto a plate. Brush the top with apricot jam or honey.