Showing posts with label cheesecake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheesecake. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Skor Cheesecake
My SIL, Shan, has a birthday just after Christmas. This year, she requested a cheesecake for her birthday dinner dessert, so I made this one, only covered it with caramel sauce and broken up Skor bars instead of Toblerone. My cheesecake sunk quite a bit when it came out of the oven, which really upset the perfectionist in me, but the crowd who ate it loved it.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Curling Wind-up Dinner
Last night was our ladies' curling club's year-end dinner. This was catered by John Cochrane (not sure of the spelling) who is a local chef. This is my third time attending the dinner and he's cooked for us each time. Each time it's been spectacular. John made the dessert this year, too. Our bonspiel back at the beginning of last month was a financial success (I didn't attend) and because of that, all members got their meals for $5! Amazing value and an amazing meal, and it's always nice to go and hang out with the girls and do something social with them. So, here is the rundown of the food we ate.
We had two appies, a baked brie in phyllo with a grainy mustard sauce. I didn't get a picture of it, unfortunately, but I did get a picture of this spicey shrimp dish, made with tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. The shrimp are dipped in cornstarch and deep fried. This was delish!
We had three salads, and this spinach one is my favourite. Normally, I don't like fruit in an otherwise savoury salad, but this is great: strawberries, candied almonds, and a balsamic dressing.
Greek salad.
This is a ramen & cabbage salad with a rice vinegar dressing.
This salmon was the star of the evening. It's roasted with sundried tomatoes, and herbs...maybe even a pesto-like mixture. It was to die for.
These green beans were really good, too. They were cooked with sesame seeds and fresh ginger.
This was my plate of food. I enjoyed every morsel. We also had bread and basmati rice with our dinner.
Dessert, which John made, too: banana, peanut butter, and chocolate frozen cheesecake. This was good, but not my favourite flavour combination. I tend not to like things flavoured with bananas, though I do like actual bananas.
That's it for this year! Curling starts up again in November - can't wait!
We had two appies, a baked brie in phyllo with a grainy mustard sauce. I didn't get a picture of it, unfortunately, but I did get a picture of this spicey shrimp dish, made with tomato sauce and cayenne pepper. The shrimp are dipped in cornstarch and deep fried. This was delish!
We had three salads, and this spinach one is my favourite. Normally, I don't like fruit in an otherwise savoury salad, but this is great: strawberries, candied almonds, and a balsamic dressing.
Greek salad.
This is a ramen & cabbage salad with a rice vinegar dressing.
This salmon was the star of the evening. It's roasted with sundried tomatoes, and herbs...maybe even a pesto-like mixture. It was to die for.
These green beans were really good, too. They were cooked with sesame seeds and fresh ginger.
This was my plate of food. I enjoyed every morsel. We also had bread and basmati rice with our dinner.
Dessert, which John made, too: banana, peanut butter, and chocolate frozen cheesecake. This was good, but not my favourite flavour combination. I tend not to like things flavoured with bananas, though I do like actual bananas.
That's it for this year! Curling starts up again in November - can't wait!
Friday, January 27, 2006
Apple Crisp Cheesecake
Time for another cheesecake recipe. I am a cheesecake freak, and in all honesty, it's really one of the easiest desserts to make. You just have to follow a few guidelines, which I posted previously here. This recipe is spectacular, I must say. It's great as a fall dessert, for obvious reasons, but it's great all year round. I find the best results are with Granny Smiths because of their tartness and they keep their shape when baked, but Golden Delicious also work very well.
Apple Crisp Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup quick oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
- combine these ingredients and press into a 10" springform pan, building the crust 1 1/2" up the sides of the pan. Chill.
Topping:
1/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
- combine in a small bowl until crumbly and set aside
Filling:
3 packages (250g each) cream cheese (light would probably work but DO NOT use fat free), at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream (again, light would probably work but DO NOT use fat free)
4 eggs
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 small apples, sliced and peeled
- beat cream cheese, brown sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl on medium speed until well creamed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Ad spices and combine. Pour into crust. Spread apples over filling. Sprinkle on the topping.
- bake at 325F for 65 - 70 minutes, or until soft set in the centre. Immediately run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then cool completely on a wire rack. Chill overnight, or at least for a few hours.
See? Easy and spectacular. Serve with a caramel or butterscotch sauce. This cake also freezes well, if you want to make it in advance, and it should yield 16 servings. Enjoy!
