It's National Cheesecake Day. While restaurants often receive most of the of attention for their deals on the dessert (Check out Nedra Rhone's Bargain Hunter blog for cheesecake deals from Copeland's and Cheesecake Factory) we combed our archives for some interesting cheesecake recipes.
The blog Foodimentary cites some of the different approaches to cheesecake:
Here are some recipes that you can try at home.
FANCY:
Goat Cheese Cheesecake With Bing Cherries
Hands on: 40 minutes Total time: 1 hour, 50 minutes Serves: 10 (one cake)
This creamy, luscious cheesecake is adapted from Tish Boyle’s “The Cake Book” (John Wiley &Sons, $39.95). Unlike a lot of other cheesecakes made with goat cheese, it isn’t overly tangy but has a deep, rich cheese flavor that pairs well with sweet cherries. Use a 9-by-3-inch cake pan with straight sides if you don’t have a springform pan, and be sure to let the cake rest for at least 4 hours before turning it out.
Honey Graham Crust
1¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-by-3-inch springform pan or an 8-by-3-inch cake pan. In a medium bowl, toss together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until well blended. Pat the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Set the crust aside to cool. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees.
Goat Cheese Filling
1 pound cream cheese, cold but not firm
8 ounces Belle Chevre goat cheese
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and goat cheese together at medium-low speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar and mix at medium speed until well blended. Mix in the honey. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between each addition. Add the lemon zest, vanilla extract and sour cream and mix until combined. Remove bowl from the mixer stand and stir the batter a few times to blend fully.
Pour the batter over the cooled crust. Place the pan into a large roasting pan or cake pan that is at least 2 inches larger in diameter. Pour enough warm water into the cake pan to come to 1½ inches up the side of the cheesecake pan, creating a water bath. Bake the cake in the water bath at 300 degrees for 70 minutes.
Remove cake from the oven, remove from the water bath and let cool completely.
Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours.
Remove the sides of the springform pan, or heat the cake pan on the sides only with warm water and turn the cake out onto a cardboard cake circle, and then invert the cake immediately onto a serving platter.
Top with Bing cherry topping.
Bing Cherry Topping
2 cups (about 10 ounces) frozen Bing cherries
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
¼ cup orange juice
In a large saucepan, place the Bing cherries, including all juice, over low heat. In a small bowl, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add the orange juice and mix, creating a slurry, until smooth. Bring the heat to high, and cook the cherries in their juice until the juice begins to bubble. Stir in the orange juice mixture and stir gently (without breaking the cherries) until the mixture bubbles again. Cook for 1 minute, or until the juice is clear, not cloudy. Remove from heat and spread over goat cheese cheesecake.
Per serving (based on 10): 580 calories (percent of calories from fat, 56), 15 grams protein, 51 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 36 grams fat (22 grams saturated), 181 milligrams cholesterol, 318 milligrams sodium.
FOR THE KIDS
Trefoils Cheesecake Cups
Make and take: Make the cheesecake filling up to 24 hours in advance of serving. Assemble and serve.
Made famous by: Little Brownie Bakers, a baker of Girl Scout cookies for more than 25 years, came up with this convenient use for your "leftover" Trefoils cookies. What, no leftovers? This month, you can buy Girl Scout cookies at more than 1,000 sales booths in the metro area. To locate a sales booth near you, go to www.girlscoutsnwga.org.
Tip: Make this dessert in individual cups, or assemble it in a trifle serving dish or a large glass bowl.
8 servings
Hands on: 10 minutes
Total time: 10 minutes
1 (10-ounce) box Trefoils Girl Scout cookies
1 (3.4-ounce) package instant cheesecake pudding mix
1 3/4 cups milk
12 ounces whipped cream cheese
1 pound (2 pints) strawberries, sliced
Chocolate syrup
Set aside 16 Trefoils cookies for garnish. Crush remaining cookies.
With an electric mixer, combine the pudding mix, milk and whipped cream cheese until smooth and creamy. In 8 individual serving dishes or in 1 large serving bowl, sprinkle half the crushed cookie crumbs. Top with 1/3 of the strawberries. Top with 1/2 the pudding mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 of the cookie crumbs, then top with another 1/3 of the strawberries and the remaining pudding. Drizzle with chocolate syrup. Garnish with remaining strawberries and reserved whole cookies.
Per serving: 379 calories (percent of calories from fat, 50), 5 grams protein, 43 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 21 grams fat (13 grams saturated), 55 milligrams cholesterol, 504 milligrams sodium.
FROM OUR RESTAURANT ARCHIVES: (The Public House, formerly in Roswell
