Cheesecake flavors

[Kris]

My pumpkin cheesecake recipe:

1 ¼ cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (6 ¼ ounces)

1 tbsp. sugar

4 tbsp. melted margarine (2 ounces)

Three 8 ounce packages softened cream cheese (24 ounces)

1 ¼ cups sugar (8 ¾ ounces)

3 large eggs

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1 ½ tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 ½ cups canned Libby 100% pumpkin (12 ounces)

½ cup sour cream (4 ¼ ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place a shallow pan full of hot water on the lower rack in the oven.

Combine gingersnap crumbs & 1 tbsp. sugar with melted margarine. Press mixture firmly into a well greased 9” springform pan (use cooking spray to grease pan). Bake for 8 minutes. Remove and cool slightly. Turn oven heat to 425 F degrees.

In a mixer bowl, combine cream cheese and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time – stirring mixture gently. Add cornstarch, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, pumpkin & sour cream and mix until well blended.

Pour mixture into greased springform pan and place pan into 425 F degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 250 degrees for 65-70 minutes. Turn oven off. Leave cheesecake in oven for 30 minutes. Loosen the sides of cake from rim with a knife then let it remain in the oven for another 30 minutes.

Remove from oven, but do not remove springform ring until cake is fully cooled to room temperature. While the cake is cooling, be sure to keep it away from drafts. Once cooled to room temperature, remove the springform ring and chill until firm (preferably overnight) in the refrigerator. Garnish as desired.

NOTES: When beating the cheesecake mixture, take care not to overbeat or beat too vigorously. Otherwise you will incorporate too many air bubbles into the cake when baking, which may cause it to crack and fall. Also, the cake will be done when you see the center of the cake “jiggle” a little bit.

The flavor of cheesecake improves with age so it’s best to make it a day or two in advance of when you plan to serve it.

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I use margarine instead of butter because I find that the crust made with butter gets too crispy.

This cake is very good but needs to be handled with "kid gloves" since overbaking it, beating the batter too vigorously, letting it cool near a draft or otherwise mishandling it will result in deep cracks in the top of the cake. You can also bake it in a bain marie if you'd like.

Edited November 6, 2005 by Kris (log)

[Kris]

I'm editing the above recipe a little bit...

I made the pumpkin cheesecake today and it came out great - no cracks or deep fissures in the middle.

Only thing is, it baked faster than what I'm accustomed to. So I'd amend the baking time at 250 F to read 55-60 minutes instead of 65-70 (10 minute difference). Depending on your oven, I guess the time can vary by this much. You can always add time if the cake is too jiggly in the center. But you don't want to overbake it.

[Megan Blocker]

Thanks, all, for your help!!! I ended up going with the Epicurious recipe suggested by Canadian Bakin' - it was simple, and my friend has to be able to do it on her own! It turned out well - we did get one little crack, but nothing too bad. The proof is in the pudding, though. It had to be refrigerated overnight, so we won't know until tonight how it TASTES! But it did smell pretty freakin' good.

[Kris]

Glad you came up with something you could work with!

Darn those cracks though!

When they're small, I'm able to smooth over the crack on a frozen cheesecake.

When the cheesecake is thawed out, the crack is gone.

[Katie Nell]

I'm curious how your pumpkin cheesecake turned out Megan? Especially, the texture... that's what I always struggle with.

[CanadianBakin']

I'm curious how your pumpkin cheesecake turned out Megan?  Especially, the texture... that's what I always struggle with.

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Soooo.....

[Desiderio]

Ok this is the thing,the cafeteria at work servers this marble cheesecake brownies and they are pretty good,now I know the owner, that also offered me a job ,but I feel bad asking him the recepie for this treat because I think every chef has his/her secrets ,or maybe its just me that I have hard time asking .

Anyway I made some of these brownies the other day off a recepie

here,and while they are very tasty and chocolatey they dont have the same texture of the one I am trying to imitate, the crumb is larger and I would say seems more like a cake but is a brownie ,.Yesterday I bought a piece and they only had some few left ( cause they sell very fast ) in the freezer, now while ofcourse they need to keep some in the freezer for a practical reason , I also though they might freeze them for the same reason I have read bakers froze their cake (high fat contenets ones)to get a more moist crumb etc.

Is this possible ?And maybe should I try just to remake the formula I found online and then wrap the brownies and stick them in the freezer?

Or maybe I shoul make an extremely big box of my best chocolates and ask the owner of the cafeteria for his formula?

[JFLinLA]

I haven't made these a lot but I seem to remember that the cheesecake brownies in Nick Malgieri's Cookies Unlimited book are good. You could always marble the cheesecake top part. And, another reason to freeze things that are freezeable is the convenience factor.

[Gifted Gourmet]

Check out Bruce Weinstein's Marble Cheesecake Brownies ...

