Posts Tagged ‘dessert’

Bookmarks: Cheesecake

Monday, April 15th, 2013

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"Cheesecake" book by Hannah Miles with chocolate & ginger cheesecake and little jug of creme fraiche and squares of dark & white chocolate

Cheesecake by Hannah Miles (Masterchef 2007 finalist and a lawyer to boot!) arrived through the letterbox at a very opportune time – the eve of Justin’s birthday.

baklava cheesecake recipe

We’ve blogged about cheesecake before – in fact, it’s one of our most visited posts – there are a lot of cheesecake fans out there!

chilli chocolate cheesecake recipe

So we’re looking forward to sharing a load more varieties in this post.

berry sundae cheesecake recipe

Each double page spread presents you with a delicious cheesecake recipe on one side with beautifully styled and photographed image on the other.

valentine cheesecake recipe

The range of recipes in the book (there are 60 in all) spans mini-cakes, cake pops, baked cheesecake, no-bake cheesecakes, even cheesecakes with jelly on top!

whisky and raspberry cranachan cheesecake recipe

They’re divided up into chapters such as fruity cheesecakes, candy bar cheesecakes, party cheesecakes and around the world cheesecakes.

mini popcorn cheesecake recipe

There’s also a useful introduction that includes types of cheese you can use, troubleshooting (I’ve been asked in the past about how to stop cracks appearing – it’s covered here) and information about storing & freezing.

sticky toffee pudding cheesecake recipe

No great amount of equipment is needed for most of the recipes – usually just a 23cm/9-inch spring form cake tin. A few of them call for perhaps a silicone mat, piping bag & nozzle, push pops, chef’s rings, sugar thermometer or blow torch.

vanilla cheesecake recipe

Anyway, back to Justin’s birthday – cheesecake is his favourite kind of cake so I told him to choose a recipe from the book and I’d make it for his birthday. He decided on the chocolate ginger option.

"Cheesecake" book by Hannah Miles with ingredients to make a chocolate & ginger cheesecake

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Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake

Yield: serves 12

Chocolate Ginger Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • For the crumb base
  • 300g/10½oz ginger biscuits/cookies
  • 150g/1¼ sticks butter, melted
  • For the filling
  • 650g/2¾-3 cups cream cheese
  • 600ml/2½ cups crème fraîche
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g/½ cup caster/white sugar
  • 200g/7oz dark chocolate, melted & cooled
  • 6 balls preserved stem ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tbs ginger syrup (from the preserved stem ginger jar)
  • 150g/5½oz dark chocolate, chopped
  • 2tbs plain/all-purpose flour, sifted
  • For the topping
  • 150g/5½oz white chocolate
  • 30g/1oz dark chocolate

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas mark 3.
  2. To make the crumb case, crush the biscuits/cookies to fine crumbs in a food processor or place in a clean, plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin. Transfer the crumbs to a mixing bowl and stir in the melted butter. Press the buttery crumbs into the base & sides of the prepared cake pan firmly using the back of a spoon. You need the crumbs to come up about 3-4cm/1½ inches high on the side of the pan so that they make a case for the filling. Wrap the outside of the pan in cling film/plastic wrap and place in a roasting pan half full with water, ensuring that the water is not so high as to spill out. Set aside.
  3. For the filling, whisk together the cream cheese, crème fraîche, eggs, sugar, melted chocolate, finely chopped ginger, syrup and chopped chocolate in a large mixing bowl. Sift the flour over the mixture and stir in, then pour the mixture into the crumb case. Bake in the preheated oven for 1-1¼ hours until set but still with a slight wobble in the centre. Turn off the heat and leave to cool completely in the oven, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.
  4. Once chilled, melt the white and dark chocolate for the decoration in separate, heatproof bowls set over 2 pans of simmering water. Leave to cool slightly, then spread the white chocolate in a thin layer over the top of the cheesecake. Spoon the dark chocolate into the piping bag and pipe swirls over the top of the cheesecake in pretty patterns. If you don't have a piping bag, you can swirl patterns of the chocolate using a spoon. Chill in the refrigerator until the chocolate has set before serving.

