Individual Cheesecake with raspberry swirls

A friend of mine wanted to bake with me, and so this entry is dedicated to her. Since we both love cheesecake and raspberry-flavored anything, this dessert was a "no brainer." We had our little mishaps in the kitchen. Our first batch turned out fine, but while assembling our second batch, we realized that we had forgotten to put graham cracker crust into the muffin pans. Oh well...that's life. Even though we messed up, the little cheesecakes were still pretty good.

You can follow the step-by-step instructions from Annie's Eats (not affiliated with me!):

Here's a trick for when you want to press graham cracker crumbs into the cupcake pan...use a measuring cup! The 1/4 size cup fits perfectly.


Here is the cream cheese mixture after all the sugar, eggs, and vanilla have been mixed in.


Fill each cupcake liner about 2/3 of the way up.


Add 3 drops of raspberry sauce (I used seedless raspberry jam)


And the final product!

Tall Lemon Cheesecake with Fresh Raspberry Sauce

I love cheesecake. It may be one of my favorite desserts along with creme brulee and chocolate cake. The cold, creamy texture of the cheesecake mixed with the buttery crust makes for one delicious comfort food.

The other day, I saw a pound of raspberries on sale for $1.60 at the market! $1.60!!! Somebody must've made a mistake and wrote the wrong price, but who am I to point that out? With 2 lemons and an abundance of raspberries, I could think of no other thing to bake besides cheesecake.

I wanted to make sure that this cheesecake turned out perfectly, so I did my research and found the best recipe for a tall and creamy style cheesecake. In order to make it a little lemony, I added the zest of 2 lemons, and the juice of 1. The final product had a light lemony flavor -- perfectly refreshing in this odd California heatwave. The raspberry sauce is Emeril's recipe, which you can find on the food network. You can find the cheesecake recipe here.

You start with 4 blocks of cheesecake (8oz blocks). It sounds like a lot, but you need four to make a nice, tall cheesecake.




The recipe calls for 1 1/3 cup of heavy cream or sour cream, so I did 1/2 heavy cream, 1/2 sour cream to make the 1 1/3 cup.


Don't forget to zest the lemon before you start the whole process. Isn't my lemon zester just the cutest thing ever?


Mix all the ingredients until it's smooth and creamy.


Follow the directions to make the crust. I didn't quite have the amount of crumbs required of this recipe, so my crust wasn't as thick.


Pour the creamy mixture onto the baked crust and bake for a long time in a water bath.


Here's the final product...





Bon appetit!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry....CHEESECAKE!

There was a small meltdown in my kitchen for the past 2 weeks. I thought my baking skills were starting to fail me! 3 times, yes 3, have I tried to make a SIMPLE banana bread, only to see it deflate after coming out of the oven. It was just plain weird! Then I read a comment by someone saying that their oven temperature was wayyyy off from the actual temp. *light bulb* That's it! So I went to the market, purchased an oven thermometer and realized that MY oven was 25 degrees off! 12 bananas and countless amounts of flour and sugar later, I finally created a wonderful, FULLY-COOKED banana bread. Phew~ meltdown over.

Anyways...on to my cheesecake!
I wanted to make this cheesecake the moment I laid eyes on it. This is the reason why I believe in love at first sight. (just kidding) All the things I love are jam-packed into this little baby - strawberries, chocolate, and cheesecake. After making a gigantic mess and doing two loads(?) of dishes, this cheesecake is now baked and chillin' in the fridge.

It all started with some eggs...


Chopped chocolate. 60% bittersweet chocolate to be exact.


Some strawberries for decoration.




And blueberries. How can you say no to these little guys?? You just can't.


I was a little worried because my cheesecake started cracking, but then realized that it was okay because I had chocolate ganache on top to cover all ugly-ness.


Here's the final product. I wish I could take credit for my design, but I literally copied it exactly from the person whose recipe I used. And when you try this recipe, I give you free reign to copy this decoration exactly the way I did it. :) Happy baking!