Here are the most decadent brownies we've ever made: A sweet cream cheese ribbon is swirled into the buttery batter for a treat that's rich, gooey, and still packed with chocolate.

[heyjude]

The Black and White Brownies on page 189 of Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti are fabulous and sound like what you are after.

[Desiderio]

Thank you .

[MGLloyd]

I will dig up my recipe and post it. Mine is sized for a 9"x13" pan, since I usually make them for parties and office functions. They go quickly, so I have to make a bunch. I make them in a 9"x13" rectangular springform pan so I can easily slice them into even bars. They are very moist and freeze well. In fact, now that I am thinking about it, I should make a batch and freeze them. It is nice to be able to pull out a single brownie and eat it.

[Desiderio]

I will dig up my recipe and post it.  Mine is sized for a 9"x13" pan, since I usually make them for parties and office functions.  They go quickly, so I have to make a bunch.  I make them in a 9"x13" rectangular springform pan so I can easily slice them into even bars.  They are very moist and freeze well.  In fact, now that I am thinking about it, I should make a batch and freeze them.  It is nice to be able to pull out a single brownie and eat it.

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Thank you MGLloyd .

[shaloop]

Check out Bruce Weinstein's  Marble Cheesecake Brownies ...

Here are the most decadent brownies we've ever made: A sweet cream cheese ribbon is swirled into the buttery batter for a treat that's rich, gooey, and still packed with chocolate.

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Somewhat off topic but I have to mention, the banana brownies from this book are possibly the best brownies ever. But, you have to make them EXACTLY as written. I've tried them using the same ingredients but different mixing methods and they didn't come out right.

[Desiderio]

Mmmm , I think I am off getting this book,every reserch I did for the marble cheese cake brownies brings back to his book, so maybe its worth a try

[MGLloyd]

Cheesecake brownies

1/2 CUP BUTTER OR MARGARINE (1 STICK) (softened)

4 SQUARES (4 OUNCES) UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE

4 SQUARES (4 OUNCES) SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE (I prefer 70% cocoa mass)

2 CUPS SUGAR

5 LARGE EGGS (room temperature)

2 1/2 TEASPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT

1 1/4 CUPS ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR (dip and sweep)

3/4 TEASPOON BAKING POWDER

1/2 TEASPOON SALT

2 PACKAGES (8 OUNCES EACH) CREAM CHEESE (softened)

1. Preheat oven to 350' F. Grease 13" by 9" metal baking pan.

2. In 4-quart saucepan, melt butter and unsweetened and semisweet chocolates over low heat, stirring frequently. Remove saucepan from heat. Beat in 1 and 1/2 cups sugar. Add 4 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla and beat until well blended. Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In small bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth; gradually beat in remaining 1/2 cup sugar. Beat in remaining egg, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon vanilla just until blended.

4. Spread 1 and 1/2 cups chocolate batter in prepared pan. Spoon cream-cheese batter in 6 large dollops on top of chocolate mixture (cream-cheese mixture will cover much of chocolate batter). Spoon remaining chocolate batter in 6 large dollops over and between cream-cheese mixture. With tip of knife, cut and twist through mixtures to create marble design.

5. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of pan comes out almost clean with a few crumbs attached. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

6. When cool, cut lengthwise into 4 strips, then cut each strip crosswise into 6 pieces. Makes 24 brownies.

This is one of my favorite recipes for two reasons: it is not too sweet and the proportions of cheesecake to brownie is about 50/50. I wrap individual brownies in plastic wrap, and freeze them inside of a freezer Ziploc. They freeze very well.

PS: I forgot to mention. A couple of popular variations I have done is to omit the vanilla extract from the cheesecake batter and substitute either 1/2 teaspoon almond extract or orange oil or orange extract. I especially liked the orange myself, since I am a sucker for the combination of orange and chocolate. Using orange oil rather than extract gives it a more pronounced orange flavor, in my view. A friend of mine also reported good results by using some Amaretto in the brownie batter.

Edited July 14, 2006 by MGLloyd (log)

[Desiderio]

Thank you so much for the recepie Michael.I am going to try it right away ,Yummy

Edited July 14, 2006 by Desiderio (log)

[shaloop]

Someone has requested a creme brulee cheesecake for next week. Does anyone have a tried and true recipe? I have a standard cheesecake which is very good and I've thought that if I don't find a T&T recipe that I'll try altering my basic recipe by replacing half the eggs with equal amount yolks and upping the whipping cream and caramelizing sugar on top. There's not really any such thing as creme brulee flavor so I'm not sure what else I could do. Any suggestions?

[Swisskaese]

I would add vanilla bean paste to the cheesecake filling and make the brulee on top. Maybe with a walnut crust.