Notes

Equipment:

23cm/9-inch spring form cake tin, greased & lined A piping bag fitted with a small, round nozzle/tip (optional)

http://hisforhomeblog.com/bookmarks/bookmarks-cheesecake/

I felt a bit of pressure as I knew we’d be photographing the finished product as part of this post. I dreaded it ending up as one of these “Nailed it!” Pinterest pins! Fortunately it turned out well – we’ve just had a slice each with coffee.

slice of baked chocolate and ginger cheesecake with small cup of black coffee

Cheesecake is available from Ryland Peters & Small the publishers, Amazon and Hive.

[Many thanks to Ryland Peters & Small for this review copy]

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Posted in bookmarks | 2 Comments »

Baked Vanilla Cheesecake

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

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Baked vanilla cheesecake still in its spring-form cake tin

I’ve been making this baked cheesecake from a Gordon Ramsay recipe that I tore out of a weekend newspaper magazine supplement since way back in 2004!

Baked vanilla cheesecake made from a Gordon Ramsay recipe

It’s a dish that I go back to again & again – it’s really easy to make and is simply delicious – especially the day after, when it’s spent a few hours in the fridge. It’s great served with a ginger or summer fruit compote. We had some with a lovely wild blueberry preserve.

slice of baked vanilla cheesecake made from a Gordon Ramsay recipe served with a wild blueberry preserve

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Gordon Ramsay

Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

  • biscuit base
  • 100g unsalted butter, plus a little to greases the tin
  • 200g digestive biscuits (I sometimes us ginger nuts with about half the above quantity of butter)
  • 50g caster sugar (Again, I use half this amount if using ginger nuts)
  • filling
  • 500g cream cheese (I've used both Philadelphia and marscapone successfully) at room temperature
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 300ml sour cream
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

Instructions

  1. Lightly grease a 20cm spring-form cake tin
  3. Melt the butter gently in a small pan on a low heat. Roughly break up the biscuits and and place them in a food processor. Process the biscuits for 2-3 minutes until they resemble fine crumbs. Add the sugar, then pour in the melted butter and process for 30 seconds to combine
  4. Put the biscuit mixture into the base of the tin, using the back of a tablespoon to smooth the surface evenly. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes
  5. Rinse out the processor bowl. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl and process for 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the cornflour, sour cream and vanilla essence and process for 30 seconds to combine
  6. Pour the filling into the tin and bake in a low oven at 150°C for 1 hour. When cooked, the cheesecake should be well-risen, with a golden brown top. It should feel slightly firm to the touch - if the mixture still appears wet, continue to bake a little longer. When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door ajar. When completely cool, place in the fridge. Serve with summer berries and pouring cream
http://hisforhomeblog.com/cookery/baked-vanilla-cheesecake/

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Posted in cookery, food | 15 Comments »

Tart for tart’s sake

Wednesday, October 13th, 2010

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ingredients ready to make chocolate tart with mocha ganache

Regular readers will know that we’re quite partial to a chocolate cake or tart.

bowl of broken dark chocolate pieces and coffee granules

Justin demanded asked very nicely if I would make the chocolate mocha ganache tart that appeared before our eyes in Stella magazine recently.

chocolate ganache mix in vintage T G Green bowl with whisk

It was quite a lengthy procedure, but I like baking so it wasn’t too great a hardship.

finished chocolate tart with mocha ganache

Also, having just sampled the first slice, I can confirm that it was well worth the effort!

detail of finished chocolate tart with mocha ganache

It has an exquisite, subtle coffee flavour and beautiful smooth texture.

slice of chocolate tart with mocha ganache on a vintage Denby Arabesque plate

We’ve got a couple of friends coming over for a bite to eat later – we might give them a small piece!

