Double Chocolate Cheesecake

A lot of people think cheesecake must be really difficult to make. I think this is because it is so rich, and because it costs so much to buy just a single slice of cheesecake. But, actually, cheesecake is a very easy dessert to make. (I should quit telling people how easy it is to make my recipes, and just open up shop somewhere!)

When I first made this double chocolate cheesecake, I wondered if the white chocolate would make a difference—there's so much more cream cheese than chocolate. But you really can taste the white chocolate and it's delightful.

Perhaps in tribute to my absolute favorite part of this recipe, it should be called Triple Chocolate Cheesecake. Because the chocolate-hazelnut crust is a different chocolate flavor from the cake itself, or the ganache topping. And this crust is to - die - for! Seriously, I could just spoon it up and eat it by itself. (Or it could make a really nice ice-cream topping.)

In the photo, my cake is topped with white chocolate curls, which made it look very elegant. I'm not telling you how to make them though, because it would be a very lengthy explanation. I'll bet you could find directions online somewhere if you tried.

DOUBLE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

CRUST:
2 cups Nabisco Famous Wafer crumbs
1 cup hazelnuts, toasted
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

FILLING:
10 oz. white chocolate

4 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. sugar
5 large eggs
5 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream
5 Tbsp. sour cream
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

GANACHE TOPPING:
12 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped (no pieces bigger than 1/4-inch)
1 cup heavy cream

Line the bottom of a 9 to 10-inch springform pan with foil; tuck foil underneath pan bottom, assemble pan, then tighten the foil up the sides of the pan. Cut a circle of parchment paper, the size of the pan bottom, and place in the bottom of the pan. Spray lightly with cooking spray.

For the crust: In food processor, blend crumbs, nuts and sugar until hazelnuts are ground fine. Add butter and combine well. Press into bottom and halfway up sides of prepared pan. Bake at 325-degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

For the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the flour and the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate; stir until smooth. In a slow stream, add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture, beating, until filling is well combined.

Pour the cream cheese mixture into the crust. Place the cheesecake into a roasting pan [actually I use my deep-dish pizza pan]. Set the roasting pan in the oven and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the outside of the springform pan. Bake for about one hour--until a thin knife comes out pretty darn clean. Turn off the heat and keep the oven door ajar, leaving the cake in the oven for one more hour.
Remove the pan from the water bath and fold the foil down away from the sides of the pan. Place on a cooling rack and let cake cool to room temperature.
Now you can put it into the fridge.

For the topping: Place the chocolate pieces in a medium, heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream in a small saucepan over medium heat, but do not let it boil. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chocolate pieces. Tap the bowl on the counter to settle the cream into the chocolate, then let it sit for 1 minute. Using a rubber spatula, slowly stir, being careful not to incorporate a lot of air into the ganache. Stir until all the chocolate is melted, about 2 minutes.
Let the ganache cool--so it's cool to touch, but not set-up.
Do not remove the sides from the springform pan until the cake is topped, and the ganache has a chance to set up!
Pour ganache over the top of the cooled cheesecake; spread evenly.
Refrigerate until the topping is set (give it a couple of hours), then remove the springform sides. Return to refrigerator until 1/2 to 1-hour before serving.

Thoroughly decadent!

Raspberry Trifle

OK. You could probably make this with a cake mix and instant pudding. But that’s just not as cool.

So this recipe actually involves a series of recipes (see below). And you really could use any kind of fruit—I think pineapple would be great, or strawberries, or blueberries, bananas, blackberries . . . But the raspberries were really delicious, and they made it look very pretty, too.

RASPBERRY TRIFLE

1 recipe Sour Cream-Vanilla Pudding
1 recipe Raspberry Puree
1 recipe Sponge Sheet Cake
3 cups fresh raspberries
lightly sweetened, freshly whipped cream

To assemble the trifle: Cut cake into approximately 2-inch squares. Cover bottom of trifle bowl with cake pieces. Tuck 2-3 fresh raspberries between outer cake squares; scatter some more berries over center (use about 1 cup berries). Spread 1/3 of raspberry puree over center. Cover all with 1/3 of Sour Cream-Vanilla Pudding. Repeat two more times. Before serving, top with whipped cream.


