Monday, April 27, 2009

my first daring bakers challenge - cheesecake!

daring bakers cheesecake

I'm not good at making food pretty. Actually, I’m not all that interested in making food pretty. I understand why people do it, but I just don't care enough. I'm never going to be one of those people who spends hours draping a cake with fondant. I love the idea of it, but it's soon to be devoured! I want the food to taste good, and at the end of the day, that's what matters, right? Plus, most food is pretty on it's own, I think.

Well, for this months Daring Bakers, my first ever challenge, I decided to give it a go The recipe was cheesecake, I LOVE cheesecake, and think it's pretty great on it's own, but this time I actually put in some effort and tried to decorate it.

daring bakers cheescake

We were given a very basic cheesecake recipe and asked to jazz it up a bit. There is this recipe in Baking From my Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan I’d been wanting to try for a while now, but just hadn’t gotten around to it, so I decided to combine the recipes. I used the gingersnap crust, apple cider, cinnamon and brown sugar from that recipe and added them to the recipe given.

daring bakers cheescake

It turned out GREAT. The taste was awesome. My only problem was it had a soggy crust - I’d never done the water bath thing before and I didn’t realize you needed to wrap the bottom of your spring form pan with aluminum foil, I’ll be sure to do that next time.

When it came to decorating, I drew a complete blank. How do you decorate a cheesecake that isn’t fruity or carmel-y or chocolate-y? I couldn’t just throw some berries on top and call it a day.

apples

So I asked on the daring bakers forum and someone mentioned drying some apples in the oven. It was the perfect idea. Sure, it still looks a little “rustic”, but I like it. Plus, the apples tasted really good with the cheesecake, the crunch really added something.

apples

I’m really glad I joined daring bakers, it’s been a ton of fun, and I’ll definitely be making this recipe again.

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.

Here’s the recipe (with my modifications in ( ))


Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake (or Cinnamon-Apple Cider Cheesecake!):

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs (ginger snaps)
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted (1/2 stick)
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar (light brown sugar)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each, room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar (1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar)
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice (3 tbsp. apple cider)
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (2 tsp. vanilla extract)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional (2 tsp ground cinnamon)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

P.S. Don't forget about my giveaway.

50 comments:

  1. I think a lot of times people really over-style their food, in restaurants and on food blogs. Sauces, drizzles, and sprinkles of this and that can get out of hand really easily (been there, done that), and then the plate is too busy, and suddenly it's hard to focus on the dish because of the garnish.
    Simplicity is so much better... your food IS pretty, despite what you might think, and this cheesecake is no exception!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This looks so yummy! I might have to try it once apple season rolls back around.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Charity: I agree! I've edited my post a bit to reflect that better. I just think food is pretty on it's own, I mean, have you ever seen blueberries? those things are gorgeous! haha

    ReplyDelete
  4. So pretty! This looks really delicious. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. i haven't been daring enough to join db...but someday i think i'll take the leap. your cheesecake looks fantastic.

    ...and about fondant, i think it's over rated. that may be because it always gives me grief :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looks pretty to me. Congratulations on your first challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  7. It looks beautiful! You have nothing to worry about. I also joined DBC in april and I can safely say, my cheesecake is not even compared to yours. Yours looks so lovely! For the soggy crust, instead of putting it in a waterbath, place the pan with the water in it in the bottom rack and your cheesecake on the middle rack. It should do the trick. Anyway, great first challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Welcome to DB! I must admit, I'm more for edible than pretty, but yours is definitely both. Awesome job!

    ReplyDelete
  9. It came out so beautiful! The dried apples really give it that 'ole barrel of cider' rustic look, and your photography really brings it out! Fantastic job!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think your cheesecake is beautiful! I have a hard time with styling too, and I get so frustrated sometimes about needing that "perfect" picture for the blog. I have a two year old who just wants to eat her food, not watch mommy garnish it and take pictures of it!

    ReplyDelete
  11. oh WOW. the photos and recipe are incredible. when Autumn comes back around, this will be a fantastic use for the bushels we collect!

    cheers,

    *heather*

    ReplyDelete
  12. that is really *really* pretty♥ i would have never thought of dried apples and cheesecake, but girl it works!

