Tag Archives: experiment

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Patty’s pumpkin cheesecake bites

This idea has been percolating in my brain for awhile. I like pumpkins. I like cheesecake. Could they combine into something cool like Voltron? Turns out yes, yes they can.

The pumpkin is a native squash of North America and harvested in autumn. Being Canadian and born in October, this pleases me greatly. How many other types of produce can be used as doorstops and in competitive sports? I’m dying to go pumpkin chucking now.

Good to know before you start:

  1. The proportions that I used yielded a cheesecake with a subtle flavour. If you like the bold taste of pumpkin and want that punch-out flavour you’ll need to increase the amount of pumpkin and spices used.
  2. Let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours.

Time required: 2 days (overnight chilling)

Yields: between 40-64 pieces

Cost per slice: $1.42

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $57.00

Special kitchen implements I used:

  • electric beaters
  • baking pans: 9″ x 13″ nestled inside a 14.5″ x 10.5″ pan
  • tinfoil & plastic wrap
  • flour sifter (for the sugar)

Crust ingredients:

  • 5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
  • 1¾ C graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/4 TSP ginger

Filling ingredients:

  • 4 blocks of cream cheese, softened (32 oz or 1,000 g)
  • 1¼ C dark brown sugar
  • ½ TSP cinnamon
  • ⅛ TSP cloves
  • ⅛ TSP pumpkin spice
  • ⅛ TSP allspice
  • ⅛ TSP nutmeg
  • pinch of ginger
  • 2 TBSP powdered cornstarch
  • ½ C heavy cream
  • ½ TSP vanilla bean paste
  • 5 large eggs, room temp
  • 1 C pumpkin filling

Topping ingredients:

  • 1½ C sour cream
  • 3 TBSP granulated white sugar
  • 1 TSP vanilla bean paste

Step 1 – using centre rack, preheat oven to 176°C / 350°F.  Fill kettle and boil. After water boils, leave on Low for use later.

Step 2 – line 9″ x 13″ baking pan with foil, and grease the foil.

Step 3 – melt butter in sauce pan on Low.

Step 4 – measure out the graham cracker crumbs and mix in the ginger.

Step 5 – stir graham crumbs into butter and remove from heat.

Step 6 – press the crumbs into the prepared pan by hand and bake 10 min, then cool on rack.

Step 7 – in a medium bowl, combine: brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, pumpkin spice, allspice, nutmeg, ginger, and cornstarch.

Stir them together, and since brown sugar tends to clump I ran it through a flour sifter.  (This picture is before sifting.)

Step 8 –  in mix master on Medium speed, beat cream cheese for 5 minutes. Use a  rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl constantly.

Step 9 – once the cream cheese is beaten up, stir in the sugar mixture, one third at a time.

Step 10 – beat in the eggs, one at a time, don’t over beat.

Step 11 – beat in pumpkin filling.

Step 12 – stir vanilla bean paste into heavy cream, the add to cream cheese.

Step 13  – pour into prepared pan, and place that pan inside the large baking pan. Using the hot water from the kettle, pour water into the outside pan so it rises about halfway up the side of the pan containing the cheesecake.

Bake in oven 50 minutes. When you remove cake from oven, turn oven off.

Step 14 – in a small bowl or measuring cup, mix together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla bean paste to create topping.

Pour this onto the cheesecake and carefully spread it with a soft spatula.

See the little black flecks? Those are the pods from the vanilla bean.

Step 15 – place this back into the oven for 5 minutes (oven is off).

Step 16 – cool on rack for 2 hours, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Step 17 – in the morning use the tinfoil to lift the cake out of the pan. Use a hot knife and cut it into 8 or 9 strips, and then cut each strip into 5 or 6 pieces.

Step 18 – let pieces sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before consuming.

Verdict: I’m very happy with this. Initially I worried that the spices and pumpkin would be overpowering, so went easy on those amounts, but next time I’d increase it to 2 cups of pumpkin filling, and at least half a teaspoon for each spice. This particular cheesecake had a subtle yet distinctive pumpkin flavour. I garnished them with blueberries and fired up the espresso machine to make cinnamon dolce lattes for two. Boyfriend said, “Yum.”

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Patty’s blackberry crostata (that wasn’t)

A crostata is type of pie, an Italian baked dessert tart with an open face. It has a bottom crust and a filling, but no top crust. The pastry is folded so it comes up over the edge of the fruit and forms a small rim.

