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Say Cheese-Cake! And Let The Calories Begin
Norene Gilletz
Everybody has their favorite cheesecake. Cheesecakes are a delicious and popular choice to serve for Shavuot along with cheese kugels and blintzes. You can either buy or bake cheesecakes in a variety of flavors, from plain, marble, strawberry, sugar-free for diabetics, even dairy-free cheesecakes for those who are lactose-intolerant or to serve with a meat meal.
The Cheesecake Bible (Robert Rose) by George Geary offers up a decadent and delicious collection of cheesecake recipes. The fabulous full-color photos almost leap off the pages and onto your plate. You’ll discover everything you need to bake the perfect cheesecake every time in this excellent book by an award-winning chef and baker. George Geary teaches baking and cooking techniques at more than 100 cooking schools across North America every year because of his culinary expertise. He is a food journalist and the author of five cookbooks.
Cheesecake, a delightfully creamy dessert, is easier to make than other traditional cakes, yet it is incredibly impressive. You’ll find recipes for 20 different chocolate cheesecakes in The Cheesecake Bible including Rocky Road and White Chocolate Velvet Cheesecake. Do you prefer fresh fruit? Try French Apple or Butterscotch Peach Cheesecake. Not in the mood to turn on the oven? Try Berry Berry Berry Cheesecake, Chocolate Mocha Chunk or Mint Cheesecake. There are recipes for Passover Honey Cheesecake, New York-Style and Tiramisu Cheesecake, Dulce de Leche Cheesecake, even Ice Cream Cone Cheesecakes for kids of all sizes! There’s even a recipe for Three-Tier Wedding Cheesecake which can be baked up to 3 weeks in advance, frozen and thawed before decorating.
Some tips from The Cheesecake Bible to help you make perfect cheesecake:
• To prevent cracking: Bring all ingredients to room temperature before using. Incorporate eggs one at a time. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Remove the cheesecake from the oven while the center still jiggles. If the center does split or crack, cover it with a decorative topping. The cheesecake will still taste wonderful.
• Oven temperature and Rack Check: Always preheat the oven and place the rack in the center of the oven. Perfect cheesecake requires accurate oven temperatures. Check your oven temperature for accuracy against an oven thermometer. To do this, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C) for 15 minutes. Place an independent oven thermometer inside for a few minutes, then take a reading. If it indicates that the oven is above or below 350 F (180 C), either recalibrate the oven or rely on the thermometer and adjust your control setting until 350 F (180 C) is attained. It is not difficult to recalibrate an oven. If your owner’s manual does not have instructions, contact a repairperson.
• To prevent overbaking and dryness: Remove the cheesecake from the oven while the center still jiggles. A firm center in a hot cheesecake means it is overcooked.
• Freezing cheesecake: Wrapped properly to be airtight, in plastic wrap and an outer covering of foil, cheesecake suffers no less of texture for up to three months in the freezer. Let it thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving. Decorate and refrigerate two hours before serving.
If you love cheesecake, The Cheesecake Bible definitely deserves a place on your cookbook shelf – or why not buy it for someone and let them bake one for you? This wonderful book is guaranteed to become food-stained and well used. Here are some scrumptious cheesecakes that are guaranteed to make your guests say “cheese-cake, please!” Let the calories begin!
Norene Gilletz is a cookbook author, cooking teacher and food consultant based in Toronto, Canada. Her latest book is NORENE’S HEALTHY KITCHEN: Eat YOUR Way to Good Health (Whitecap). For information about her cookbooks, cooking demonstrations and culinary services, call 416-226-2466 or visit her website at http://www.gourmania.com
DULCE DE LECHE CHEESECAKE
Put a Latin American spin on the menu with the popular caramel flavor produced by cooking condensed milk until it caramelizes.
* Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
* 9-inch (23 cm) cheesecake pan, ungreased, or springform pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides, greased.
Crust:
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (300 ml)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted (50 ml)
Filling:
1 can (14 oz/396 g or 300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
4 packages (each 8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar (250 ml)
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Decoration:
Classic Whipped Cream Topping (below)
1. Crust: In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.
2. Filling: In a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of lightly simmering water, heat condensed milk, stirring occasionally, until light caramel in color and thick, about 60 to 70 minutes. Check water periodically and add more if necessary to keep the level of water just below the bottom of the bowl. Set aside, reserving 2 tbsp (25 ml) for decorating.