The recipe from Annie's Eats: (Gotta love a person who shares the same name!)

Ingredients:
For the strawberry puree:
10 oz. frozen organic strawberries, thawed
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

For the crust:
1½ cups crushed graham crackers
¼ cup sugar
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the cheesecake filling:
16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. salt
12 oz. sour cream, at room temperature
2/3 cup strawberry puree

For the ganache:
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4½ oz. heavy cream
½ of 1 large egg, beaten

Directions:
To prepare the strawberry puree, set the thawed strawberries in a fine strainer set over a bowl to collect the excess juices. Press down on the berries to extract as much juice as possible. You should have about 4-6 oz. of juice. Transfer the juice to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and simmer to reduce to about 2 oz. Mix in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Blend in the lemon juice and the reserved solids. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. *(To use fresh strawberries, hull and slice the berries. Toss the berries with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and set in the strainer placed over a bowl. Let sit for 1-2 hours to extract the juices. Press down on the berries to extract as much juice as possible. Transfer the juice to a small sauce pan over medium-high heat and simmer to reduce to about 2 oz. Blend in the lemon juice and the reserved solids. Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.)

Mix together all the ingredients for the crust and press it down and 1" up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake in the oven at 350˚ F for 6-8 minutes until it is a nice golden brown. Take it out and let it cool on a wire rack until you're ready to fill it with the filling.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚ F. To make the cheesecake filling, combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for 3 minutes, until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Blend in the vanilla and salt. Mix in the sour cream until well incorporated. Blend in the strawberry puree.

Wrap the outside of the springform pan tightly in a double layer of aluminum foil. Pour the batter into the crust. Place the springform in a larger pan with a water bath. Bake for 55 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven but maintain the oven temperature. To make the ganache, place the chocolate in a small bowl. Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Whisk in the egg. Spread the ganache mixture over the still hot cheesecake, being careful not to pour it all in one place (the cheesecake is still delicate). Smooth the top with an offset spatula if necessary. Bake 12-15 minutes, until the ganache is set around the edges.

Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire cooling rack. Cover with a large bowl inverted over the top to help cool slowly. When it comes to room temperature, transfer to the refrigerator. Chill at least 8 hours before unmolding from the springform (and be sure the ganache is completely set before covering with plastic wrap). Transfer to a serving platter. Slice with a thin knife run under hot water and wiped dry between slices. Serve.

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

There are two desserts at the top of my Favorite Desserts of all Time list:
1. Chocolate Cake (my next baking adventure)
2. Cheesecake

Now that I have improved my techniques with cheesecake, I felt it necessary to start mixing up the flavors a little. First up: White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake.

I think this is my favorite cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory, so how can I NOT try and imitate it? I used low fat cheesecake (although the recipe says not to) and Splenda so lower the calorie count and fat of this dessert. I'm all about making my desserts diabetic friendly, although nobody around me is diabetic. Eh...who doesn't like a semi-guilt-free dessert?

So here we go...


I noticed that Oreos are sweet enough that you don't need to add any sugar to the crust, only melted butter. I replaced the sugar with Splenda, and threw the frozen raspberries in the blender with some sugar and water to quicken up the prep time. Just run the pureed raspberries through a sieve before heating it up. Also, I needed to bake my cheesecake for an extra 20 minutes or so...weird that the timing was so off from the recipe.

Here's the recipe as adapted from All Recipes:

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs (I used about 17 Oreos)
  
• 3 tablespoons white sugar (Didn't use this)
  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen raspberries
• 2 tablespoons white sugar or sugar substitute
  
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream (Didn't have this on hand, so I used 1/2 cup milk with a little melted butter)
  
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar or sugar substitute
  
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. Swirl batter with the tip of a knife to create a marbled effect.
5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with remaining raspberry sauce.