I won’t write this step-by step because if you can’t make a pie already, frankly you’re doomed. Here is the abbreviated version:

  • Roll a pie crust flat and place it on a cookie sheet
  • Make filling: mix 2-3 C fruit with ¼ C sugar & 2 TBSP flour
  • Place filling on crust, stopping about 2-3″ from the edge
  • Fold the crust up and over the edge of the fruit pile
  • Use your google-fu to view methods of folding the crust
  • Bake at 218°C / 425°F for 30-35 minutes
  • Cool and devour

I made mine with blackberries, which tasted wonderful, but alas not quite so picturesque:

And it all seemed to be going so well! Until I started rolling the pastry, and then I started swearing like a sailor and shouting in rage. After it finished baking and we sampled it, I changed my mind. This tasted great. Pie + blackberries = win.

Pie crust is the bane of my existence. All of my pie crusts are uneven, torn, patched, and could not be called “round” even if you were being generous. They become something which I not-so-fondly refer to as  “Frankencrust”.

Sorry pie crust, it’s not you, it’s me.

It has to be me, because this recipe in the hands of other people works out well, which leads me to believe the problem is my pastry rolling technique, or lack thereof.  I’ve tried making the pasty in advance, refrigerating the pastry before rolling, the counter and rolling pin are nicely floured, used a chilled marble slab, rolling from the centre in the method described by others, and still no luck.

Boyfriend says I am too hard on myself, and that the taste is important, not the look. I just can’t help from wishing that I could “get it”. I want to make a pie that looks so awesome you say OMG WANT NOMNOMNOM. Not something that looks like it fell off the reject pile.

I thought a crostata was the answer I had been searching for. A pie with half the crust, how easy this will be. Hah. My cookbook has a lovely picture of a crust folded over like some ninja pastry origami, and while I knew my first attempt would probably have room for improvement, I wasn’t expect this.

If a pastry with half the amount of crust isn’t the answer, all I can do is keep trying. Boyfriend is wholly behind this idea.

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Patty’s blackberry cream puffs

A flaky pastry bursting with freshly made whipped cream and tart blackberries is a wonderful way to start your morning.

It’s a good thing I love blackberries because I still have quite a lot of them. Last night I was musing over what to make with them, using ingredients I already had in the cupboard, as I was chatting with Best Friend.

Our conversation reminded me of the day in high school that Best Friend made éclairs on a whim (the first and only time she made them), and they were perfect. This led to inspiration, since a cream puff and an éclair are the same pastry, just shaped differently, and I thought the cavernous insides of a cream puff would be the perfect place to use some berries. Voilà!

My relationship with pastry is wary at best so I used a recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, which is available on Amazon.ca. It’s a good hardcover with a ring binding, lots of pictures and useful tips.

Time required: 1.5 hours

Yields: 12 pastries

Cost per pastry: $2.17

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $26.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • beaters and mixing bowl
  • cookie pan
  • parchment paper

getting started

Pastry ingredients:

  • 1 C water
  • ½ C butter (one stick)
  • ½ TSP salt
  • 1 C flour
  • 4 eggs

Filling ingredients:

  • 1 C heavy cream (whipping cream)
  • 2 TBSP icing sugar
  • ½ TSP vanilla
  • 2 TBSP granulated white sugar (set aside)
  • 2-3 containers of blackberries (set aside)

Good to know before you start:
Place the mixing  bowl and beaters in the fridge now to chill them for the whipped cream – some people will say you don’t need to do this but I find it helps to make a fluffy cream

Don’t stuff the pastry with the filling until ready to serve, to prevent sogginess

Instructions:

Step 1 – preheat oven to 205°C / 400°F.  Line cookie pan with parchment paper (oops, forgot to do that).

Step 2 – measure out flour and set aside.

Step 3 – in a sauce pan, combine water, butter, and salt. Heat to boiling.

Step 4 – as soon as it boils, add all the flour (don’t let it sit boiling away or it will start evaporating). Stir vigorously until dough forms a ball, and remove from heat.

Step 5 – let mixture stand on counter for 10 minutes. Then beat in eggs, one at a time.

Step 6 – drop 12 heaping spoonfuls of dough onto cookie sheet…. hmmmm, something is amiss!  Oh well no matter.

Step 7 – bake 30 minutes and tops should be golden brown. Remove from heat and transfer pastry to wire rack. Cool at least 40 min. (Wishing I had remembered to use parchment paper because they did stick to the pan a little.)