    ReplyDelete
  13. You did a great job decorating it! Actually, before I even started reading the post I was thinking, "Wow that looks so pretty!"

    :D

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's a beauty! Nicely done.

    And, thank you for your kind words last week. I really appreciated it.

    ReplyDelete
  15. what do you mean you don't like to make your food pretty? your cheesecake looks stunning! Love the flavour combo too. Very enticing

    ReplyDelete
  16. Mmm, your cheesecake looks amazing!! Congrats on your first challenge =D

    ReplyDelete
  17. I totally agree with you about the decorating of food. I love looking at it when others do it, but I'd rather just plop it on a plate & eat it. Hubby, on the other hand, loves the "plating" of food. Your cheesecake looks great & the gingersnap crust sounds delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I LOVE the rustic feel of your cheesecake, and had never considered apple cider as an idea. It sounds delicious. Welcome to the Daring Bakers, and thanks for being a part of the challenge.

    Jenny of JennyBaeks

    ReplyDelete
  19. Congratulations, that cake simply looks delicious. I'm going to try that out for sure. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  20. "I am very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation t hat's at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this best posting."traveltims |

    travelredsea |

    phototravels |

    traveldomain |

    denver-travel |

    zesttravel |

    mytraveldna |

    texastravelfreedom |

    foodietravel |

    socaltravelsurvey |

    ReplyDelete
  21. Delicious looking! My brother is home in another week and I think I'll make this for him. barcelona seo service

    ReplyDelete
  22. I would like to make this dish and will eat with my family. backgammon

    ReplyDelete
  23. It is excellent! Advertised shows me personally where you should blossom my own weblog. barcelona seo

    ReplyDelete
  24. I think I will try this one out, but maybe with a little coffee added in? seo services

    ReplyDelete
  25. There is obviously a lot to know about this. I think you made some good points in Features also. Keep working, great job! quality backlinks

    ReplyDelete
  26. it should be delicious for everyone.I would like to make this dish and will eat with my family. quality backlinks

    ReplyDelete
  27. It really shows me where to expand my blog. I think that sometime in the future I might try to write a book to go along with my blog. Boca Raton CPA

    ReplyDelete
  28. so it should be delicious for everyone.I would like to make this dish and will eat with my family 60 second panic solution

    ReplyDelete
  29. Useful articles I would recomendasikan to a friend. I have a women's health information please visit: deer hunter 2014

    ReplyDelete
  30. The violent demolition of people's houses and other phenomenon which show these kind of principles aren't yet widely respected. SEO Conference

    ReplyDelete
  31. I think that sometime in the future I might try to write a book to go along with my blog dota 2 hack key

    ReplyDelete
  32. I think that sometime in the future I might try to write a book to go along with my blog. SEO in cheap

    ReplyDelete
  33. I want to share some specific information, may be received here web design company in miami

    ReplyDelete
  34. I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff of your blog a must read blog. miami web design company

    ReplyDelete
  35. I see you got really very useful topics , i will be always checking your blog thanks high pr links

    ReplyDelete
  36. I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. seo spain

    ReplyDelete
  37. It's hard to tell with these Internet startups if they're really interested in building companies cheap seo in barcelona

    ReplyDelete
  38. Add your name to this list by taking the last drink out of Jameson bottle boca house movers

    ReplyDelete
  39. I found your website perfect for my needs. It contains wonderful and helpful posts. Keep up the good work! miami CPA

    ReplyDelete
  40. I was searching for something like that for quite a long time and at last I have found it here easy house movers

    ReplyDelete
  41. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. CPA boca raton

    ReplyDelete
  42. I have been looking around the internet for something of valuable information and finally found this post that caught my attentioneasy house movers

    ReplyDelete
  43. You all do an incredible blog, and have some extraordinary substance. Keep doing awesome high pr backlinks

    ReplyDelete
  44. We can dabble, we can experiment. We can try out being unlikable and selfish, and it won't get us kicked out of the family boca house movers

    ReplyDelete
  45. I have never visited any site about mad ud af huset like this. I would like to bookmark this link and share to all my friend as well boca house movers

    ReplyDelete
  46. The sale we will recommend a solicitor who can take care of the paperwork. bubblegum casting

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.