When life gives you a lemon...make lemon cheesecake

I love love LOVE lemons and everything containing lemons! Um...except for lemon skittles. Springtime always makes me see everything in yellow. I want to wear yellow clothes (though I don't have any), see yellow flowers, but most importantly, eat yellow things.

Can anything be better than mixing lemons with cheesecake? I can't think of anything. I bet you can't either. So here is a low-fat, almost sugar-free lemon cheesecake for those who love sweets as much as I do, but can't afford to eat it in its full-fat, full-sugary goodness. I promise, you can't even tell it's almost healthy. :)





Recipe adapted from Paula Deen's "Joanne's Almost Fat-free Lemon Cheesecake" recipe! Amazing, huh? Who knew that "low-fat" was in her vocabulary.

Crust:

• Cooking spray
• 1 3/4 cups fat-free vanilla wafer cookie crumbs, or any fat-free cookie crumbs of your choice
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

(I actually just used the crust recipe from my pumpkin cheesecake recipe because I didn't have vanilla wafers on hand. Use splenda!)

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages fat-free cream cheese
• 1 cup fat-free sour cream
• 2 cups sugar or sugar substitute (recommended: Splenda)
• 3 large eggs or 3/4 cup egg substitute
• 2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

Lemon Curd:

• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest
• 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar or sugar substitute (recommended: Splenda)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into bits, or any fat-free butter substitute

Directions

Make crust: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Lightly spray a (9-inch) springform pan with cooking spray. Mix crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up side of pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden and crust is set. Cool on rack.

Make filling: In large bowl with electric mixer on medium-high, beat cream cheese and sour cream for 2 to 3 minutes until fluffy. Gradually beat in sugar or sugar substitute. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until incorporated. Beat in zest and juice. Pour into crust. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour, 15 minutes, or until center is almost set, but still slightly jiggly. (Do not overbake, as it will firm as it cools). Let cool completely.

Make lemon curd: In the top of a double boiler, combine lemon zest, lemon juice, egg, egg yolk, and sugar or sugar substitute over gently simmering water. Whisk until hot and frothy, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in butter and continue whisking for 7 minutes or until thickened and coats back of spoon. Remove from heat and cool for 30 minutes.

Run a thin blade around the edge of the springform pan and remove sides. Transfer to a serving plate. Spread lemon curd over top. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Garnish with raspberries and zest, if desired. Cool cheesecake in refrigerator several hours or overnight before serving.

Did someone say Pumpkin Cheesecake?

For awhile now, I've been browsing different recipes to find the perfect dessert that would match the coming of fall. There was no doubt that pumpkin had to be involved with this project. Pumpkin bread, pumpkin cupcakes, pumpkin juice (for you Harry Potter fans), and pumpkin white hot chocolate. None of these really sparked the "I-gotta-make-this-RIGHT-NOW" feeling until I came across this recipe.

Leave it to Paula Deen to create a delicious and, of course, buttery dessert: pumpkin cheesecake. I was kind of nervous because I had never attempted to make cheesecake before. Nevertheless, I was ready for a challenge. Strolling down the aisles at the market and putting the can of pureed pumpkin and 3 packages of cream cheese into my basket made it pretty obvious to the outsider what I was planning to do back home.

Yes, I made a gigantic mess.

Yes, I almost burned myself pouring the boiling water for the water bath. Yes, I couldn't REALLY tell how much "jiggle" my cheesecake was supposed to have, but whichever way my cheesecake turns out, my little pumpkin friend is now relaxing in the fridge after a long bake in the oven.

So here's the final product. I can't wait to try it tomorrow!






Crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 stick melted salted butter

Filling:

• 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 (15-ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 3 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For crust:

In medium bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Add melted butter. Press down flat into a 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

For filling:

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin puree, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, sugar and the spices. Add flour and vanilla. Beat together until well combined.

Pour into crust. Spread out evenly and place oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.