Step 8 – meanwhile in chilled bowl with beaters on Medium; beat heavy cream, icing sugar, and vanilla until soft peaks form.  Some people recommend you wait until the cream is beaten to add the sugar and vanilla but I wanted to get back to my Assassin’s Creed game.

Whipped cream is so easy to make, I’ll never understand why people buy it in stores when the homemade stuff is so much better.

Step 9 – wash and drain the berries.  If the berries are tart sprinkle sugar onto them and toss.

Step 10 – once pastry is cooled, use sharp knife to cut a seam near bottom of pastry, and if you look inside you’ll see it’s fairly hollow.

Step 11 – stuff those bad boys with as much whipped cream and berries as desired!! In this one, the cap of the pastry is filled to capacity. XD

Verdict: Delicious! A perfect addition to afternoon tea or to round off a meal. I suspect this will be equally tasty with blueberries or raspberries, or whatever else you fancy, or drizzled with chocolate ganache. If you have never made this type of pastry before you might be surprised by how few ingredients are required, and how quick and easy it is to make.

Playlist: Meat Loaf

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Patty’s blackberry lemon loaf

I remember the first time I ate blackberries. I was in the woods with Dad exploring rural Nova Scotia in the summer, and he pointed out the blackberry cane and said they were good to eat. My first impression was “most delicious marvelous”.

I bought some blackberries the other day and wondered what I could make.

Getting started:

Time required: 3 hours (40 min prep, 1 hr baking, 1 hr cooling)

Yields: one loaf

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $32.00

Kitchen implements I used: loaf pan 8″ x 4″

Ingredients:

  • 2 C flour
  • 1 TSP baking powder
  • ½ TSP baking soda
  • ½ TSP salt
  • ½ C to ¾ C sugar (less for sweet berries, more for tart)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 TSP vanilla
  • 3 TBSP vegetable oil
  • ½ C milk
  • 2 lemons (squeeze ¼ C lemon juice)
  • 1½ C blackberries, washed and drained

Step 1 – preheat oven to 177°C / 350°F.  Lightly grease and flour loaf pan.

Step 2 – using large bowl, whisk together: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt.  Divide this in half.

Step 3 – using medium bowl, whisk together: sugar, egg, vanilla, and vegetable oil.

Oops, forgot the vegetable oil.

Step 4 – stir half of the dry mix into the wet.

Step 5 – stir in milk and lemon juice. Added the forgotten vegetable oil.

Step 6 – stir remaining dry mix into wet.

Step 7 – fold in berries.  Don’t over stir the batter now or the berries will bleed (unless you want purple streaks through the loaf, if so go crazy)

Step 8 – spoon batter into pan, use spatula to flatten it out

Step 9 – bake 40-50 minutes, when loaf is done toothpick comes out clean (I baked this for 55 min and found the top a bit overdone). Run a knife along the edges of the loaf to loosen from the pan.

Step 10 – let loaf sit in pan for 10 minutes before removing from pan, then cool one hour before slicing. Oh bloody hell not again!!

Sigh. This is now the 5th time my cake-like creation has cracked in twain. On the other hand, I did get a really interesting picture that I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise.

I’m getting really tired of this!!

Verdict: it tasted lovely but looked hideous. I’m at a loss as to why this keeps happening. Next time I’ll reduce baking time by 10 minutes, but I’m not sure what to do to prevent the splitting. <sad face>

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Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies

A few weeks ago I was googling… something, and found a recipe for a chocolate chip cookie, stuffed with an Oreo. Intriguing!

As far as I know, this idea originated on Picky Palate. I decided to stick with my own chocolate chip cookie recipe, and purchased a bag of double stuffed Oreos. (Purchasing factory-made cookies made me feel like a barbarian.)

Making them was fun, and they’re certainly monstrous:

I suspect these cookies might be very popular with the 4:20 crowd.

Not being part of that crowd myself, I was unmoved.

First bite after the cookie had cooled:

Verdict? Boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed them, and so did our friends. But personally I wasn’t wowed.

They certainly added something to my cookies but I’m not convinced that something was good. I’m glad I tried them but doubt I’ll make them again.

The warm creamy centre was tasty, but the Oreo wafer felt like an intrusion. Maybe twist the brown wafers off and just use the cream to stuff them?

