Showing posts with label cheesecake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheesecake. Show all posts
Friday, May 26, 2017
Manhattan Cheesecake with Strawberries
Manhattan Cheesecake with Strawberries
The month of May has brought me the opportunity to participate once again with the lovely baking group called, The Cake Slice Bakers. You may recall that a few months back I made a delicious Old Fashioned Pound Cake along with an Applesauce Spice Cake. Both of these cakes I made through the Cake Slice Bakers group. This is a group of food bloggers that get together once a month and bake from Carole Walters Great Cakes cookbook. I love this cookbook! Almost as much as I adore and treasure the Cake Slice Bakers. Unfortunately, my blogging has taken a couple steps down on my list of priorities (due to life as a working mommy) and I havent had the chance to bake along side the CSBs for quite a few months now. I have also been working really hard at loosing weight and have been careful with the amount of carbs and sugar that I consume. BUT because my love for baking makes my heart sing, I have to every once and awhile take time out from crazy, busy life and my diet and treat myself (and others) to a yummy baked treat made with love from my kitchen to their mouths.
That being said, out of four options from the Great Cakes cookbook that was presented to the CSBs I choose to make the Manhattan Cheesecake. I was super excited for this recipe as it was different than any other cheesecake recipe that I had ever made before. Beaten egg whites, freshly grated lemon peel and orange peel were added into a beautiful batter of cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and egg yolks. What could be better?! The cake came together lovely. I followed each step to. the. tee. The batter tasted divine. I decorated the cooled cake full of happiness with strawberries and raspberries that were gently glazed with an apricot glaze. BEAUTIFUL all around. But then, I cut into the cake. And the cake was completely a mess. I could have cried!! Even though I had followed each word of instruction with careful attention - I added all the right ingredients at all the right times. I baked the cake at the required temperature and timing. Yet still the cake was completely too soft. I have no pictures of the sliced cake due to my sadness over it being undone. I do highly recommend this recipe as it was delicious but please make sure you bake it for longer than 40 minutes. I would suggest at least an hour rather than 40 minutes.
Invite some friends over and serve up this master piece. They will love and worship you after the first bite.
Manhattan Cheesecake with Strawberries
(recipe from Great Cakes by Carole Walters)
Crust Ingredients:
10 double graham crackers, or enough crackers to make 1 1/2 cups of crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
Cake Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature (24 oz - 3 blocks of cream cheese)
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
5 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon rind
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly grated orange rind
3 large egg whites
Strawberry Topping:
3/4 cup apricot preserves
1 Tbsp kirchwasser or Grand Marnier
3-4 cups large, deep red strawberries
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Generously grease a 9" springform pan - set aside.
2. Make crust by putting broken graham crackers into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add in sugar and pulse to make fine crumbs. Add in melted butter and pulse for another 5-10 seconds so all ingredients are blended together.
3. Pour crumb mixture into prepared pan. Using a spoon or the bottom of a glass press crumbs onto the bottom and up against the sides of pan. Refrigerate when done.
4. Prepare filling by placing cream cheese into clean bowl of food processor. Add in sugar and process for 15 seconds, then scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again for another 5 seconds. Add in egg yolks while processor is running through the feeder tube and run for 10 seconds. Add in heavy cream and the lemon and orange rinds. Process for 10 seconds all together.
5. Beat egg whites in a large bowl of an electric mixer. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then add in 1/4 cup sugar - 1 Tbsp at a time, beating until the whites are shiny. Fold in 1/4 of the filling batter with a large spatula, turning for about 10 times until mixture has lightened. Add in remaining batter, taking an additional 30 turns.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set pan on a 18" square of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Mold foil around the sides of the pan to catch any batter that might leak. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes - (This is where I would recommend that you bake for longer than 40 minutes as my cake was under cooked at this timing.....55 minutes to an hour would be my recommendation).
7. At the end of the baking time, turn off the oven and place the handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep it ajar. Cool the cake in the oven for 1 hour before taking it out, removing the foil and cooling to room temperature for at least 3 hours. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours before putting the strawberry topping on the cake.
