Roses for Umar Gul and his Five Roses Cheesecake of Magnificence

And a better morning to you.  Yesterday was full of brickbats for Pakistan cricket and the focus was on the dropnacious wicket-keeper, so today let's balance out that negativity with a bouquet of rosy compliments, and I have just the player in mind.


Gulzilla is a weapon of Mass Destruction and a National Treasure.  Let's love him and take care of him.

UMAR GUL, Pakistan's fast bowler, is a bit of a rarity in the cricket world; not only does he bowl well and take scalps on a consistent basis, he knows how to belt out those runs when they're needed.  Not only that, he is also one of the most graceful bowlers out there, an absolute delight to watch.  Let's have a closer look at the man I consider to be one of Pakistan's national treasures.

Let's see Dale Steyn even attempt this Barishnikov-esque bowling manoeuver!  Ha!

Umar Gul, the master of Gullification and Gul-dozing and Furniture Breaking, aka Scalp-taking and wicket-taking, got 3 wickets for 32 in the disastrous match against New Zealand recently, and he furthermore scored a good 34 runs.  That nice performance got eclipsed by someone's bad one.  So Gulzilla, good on ya, you're a shining ray of light in the darkness.  Here's an imaginary dozen roses for you.

And let's not forget his magnificent innings at the Oval on September 17, 2010 where he scalped 6 England batsmen for 42 in ten overs.  As the profile on Cricinfo says, Umar Gul is the most consistent, yet under-rated quick bowler on the Pakistan side.  Well, no more.  I'm going to sing his praises from now on.  This man is a treasure, and I'm dedicating my late Memere's (grandma) best cheesecake recipe to him. 

Coincidentally, Gul means "rose" in farsi and peshto, and the recipe my Memere used is from the 1932 edition of the Five Roses cookbook, published in Canada.  Therefore, it is Umar Gul's destiny to have a cheesecake named after him!  Right, let's get baking.

Umar Gul's Five Roses Cheesecake

Crust

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter

Combine all ingredients together and mix well.  Line the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate, and refrigerate. 

Filling

1/2 pound  (about 230 gr) cream cheese

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup sour cream

Topping

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon rind

Preheat the oven to 177C or 350 F.

Have the cheese at room temperature and cream well with lemon juice.  Set aside.

Beat eggs slightly with a fork.

Add sugar to the eggs and mix well.

Fold the sour cream into the egg and sugar mix.

Combine the egg and cheese mixtures, and strain (I have found the straining step to be unnecessary, but go ahead if you want a very firm cheesecake).

Pour into the chilled crust and bake at 177 C or 350 F for 30 minutes.

While the filling is baking, prepare the topping.

Combine all of the topping ingredients and blend thoroughly.

After the filling has been in the oven for 30 minutes, remove from the oven.

Spread the topping over the cooked filling.

Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes.

Chill thoroughly before serving.  This will make enough for 8 to 10 slices of deliciousness.

Celebrate Umar Gul.  He deserves it because he's just so awesome.  Keep it up, Gulzilla, we love watching you and you ROCK!

When he breaks furniture, he gets cheesecake!  BOO YA!



Happy Cricket, Happy Cooking, Happy Gul!