Dunking them in milk was fun. It got me thinking of two future experiments:

  • FudgeeO stuffed double chocolate cookies
  • Pirate stuffed peanut butter cookies

Though I suspect turning either of those ideas into fruition would result in people being unable to poop for a week.

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Citrus cheesecake bites

Last night marked my 2nd venture into Cheesecake Territory, to make a creamy filling with tangy citrus fruits, on a bed of vanilla crumbs, topped with a hint of sour cream. I ate a piece this morning with my cup of tea, and oh my!!

Food for thought: did you know that cheesecake originated in Ancient Greece over 4,000 years ago, and that the citrus fruit comes from Southeast Asia?

I found a recipe for “lemony cheesecake bites ” in Good Housekeeping Brownies: favourite recipes for Blondies, Bars & Brownies, which is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

The recipe title is misleading since it contains lemon, lime, and orange, hence the rename above.

I love citrus fruits. Everything about them appeals to me as an artist; the pleasing round shapes, the colourful peels, the juicy fruits inside, the range of flavours from sweet to tart, and the scent that rises as you open them. The possibilities;  lemon tarts, lemonade, lemon gin, lime Thai, freshly squeezed orange juice….  and they ward off scurvy, too! Let’s hear it for citrus.

Good to know before you start:

  1. remove cream cheese from fridge at least 2 hours before starting
  2. remove the other dairy (butter, cream, eggs) 30 min before starting
  3. do NOT remove the sour cream from the fridge before you need it
  4. you could probably get away with using 1  lemon, and less sour cream
  5. invest in a juicer, they are cheap, they are great
  6. you make the crust first, and while it’s cooling make the filling, and while it’s baking make the topping, which is chilled until needed

Time required: 2 days (overnight chilling)

Yields: 64 pieces

Cost per slice: $0.31

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $32.00

Kitchen implements I used:

  • juicer
  • grater / zester
  • rolling pin
  • electric beaters
  • baking pans: 9″ x 13″ nestled inside 14.5″ by 10.5″
  • tin foil, plastic wrap,  & plastic freezer bag

Crust ingredients:

  • 5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 lime (need ¾ TSP freshly grated peel)
  • 1¾ C vanilla wafer crumbs (Mr. Christie’s Nilla vanilla flavoured wafers)

Filling ingredients:

  • 2 lemons, large (need ¼ C juice and 1 TBSP freshly grated peel)
  • 1¼ C granulated white sugar
  • 2 TBSP cornstarch
  • 4 blocks of cream cheese, softened (32 oz or 1,000 g)
  • ½ C heavy cream
  • 5 large eggs, room temp

Topping ingredients:

  • 1½ C sour cream
  • 3 TBSP granulated white sugar
  • 1 orange (need 1 TSP freshly grated peel)

Step 1 – using centre rack, preheat oven to 176°C / 350°F.  Fill kettle and boil. After water boils, leave on Low for use later.

Step 2 – line 9″ x 13″ baking pan with foil, and grease

Step 3 – place cookies in freezer bag and crush with rolling pin, set crumbs aside  (forgot to count how many cookies this requires)

Step 4 – melt butter in sauce pan on Low

Step 5 – grate lime peel, stir into butter, and remove from heat

Step 6 – stir cookie crumbs into butter

Step 7 – spoon crumbs into foil-lined pan, and press down by hand (note: pressing down crumbs with spoon failed, use hand)

Step 9 – bake 10 minutes and cool on wire rack

Step 10 – from lemons, grate peel and set aside, then squeeze juice and set aside.

Step 11 – in a small bowl whisk sugar and cornstarch together

Step 12 – in mix master or large bowl, on Medium speed, beat cream cheese for 5 minutes.  Use a flexible rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl constantly. Already I am impressed with the texture, looking much better than the previous attempt.

Step 13: one by one, beat in the sugar mix (adding a third at a time), followed by heavy cream, lemon juice, and lemon peel.  It is important to make sure each ingredient is blended well before adding the next. Keep scraping down the sides.

Step 14 – on Low speed, beat in eggs one at a time until just blended, do not over beat

Step 15 – pour filling onto crust, and place 9″ x 13″ pan inside 14.5″ x 10″ baking pan, to form water bath. Carefully pour hot water from the kettle into the larger pan, it should rise about halfway up the side of the small pan.

