New York Cheesecake

I got an order the other day for a really dense, cheese-y cheesecake and since I had none in my own repertoire that were quite dense enough, I had to search online (a baker's best friend) for a good recipe. Not many recipes are dense anymore. I guess people are becoming more health-conscious and want something a bit lighter.

New York cheesecakes are usually much denser, baked at a high starting temperature, and unlike many cheesecakes, don't require to be baked in bain-marie. I found this recipe from Cook's Illustrated which guarantees a dense and firm texture. It baked very well actually and didn't crack at all which is always a big concern when it comes to cheesecake. All I did to finish it off was some fresh fruit and whipping cream.

New York Cheescake
-from Cook's Illustrated

2 lbs cream cheese
1 1/4 cup sugar
4 eggs
vanilla
1/4 cup cream
1/4 cup sour cream

-line a 6" pan and brush the sides with butter
-beat the cheese till smooth, then add the sugar until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla. Stir in the cream and sour cream. Bake at 500 degrees fahrenheit for 10 mins. Open the door and lower the temperature to 200 degrees fahrenheit until it reaches that temperature. Bake for another hour or so until it is just set in the middle. Remove and cool on a wire rack until it reaches room temperature. Cover and refrigerate.

Strawberries!

Here is a strawberry mousse cake that I made just last night. Although you can't really tell from this picture, the outside cake is a joconde cake baked with stripes of raspberry jam and then cut to fit on the inside of the acetate. It was a little difficult cutting it though because the jam stuck to the knife and the cake, because it was so thin, tended to creak really easily where the jam is. It does piece together seamlessly though so that was a relief.

Inside is strawberry mousse with floaters of genoise and strawberry jelly.

Something Light

Thanksgiving was just a few days ago and I miss the smell of turkey roasting in the oven, gravy simmering on the stovetop, and yummy mashed potatoes. My mom had some friends over and they're not to big on desserts so I opted for a lighter dessert that would be refreshing after a heavy meal. Something not too sweet too as some of the guests couldn't have too much sugar.

Inside a white chocolate bowl (formed from a small balloon dipped in chocolate) was fresh orange segments, an unsweetened cranberry jelly, and a prosecco wine jelly. You can less of the wine jelly for the people who can't have sweets. This was very simple and yet looks very elegant as well.

Cranberry Jelly:

500 ml unsweetened cranberry juice
5 gelatin leaves, softened

-warm up half the juice and add the gelatin, mixing to dissolve. add remaining juice and chill in a flat pan. Cube when set.

Prosecco Wine Jelly:

500 ml prosecco wine
5 ml gelatin leaves, softened

- warm up 1/4 of the wine and add the gelatin, mixing to dissolve. Add remaining and chill till set. Cube.

Cheese for Dessert, Done Two Ways

First off for the cheese is one I haven't done a many years, which is a frozen berry cheesecake which is actually from one of the Kraft Cooking magazines. It's a very mild cheesecake that's perfect for the summertime. I can't seem to find where I put the recipe for this but when I do, i'll post it up.

Next is a chocolate tiramisu; kind of my specialty. Filled with lots of mascarpone cheese and marsala wine, this is absolutely divine. The extra melted chocolate as well as cocoa powder makes this extra rich. And obviously, I didn't make the ladyfingers (way too much work and it wouldn't look half as perfect). I just bought the Savaiordi ones which taste really good. Nice and eggy and vanilla-y.