[JeanneCake]

In the interest of research for you (yep, that's what we'll call it), I bought a container of creme brulee ice cream from Haagen Daz yesterday. It's vanilla ice cream with swirls of burnt sugar throughout and the label identifies it in this round-about way: Cream, Skim milk, sugar, corn syrup, egg yolks, caramelized sugar swirl (sugar, corn syrup, caramelized sugar, pectin, natural flavor).

So, I'm with Swisskaese here - make a rich vanilla cheesecake and either put some caramel shards on top and serve with a clear caramel sauce (a la Maida Heatter). Hmm, maybe you should call it a flan instead or maybe creme caramel!

[ludja]

Another thing that might be interesting would be to bake a good vanilla cheesecake suggested and then to cover the cooled cake with creme chiboust. Sprinkle with sugar and put under the broiler for 1 min.

I've never made a creme chiboust but I've been intrigued by a rasberry tart recipe that is made this way (almond creme cooked in tart shell, layer with raspberries and then add the creme chiboust layer which is then briefly bruleed. The recipe is from Alain Jacq (La Reserve de Beaulieu) in "French Tarts" by Linda Dannenbeg. She describes creme chiboust as a mixture of pastry creme and cooked meringue. The photo of the tart looks just like a creme brulee...

If you want a flavor constrast one might be able to make a lemon-flavored pastry cream or one could put a layer of raspberries inbetween the cheesecake and chiboust as is done in the tart recipe.

[shaloop]

In the interest of research for you (yep, that's what we'll call it), I bought a container of creme brulee ice cream from Haagen Daz yesterday.

lol, well thanks!!

  maybe you should call it a flan instead or maybe creme caramel!

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A lady at my husband's work asked me to make a Creme Brulee Cheesecake for her co-worker. Her co-worker loves creme brulee and cheesecake (and she also wants a cake she can share with the whole office.) So, it needs to actually be a cheesecake, but reminiscent of creme brulee in some way. I saw a cake in "Baking With Julia" that is chocolate with creme brulee on top. The creme was cooked first and then chilled and then put on the cake and bruleed before serving. However, I will be delivering the cake and they will be cutting it so it needs to be completely assembled and easily delivered and cut, preferrably chilled completely assembled before delivering. I just wondered if anyone had made one or had any ideas. I'm having company this weekend and plan to try it out tomorrow and see how I like it before making the actual cake for the lady.

[JeanneCake]

well, since creme brulee is really custard with a burnt sugar topping, you could do the same with cheesecake (cheesecake is a custard of sorts too). If you poured a slightly cooled caramel on the top, it would be hard to cut (I'm not talking about a caramel sauce) which is why I thought shards would be better. If you're trying it out this weekend, try bruleeing sugar on top of a very well chilled cheesecake. I had one of those little torches with me at a charity dinner and it wasn't very effective, I gave up and got my industrial strength one and that worked a lot better. You'll have the torch on for longer doing the cheesecake (if it's a 9" or 10" size) so this might make a difference for you.

Take pictures to share .....

[Desiderio]

Ok , I tryed a formula , peaking from different recepie around , specifically fudge brownies, and I think the last batch I made were very very close to the one I am trying to replicate.I frozed them and out of the freezer or fridge they definatlly gain in flavor and texture.

Now mine are still little bit too crumbly , I mean very very moist but so moist that crumble unless they are refrigerated, I was thinking to raise the amount of cream cheese and butter to obtain a denser crumb that wouldnt cramble that easy.Will that help or will that just make it more greasy.And if so what could make the crumb more cake like but still moist as a brownie?

By the way I did a one bowl recepie , well not really one bowl , but i did make one mix and to the 2/3 of it I added the chocolate and the melted butter.

Well the formula is this :

2 1/2 stick of butter

2 cup of sugar

3/4 to 1 cup of flour

8 oz chocolate melted with half of the butter

vanilla

4 eggs

1 8 oz cream cheese

I melted half the butter with the chocolate.

Cremed the rest of the butter with sugar, add cream cheese ,eggs ,vanilla and flour.

I add to the 2/3 of the mixture the melted chocolate/butter,then layered as for the typical marble ,etc.

[shaloop]

I made the trial cheesecake today for my company. I replaced half the amount of whole eggs with yolks and increased the amount of whipping cream and vanilla. I used brown sugar on top, mixed with water so that I could spread it in an even layer on top of the chilled cheesecake (saw several recipes with those instructions.) Bruleed the brown sugar (with torch) and re-chilled. It was very good. But, the brown sugar layer was too thick and although the top bubbled, the bottom wasn't caramelized. I took one of the two slices left after company was gone (was cut into about 20 thin slices) and sprinked white sugar on the cut side and bruleed with the torch and it was perfect. So, I think I have my recipe for next week. I forgot to take a picture and it went fast. I'll try to remember to take a picture of next week's. Thanks for all the help!