Step 16 – carefully lift large pan and place in oven, bake 50 minutes until just centre jiggles, then remove from oven and place on rack (turn off oven)

Step 17 – while cake is baking, make topping; in a small bowl stir in sour cream, sugar, and orange peel, cover and return to fridge

Step 18 – immediately after removing cake from oven, spoon sour cream mix onto hot cake, use soft spatula to spread it evenly

Step 19 – return cake to oven for 5 minutes (oven is off)

Step 20 – remove from oven and carefully remove the smaller pan (which holds the cake) from the large pan

Step 21 – place smaller pan on cooling rack until completely cooled, at least 2 hours

Step 22 – cover pan tightly with plastic wrap, chill in fridge overnight

Step 23 – in the morning, use edges of tinfoil to carefully lift the cake out of the baking pan, and use a hot knife to cut a few pieces, return remainder to fridge

Step 24 – let pieces sit at room temp for 10 minutes before consuming

Verdict: citrus cheesecake is delicious. I am really pleased with how this turned out. It smells (and tastes) amazing. Although the lemon is the first flavour you notice, after taking a bite and letting it sit in your mouth, you’ll taste the lime and orange, set off perfectly by the sour cream. I think I’m in love.

Glad I opted to use freshly squeezed fruits instead of bottled juice. It took longer to make than anticipated but I forgot to time myself.

I’ve learned a few things since making my first cheesecake:

  1. cream cheese takes a long time to reach room temperature (2 hours+)
  2. yes, it is important to continually scrape down the sides of the bowl
  3. grating the zest from citrus fruits sucks
  4. yes, the hot knife really should be cleaned and re-heated after each cut
  5. yes, a water bath actually can be too high
  6. always read the instructions with appliances that Mom gives you

Current playlist: Gothic metal

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Malt chocolate brownies

Yesterday I purchased a new cookbook, Good Housekeeping Brownies: favourite recipes for Blondies, Bars & Brownies, which is available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca.

This is the 2nd GH cookbook I own and I like their style because they are sturdy books with a ring binding, easy to prop up, and have decent pictures. I’m not a big brownie fan, and consequently have only made them 2-3 times before, from a mix.

This recipe caught my eye. Seemed like a good one to try  from scratch.

Mmmm smells like milkshake

Mmmm smells like milkshake

Time required: 20 min prep, 20 min bake, and 1-2 hour cooling

Yields: 32 squares

Cost per brownie: 38 cents

Total cost if you have none of the ingredients: $50.00

Special kitchen implements I used:

  • 9″ x 13″ pan
  • tinfoil
brownies: getting started

getting started

Good to know before you start:

Altogether you need just under 2 whole sticks of butter, but divided into separate (and not equal) parts for the batter and frosting.

A 100g bag of Maltesers is about 1C.  The official recipe calls for 1½C of the candies, so you’d need 2 packages. I had 2 packages but um…. ate quite a few of them while preparing my batter. 1C is fine.

Official baking time is 25-30 minutes, but I removed mine from the oven after 20 minutes, and found that after cooling they were a bit dry. The frosting was applied last night and it still hasn’t set, I suppose it will stay gooey?

Brownie recipe:

  • 1½C flour
  • ½TSP baking powder
  • ½TSP salt
  • ¾C unsalted butter, softened (1.5 sticks)
  • 4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate (4 squares)
  • 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (2 squares)
  • 1½C granulated white sugar
  • 1 TBSP vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs, room temp

Frosting recipe:

  • ¾C malted milk powder
  • 3 TBSP milk
  • 1 TSP vanilla extract
  • 3 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
  • 1C icing sugar
  • 1C malted milk balls, quartered

Step 1 – use centre rack, pre-heat oven to 176°C / 350°F.

Step 2 – line a 9″ x 13″ pan with tinfoil, wrap the foil over the outside of the pan to get the shape, then transfer to inside of pan, flatten down, and grease.

brownies: fitting tinfoil to the pan

fitting tinfoil to the pan

Step 3 – make batter, using whisk to combine 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

brownies: melting butter, cracking eggs, mixing dry ingredients

Step 4 – melt butter in sauce pan on Low. Meanwhile…

Step 5 – use serrated blade to chop chocolate

brownies: chopping chocolate

Step 6 – add chocolate to melted butter (still on Low), stir until melted, then remove from heat

brownies: melting chocolate and butter

Step 7 – use wooden spoon to mix sugar into chocolate, then vanilla – stir until thoroughly blended

brownies: stirring in sugar

Step 8 – beat eggs into chocolate

brownies: stirring in eggs

Step 9 -Transfer chocolate to a large mixing bowl, and add the flour about one third at a time, mixing until blended. (My sauce pan is too small to add the flour to the chocolate in the original pan). Colour lightens quite a bit.

