Peach Cheesecake

Ingredients

Base

1 1/2 cup digestive biscuits

1 cup almonds, toasted

1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine ingredients. Press mixture evenly over bottom and up sides of 8 or 9-inch springform pan.  Put in the refrigerator to chill.

Filling:

200 gms cream cheese

300 gms cream

200 ml pureed peaches

2 tbsp rum [optional]

1/2 cup sugar, powdered

1 tin peaches

5 tsp gelatin

Sprinkle gelatin over the peach juice from the tin and set aside to bloom for at least 15 min.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar.  Add in the pureed peaches

Place the gelatin pineapple mix over low heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves. 

Gradually beat hot gelatin mixture into cheese mix

In medium bowl, beat cream until fluffy. 

Fold into cheese mixture, until well blended. 

Cut up 2 slices of peaches into small bits, and fold into the mix.

Pour over the crust and Refrigerate at least 6 hours.

Serve with Sliced peaches on top

Caramel Cheesecake

Salty Caramel over a baked cheesecake - perfection

Ingredients

1 cup crushed digestive biscuits
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
4 Tbsp salted butter, melted
400 gms cream cheese, softened - Britannia has a new cheese
3/4 cup castor sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy cream

Salted Caramel Sauce - click for recipe

Directions

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. 

In a mixing bowl, mix together crushed graham crackers with granulated sugar. 

Pour in melted butter and stir mixture until evenly coated. 

Put the mixture in a cheesecake tin.  Press mixture into an even layer. 

Bake in preheated oven 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool while preparing filling.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together castor sugar with flour until well blended. 

Add softened cream cheese to a separate mixing bowl and mix sugar mixture over top. 

Blend mixture on low speed until smooth. 

Mix in eggs one at a time and blend on low speed, while scrapping sides and bottom of bowl and mixing just until combined after each addition. 

Add vanilla, sour cream and heavy cream and mix just until combined. 

Put mixture on top of baked crust. 

Bake in preheated oven 20 - 23 minutes, centers should still jiggle slightly, don't overbake (if they begin to crack they are starting to become overbaked). 

Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 hour. 

Cover loosely with plastic wrap and transfer to refrigerator and chill 2 hours. 

Once chilled top with Salted Caramel Sauce

Pina Colada Cheesecake

Weekends are funnily busier than weekdays, but I still managed to sneak in some cooking.

I have been wanting to try out a boozy cheesecake - after going through my recipes I narrowed down to a Margherita Cheesecake.  Very happily I go to the bar and yikes.....where is the tequila ?  All I see in an empty bottle :(

Since I was determined to make something I quickly switched to my second option, a Pina Colada Cheesecake.

I love coconut and pineapple so it was not really a bad second choice.  Honestly it should have been my first.

I used the digestive biscuits to make the base [no coconut macaroons in the house] and added in some coconut instead.  For the filling I made the cheesecake using coconut cream, rum, regular whipping cream, pineapple juice and pineapple chunks.  And the topping was pineapple.  The since I felt it looked very plain I caramalised the pineapple and topped it with the same.

All in all it was a good dessert, a true representation of the drink without going overboard on the alcohol.  And yes it can be made minus the alcohol also.

Recipe

Crust:
1 1/2 cup digestive biscuits
1 cup flaked coconut, toasted
1/3 cup butter, melted

Combine ingredients. Press mixture evenly over bottom and up sides of 8 or 9-inch springform pan.  Put in the refrigerator to chill.

Filling:

200 gms cream cheese

300 gms cream

200 ml coconut milk

2 tbsp rum [optional]

1/2 cup sugar, powdered

1 tin pineapple slices

5 tsp gelatin

From the pineapple tin, use the juice, adding water if required to make it one cup

Sprinkle gelatin over the pineapple juice and set aside to bloom for at least 15 min.

In a large bowl beat cream cheese and sugar.  

Mix in the coconut milk and rum to blend well

Place the gelatin pineapple mix over low heat, stirring until gelatin dissolves. 

Gradually beat hot gelatin mixture into cheese mix

In medium bowl, beat cream until fluffy. 

Fold into cheese mixture, until well blended. 

Cut up 2 slices of pineapple into small bits, and fold into the mix.

Pour over the crust and Refrigerate at least 6 hours.

Pour on the pineapple toffee topping and serve.