Recipe: Serves 6 generously

For the pastry:

  • 175g (6oz) butter, softened
  • 150g (5½oz) icing sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 350g (12oz) flour
  • 50g (1¾oz) ground almonds
  • 40g (1½oz) cocoa powder

For the ganache:

  • 125ml (4fl oz) milk
  • 2 tbsp coffee beans, whole
  • 65g (2½oz) sugar
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 2 tbs instant coffee
  • 275g (9½oz) dark chocolate, 66% cocoa solids, broken into small pieces
  • 225ml (8fl oz) double cream
  • 2½ tbsp cocoa powder

In the bowl of an electric mixer with a paddle (I used the K-beater), combine the butter with the sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl with a spatula. Slowly add the dry ingredients until blended. Wrap in clingfilm for 3 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4. Lightly flour the work surface and roll the pastry into a circle 3mm (⅛in) thick. Transfer to a loose-bottomed 25cm (10in) tart tin. Line with paper and baking beans. Bake for 12 minutes, then remove the beans and paper and bake for a further 4 minutes. Leave to cool.

In a small saucepan bring the milk and coffee beans to a simmer, remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for 20 minutes. In a heatproof bowl whisk the sugar and egg yolks to combine. Put the instant coffee and chocolate in a separate heatproof bowl. Strain the milk and discard the beans. Return the milk to the pan, add the cream and bring to a simmer. Pour the hot milk on to the egg yolks in a very thin stream, whisking continuously. Return the mixture to the pan and place over a low heat. Cook gently but don’t allow it to simmer, stirring until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Immediately pour this into the bowl of chocolate, and stir to melt. In a small pan simmer 100ml (3½fl oz) water with the cocoa powder to dissolve it. Whisk it into the ganache.

Pour the ganache into the tart shell and chill for at least three hours to set. Once cold, slice and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

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Posted in cookery, food | 3 Comments »

What a Tart!

Friday, March 5th, 2010

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slice of chocolate and salted caramel tart on vintage 'Aztec' plate with matching cup & saucer

Last week I watched the first episode (which was all about chocolate) of Raymond Blanc’s new series on BBC 2, Kitchen Secrets. The programme reminded me of a chocolate & salted caramel tart recipe that I’d torn out from a recent Telegraph Stella weekend magazine. It turned out so well and tasted so delectable that I thought I’d share it with you!

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Chocolate & salted caramel tart

Yield: serves 8

Chocolate & salted caramel tart

Ingredients

  • For the pastry
  • 300g/10½oz plain flour
  • 3 tbsp cocoa powder
  • 150g/5½oz butter
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 tbsp water
  • For the caramel
  • 250g/9 oz golden granulated sugar
  • 6 tbsp water
  • 100ml/3½ fl oz single cream
  • 125g/4½oz salted butter, melted
  • ½ tsp sea salt flakes, plus extra to decorate
  • For the chocolate filling
  • 125/4½oz good quality dark chocolate, broken into chunks
  • 85g/3oz butter
  • 1 egg plus 2 yolks
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar

Instructions

  1. To make the pastry, put the flour, cocoa and butter into a food processor and whiz until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and whiz again. Mix the egg yolk with the water and add that. Process again until the mixture comes together in a ball. You may need to add a little more water. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for half an hour. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a deep 24cm (9 in) tart tin with a removable base. Carefully trim the excess from the rim and keep to patch up any holes later on. Put in the fridge or freezer to chill until firm. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6.
  2. To make the caramel, put the sugar and water into a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat slowly so that the sugar dissolves. Once it has, turn up the heat and boil until the syrup turns to caramel – you will know by the smell and colour. Be careful not to take it too far and burn it. Once it has reached the caramel stage, stir in the cream – stand back as it will hiss and spit – and the butter. Add the salt and stir to help everything to melt and blend. Leave to cool.
  3. Prick the base of the tart case, line with greaseproof paper or foil and fill with baking beans. Bake blind for 12 minutes, then remove the paper and beans and leave to cool a little. Pour in the caramel. Turn down the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas mark 4.
  4. To make the filling, melt the chocolate with the butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Remove and leave to cool a little. Whisk the eggs and sugar using an electric beater until the mixture is light and fluffy and has increased in volume. Stir in the chocolate and butter. Pour over the caramel and put in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes. Leave until cool enough to handle, then carefully remove the rim and put the tart on a plate. Decorate with a very light scattering of sea salt flakes and serve.
http://hisforhomeblog.com/cookery/what-a-tart/

chocolate and salted caramel tart with one slice removed

It’s incredibly rich – you won’t need a big slice – a dollop of crème fraîche makes a perfect accompaniment.

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