There is enough batter to make one 9-inch round cheesecake. Since I was serving it on Valentine’s Day, I used small individual heart-shaped molds to suit the occasion. This is a great dessert to be served on such a special day. But it would be a shame to wait till the next February – the cheesecake is so delicious it will be appreciated any time. The caramel gives the chocolate cheesecake a new dimension.
Makes about 12 servings.
For the crust:
· 1 ¼ cup chocolate wafer cookie crumbs, home-baked or store-bought
· 2 tbsp sugar
· 1/8 tsp salt
· 4 tbsp butter, melted
For the filling:
· ½ cup water
· 1 cup sugar
· 3/4 cup heavy cream
· 8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
· 1/2 cup sour cream
· 3 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
· 4 large eggs
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· Confectioners』 sugar for dusting (optional)
Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake with Nib Brittle and Balsamic Strawberries
I don’t know what to say to people who tell me that this cake is better than sex. I guess, it’s entirely depends on a personal experience. But I do know for sure the cheesecake is quite good. I prefer my cheesecakes crustless (there… I said it). I like something crunchy to be served on a side. In this case, literally. The brittle is the last minute finishing touch. If you are not serving the cake to a crowd and not certain that the cake will be eaten all at once, don’t press the brittle into the sides since it will melt fairly quickly. Instead, offer the brittle broken into large shards as an accompaniment. Sure, if you have nothing against a cheesecake crust, you can make a chocolate crumb one (you can see Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake for instruction).
We are lucky to have fresh strawberries here all year-round. But if you want to get the decent ones you will have to pay. As for the balsamic I advise you to use something better than 5 bucks-per-bottle from the closest supermarket. It’s probably a good time to reach for that onion-shaped bottle of the Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena.
Don’t get discouraged by all this foodie-snobby stuff. The cake will be awesome served with strawberry or raspberry sauce, and you can use frozen berries for this purpose.
Makes one 9-inch cake, about 16 servings
For the cheesecake:
· 2 cups whipping cream, divided
· 1 tsp espresso powder
· 1 lb bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped, divided
· 8 oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
· 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
· ¾ cup fine granulated sugar
· 1 cup sour cream
· 1 tbsp cornstarch, sifted
· 3 large eggs
· 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the brittle:
· use half of this recipe, substituting hazelnuts for cocoa nibs
For the balsamic strawberries:
· ½ lb of strawberries
· 2 tsp good quality balsamic vinegar
· 1 tbsp extra fine granulated sugar
Cinnamon Brownie and Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Sandwiches
This ice cream is the best dulce de leche ice cream I』ve tried. It’s better than the Häagen-Dazs』, no kidding. And it’s extremely easy to make. The recipe is adapted from the Gourmet who is, in its turn, adapted it from Mariana Crespo, Buenos Aires.
I paired the ice cream with the cinnamon brownies. These are seriously cinnamony, decrease the spice amount if you are not a fan.
Makes 9 sandwiches
For the brownies:
· 1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter
· 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
· 2 large eggs
· 1/2 cup granulated sugar
· 1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
· 1/4 tsp salt
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
· 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· 1/4 cup finely chopped toasted pecans (optional)
For the ice cream:
· 1 can (14 oz) dulce de leche, homemade or good quality store-bought
· 2 cups whole milk
· 1 cup whipping cream
· ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
· ½ tsp pure rum extract (optional, or ½ tbsp dark rum)
· ¼ tsp salt
Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd Topping
The cake is creamy, melting in your mouth, pretty looking, easy to make and, more important, it doesn’t leave you with this heavy feeling in your stomach like the most of cheesecakes do.
Makes one 9-inch cake, 10 to 12 servings
For the crust:
· 1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
· 2 tbsp sugar
· 1/8 tsp salt
· 4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, plus additional for greasing a pan later
For the filling:
· 2 ½ packages (8 oz each) regular cream-cheese
· ½ cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
· 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
· 1/8 tsp Kosher salt
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
· 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
· Zest of 1 lemon
· 2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
· ½ cup sour cream
For the topping:
· Lemon curd
Orange Cheesecake with Candied Kumquats
I love kumquats. I eat them with peel and seeds. Unfortunately, they are seasonal, so, it makes sense to enjoy them while they last. This cheesecake presents the kumquats in a nice, elegant way. Although you can eat the kumquats with the seeds, you will have to seed them for this recipe. The task is rather time consuming than difficult. If you stretch the preparation over two days you certainly won’t be tired at all.
The cheesecake itself is classic, dense and creamy.