8. Prepare topping by heating preserves and liqueur in a medium size sauce pan over low heat. Bring to a slow boil and continue to cook until preserves are completely melted. Remove pan from heat and strain mixture through a fin strainer to remove the large pieces. Return to saucepan and set aside.
9. Wash, hull and dry the strawberries. Slice them in half lengthwise.
10. Arrange the berries cut sides down around the edge of the cake, with the points of the berries facing outward. Arrange a second circle inside the first, with the points of the berries extending inward. The bottoms of the berries should touch. Fill in the center randomly and then make a second layer of strawberries over the first. Cake can now be refrigerated until ready to serve.
11. Once ready to serve remove cake from refrigerator 1 hour prior to serving. Just before you plan on serving the cheesecake, warm the preserves over low heat and then with a pastry brush, gently coat berries with glaze. Serve with happiness!!
Happy Manhattan Cheesecake with Strawberries Baking!
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Thursday, April 20, 2017
Mary Berry Lemon Cheesecake
Mary Berry Lemon Cheesecake
Last week I had a craving for cheesecake. A lemon cheesecake to be precise. I remember watching Mary Berry demonstrate this cheesecake so I decided to look up the recipe. Its a really simple no bake recipe which took all of 10 minutes to put together. The longest wait is for the cheesecake to firm up and we were too impatient so it was still a little soft when we first tried it. It firmed up nicely in the fridge for the next day. I used Hobnobs for the base instead of ginger biscuits as Im not a fan of ginger and used different berries to decorate. The result was divine. Its a really creamy, rich, lemony cheesecake and I loved the crunch of the hobnob base. This would be great for a dinner party and will be sure to impress.
cheesecake base on left, cheese filling on right 
I just couldnt wait for the cheesecake to set properly so its a little soft but it tasted divine! Recipe is available on Mary Berry online
I made a few minor changes listed below
I used a large cake tin 23cm which resulted in a very flat cheesecake, Id recommend using a 18cm or less cake tin.
200g hobnob biscuits, crushed
100g butter, melted
500g mascarpone cheese
325g jar luxury lemon curd
Juice of 1 small lemon
Fresh strawberries and blueberries, to decorate
Icing sugar, to dust
- Place the biscuits in a ziplock bag, seal and bash with a rolling pin.
- Melt the butter in a microwave.
- Add the melted butter to the biscuits and mix well.
- Press firmly into the base of your cake tin making sure not to go up the edges.
- In a large bowl, mix the mascarpone cheese, lemon curd and lemon juice until smooth.
- Pour over the biscuit base and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Chill in the fridge for 4 hours but preferably overnight.
- Decorate with fresh berries and a sprinkling of icing sugar before serving.
Available link for download
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Mango Cheesecake for Christmas
Mango Cheesecake for Christmas
People have been very surprised when they found out that for the 12 years Ive lived in Australia, this year is actually the first time that I would be spending Christmas and New Years here. Im surprised myself too that its taken me this long to see Santa in the heat of summer!
In the past, Id likely have been traveling somewhere up the northern hemisphere visiting my parents during this festive and joyous season. As I scheduled my travels ahead this year (and as as much as I miss the winter hot chocolates and the often ugly holiday sweaters), Ive been quite excited about spending summertime here.
No heavy winter coats, no dodging left and right from the winter flu and no darkening skies in the afternoon. Just looong summer days in my t-shirts and sandals.
One small highlight for me has been the array the fruits that December offers in Australia...fragrant mangoes, plump cherries, juicy dribble-down-your-chin white peaches, and nectarines...oh, the list goes on!
Did I tell you Ive been purchasing frozen mangoes over the past winter just to snack on?
Needless to say, when we purchased a whole tray of fresh mangoes last week, I was giddy like a child!
Recipes after recipes bubbled up in my head as I pondered long and hard what to make with the mangoes apart from eating them as they are - the criss-crossed cheek method.