Apple Crisp Cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup quick oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, melted
- combine these ingredients and press into a 10" springform pan, building the crust 1 1/2" up the sides of the pan. Chill.
Topping:
1/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp butter
- combine in a small bowl until crumbly and set aside
Filling:
3 packages (250g each) cream cheese (light would probably work but DO NOT use fat free), at room temperature
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup sour cream (again, light would probably work but DO NOT use fat free)
4 eggs
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 small apples, sliced and peeled
- beat cream cheese, brown sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl on medium speed until well creamed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Ad spices and combine. Pour into crust. Spread apples over filling. Sprinkle on the topping.
- bake at 325F for 65 - 70 minutes, or until soft set in the centre. Immediately run a knife along the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then cool completely on a wire rack. Chill overnight, or at least for a few hours.
See? Easy and spectacular. Serve with a caramel or butterscotch sauce. This cake also freezes well, if you want to make it in advance, and it should yield 16 servings. Enjoy!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Pumpkin Harvest Cheesecake
For my American readers, heading into Thanksgiving, I present to you a fabulous change from the usual pumpkin pie (not that there's anything wrong with it). I made this a while back and it was great.
Pumpkin Harvest Cheesecake
Crust:
3/4 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
3 tbsp butter, melted
- Heat oven to 350F. Combine ingredients and press onto bottom of 9" springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool.
Filling:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (NOT the pie filling!)
3 eggs
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger and nutmeg
3 packages (250g each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
- Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, and spices. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch; blend into pumpkin mixture. Pour over crust. Bake 50 - 55 minutes, or until centre is just set.
- Remove from oven and run knife around edge of cake. Cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
As you can see, cheesecake isn't a complicated feat to take on. Here are a couple of tips, though, to help you not get a huge crack down the centre of your finished product.
1. Do run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake gently as soon as you take it out of the oven. The cake will sink as it cools (expansion and contraction of heated materials, etc.) and if you loosen the edges, they won't tug at the cake as it sinks.
2. Don't overbeat your filling. If you add too much air to it, it'll puff up too much and then sink even more as it cools.
3. Some recipes call for baking the cheesecake in a waterbath. I generally don't do this unless the recipe specifically states it. I have found that the extra moisture in the oven increases the baking time and inhibits the setting of the cake. But the waterbath does insulate the cake and this can help prevent cracking. Like I say, follow the recipe.
4. If you do get a crack, you can cover it by making a simple glaze using sour cream, a bit of sugar, and a bit of whipping cream to loosen it. I would only do that on cheesecakes that are predominantly white, though. In this case, just plate it and add a dollop of whipped cream, sift some cinnamon over top and voila! Enjoy!
Pumpkin Harvest Cheesecake
Crust:
3/4 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans
3 tbsp butter, melted
- Heat oven to 350F. Combine ingredients and press onto bottom of 9" springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. Let cool.
Filling:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree (NOT the pie filling!)
3 eggs
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger and nutmeg
3 packages (250g each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
- Whisk together pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, and spices. In a separate bowl, using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch; blend into pumpkin mixture. Pour over crust. Bake 50 - 55 minutes, or until centre is just set.
- Remove from oven and run knife around edge of cake. Cool completely. Refrigerate overnight.
As you can see, cheesecake isn't a complicated feat to take on. Here are a couple of tips, though, to help you not get a huge crack down the centre of your finished product.
1. Do run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake gently as soon as you take it out of the oven. The cake will sink as it cools (expansion and contraction of heated materials, etc.) and if you loosen the edges, they won't tug at the cake as it sinks.
2. Don't overbeat your filling. If you add too much air to it, it'll puff up too much and then sink even more as it cools.
3. Some recipes call for baking the cheesecake in a waterbath. I generally don't do this unless the recipe specifically states it. I have found that the extra moisture in the oven increases the baking time and inhibits the setting of the cake. But the waterbath does insulate the cake and this can help prevent cracking. Like I say, follow the recipe.
4. If you do get a crack, you can cover it by making a simple glaze using sour cream, a bit of sugar, and a bit of whipping cream to loosen it. I would only do that on cheesecakes that are predominantly white, though. In this case, just plate it and add a dollop of whipped cream, sift some cinnamon over top and voila! Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
