cheesecake

Tasty Tuesday–Tiramisu Cheesecake

I was very excited to find this recipe, because I was hoping it would be similar to my all-time favorite dessert–The Cheesecake Factory’s tiramisu cheesecake. Now, theirs has a piece of tiramisu baked into their original cheesecake, (how do they do that?!?), so it wasn’t exactly the same, but the flavor was right, which was what really mattered.

I have to be honest, and admit that I made my cheesecake with a Nilla Wafer crust, as ladyfingers are both expensive and hard to find. The resulting crust stuck to the pan terribly, probably because of how moist it was, and it made the cheesecake lack an important textural component that the ladyfingers would have provided. The cake itself, however, had an amazing, creamy texture, thanks to the 8 oz. of mascarpone cheese mixed in with the cream cheese. And the coffee liqueur whipped cream really finished off the dessert, and made it look amazing, which is ironic, because this is the first cheesecake I’ve made that hasn’t cracked!

  • 1 (12 ounce) package ladyfingers (I used 45 Nilla Wafers)
  • 4 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur
  • 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
  • 1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup coffee flavored liqueur
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 4 Tbsp. coffee liqueur
  • 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a pan of water on the bottom of oven.
Crush the package of ladyfingers to fine crumbs. Mix the melted butter into the crumbs. Moisten with 2 tablespoons of the coffee liqueur. Press into an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar until very smooth. Add 1/2 cup coffee liqueur, and mix. Add the eggs and the flour; mix slowly until just smooth. If the cheesecake batter is too thick, add a little cream. Do not overmix at this point. Pour batter into crust.
Place pan on middle rack of oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just set. Open oven door, and turn off the heat. Leave cake to cool in oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let it finish cooling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add powdered sugar and 4 tablespoons coffee liqueur, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
Before serving, top with whipped cream, and grate the semi-sweet chocolate on top.

Booze Soaked Cheesecake–Bailey’s Irish Cream

I know…I just shared a recipe for a chocolate Irish Cream cheesecake. But then I started thinking that I wanted to make a plain Irish Cream cheesecake. To be fair, I used the same chocolate crust and ganache as I did for the chocolate variety, but this cheesecake itself is pretty different. This recipe provided the best texture of any cheesecake, too!

  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 15 cookies)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 4 8-oz. packages cream cheese
  • 1½ cups white sugar
  • ¾ cup Bailey’s Original Irish Cream
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, powdered’ sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in Bailey’s Original Irish Cream, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth.
Pour filling onto prepared chocolate crust. Bake in preheated oven and check after one hour. Bake until center is jiggly, but not runny (at least one hour). With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Top with chocolate ganache while cheesecake is at room temperature, if desired. Chill before serving.

I think I’ve mastered the art of making a great-tasting cheesecake–now I just have to work on presentation. I’ve yet to bake any kind of cheesecake that hasn’t cracked at least a little, and some of them have cracked a lot! Then again, the more I practice, the more we get to eat the results!

Booze Soaked Cheesecake–Chocolate Irish Cream

This is a wonderful, rich, cheesecake, which can be made even more special with the addition of an Irish Cream and Chocolate Ganache, and Irish Whipped Cream!

Cheesecake

  • 1 1/2 cups chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (about 15 cookies)
  • 1/3 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 6 Tbsp. butter, melted
  • 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/4 cups white sugar
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup Irish cream liqueur

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, powdered’ sugar and 1/3 cup cocoa. Add melted butter and stir until well mixed. Pat into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Freeze for 15 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, white sugar, 1/4 cup cocoa and flour. Beat at medium speed until well blended and smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the sour cream and Irish cream liqueur; mixing on low speed. Pour filling over baked crust.
Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250 degrees, and continue baking for 60 minutes.
With a knife, loosen cake from rim of pan. Let cool, then remove the rim of pan. Top with chocolate ganache while cheesecake is at room temperature, if desired. Chill before serving.

