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Cheesecake flavors


Monica Bhide

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This thread makes me want to go home and dig out my chocolate hazelnut cheesecake recipe. I top it with hazelnuts with the bottom half dipped in chocolate and chocolate leaves. Very fall-ish. The gingerbread and pears with pastry cream sounds really yummy.

Pamela Wilkinson

www.portlandfood.org

Life is a rush into the unknown. You can duck down and hope nothing hits you, or you can stand tall, show it your teeth and say "Dish it up, Baby, and don't skimp on the jalapeños."

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How about pumpkin cheesecake with a cinnamon graham cracker crust? Very fall!

Edited to add:

Oops... somehow I missed that in your original post... sorry about that!

Actually, I was wondering if Apple Cider Cheesecake would be possible earlier today, but it might be difficult to get all those flavors concentrated enough.

Edited by Katie Nell (log)

"Many people believe the names of In 'n Out and Steak 'n Shake perfectly describe the contrast in bedroom techniques between the coast and the heartland." ~Roger Ebert

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I made a Sour Cream Plum Kuchen from last month's Canadian Living magazine. The top is glazed with apricot jam. It's one that you can freeze after baking and pull out when you need it. It was very nice. The cake wasn't too sweet, light in texture (sour cream?) With the glaze, it would certainly have eye appeal in your showcase.

When plums aren't in season, pears would work, I think? :hmmm:

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Actually, I was wondering if Apple Cider Cheesecake would be possible earlier today, but it might be difficult to get all those flavors concentrated enough.

Maybe not cider, but apple butter?

Ruth Dondanville aka "ruthcooks"

“Are you making a statement, or are you making dinner?” Mario Batali

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well, takea look at Pierre Herme's st honroe gateux. He uses poached pears in his version, halved and lined kinda the middle/top layer. Even though I dont like to use Pierre Herme as a reference because soooooo many people here do, I just cant help but remember that. I'm also not mentioning this to use his recipe, I just thought you would like the idea of using pached pears in the same usage as he did. Maybe different flavors, or a whole different entremet set up as it is.

Dean Anthony Anderson

"If all you have to eat is an egg, you had better know how to cook it properly" ~ Herve This

Pastry Chef: One If By Land Two If By Sea

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Maybe a fruit combination that would be quite different but eye catching would be quince and pear.. with cardamom/cinnamon flavourings linked in somehow either in buttercream

Nice on a spicy cake maybe ..

Those are all quintessential winter tastes.. using quince you would have something that would be both eye catching and unique. When quince is cooked you have that beautiful clear pink/orange colour that only poached quince have.

Just musing.. feel free to read and discard! :biggrin:

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I made a Sour Cream Plum Kuchen from last month's Canadian Living magazine.  The top is glazed with apricot jam. It's one that you can freeze after baking and pull out when you need it. It was very nice. The cake wasn't too sweet, light in texture (sour cream?) With the glaze, it would certainly have eye appeal in your showcase.

When plums aren't in season, pears would work, I think?  :hmmm:

I too agree the plum kuchens are a great vehicle for winter fruit. You could use apples, quinces, cranberries, even grapefruit.

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Ooooo!  I REALLY like your way of thinking!   

Between the suggestions you gave me for the orange cheesecake and these suggestions, I hereby dub you my Flavor Combinatoin Twin.

YAY! I have a FLAVOUR COMBINATION TWIN! :biggrin: (Only on Egullet would you hear something as geeky as that..haha!) Glad I could help! :smile:

I think we have taken things to a new level of geekiness. Hahaha! :laugh:

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Is there such a thing as a caffeine free coffee bean? I didn't know that.

I love Ling's ideas too.

I make a cranberry orange cheesecake during the holidays that is a big seller. I just take a standard plain cheesecake recipe, add some orange zest and a little juice, soak some dried cranberries for a bit, drain the cranberries, and mix it all together and bake on a gingersnap crust. It's pretty good. :rolleyes:

Yup, caffeine-free coffee beans exist. I'm a bit foggy on how it's done, but I know there's an all natural method that involves water, and a chemical based method.

