Cakes & Bakes: Peanut butter baked cheesecake

It’s Justin’s 50^th birthday today so, of course, I had to make him a birthday cake.

I made a peanut butter baked cheesecake – seeing as cheesecake is his favourite kind of cake, and he’s quite partial to peanut butter too.

I also wanted to try out a tip that I found on the internet this week. Apparently, instead of using a Wilton Bake Even Strip (which helps keep your cake level and prevent a cracked top), you can wrap the sides of the tin with a wet cloth or tea towel.

It worked pretty well, there was a slight bulge to one side of the top which I put down to the overlap of the cloth. Next time I’ll use a cloth cut down to fit the circumference exactly. So long as the cloth is very wet, it won’t burn in the oven. Elasticated cloth, or nylon/polyester fabric probably wouldn’t work very well in the heat of an oven; stick with cotton or linen.

The plain chocolate digestive biscuits gave just that bit of extra depth of flavour over plain digestives, and baking the base for 10 minutes gave it a ‘biscuity’ taste and texture.

I used mascarpone, but you can use Philadelphia or any other plain, full-fat cream cheese.

The results were delicious – a rich, indulgent treat.

There’s only one slice left – that must mean that the birthday boy approves!

Peanut butter baked cheesecake

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Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 6

Ingredients

For the base

150 g/5oz plain chocolate digestive biscuits
30 g/1oz butter melted

For the filling

250 g/9oz mascarpone cheese
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk
100 g/3½oz caster sugar
150 g/3oz crunchy peanut butter
60 ml/2fl oz soured cream
½ tbsp cornflour

For the topping

125 g/4½oz soured cream
50 g/2oz dark chocolate
15 g/½oz caster sugar
3 tbsp mixed chopped toasted nuts optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/as mark 3
Grease & line and 22cm diameter spring form tin

For the base

Using a food processor, grind the plain chocolate digestives into fine crumbs
Add in the melted butter and combine well
Tip the mixture into the prepared tin pressing down firmly & evenly using a cold metal spoon to form a level base
Put the base into the oven for 10 minutes, when cool put it into the fridge to set

For the filling

After washing out the processor bowl, use it to combine the mascarpone, eggs, yolk, sugar, peanut butter, soured cream and cornflour to a smooth consistency
Pour the mixture into the over the base and bake for 30-40 minutes until just set
Allow to cool for half an hour on a wire rack before putting the tin into the fridge to chill

For the topping

In a small saucepan, gently warm the soured cream, chocolate and sugar stirring to form a smooth sauce
Pour the mixture on top of the cold cheesecake and allow it to set in the fridge
When cooled & set, run a sharp knife around the edge of the tin before easing the cake carefully
Finish with a sprinkling of mixed chopped toasted nuts (optional)

Keyword baked cheesecake, cake, cheesecake, nuts, peanut butter, peanuts

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon & blueberry cheesecake

Right, it’s official, cheesecake is H is for Home’s favourite cake!

It’s by far, the most baked Cakes & Bakes entry.

This week, lemon & blueberry cheesecake joins the ranks.

I’ve used Hobnobs instead of the usual digestive biscuits for the base. Frozen blueberries are available in the supermarket all year round and at a fraction of the price of fresh.

Home-made cheesecake isn’t difficult. The secret is cooking it long & low. Wrapping the tin with foil and placing it in a water bath (bain-marie) makes sure it cooks properly all the way through without burning. You want the slightest browning of the top.

It feels like a very indulgent cake… but I know the blueberries count as one of your 5-a-day. It leaves just one question, do the lemons make it two?

If you’d like to save this recipe, you can pin it from here.

Lemon & blueberry cheesecake

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Cook Time 1 15

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

for the base

200 g/7oz Hobnobs
75 g/3oz butter melted

for the filling

500 g/17½oz cream cheese
350 g/12oz blueberries fresh or frozen
3 lemons zest & juice
200 g/7oz caster sugar
3 eggs
150 ml/5fl oz sour cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas mark 2
Grease the sides of a 20cm/8-inch spring-form cake tin
In a small saucepan, melt the butter
In a food processor, add the Hobnobs and grind to a fine crumb
Add the ground biscuits to the butter and combine
Empty the mixture into the base of the tin and smooth the surface evenly using the back of a tablespoon
Bake the base for about 15 minutes then set aside to cool while you make the cake mixture
Zest & juice the lemons. Set aside
In the food processor you used to crumb the biscuit, add half the blueberries and lemon juice and purée
In a stand mixer (or large mixing bowl if doing it by hand) add the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar and mix thoroughly
Gently whisk the eggs in a measuring jug before adding them to the cheese mixture in 3 stages, mixing well after each addition
Add the puréed blueberry & lemon juice mixture followed by the lemon zest, making sure it's well incorporated
Boil a kettleful of water
Before pouring the cheesecake mixture into the tin, wrap the tin in foil to make it water tight
Put the tin into an oven tray (at least 5cm/1-inch deep)
Pour the cheesecake mixture into the tin and put the oven tray & cake into the preheated oven
Fill the oven tray to about ½cm/¼-inch below the rim with the boiled water
Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes
When cooked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven, with the door ajar
When completely cool, top with the other half of the blueberries and put in the fridge

Lemon & blueberry cheesecake ingredients

Keyword baked cheesecake, blueberries, blueberry, cheesecake, lemon

Cakes & Bakes: Italian cheesecake with almond crumb base

Lidl had a ‘Taste of Italy‘ special this week so I stocked up on a few Mediterranean bits & bobs when I popped in. I bought a couple of tubs of ricotta, not quite knowing what I was going to do with them. Of course… Italian cheesecake!

