Cheesecakes!!

Cheesecake PART 2  SCROLL DOWN FOR PART 1

Part 2 of what I thought would be an epic long series of posts about Cheesecakes. I had imaged dozens of posts of different recipes, failed and successful attempts- a full-throated ode to all things cheesecake.

I was so, so wrong. 

Three thing come into play: 

• #1 I had pretty much instant success.  Try  #1 was sublime in every way and  #2 surpassed sublime and I realized that making a cheesecake was a far simpler affair than i'd imagined and mastery was almost instantly within my grasp.
• #2  I had thought there would be more variations in recipes to sail through, but searches led me repeatedly to the same basic recipe with slight variation. Not nearly enough to hold my attention for the half a year of recipes I'd hoped to find.
• #3  After eating cheesecake for two weeks solid, I decided weighing 250 lbs was not going to be worth it. e.g. a well done cheesecake is so tempting to have for dolci after a great dinner, with my morning doppio expresso for breakfast, and as an afternoon snack - I realized cheesecake addiction was within sight and I chose not to go down that road. So after my second attempt, which I'll chronicle here and now, I'm going to move on , in my  foray into dessert baking.

The money shot before you get the recipe, just to keep your interest. With chocolate decor, a brawny peach slice and homemade cloud of whipped cream.

Yes, perfection.  A nice high rise, smooth as silk, no cracks surface and light and  fluffy filling. A slice of this cake just floats on down like a pleasant morning dream of ducks floating over an alpine lake on a day off sleep-in.

What made this one hit all its marks and tick off every box?

2 things.

First off I went out and bought a springform pan. Springform pans allow you to sort of deconstruct the pan, making removal to a cake stand a super simple process which retains the structural integrity of the cake. After  cooling, one just flips the latch and the pan sides just all away.  No stress or maring damage to the smoothness of the exterior.  The pan sides are also high enough to allow the cake to rise to majestic heights. Truly a wonderful simple, perfectly designed tool. 

The second thing was alteration in the process which eliminates the need for a water bath. A water bath is a huge pain to set up and is especially no fun with a springform pan, but very necessary to the end result, texture -wise  https://www.culinaryhill.com/water-bath-for-cheesecake/

I was a bit suspicious that this process which eliminated the need for the water bath would work, but in the name of science I thought I'd give it a try.

The recipe is far below in Part 1 (scroll down, this blog interface doesn't support anchor links), so I won't repeat it, but I will tell you what I did differently:

1.  Leave out the espresso.

2.  Temp is the same  - 325 c but after 30 minutes turn it down to 250 c and keep it low for another 45 minutes.

3. & 4. After 45 turn off the oven but keep the door closed and cake inside for 30 minutes to continue the slow cooking as the oven cools. Then crack the door 2-4 inches and let it cool for another full hour. 

Pull out the cake and let it cool on the counter top completely, then do the cellophane wrap and refrigerate for a minimum of 5 hours.

Perfetto!

PART 1

Starting a new year, I took a look back at this blog and came to a realization.  It's lacking narrative, a mission, a quest.  That's okay to a point, but it hit me that its largely only a repository of my personal recipes, sometimes with a little story or some quirk. That's all well and good for finding or sharing my recipes but it's a bit stale and needed a jumpstart.

So... as I worked on a New Years Eve meal for Patty, Ethan and I and started thinking about a dolce course it came to me that my dessert chops were, er, not highly evolved.  Apparently, watching the Great British baking show is not enough.  I needed to dig in a little harder and apply the same focus in which I've given bread baking and pasta and side dishes.