I found the recipe in one of the issues of 「Bon Appétit」. And baked the cake for my husband’s birthday. He isn’t questioning the necessity of the magazine subscription anymore…
For the candied kumquats:
· 2 cups water
· 2 cups sugar
· 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
· 9 ounces kumquats (about 25 medium), thinly sliced crosswise, seeds removed
For the crust:
· 2 cups vanilla wafer cookie crumbs (made from about 9 ounces cookies, finely ground in processor)
· 1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
· 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
· 1 cup fresh orange juice
· 1 cup sugar, divided
· 2 tablespoons finely grated orange peel
· 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
· 1 cup sour cream
· 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 5 large eggs, room temperature
The kumquat syrup is perfect with the cake—but don’t stop there. It’s also yummy drizzled over vanilla or coffee ice cream or in a cup of tea, a glass of club soda, or even a vodka Martini.
I had a little bit of mascarpone cheese left over – not enough to fill a tart or a cake. So, I put it in the fridge and forgot about it. The poor cheese spent there a few days too long and, when discovered, it was suitable for baking purposes only. So, I made some cookies. They turned out quite yummy. They also behaved well as the ice cream sandwiches – neither became too hard nor lost their crispiness once frozen.
I apologize for the recent lack of posts and some unanswered e-mails. We are on vacation. We』ve just returned from one trip and now planning another one. Hopefully, everything will return to normal pace as soon as the school year starts. Thank you, everyone, for the lovely comments you have left! I greatly appreciate it.
Makes about 2 dozen sandwiches
For the cookies:
· 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
· ½ tsp baking powder
· ¼ tsp baking soda
· ¼ tsp salt
· 1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
· ¾ cup granulated sugar
· 4 oz mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
· 1 large egg
· 1/3 cup sesame seeds, lightly toasted
For the lemon ginger ice cream (Sherry Yard’s recipe):
· 2 cups lemon curd (homemade preferred), cooled
· 2 tbsp fresh ginger juice (grate ginger root in a strainer, press out juice)
· 1 ½ cups whole milk, cold
· 1 cup heavy cream, cold
· 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
· Pinch of salt
Pumpkin Ginger Cake with Pumpkin Cheesecake ToppingHere’s a cross between a cake and cheesecake. The base is a moist soft pumpkin cake with added candied ginger for a little heat. The topping is a thin layer of creamy pumpkin cheesecake. The cake is baked just until a cake tester comes out clean, but not until the cake picks up color. Then it’s cooled briefly while the cheesecake batter is mixed. The latter is baked at reduced oven temperature just until softly set. The result is a perfect cheesecake texture and moist and tender cake interior.
Serves about 8-12
For the cake base:
· 1 cup all-purpose flour
· 1 cup granulated sugar
· 1 tsp baking powder
· ½ tsp baking soda
· ½ tsp salt
· 1½ tsp ground cinnamon
· ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
· ¼ tsp ground ginger
· 1/8 tsp ground cloves
· 1/3 cup vegetable oil (corn or canola)
· 7½ oz (exactly ½ can) canned pumpkin puree (reserve the rest for the topping)
· 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
· 1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
For the cheesecake topping:
· 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
· ½ cup fine granulated sugar
· ½ cup sour cream
· 2 eggs, at room temperature
· ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
· 2 tsp all-purpose flour
· ¼ tsp nutmeg
· 1/8 tsp (pinch) salt
· 7½ oz (the remaining ½ can) canned pumpkin puree
Vanilla Cheesecake Mint White Chocolate Mousse and Strawberry Gelée BitesThis month’s Daring Bakers challenge, hosted by Jenny from JennyBakes, was Abbey’s Infamous Cheesecake. My sincere thank you to Jenny not just for hosting, but also for not limiting us with rules and restrictions, for providing with an opportunity to create a dessert suiting everyone’s taste. We were free to choose any flavor combination as well as presentation options.
I didn’t change the original cheesecake recipe, except for omitting a graham crust (I’m not very fond of it, to be honest) and adding a tablespoon of flour to the batter (an old habit, couldn’t help myself). I scaled the recipe down, but baked the cheesecake in a required 9-inch pan, so the cake was not too tall and could be easily cut into small rounds. These cheesecake cut-outs were fit inside crispy caramelized phyllo tubes (cylinders) baked earlier. Sticky cheesecake bottoms were then dipped into coarsely ground pistachios creating some sort of a crust and preventing the dessert from adhering to a serving platter. The mint infused white chocolate mousse was piped over the cheesecake and, after the mousse was set, the strawberry gelée, cut into small cubes, was piled over the mousse layer. A little bit more of the pistachios and fresh mint leaves for garnish completed the picture.
They are easy to handle, small-portioned, one-bite (ok, maybe two-bites for some of us, always struggling with those huge sushi rolls as I am) dessert which I found satisfying enough and sufficient for serving one per person (after a good meal).