Cranberry orange cheesecake with craisins! *gasp* I do my pumpkin cheesecake on a gingersnap crust so I don't want to seem repetitive, so I think I would do this with a pecan crust. mmmmmm! *wipes drool!* How do you garnish this? Craisins and pecans already add to the cost so I'd have to keep it very simple and inexpensive. At first I thought to pour ganache over the top (just a thin coat) and let some dribble down the sides), but I do have to keep enough chocolate-free items on the menu. I just don't want to leave the top of the cheesecake blank. Also, about how many ounces of craisins per pound of cream cheese? Also, when you rehydrate the craisins, do you do it for like 15 minutes type of thing or overnight? The only time I ever rehydrated fruit was for stollen at one place I worked at years ago... and since it was in booze, we did it well in advance.

Oh, and THANK YOU for the cran-orange cheesecake idea!

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I thought to condense the rest of the replies...

Jeanne, I would love to see the recipe for that spiced vanilla cheesecake! I forgot all about the Cake Bible. My husband and I bought a house in mid-July and I haven't unpacked all of my books yet. I would love to see the chestnut mousse recipe. I think you've got a great idea; layered with white chocolate mousse between chocolate cake layers would be stellar.

Katie, Apple cider makes me think CAKE. Apple cider cake with little chunks of apple. Pastry cream filling and iced with.... hmmm I don't know?

Dejah, What's kuchen? I've never heard of it.

Saffy, I grew up in Hawaii and have never had a quince. What do they taste like? I've seen them in cookbooks, but never seen them for sale. I would think Whole Foods would carry something like that, but I just haven't seen it. Where else should I be looking?

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. It really got my juices flowing!

Edited by LCS (log)
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For a winter chocolate cake, you could make chocolate gingerbread, or a chocolate cake with a layer of cognac/chestnut mousse and top with candied chestnuts, or a pound cake with chunks of apricot and candied ginger.

For an apple (or pear) cake, you could do a spice cake and do a cooked apple puree in the middle (or leave it chunky) and frost with a cream cheese or maple cream cheese or cinnamon cream cheese icing. Maybe garnish with toasted walnut halves?

Another fall cake I like is parsnip cake, which is basically carrot cake with parsnips instead or carrots. I like to add currants plumped in Marsala or some other liquor.

For cheesecake...maybe maple with carmelized pear topping? Or a port glaze? Or both? :biggrin:

Editted to add:

Also, perhaps something with dates or figs? They always make me think of fall...

Edited by amccomb (log)
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If craisins are expensive, can you do a cranberry orange compote on top of the cake or swirled through?

My recollection of the Pierre Herme book (the one with Dorie Greenspan) is that there are a couple of recipes for cakes with apples and one for a chestnut pear tart as well.

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Here's the spiced cheesecake recipe for a 9" round pan. I multiply this by 1.3 for a 10" pan:

2# cream cheese

1 cup mascarpone

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

pinch salt

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

Usual method: mix cheeses til smooth, add sugar, keep scraping the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, salt, lemon juice, and spices - mix til smooth and pour into crust (I use a pecan graham crust because that's what I use for the rest of the cheesecakes I make, she called for a walnut crust). I know that you can sub the mascarpone with sour cream successfully (different taste, I know, but mascarpone is more $ than sour cream) and I add 1/8 tsp allspice to this for a little extra oomph. Bake at 325 for about 45 mins to an hour depending on how your ovens behave. She uses a water bath, I don't.

Now that I think of it, my cranberry orange cheesecake recipe comes from Mary Crownover's book - it uses cranberry juice concentrate, fresh or frozen berries (cheaper than the craisins) in a basic vanilla cheesecake recipe with some fresh orange zest. It's a great recipe!

I'll look for the choc chestnut mousse recipe and my copy of the cake bible. Congrats on the new house!!

Jeanne

Edited by JeanneCake (log)
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chocolate cake with a layer of cognac/chestnut mousse and top with candied chestnuts, or a pound cake with chunks of apricot and candied ginger.