I fancied making it with a crunchy base using amaretti biscuits but I couldn’t find any in the shops. No need to panic, I improvised and made my own almond crumb base.

I’ve made a fair few different cheesecakes in the past. I think this is almost up there with the all-time favourite Gordon Ramsey version.

It’s best served cold, straight from the fridge, perhaps with an after-dinner espresso.

Fancy giving it a try? Pin the recipe for later!

Italian Cheesecake with almond crumb base

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Cook Time 1

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

For the base

40 g/1½oz butter
150 g/5oz ground almonds
30 g/1oz caster sugar
pinch of salt

For the cake

500 g/1lb 2oz ricotta cheese
150 g/5oz caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
juice from ½ lemon
25 g/1oz plain flour
15 g/½oz flaked almonds toasted (optional)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF
Grease an 18cm/7-inch loose-bottomed cake tin
In a medium saucepan, add the butter and put over a low heat until melted
Remove from the heat add the almonds and sugar and combine well
Tip the mix out into the cake tin and press uniformly into the base using the back of a spoon
Bake the base for 10 minutes, set aside and allow to cool
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the ricotta and caster sugar until smooth
Gently beat the eggs in a measuring jug before adding gradually to the cheese & sugar mix. Stir well after each addition
Mix in the vanilla extract and then the lemon juice
Sift the flour into the mix and combine well
Pour the mixture on to the almond crumb base and bake for a hour
After the hour, turn the oven off and leave the door ajar allowing the cake to cool in the oven
Remove from the oven and sprinkle the toasted flaked almonds over the top
Allow to cool in the tin completely before removing

Keyword almond, cheesecake

Cakes & Bakes: Baked Banana Cheesecake

Our favourite dessert to make for a dinner party is a freshly-baked, light & airy vanilla cheesecake. The recipe we posted, one of Gordon Ramsay‘s, is by far the most popular of our Cakes & Bakes series.

This week, I suggested to Justin that I’d make a baked banana cheesecake for a change. Being a traditionalist, he wasn’t as enthusiastic about the idea as I was. I went ahead and made it anyway – I thought that if it was put in front of him, he’d eat it anyway. And so he did!

The secret to a light & airy banana cheesecake is to whisk the mixture to within an inch of its life. Using an electric food mixer makes the job a lot less laborious. However, doing it by hand with a balloon whisk will burn off a lot more calories and tone up the bingo wings! 🙂

Baked Banana Cheesecake

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Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 15

Ingredients

for the base
150 g/5oz ginger nut biscuits
50 g/2oz butter
25 g/1oz Demerara sugar
for the cake
400 g/14oz cream cheese
125 g/4½oz low fat plain yoghurt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 medium-sized very ripe bananas
180 g/6½oz caster sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas mark 3
Grease a 20cm/8in deep, spring-form cake tin
In a food processor, grind the ginger nut biscuits making sure there are no lumps
In a medium-sized saucepan on a low heat, add the butter & Demerara sugar and stir until the butter is melted and sugar has dissolved
Remove from the heat, add the ground ginger nuts and mix
Put the mixture into the cake tin and press firmly & evenly into the base using the back of a spoon
Put the tin into the fridge while you make the cake mixture
In a food mixer, using the balloon whisk attachment, mix the cream cheese and yoghurt on a high speed setting for 3 minutes until aerated
In the food processor that was used for grinding the ginger nuts (no need to clean it out between the two stages), purée the bananas
Add the banana purée to the cheese & yoghurt mixture and whisk on a low speed for a minute
In a measuring jug, whisk the eggs before adding it to the cake mixture in 2 stages, whisking after each addition
Add the vanilla essence to the mix then add the caster sugar and whisk until well blended, light & airy
Remove the cake tin from the fridge and cover the bottom & sides with a double layer of tin foil
Pour the cake mixture into the tin, over the ginger nut base and place the tin into a deepish baking tray
Add water to the tray, to a level about 1.5cm below the rim
Carefully put the tray containing the cake tin into the oven and bake for 75 minutes
Remove from the oven, take the cake tin out of the water bath and allow to cool for 10 minutes
Remove the cake from the tin, allow to cool for a further 20 minutes before chilling in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: baked cheesecake

Cakes & Bakes: Peanut butter baked cheesecake

Peanut butter baked cheesecake

Ingredients

For the base

For the filling

For the topping

Instructions

For the base

For the filling

For the topping

Cakes & Bakes: Lemon & blueberry cheesecake

Lemon & blueberry cheesecake

Ingredients

for the base

for the filling

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Italian cheesecake with almond crumb base

Italian Cheesecake with almond crumb base

Ingredients

For the base

For the cake

Instructions

Cakes & Bakes: Baked Banana Cheesecake

Baked Banana Cheesecake

Ingredients

Instructions