After experimenting with Ottolenghis soba noodle with aubergine and mango followed by a cooling mango lassi, my family requested a mango cheesecake!
This is not the type of cheesecake I usually make - which is baked and has a super light and fluffy texture (and which also to my surprise is the most popular recipe on this blog!)
This mango cheesecake is raw and dense - set with gelatine leaves and at the base it has a layer of digestive cookies followed by a layer of cream cheese mixed with mango puree, and finally topped with layer of mango slices covered in mango puree jelly! Oh and decorated with more fresh mangoes!
The result is a mango-filled cheesecake for the hot summer days. And the best thing is that it requires no baking (just some patience when the cake sets in the fridge!).
Each mouthful is smooth and creamy set against the juicy sweet mangoes. And with a slight tang/tartness from the yogurt too!
Today is Christmas (at the time of posting) so I hope you are all having a wonderful and joyous Christmas whatever your circumstances may be currently.
Over the years Ive noticed that it isnt about receiving gifts that makes Christmas so meaningful. Its giving them and watching the look of surprise on peoples face as they unwrap the presents. Without any words, you feel closer to one another.
This reminds me of God who held nothing back from us by sending the only Gift that could bridge the gap between us and Him - the best Gift of all, and the Gift we needed most...the Savior Jesus and His message of grace.
"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" - 2 Corinthians 9:15
Im feeling a great surge of gratitude this Christmas. I pray you are too!
Wishing you His joy today and always :)
6 inch cake
Base
- 100g digestive cookies
- 50g melted unsalted butter
Mango cream cheese:
- 200g pureed mango
- 200g cream cheese, at room temperature
- 120ml pouring cream
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 10g sheets of leaf gelatine (around 3-4 sheets)
- 50g greek or plain yogurt
- juice of half a lemon
Mango jelly
- 150g pureed mango (I used a stick blender to puree)
- 2 mangoes (1 to place in the gelatine layer and 1 to decorate with on top of cake)
- 50ml water
- 10g sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 5g sheets of leaf gelatine (~2 sheets)
1. Process the biscuits until they are like crumbs, then add the butter and pulse again. Line the bottom of a 6 inch/15cm tin with a removable base (or a springform tin), pressing the biscuits in with your hands or the back of your spoon. Put the tin in the fridge to set.
2. Submerge the 10g gelatine leaves in a dish of cold water and leave to soak and soften for 5 minutes.
3. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth and add in the sugar, cream and milk and mix until combined and smooth.
4. Transfer the cream cheese mixture into a small pot and place on the stove over low gas and whisk until the mixture is completely smooth. Take the gelatine leaves out of the water, give them a good squeeze to get rid of excess water, and stir one by one into the cream cheese mixture (they will dissolve instantly). Leave to cool for a few minutes.
5. Add the yogurt, lemon juice and pureed mango into the cream cheese mixture. Leave to cool completely.
6. Pour into the cake pan and smooth down slightly.
7. Leave to cool in the fridge for around 3-4 hours until set.
8. Submerge the 5g gelatine leaves in a dish of cold water and leave to soak and soften for 5 minutes.
9. Put the 150g mango puree, water and sugar and lemon juice into a pot and heat up over low gas.
10. Take the gelatine leaves out of the water and squeeze dry, and stir into the pot.
11. Cut two cheeks from the mango and remove the skin on both cheeks. Cut the mango into around 0.2cm slices.
12. Remove the set cheesecake from the fridge and distribute the mango slices evenly on top. Slightly overlap mango slices in a concentric circle at the centre of cake.
13. Pour the cooled down mango puree with gelatine into the cake pan over the mango slices. They should cover the mango pieces. Leave to set in the fridge for another 3-4 hours.
14. To serve, run a knife between the cheesecake and the tin to loosen it, remove it from the tin (with the removable base).
15. Cut the remaining mango into square pieces (its not easy so try your best!) and pile on top of the cake to decorate! Take the cake off its base and put it on a serving plate.
Available link for download
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