I've made this recipe before...I remember buying that issue of Gourmet just because I thought it would be the perfect Christmas dessert.

Chocolate Chestnut torte with chocolate cognac mousse

Edited by Ling (log)
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Katie, Apple cider makes me think CAKE.  Apple cider cake with little chunks of apple.  Pastry cream filling and iced with.... hmmm I don't know?

Dejah, What's kuchen?  I've never heard of it.

I think a bourbon glaze would be good with an apple cider cake.

Where I hail from (North Dakota), Kuchen is the German word for cake, but mainly describes a raised sweet dough topped with a pastry cream and fruit. The most traditional fruit used is prunes, but apples and peaches make frequent appearances.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm having a friend of mine over to give her a baking lesson. She's been tasked with making dessert for Thanksgiving, and would like to make something slightly non-traditional. She liked the idea of a pumpkin cheesecake, and I was wondering if anyone had any recipes they could recommend for one, or any other twist-on-an-old-favorite type recipe for her.

I will also be teaching her to make a basic pate brisee, and probably an apple pie filling, since that's my personal favorite (and first pie I learned to make). It should be a fun day!

Edited by Megan Blocker (log)

"We had dry martinis; great wing-shaped glasses of perfumed fire, tangy as the early morning air." - Elaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado

Queenie Takes Manhattan

eG Foodblogs: 2006 - 2007

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A variation on a bourbon pumpkin cheesecake:

1. Crumb crust with 3/4 C each of gingersnaps and pecans, ground in food processor with 1 Tbs sugar and 2 Tbs butter. Press into a buttered or sprayed 9" springform pan, extending 1/2" up the sides. Wrap the pan on the outside with heavy aluminum foil to prevent leakage. Bake at 350 F for 10 min, cool completely.

2. Pumpkin filling:

1.5 lb cream cheese, room temp

1 16 oz can pumpkin (Libby's, not the "pumpkin pie filling" crap)

3 eggs

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

1 C light brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbs cornstarch

2 Tbs heavy cream

1 Tbs bourbon or rum

Beat cream cheese in stand mixer until very smooth. Scrape bowl frequently. Get out all the lumps now. Add sugar, spices, pumpkin, cornstarch and beat smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, and incorporate. Add vanilla, bourbon, cream. Pour into prepared and cooled pan.

Bake in a water bath at 350F for 50-55 min until only the center 2" jiggles when you shake the pan. Be sure the water is simmering before you put in the cake pan.

Remove and let cool 5 minutes

3. Topping

Mix together 2 C (16 oz) full-fat sour cream, 2 Tbs maple syrup, 1 tsp bourbon or rum. Spread over cake, put back into the oven and bake 5 minutes. Cool completely, cover with plastic, and chill overnight.

edited to add: I made this last weekend for the nurses at my dad's home, garnished with candied orange peel and praline. It was a big hit.

Edited by JayBassin (log)
He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise. --- Henry David Thoreau
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Excuse me, am I too late? Anyway, made this 2 days ago. Recipe is from The Village Baker's Wife, but I used the technique from The Cook's Book. I really love the little tips in this book, and this one helped me to have a beautiful crack-free cheesecake. The technique involves running an oiled knife around the cake and taking the cheesecake out of the oven several times, let it cool for 10 minutes and popping it in again.

gallery_12248_2017_50464.jpg

Added Cointreau to the whipped cream and stabilized it with gelatin and some sugar. Sprinkled rosettes with cinnamon powder. Oh..I also added some ginger chips chopped up even smaller into the Ginger-Molasses cookie crust.

Edited by Tepee (log)

TPcal!

Food Pix (plus others)

Please take pictures of all the food you get to try (and if you can, the food at the next tables)............................Dejah

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Thanks, guys, for all these ideas! If anything strikes you over the next week, let me know...she's coming over for her lesson on Sunday the 13th!

"We had dry martinis; great wing-shaped glasses of perfumed fire, tangy as the early morning air." - Elaine Dundy, The Dud Avocado

Queenie Takes Manhattan

eG Foodblogs: 2006 - 2007

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