brownies::eggs blended in

Step 10 – pour batter into foil-lined pan, bake at least 20 minutes. When done, a toothpick inserted about an inch from the edge should be clean.

brownies: pouring into pan

Step 11 – leave in pan, cool on rack completely. Meanwhile…

brownies: baked and cooling

Step 12 – make frosting; using a whisk in a small bowl to stir together3 ingredients; malted milk powder, milk, and vanilla.

brownies: making frosting with malt power, milk, vanilla

Step 13 – cream in butter until blended, I used a pastry blender for this

brownies: cream in softened butter

Step 14 – cut in icing sugar, about one third at a time

brownies: stir in icing sugar

Step 15 – spread frosting evenly over brownie

brownies: spread frosting evenly

Step 16 – chop each malted candy in half, and then halve each piece again (quartering them), sprinkle on top of frosted brownie – let set

brownies: quarter each piece of malt candy

About half of the malt pieces are added here:

brownies: sprinkle malt candy over frosting

Step 17 – after frosting has set, lift entire brownie from the pan using the tinfoil edges. Peel tinfoil away.  Use sharp knife to slice lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 8 pieces.

brownies: let frosting set, and serve

I had to beat Boyfriend away with a spoon to keep him from plundering the pan while they set, haha. I enjoyed these a lot. Now I’ve got a serious milkshake craving, and since I’m in possession of a blender and malt power, I’m off to procure some ice cream today. ^^

If you are curious about why I post the total cost of ingredients I will talk about that soon.

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Patty’s Belgian chocolate Irish Cream cheesecake

Let your senses guide you to this decadent chocolate cheesecake, made from Belgian chocolate and Baileys Irish Cream, on a crust of crushed chocolate cookies. One little slice goes a very long way.

Recipe, instructions, and pictures below. Click on pictures to enlarge.

Time required: 2 days (overnight chilling)

Yields: one 7″ cheesecake, with 16 portions

Cost per slice: $2.75

Total cost if you have none the required ingredients: $61.00

This post is to commemorate my first cheesecake.  I had 2 goals: create my own recipe, and make a cake without cracks. Lofty goals indeed!

I hit up the St. Lawrence Market to re-stock my supply of Belgian chocolate. I buy my hard-to-find ingredients at Domino Foods, they sell delicious Callebaut chocolate. As for the pan, you don’t actually need a springform pan to make cheesecake, but it makes things easier, and those pans can also be used for other delicate desserts. I have four sizes; 9″, 7″, 6″, and 4″. I consulted Older Sister 2 for some advice, and got started.

Special kitchen implements I used:

  • electric beaters
  • frosting knife or thin blade
  • 7″ springform pan
  • parchment paper, plastic wrap, & heavy tinfoil
  • 9″ x 13″ deep baking pan

Crust ingredients:

  • 1¼ C chocolate cookie crumbs
  • 5 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Filling ingredients:

  • 2 blocks of cream cheese, softened
  • ½ C granulated white sugar
  • 2 large eggs, at room temp
  • 1 TSP vanilla bean paste
  • 4 oz of Callebaut semi-sweet chocolate, melted
  • ¼ C Baileys Irish cream

Good to know before you start:

Some recipes, including this one, require that the crust be baked at a higher temperature, and once the filling is added it’s baked at a lower temperature. Don’t forget to adjust the oven heat.

Cheesecake will collapse and crack if exposed to sudden temperature changes, don’t open the oven door during baking, and don’t place the finished cake in a drafty area to cool. (A cracked cheesecake tastes fine.)

Never insert a knife or toothpick into a cheese cake to test it, see step 10.

When serving, let cheesecake stand at room temperature for 30 minutes for best flavour.

Step 1 – use centre rack. Pre-heat oven to 175°C / 350°F to bake the crust. If using a bain marie, (which prevents cracking), fill kettle and turn on Low, now.

Step 2 – grease springform pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Optional step: line outside of pan with heavy tinfoil to use in bain marie.

Step 3 – mix the cookie crumbs with melted butter:

Step 4 – press crumbs firmly into bottom of pan to form crust, bake in oven for 10 minutes AND THEN LOWER OVEN TO 150°C / 300°F.