Topping

1 can pineapple slices

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp water

1 tbsp butter

Heat the sugar and water on low till sugar melts

Stir in the butter and let it boil to a good caramel colour

Add the pineapple slices to coat well

Chocolate Nutella Cheesecake

Do you like Cheesecake ???  And do you like Nutella ?? If yes then this is an absolute gem of a dessert as it combines both.

What I liked about it was that it came together in a real short time with not much effort as its a no bake cheesecake and super easy.  

I should probably mention there’s lots of rum involved too.  

So forget the diet and grab a spoon!

This is a great cheesecake I want to make a fabulous quick dessert and don’t have time or energy for springform pans, water baths, ovens, etc.  You know what I mean?  

Layer your dish with cookie crumbs mixed with melted butter.  I used Digestive biscuits but you could use chocolate also.  If you use a flat dish you could just layer the base with oreo cookies.

For the Nutella Ganache, 

Using a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup [100 gms] cream [I used Amul] up to a boil and remove from heat.  Pour over 150 gms chopped chocolate and whisk till smooth. Stir in about 5 generous tablespoons of Nutella. 

Spoon 2 Tbsp. ganache in each parfait glass and refrigerate to set.

For the Cheesecake layer,  using a hand blender,  beat 200 gms cream cheese [I used Kwark from Flanders but Amul plain cheese spread works fine] and about 1/4 cup or 30 gms of  powdered sugar on medium speed till smooth. 

Add 170 gms of Nutella and continue mixing.

Stir in 200 gms mascarpone and mix till combined.

Mix in 1/4 cup of dark rum

Separately whip 1 cup cream [I used Riches], vanilla extract and 1/4 cup powdered sugar till stiff.

Gently fold into the cheesecake till everything is combined.

Fill parfait glasses with cheesecake filling and leave for 1/2 an hour to set.

Garnish with flaked Almonds

Oreo Cookie Mini Cheese Cake

I seem to have spent quite some time on the internet chatting with new found friends at CAL.  The inspiration to go into the kitchen again comes from all that talk of food and the inspiration for making mini cheesecakes came from the wonderful Norpro Mini Cheesecake Pan I saw and have to buy

Very soon Monish is going to throw me out of office as I dont seem to work - Hate to confess I am waiting for him to do that :)

My kids love Oreo and cheesecakes - so it had be a combination of both.

This can be made in a regular 9" springform pan also.

Ingredients

CRUST
10 oreo cookies
5 tablespoon butter(melted)

CHEESECAKE
2 cups heavy cream - I use Rich's
200 gms cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice

5 Oreo Cookies, crushed

Directions:

BASE
Separate the cookies, remove the vanilla filling, and crush to a rough powder

Add melted butter and blend until combined.  Press into pan. Set aside.

FILLING  
Beat heavy cream until medium peaks form. Set aside.

Add Oreo cookie vanilla filling, cream cheese, sugar, salt, &, lemon juice to a bowl and beat with a hand mixer until smooth (approximately 3-5 mins). 

Add cream cheese mixture to heavy cream and mix until incorporated.

Gently fold in crushed Oreo cookies.

Pour over the base and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to set or overnight for best results.

Remove from refrigerator and smooth top to level with edges. Serve garnished with halved Oreos.

Rum and Raisin Cheesecake

What you need

1 1/2 cups chocolate biscuit crumbs

100g butter, melted

1 cup raisins

1/4 cup dark rum

500 gm Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup rum

3/4 cup caster sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

300g sour cream

1/4 cup caster sugar

4 tbsp gelatin + 1/4 cup water

100 gms melted chocolate

To make it

COMBINE biscuit crumbs and butter then press into a greased 8" springform pan; chill.

Soak the raisins in the dark rum and keep aside.

BEAT the cream cheese and sugar using an electric mixer until smooth. Add rum and vanilla beat until smooth. Mix in sour cream until well combined. 

Soak the gelatin in water and heat on low to melt. Mix into the cheese cream mixture.

Drain raisins and fold into mixture.

Separate the mix into 2 parts. Mix in the melted chocolate in one part, keeping the other white.

Pour the white mix over the biscuit base and keep to set for 10 min. Once slightly firm pour the choc mix over the white base.

Keep to set for at least 6 hours before serving.

Decorate as desired