Cheesecake | Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Tag: Cheesecake

Eggnog Cheese Cake with Cranberry-Cherry Topping

Posted at 9:23 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Dec 5th

Who doesn’t love cheesecake? That rich, creamy taste savored with each bite, a sweet treat that is the perfect finish for any meal! The variety and texture of cheesecakes are endless. Cheesecake can be very dense and heavy or light and fluffy. You can use graham crackers, chocolate cookies, or pastry for the crust and fill it with your favorite recipe. I guess you can tell I love making all types of cheesecakes. Also, flavorings and toppings are endless to create wonderfully tasty cakes for special occasions.

At Christmas, I like to make an Eggnog cheesecake topped with cranberries and cherry preserves for a festive dessert table.
I like this recipe because it is light with a baking method that ensures the cheesecake doesn’t crack. I made either a fruit topping, or if you prefer, you can make a whipped cream topping sprinkled with sparkly candied crystals.

CRUST

2 ¼ cups (302g) graham cracker crumbs

½ cup (112g) salted butter, melted

3 tbsp (39g) sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

FILLING

24 ounces (678g) cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup (207g) sugar

3 tbsp (24g) all purpose flour

1 cup (230g) eggnog

3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

4 large eggs, room temperature

TOPPING

1 12-ounce jar cherry preserves

1 cup cranberries

1 tablespoon brandy or rum

CRUST

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in. Set prepared pan aside.

CHEESECAKE FILLING

Reduce oven to 300°F (148°C).
In a large mixer bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar,

and flour until well combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Add the eggnog and nutmeg and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
Pour the cheesecake filling into crust and spread evenly.

Place springform pan (covered with aluminum foil) inside another larger pan. Fill the larger pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
Bake for 1 hour and 30-40 minutes.

Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 30 minutes.

Crack the oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Remove cheesecake from oven and chill until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight

TOPPING

Cook and stir cherry preserves and cranberries in a small saucepan over medium heat until preserves are melted and cranberries start to pop. Stir in 1 tablespoon of brandy or rum. Cool for 30 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the pan. Spoon topping over prepared cheesecake. Refrigerate the cheesecake until ready to serve. Cheesecake is best for 3-4 days.

Enjoy!

Posted in Baking, Cake, Christmas, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, desserts, Elegant, entertaining, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Holiday Celebrations | Tagged Cheesecake, Cherries, Christmas Dessert, Cranberries

The Ultimate Cheesecake

Posted at 12:31 pm by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Mar 5th

My mother passed this recipe to me many years ago. It is the richest cheesecake that you can make. I save it for special occasions when I want to share a show stopping dessert that tops off a dinner or a party. I have included a recipe for a pineapple glaze, or you can thickly spread sour cream on top. Or if you want to make this for Christmas as I did this year I put candied cranberries on top. Ether way this cheesecake is the star of the show!

Crust:

1 cup sifted flour, King Arthur Flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup butter, softened

Filling:

5 pkg.(8-oz) cream cheese softened, Philadelphia cream cheese

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 1/2 grated orange peel

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

1/4 cup heavy cream

Pineapple Glaze:

2 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoon cornstarch

2 cans(8 1/4-oz) crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, undrained

2 tablespoon lemon juice

Sugared cranberries

2 cups fresh cranberries

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

1 cup water

Crust:

Preheat over to 400F. Grease the inside of 9-inch springform pan(3 inches high). Remove side. Make crust: In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, lemon, peel, vanilla. Make well in center; with fork, blend in yolk and butter. Mix with fingertips until smooth. Form half of dough into a ball and place on bottom of springform pan. Place wax paper on top; roll pastry to edge of pan. Remove paper. Bake 6 to ;8 minutes or until golden. Cool. Meanwhile divide rest of dough into three parts. Between waxed paper roll each part 2 1/4 inch wide and 9 inch long. Assemble springform pan with the crust on the bottom. Line sides fo the pan with pastry strips, over lapping ends. Remove waxed paper. Preheat oven 450F.

Filling: In large mixer bowl, blend cheese, sugar, flour, peels and vanilla at high speed. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time: beat until smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with spatula. Beat in cream. Pour into pan. Bake 10 minutes. Lower oven to 250F. Bake 1 hour longer. Remove pan to rack to cool, 2 hours. Make glaze.

Glaze: In small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in remaining ingredients. Over medium heat, bring to boiling, stirring; boil 1 minute, or until thickened and translucent. Cool.

Spread surface of cheese cake with glaze; refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

Sugared Cranberries: Bring 1 cup sugar and water to a simmer in a saucepan. Simmer until sugar is completely dissolved. Pour simple syrup into a heatproof bowl and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Add cranberries and stir to coat. Refrigerate cranberries in syrup overnight, stirred a couple times to coat with syrup.

Remove cranberries from syrup and roll in remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. You’ll need to roll them a few times to get a couple layers of sugar on them.

Set cranberries aside to dry for a hour or so.

To serve: Loosen pastry fro side of pan with spatula. Remove sides of springform pan. Top with either Pineapple glaze or sugared cranberries. Serves 16

Posted in Baking, Baking, Cake, Dessert, Elegant, entertaining, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen | Tagged Cheesecake, Christmas, Cranberries, King Arthur Flour, Philadelphia cream cheese

Good Dinner Mrs Mellen