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Zephyros -> RE: =Story and Dev= Move along folks, there is nothing to see here... (3/31/2010 0:32:34)
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Wellllllllllll... I suppose I could be persuaded to share a recipe from my own files too, since I've got plenty of time on my hands and all. I'll go a little different direction than Falerin.
I derived this recipe from another one I found on the internets. (That's how I tend to operate when cooking -- find a good starting point and then do my own thing with it.) And so...
Black Forest Berry Patch Cheesecake
Crust
* 1 3/4 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (In a pinch, you can probably substitute Oreo cookies -- just the cookies, with the frosting scraped off! Trust me on this one, the results aren't pretty.)
* 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 7 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake
* 3 pounds cream cheese, softened
* 1 1/2 cups raw sugar
* 1 teaspoon almond extract
* 2 tablespoons vanilla bean paste
* 3 whole large eggs
* 2 egg yolks
* 1/2 cup mixed berry preserves
Berry Topping
* 1 pound bag of frozen mixed berries, thawed
* 1/2 cup mixed berry preserves
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon cold water
Ganache
* 4 ounces premium dark chocolate
* 2 1/2 ounces heavy cream
Garnish
* Slivered, toasted almonds or shaved dark chocolate
The prep for this one takes two evenings, but it's worth it.
Evening 1
* Preheat oven to 375F.
* Place chocolate crumbs, espresso powder, and sugar in food processor. Start processing, and drizzle butter through the feed tube. Mix thoroughly until the texture of damp sand is achieved.
* Dump mixture into the center of a 10-inch nonstick springform pan. Pat into an even layer on the bottom and about 1/3 of the way up the side. Don't worry if it's slightly uneven/ragged at the top.
* Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (10 in a convection oven). Remove and allow to cool thoroughly.
* Turn the oven temperature down to 300F. Put a pan of water in the bottom of the oven -- this will create a warm steamy environment for baking the cheesecake without baking it IN a water bath.
* Beat together the cream cheese and sugar in a heavy-duty mixer until thoroughly combined and fluffy. Add almond extract and vanilla bean paste, and beat well to combine.
* Whisk together the eggs and egg yolks until they are thoroughly combined and lighten in color somewhat. Add to cheese batter and beat well to combine. (This will also add some air to the batter.)
* Scrape half of the batter over the cooled crust. Spoon wild berry preserves onto the batter and swirl with a table knife. Scrape the rest of the batter into the pan and smooth so it is even.
* Place on the center rack and bake at 300F for 1 hour 15 minutes (50 minutes to 1 hour in a convection oven).
* Remove from oven when done and cool on a wire rack to room temperature -- cake will be set around the edges but somewhat jiggly in the middle, which will be cooked and set by the residual heat.
* Wrap pan in foil and refrigerate for at least 10 hours or until completely cold.
* While the cheesecake is baking, make the topping -- put the berries, preserves, concentrate, almond extract, and sugar into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, until the preserves melt and some juice is released by the berries.
* Add the cornstarch and water and stir until the liquid thickens. Remove from heat immediately, put the contents of the pan into a covered container and chill completely.
Evening 2
* Finely grate the chocolate (for the ganache) in a food processor or by hand and put into a heat-proof bowl (i.e. glass).
* Heat the cream to a boil, stirring constantly, and pour over the chocolate until it melts and combines thoroughly. (Mm, ganache. This is similar to the stuff that goes in chocolate truffles -- one of my specialties.)
* Remove the cheesecake from the fridge -- the center of the cake should have shrunken slightly as it cooled, leaving a raised rim all around.
* Allow the ganache to cool slightly. It should be thick but pourable, and cool enough that it won't melt the top of the cheesecake. Pour the ganache into the center of the cheesecake and smooth it, leaving the rim plain and uncovered.
* Put the cheesecake back into the fridge, uncovered, for about a half hour or until the ganache is mostly set.
* Take the cheesecake back out and spoon the wild berries over the ganache, covering it completely, and sprinkle toasted almond slices or shaved chocolate over the edge, leaving the cheesecake rim bare.
* Chill until serving time.
This is what it looks like. It's thick and rich and incredible. You only need a tiny slice.
[image]http://i100.photobucket.com/albums/m37/westwind429/Food/BlackForestBerryPatchCheesecake.jpg[/image]
"Because too much is always better than not enough." ~ J. R. "Bob" Dobbs
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