Makes 12 about 1 ½-inch in diameter and a bit less than 2-inch tall pastries
For the phyllo tubes:
· 3 phyllo sheets
· 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
· About 3 tbsp granulated sugar
· 1 egg white for sealing
For the cheesecake:
· 1 lb cream cheese, at room temperature
· 2/3 cup granulated sugar
· 1 ½ tbsp flour
· 1/8 tsp salt
· 1 tbsp. lemon juice
· 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
· 2 large eggs, at room temperature
· 2/3 cup heavy cream
For the mousse:
· 1 ¼ cups heavy cream
· 1 oz fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
· 6 oz good quality white chocolate, finely chopped
· ¼ cup water
For the strawberry gelée:
· In this particular case, I used the roasted strawberry puree since the berries I bought didn’t taste as I hoped they would. The roasting improves the flavor significantly. You can follow this recipe for roasting the berries if you wish (just skip the orange part).
· For the gelée I used this recipe but decreased the sugar to 1 tbsp because the roasted berries were already slightly sweetened.
For finishing:
· ½ cup lightly toasted pistachio nuts, coarsely ground
· Fresh mint leaves for decoration
5-Spice Pumpkin and Date LoafThere are pumpkins everywhere, in all possible shapes and sizes. Aroma of autumn spices invades the kitchens. And even if this is not my favorite season (please, don’t throw anything in my head :), I do love this comfy smell, and the taste of a moist spicy pumpkin loaf. Speaking of spices, I love 5-spice powder here. In addition to the traditional set of autumn spices (cinnamon, cloves, and ginger) it also contains star anise and Szechuan pepper which adds some warmth. If you wish you can use a homemade pumpkin puree but I went with the store-bought this time. I usually make my puree a bit later, after the Halloween, putting all these poor organic Jack O』Lanterns to a good use.
Anita from the Dessert First is hosting this month SHF theme 「Spices」, and there it goes.
Makes one 9×5-inch loaf
Ingredients:
· 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
· 1 tsp baking powder
· ½ tsp baking soda
· ½ tsp salt
· 1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
· ½ tsp cinnamon
· ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
· Zest of ½ medium orange (don’t use too much zest, there’s just a hint needed)
· ½ cup granulated sugar
· ½ cup packed light brown sugar
· 1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree (not a pumpkin pie filling)
· 1/3 cup vegetable oil
· 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
· ½ tsp vanilla extract
· 1 cup roughly chopped moist dates (I always use Medjool), lightly dusted with a pinch of flour, pieces separated
Buckwheat Wholewheat Cream Cheese Cake
Maybe, this cake doesn’t have 「the looks」, but it’s got everything else. I would even dare to say it is perfect – so tender, moist, with sweet buttery taste (with not that much butter inside). If you wish, you can split the cake horizontally in half and fill it with blackberry or raspberry jam. But, personally, I prefer it plain, with a cup of coffee – the best breakfast.
Makes one 9-inch square cake
Ingredients:
· 1 cup buckwheat flour
· 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or you can use all-purpose flour)
· 1½ tsp baking powder
· ½ tsp baking soda
· ½ tsp salt
· 1/3 cup milk, at room temperature
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
· 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
· ½ cup packed brown sugar
· ½ stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, at room temperature
· ¼ cup honey
· 2 large eggs, at room temperature
Chocolate and Grand Marnier Banana CakeThat’s what I』ve come up with after several attempts to produce a banana bread completely opposite in texture and flavor to the 「traditional」 banana bread – wet and sticking to your teeth, which is available, unfortunately, in almost every coffee shop throughout North America. My version is moist (don’t confuse with wet), fragrant, and chocolaty.
My close friend, who spent most of her life in Budapest and Zurich and has very sophisticated taste as well as her own conception of what a dessert should be like, approved this cake.
Makes one loaf, about 10 servings
Ingredients:
· 1 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
· 2 cups all-purpose flour
· ¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
· ¾ tsp baking soda
· ½ tsp baking powder
· ¼ tsp salt
· 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
· Zest of 1 large orange
· 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
· 2 large eggs, at room temperature
· 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 medium, very ripe ones)
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
· 2 tbsp Grand Marnier or other orange-flavored liqueur
· 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
Dried Fruit and Nut CakeThese are basically fruit and nuts with a bit of flour and eggs to bind them together. Exceptionally easy to make, delicious and nutritious, this cake makes not just a fantastic snack, but also a perfect addition to the cheese platter. The fruits sure can be varied, and as long as they are natural, unsulfured and of a good quality, the end result will be terrific.