3. In a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and brown sugar on medium-high speed until very smooth, for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Mix in vanilla and cooked condensed milk.
4. Pour over frozen crust, smoothing out to sides of pan. Bake in preheated oven until top is light brown and center has a slight jiggle to it, 45 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before decorating or serving.
5. Decoration: Ice top of cake with Classic Whipped Cream Topping or pipe rosettes around top of cake, if desired. Drizzle reserved cooked condensed milk on top.
Serves 10 to 12
Tip: You can prepare the sweetened condensed milk a few days ahead. Just reheat in a double boiler until fluid but not hot before adding to the filling.
CLASSIC WHIPPED CREAM TOPPING
A whipped cream topping never goes out of style. You can use this classic on almost any cheesecake. Makes about 1 cup (250 ml)
1/2 cup whipping (35%) cream (125 ml)
2 Tbsp granulated sugar (25 ml)
1. In a well-chilled mixer bowl fitted with whip attachment, whip cream on medium-high speed until soft peaks form. With the mixer running, sprinkle with sugar and whip until firm peaks form.
2. Pipe a ribbon or rosettes around the border of the cheesecake or ice the entire top.
Variation: Stir in 3 oz (90 g) semisweet chocolate, melted, to create a chocolate version.
TOFFEE BAR CHEESECAKE
Adding a crushed candy bar to cheesecake batter is easy and heavenly.
* Preheat oven to 325 F (160 F)
* 8-inch (20 cm) cheesecake pan, ungreased, or springform pan with 3-inch (7.5 cm) sides, greased
Crust:
1 cup chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (250 ml)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted (25 ml)
Filling:
3 packages (each 8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (175 ml)
3 eggs
5 oz toffee candy bar, coarsely crushed (150 g)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5 ml)
1/2 tsp maple extract (2 ml)
Decoration:
Classic Whipped Cream Topping (above)
2 Tbsp coarsely crushed toffee candy bar (25 ml)
1. Crust: In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.
2. Filling: In a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and brown sugar on medium-high speed until very smooth, for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in crushed candy bar pieces, vanilla and maple extract by hand.
3. Pour over frozen crust, smoothing out to sides of pan. Bake in preheated oven until top is firm to the touch and center has a slight jiggle to it, 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before decorating or serving.
4. Decoration: Ice top of cake with Classic Whipped Cream Topping or pipe rosettes around top of cake, if desired. Sprinkle top with crushed candy bar pieces.
Serves 8 to 10
Tip: Place pieces of the toffee candy bar in a sealable plastic bag and roll a rolling pin over them a few times until crushed to desired coarseness.
Variation: Substitute your favorite candy bar for the toffee bar.
ICE CREAM CONE CHEESECAKES
These mini cheesecakes are housed in ice cream cones – perfect for a kids’ birthday party! You can ice the tops to make them look like real ice cream.
* Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C)
* 12-cup muffin tin
12 flat-bottomed ice cream cones
Filling:
3 packages (each 8 oz/250 g) cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar (250 ml)
3 eggs
12 oz semisweet chocolate chunks (375 g)
1 tsp vanilla extract (5 ml)
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (5 ml)
Decoration:
Classic Whipped Cream Topping (above)
Assorted sprinkles
1. Place ice cream cones in muffin tin.
2. Filling: In a mixer bowl fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until very smooth, for 3 minutes, Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Fold in chocolate chunks, vanilla and lemon juice by hand.
3. Fill each cone about three-quarters full. Bake in preheated oven until tops are light brown and slightly cracked, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool in tin on a wire rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before decorating or serving.
4. Decoration: Pipe large rosettes of Classic Whipped Cream Topping on top of each cone. Decorate with sprinkles.
Makes 12 mini cheesecakes
Tip: These ice cream cone cheesecakes freeze for up to 4 months, wrapped in plastic wrap and then foil. There’s no need to thaw them – just decorate and serve.
Variation: Substitute canned buttercream icing for the Classic Whipped Cream Topping.