Ganache

  • 8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 6 Tbsp. heavy cream
  • 2 Tbsp. Irish Cream liqueur
  • 1 tsp. instant coffee granules
Melt chocolate over low heat with cream, liqueur, and coffee granules. Cool slightly, then smooth over the top of the room temperature cheesecake.

Whipped Cream

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2-3 Tbsp. powdered sugar
  • 1-2 Tbsp. Irish Cream liqueur
Beat cream until soft peaks just begin to form. Add sugar and liqueur; continue to beat until stiff peaks form. Dollop on cheesecake just before serving.

Tasty Tuesday–The Cheesecake Factory

I had a prenatal appointment today, and since Ryan’s parents are in town, they were able to watch the children, so that he could come along. Afterward, we decided to go out to dinner, to The Cheesecake Factory, a restaurant that I’ve only been to once before, and Ryan had never been to.

We splurged, and started with an appetizer–Avocado Eggrolls with a tamarind-cashew dipping sauce. I know, they sound weird, but were amazingly delicious!

As long as I was in an avocado kind of mood, I ordered The Navajo sandwich–a grilled chicken and avocado sandwich, served in warm fry bread. I had this the one other time I went to The Cheesecake Factory, and it was so good, I had to get it again. Ryan had the filet, which was also delicious, (I may have sampled it), but we both had a hard time choosing, since the menu is so extensive and diverse. You can get tacos or burritos there, as well as orange and cashew chicken, plus seafood, pasta, steaks, burgers, and sandwiches. Ryan found the diversity of the menu a little alarming at first–when you serve that many types of food, it’s hard to believe that any of them are done well. But we certainly weren’t disappointed with our food, and I’ve never heard anyone complain about a meal from The Cheesecake Factory, so they’re doing something right!

You can’t go to a restaurant with the word cheesecake in the name without ordering some, so of course I did. I couldn’t pass up the Tiramisu Cheesecake, since it contains pretty much my two favorite desserts, and it was just as delicious as I had hoped. There aren’t words to describe just how wonderful it was, so I won’t even try–you’ll just have to take my word for it!

This is definitely a splurge type of establishment, so we probably won’t be going back for a very long time, but it was very fun and delicious!

Tasty Tuesday–Mocha Chocolate Chunk Cheesecake

Making a no-bake cheesecake was a first for me. I will say that if you’re looking for the texture and density of a traditional baked cheesecake, this may not be for you–its texture is almost mousse-like, and it’s surprisingly lighter than a regular cheesecake. The prep work involved is the same, but you don’t have to deal with baking it, and checking it, and wondering if it’s done enough/not overdone, (I have a bad habit of cracking cheesecakes when I make them, and while they’ve always been delicious, they certainly haven’t looked perfect!). I love the coffee flavor in this cheesecake, and I’ve found that it’s especially delicious if you eat it when it’s partly frozen!

Crust

  • 1 1/2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling

  • 2 packets (1/4 oz. each) powdered unflavored gelatin
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 instant coffee powder
  • 1 Tbsp. hot water
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 2 Tbsp. coffee-flavored liqueur (optional)
  • 12 oz. chocolate chunks
  • 2 c. whipping cream, whipped

1. In a medium bowl, combine Oreo cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into bottom of ungreased 9-inch cheesecake pan, (or springform pan with 3-inch sides, greased), and freeze.
2. Sprinkle gelatin over milk in a small saucepan and let stand for 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin is dissolved. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. In a bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high for 3 minutes. Slowly add dissolved gelatin/milk mixture. Stir in cocoa powder.
4. In a small bowl, dissolve coffee powder in hot water. Stir into cream cheese mixture.
5. Stir vanilla, coffee liqueur, (if desired), and chocolate chunks into cream cheese mixture. Fold in whipped cream.
6. Pour mixture over crust. Chill until firm, at least six hours, or overnight.
7. Run a hot knife around edge of pan to loosen.