The recipe is from 「Pure Dessert」
Makes one large loaf or two small ones
Ingredients:
· ¾ cup all-purpose flour
· ½ tsp salt
· ¼ tsp baking powder
· ¼ tsp baking soda
· ¾ cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar or raw sugar such as light muscovado or grated piloncillo
· ½ cup dried whole apricots
· ½ cup whole dried prunes
· ½ cup dried pears, very roughly chopped
· 1 cup quartered moist dates
· 3 cups walnut halves
· 3 large eggs
· 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Fresh Fig and Coconut Pound Cake
This is probably my favorite pound cake and I baked them and ate them a lot… The cake is moist and very fragrant. It’s absolutely fantastic served with sour cream ice cream and warm raw sugar sauce. It freezes beautifully.
Makes one 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 1/2–inch loaf cake, about 10 servings.
Ingredients:
· ½ pound fresh figs (3 to 4 large)
· 2 cups cake flour (1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour+1/4 cup cornstarch)
· 1 tsp baking powder
· ¼ tsp salt
· 8 oz (2 sticks, 16 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
· 1 cup superfine sugar
· 4 large eggs, at room temperature
· 3 tbsp milk
· 2 tsp vanilla extract
· ½ cup toasted unsweetened coconut
Guinness and Malt Irish Whole-Wheat Bread
I baked it mostly out of curiosity. It is quite unusual, liquid batter which is prepared the way the classic Irish bread is made – from the cold butter cut into the flour and cold buttermilk mixed in. Besides the buttermilk the generous amount of Guinness is added to this mixture.
I was really wondering how the bread would turn out with the two and a half cups of liquid… It turned out pretty nice, very moist as you can see. My son, after he tasted the bread still warm from the oven, said that it resembled a banana bread.
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
The recipe comes from Margaret Waterworth who runs a pub in Donaghadee, County Down, Ireland.
You might also find interesting other Irish recipes:
· Guinness Applesauce Cake with Lemon Icing
· Irish Raisin Cake
· Multi-Seed Irish Soda Bread
Makes one large loaf
Ingredients:
· 2 cups fine whole-wheat flour + more for sprinkling a pan and the top of the cake
· 1 cup wheat bran
· 1 cup quick-cooking oats (instead of oats and bran, 2 cups of stone-ground whole-wheat flour can be used)
· ½ cup sugar
· 1 tsp baking soda
· 1 tsp salt
· 1 stick (4 oz) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
· 1 ¼ cups Guinness stout, cold
· 1 ¼ cups buttermilk, cold
· 2 tsp barley malt extract
一、教學篇：
1、那些蛋白霜裡的故事！
2、在2000年聽到克林姆這個名詞，我也是暈了！香提奶油餡怎麼攪拌採購細緻！
3、說說當下追崇的軟歐包 4、說說當下追崇的軟歐包（芒點）
5、巧克力（chocolat） 6、巧克力羽毛裝飾件製作
7、什麼是塔皮？你造嗎？
8、海綿蛋糕我佔有很重要的位置！
9、Pate a Biscuit（分蛋海綿） & Biscuit joiconde（杏仁蛋糕）
10、奶酪（柳橙奶酪派、香橙乳酪堡、香橙乳酪舒芙蕾、橙汁紅椒生鮭魚沙拉、橄欖醬鮭魚蛤蜊橙汁、柳橙風味的田螺開胃菜）
11、奶油麵糊（說簡單一點就是磅蛋糕）上期更新
一、預拌粉系類：（戚風蛋糕預拌粉、韓國麵包預拌粉、冰皮粉、雞蛋仔粉、鬆餅粉、班戟粉、章魚燒粉）
1、街頭的瘋狂蛋仔 2、冰皮月餅 3、班戟?
5、不一樣的鬆餅 6、鬆餅（Waffle）文摘一
7、黑旋風蛋糕&北海道乳牛卷 8、芒果奶凍卷
9、3*5多少呀好難呀！我真的不會。戚風蛋糕也好難啊！我真的不會做？
10、「和果子」是什麼？很多人聽都沒有聽過！
三、可可粉系類（防潮、高脂、中脂、深黑可可粉）
1、提拉米蘇 2、澳洲牛乳蛋糕 3、黑森林蛋糕
4、Truffe a la Vanille Pour Mexico
四、罐頭系類：（橙片罐頭、迷你洋梨罐頭、芒果泥罐頭）
1、香橙夫人 2、特別報導 01（小洋梨、橙片）
五、餅乾粉系類：（原味、麥香、巧克力餅乾粉）
1、杏仁沙布列（原味） 3、特別報導（餅乾粉）
2、請別把這張首圖看成是杏仁粉？我應該介紹我一下自己！
六、其它系類：（咖啡醬、牛奶香粉、南瓜粉）
1、榛果樹莓馬卡龍 2、流奶黃金牛 3、杏桃閃電泡芙（ECLAIRS ABRICOT）
七、中華料理：
1、肉肉肉，乳汁燒肉來啦！（別想歪了吧！是南乳汁） 2、羅宋湯
3、秋刀魚的新風味 4、情迷咖喱