Step 5 – chop chocolate with a serrated blade and set it aside. Er… this was supposed to be 4 oz… but it’s more like 8 or 12. Oops.

Step 6 and 6.5 – gently beat the cream cheese, not too much and not too fast. Try 2 minutes on Low, and continually scrape down the sides of the bowl. I wish I had a Kitchen Aid mixer!

Don’t over-beat because that will add too much air to the mixture, creating air bubbles which collapse during the baking process, causing cracks.

After the cream cheese is beaten, add the sugar and beat until combined.

Then beat in the eggs (one at time), until combined.

Finally beat in the vanilla, and set aside.

Step 7 – melt the chocolate and stir in the Baileys. Normally I melt chocolate in a double boiler to temper it, but that is pointless for a dish destined for the oven. Instead, microwave on High for 30 seconds, stir, repeat until melted.

Step 8 – beat chocolate into cream cheese mixture (gently!)  I originally was going to use my red mixing bowls, but I read that cream cheese rises up high in the bowl so switched over to a big metal bowl instead.

Step 9 – “pour” mixture onto crust – since I used too much chocolate my filling was very dense, it had to be scooped out of the bowl, smooshed down, and smoothed out.  If your filling is normal (runnier), gently shake the pan to even it out and remove air bubbles.

Optional step: I set my springform pan into a 9×13″ baking pan, set that in the oven, and carefully poured hot water from the kettle into the larger pan. This  created a hot water bath that rose halfway up the side of the foil-wrapped springform pan. That served 2 purposes: a) prevents top from drying out, b) prevents cracking.  The hot water should never come in contact with the ingredients.

Step 10 – DID YOU LOWER THE OVEN TEMPERATURE EARLIER?

Bake cheesecake 50-60 minutes at 150°C / 300°F.

How do you know it’s done? The same way you check custard; gently shake it.

If the entire thing jiggles, give it another 5 minutes and check again.

If the edges are firm but the centre jiggles, it’s perfect.

It nothing jiggles at all it’s overdone.

Step 11 – remove from oven but do not open the springform pan.

Carefully use a frosting spatula or thin blade to loosen the pan away from the cake, go slowly around the edge of the pan, all the way down to the bottom. This will prevent the cake from tearing or collapsing when the spring is released after chilling. Be careful and take your time.

Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour.

The cake will firm up as it cools.

See the dark ring around the bottom of the pan?  That’s from the water bath.

Step 12 – cover and refrigerate overnight, or at least for 8 hours

Here’s my cake the next day, see the part in the centre that looks pale? That is where the plastic wrap touched the top. Oops.

Step 13 – remove tinfoil, and very carefully open the latch on the pan, and lift it away from the cake, hopefully it will stay intact:

Step 14 – cut the cake with a sharp, hot knife, cleaning the knife after each cut.  This prevents the filling from tearing or getting crumbs on it.

Alternatively, you can use a tight line; unflavoured dental floss, piano wire, or a new piece of fishing line – whatever works for you.

Cut it half, and then into fourths – I got 16 pieces out of this.

Step 15: serve and enjoy!  Cheesecake tastes best after standing at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Verdict:

I liked this and will make it again, with some adjustments.  The flavour was intense. I finished my slice throughout the day, 2 bites at a time.

I used 1/2 Cup of Baileys and found that was too much, that’s why I say above to use 1/4 Cup. However, the 4 people who have tasted this said the Baileys flavour was just right, so you might need to experiment with this.

Next time, I’ll definitely measure the chocolate more accurately, I need a better kitchen scale. I’ll let the cream cheese sit at room temperature for longer, 40 minutes wasn’t enough. I will also beat the cream cheese more, I was afraid of over-mixing and ended up not mixing enough, there were a few white bubbles in the filling. They tasted fine but were aesthetically irritating.

Overall I’m quite pleased with the result, it was my first cheesecake, and my own recipe, and it turned out wonderfully!

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It’s not easy being cheesy

I made my first cheesecake tonight!

Normally when I bake something for the first time, I’ll follow the recipe exactly to get a feel of what the regular process it, to learn the batter consistency, and get a sense of what the finished product should taste like.  But tonight I was feeling adventurous.

Now, perhaps that was not the brightest idea since I have no basis to judge what consistency is normal. So before I began I consulted with Older Sister 2, a cheesecake adept.  She gave me a few pointers and so far, everything seems normal.

It’s cooling right now, pictures and taste test tomorrow… we’ll see.