SOUR CREAM-VANILLA PUDDING

5½ Tbsp. cornstarch
1⅛ cup sugar
⅛ tsp. salt
6-7 large egg yolks
4¼ cups whole milk
vanilla, to taste (1-2 tsp.)
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter (1 stick)
1½ cups sour cream

Mix cornstarch, sugar and salt together in a medium saucepan. Whisk in egg yolks and in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened. [Do not let it boil.] Remove from heat and add vanilla and butter; stir until butter is melted and completely incorporated. Cover closely with plastic, and let cool to room temperature. Mix in sour cream. Refrigerate, closely covered, until ready to use.



SPONGE SHEET CAKE

6 large eggs, separated and brought to room temperature
½ tsp. cream of tartar
½ tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. sugar
½ cup sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. almond extract (optional; but if you don’t use it, increase the vanilla to 1 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. hot water
1 cup cake flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease a jelly-roll pan; line pan bottom with waxed paper, allowing 1-inch overhang on each end. Do not grease paper.
In a large bowl, whip egg whites at medium speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt, increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat to soft peaks. Slowly sprinkle on 3 Tbsp. sugar; continue to beat until whites are shiny and thick, 3-4 minutes. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix egg yolks, vanilla and hot water; beat at high speed 1 minute. Slowly add ½ cup sugar; beat until mixture is pale, shiny and almost as thick as marshmallow cream—4-5 minutes longer.
Scrape yolk mixture over egg whites; gently fold with rubber spatula until about 2/3 mixed. Sift flour over egg mixture; gently fold until flour is completely incorporated. Spread batter in prepared pan, smoothing top with rubber spatula. Bake until lightly browned and center springs back when gently pressed, about 12-15 minutes.
Immediately after baking, free the cake edges from the pan sides with a knife and smooth a sheet of waxed paper over the cake top. Place another sheet pan or cookie sheet on top of the cake. Flip over as shown, then lift off the baking pan. Let the cake cool completely, then gently peel the waxed paper off the cake bottom, removing the bottom crust. Flip the cake top side up, then peel off the second sheet of waxed paper, removing the top crust. (Can be wrapped in plastic, then in foil and refrigerated for 1 day).

RASPBERRY PUREE
Sounds kind of like “Raspberry Beret.” But I don’t really know that song.

2 cups frozen raspberries, thawed
3-4 Tbsp. sugar

Puree berries and sugar in blender or food processor. Strain through fine sieve, pressing on solids to release juice; discard seeds. (Can be covered and refrigerated 1 day.)

Now that all the ingredients are made, you can assemble the trifle, as described at the very beginning of this post. :-)

Angel Food Cake

1 cup cake flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups egg whites (about 9 to 12), room temperature
7/8 cup white (granulated) sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. lemon extract (optional)

Sift cake flour with powdered sugar; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine egg whites with salt, cream of tartar and extracts. Beat at high speed until foamy; continue beating at high speed, gradually adding granulated sugar 1/8 cup at a time. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of flour mixture, stirring 15 strokes (by hand) with a rubber spatula in an over-under motion. Rotate bowl 1/4 turn; add 1/4 cup flour and continue mixing and rotating bowl in the same way. After all the flour is mixed in, fold an additional 10 strokes; flour mixture should be completely blended into egg whites. Gently pour batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan. Cut through the batter twice (to remove any air pockets) then spread evenly until it is smooth on top and touches the sides.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from oven and turn pan upside-down over the neck of a bottle; let cake cool completely. Carefully loosen the cake from the pan with a knife; remove from pan. Serve with fruit and cream or your favorite sauce or glaze.

Heavenly!