I had a bit craving for cheesecake, something I've always loved but never got around to trying and in looking at cookbooks and online, I realized there are a gazillion variations, and just making just one would barely get me on the road, must less roaring down the highway to mastering the cheesecake. Classic New York CK, flavor infused, sauces, filled/blended. There were so many to choose from that i came to the command decision that I would make as many as I can, each one different for the next 6 months or so.  One a week.  I felt immediately better --> #1 with a decision made, no more wondering what to bake on Saturday afternoons, or Friday nights, #2 with a new quest, I've now a reason to sit my butt back down at the keyboard and write, instead of doom-scroll the news feeds, or argue with insane strangers on Twitter.

Freedom from the oppression of the Internet: a tale.

So what's my first shot at becoming the king of Cheesecake? What to begin with?

I found it almost immediately on a Google search: Macchiato/caramel with orange whipped cream cheese cake just screamed at me to notice it off the digital pages of AllRecipes. Decision made.

A good place to start.

First the recipe, cause I hate those blogs where you are forced to listen to the story of the writer's life and their trip to lake Wannaboreau each summer with the family growing up and how Grandmere made this dish every August and that funny time the dog got into the kitchen..... SCREEEECH.  nope here's the dang recipe:

Ingredients:

The Crust

• 2 cups of graham crackers - crumbled 
• 1 full stick (half cup) of butter - softened
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/2 tsp of Vietnamese cinnamon (or any cinnamon will do, but I like Vietnamese. nó có một số cách nhất định để bạn nói)

 The Filling

• 24 oz (three packages) of cream cheese
• 1 cup of white sugar
• 3 fresh eggs
• 1/4 cup espresso

The Topping

• 1 cup of heavy cream
• Orange essence

Tools

• A stand or hand mixer
• A Springform pan

Wa-tadoo with all that:

1. Pour your two cups of graham cracker crumbs into a medium bowl, add the butter, the sugar, and the pinch of cinnamon.  Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon until combined, slightly sticky and damp-ish.

2.  Press into your springform pan*

*best possible pan for a cheesecake or anything that can't be inverted for ease of extraction.

Unfortunately I had nonesuch technology and had to try with a standard cake pan. 

Press firmly to create the crust. Flat bottom and up the sides about 1 inch. Don't get all ADHD about perfection. I like to use a aluminum 1 cup measure cup for the pressing.

Bake this for 9 minutes at 350 degrees (then turn the oven down to 325), remove from oven and let cool.

Make your filling while you've waiting for it to cool

1.  With a stand or hand mixer beat the 3 sticks of softened cream cheese until it's fully smooth and blended. Once it starts breaking up well, slowly add the sugar.

2.  Add your three eggs one at a time and fully blend them before adding the next one.

3.  Pour in the espresso.  A doppio espresso from my machine is perfect as it fills the 1/4 cup + one healthy swallow of espresso for me.  Win/win!!  Did I mention that I love coffee?  I do, I do.

4. Pour the filling into  your cooled and crust filled Springform pan and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes at 325, checking for doneness at around an hour to keep from over cooking - which WILL cause it to crack an/or the texture to get rubbery.

* you'll need to create a water bath for ultimate, fluffy texture.  Kind of a pain in the keister, but necessary -->  https://www.culinaryhill.com/water-bath-for-cheesecake/

5. When it's done turn off the oven and crack the door two inches to let it slowly start to cool. 12-15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to fully cool to room temperature.  At that point, wrap tightly in clear cling wrap and refrigerate a minimum of 6 hours or overnight.

6. Remove from the fridge, release from the Springform* and devour.

Topping d'giorno

1 cup of heavy whipping cream beat until it learns to stand up on its own. Add about 10 drops of Orange essence - about a half tsp  for a little extra kick.  garnish to your own vision.

Drizzle caramel sauce as artistically as you're feeling at the moment.

It was transcendent for a breakfast dolci with my usual morning doppio espresso. It would work really really well for an after dinner treat as well.  The slight lilt of blended espresso is perfect for when you don't want to drink an espresso at night, but still want that rich warm essence to find its way to you.

Thanks for reading and leave a message in the comments if you make it, or give me a suggestion for next Saturday's cheesecake.

Ciao!