Strawberry Coconut Cheesecake
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Crust
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, divided
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut,* toasted, cooled
1/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Line pan with parchment paper; lightly brush paper with some of melted butter. Blend crumbs, coconut, sugar, and remaining butter in medium bowl. Press mixture over bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until lightly browned at edges, about 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
Filling
3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons cornstarch
4 large eggs
1 cup canned sweetened cream of coconut (such as Coco López; available in the liquor section of most supermarkets)
1/4 cup coconut rum (such as Malibu)
Using electric mixer, beat first 4 ingredients in large bowl until blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in cream of coconut and rum. Pour batter over crust. Place cake pan in large roasting pan. Add enough water to roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of cake pan. Cover roasting pan with foil.
Bake cake 1 hour. Remove foil. Bake until cake is pale brown, puffed, and just set in center, about 40 minutes. Cool cake in water bath 2 hours. Remove from water; run knife around cake to loosen. Chill cake in pan 3 hours. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place cake in oven 2 minutes. Remove from oven. Place sheet of foil, then 10-inch-diameter cardboard round or tart pan bottom on top of cake. Turn pan over. Shake gently, allowing cake to settle onto foil and round. Remove pan and parchment. Place platter atop cake and turn cake right side up onto platter. Remove round and foil.
Topping
1/4 cup seedless strawberry jam
2 tablespoons water
3 1-pint containers strawberries, stemmed, sliced
Simmer jam and 2 tablespoons water in small saucepan. Brush top of cake with warm jam. Overlap berries atop cake, covering completely. Brush remaining jam over berries; chill. (Can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead.)
Cooks' notes:
Since this cheesecake needs to chill for several hours, it's easiest to bake it a day ahead of time.
Baking cheesecake in the gentle, even heat of a water bath (bain-marie) ensures a uniform texture.
(Recipe from Bon Appétit.)
Lemon Marble Cheesecake
Yield: 10 to 12 servings
Lemon curd:
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1/3 cup strained lemon juice
5 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine the lemon zest, juice, and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile beat the egg until light in a small bowl. Beat some of the hot lemon mixture into the egg. Scrape the egg mixture back into the saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly and reaching all over the bottom and sides of the pan, until the mixture barely starts to simmer around the edges. Continue to cook and stir for about 15 seconds. Pour through a strainer set over a clean bowl. Stir in the vanilla. Cool to room temperature.
Cheesecake:
1 cup sugar
2 cups (2 percent) lowfat small curd cottage cheese, drained at least 30 minutes in a strainer set over a bowl in the refrigerator
8 ounces Neufchatel Cream Cheese
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon strained lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 to 4 tablespoons graham cracker or Zwieback crumbs or crushed Chocolate Cookies or gingersnaps
Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Place a round of parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pan and spray sides of pan with vegetable oil spray. Put water kettle on to boil for baking procedure.
Process the cottage cheese in a food processor for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until silky smooth, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Set aside.
In a small microwave safe bowl, soften the Neufchatel cheese in microwave on high for about 30 seconds. Or, warm gently in the top of a double boiler. Stir until smooth. Scrape into the processor. Add the eggs, remaining sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt. Pulse until incorporated and perfectly smooth. Do not over process.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Distribute slightly rounded tablespoons of lemon curd evenly over the cheesecake batter. Using a table knife or teaspoon, use circular strokes to marble the batters until nicely but not to completely mingled.
Slide oven rack part way out. Place cheesecake pan in baking dish or skillet and set on oven rack. Carefully pour boiling water around the pan to a depth of about 1-inch. Slide oven rack in gently to avoid sloshing. Bake until cheesecake has puffed and risen slightly and is just beginning to shrink from the edges of the pan, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove cheesecake from water bath and cool on a rack. When completely cool, cover and chill for at least 12 hours or up to 2 days before serving.
To unmold and serve: Cover the pan with tightly stretched plastic wrap. Place a flat dish on top of plastic. Invert pan and dish and rap the pan gently until cheesecake is released from pan. Remove pan and peel parchment liner from bottom of cake. Place cake circle or serving plate on the cake and carefully invert so that cake is right side up. Remove plastic wrap. Press crumbs around sides of cake. Cut with a sharp thin knife. Dip the knife in hot water and wipe it dry between cuts.
Cooks' notes:
Make one day before serving.
The suave texture of this cheesecake relies on ultra smooth cottage cheese. This requires a food processor and at least 2 1/2 to 3 minutes of processing, no cheating.
If you use nonfat cottage instead of low fat, the results will be not be nearly as good and you would save only about .4 grams of fat per serving. It's not worth it.
Once the Neufchatel Cheese has been added, pulse only enough to incorporate. over processing thins the batter.
(Recipe from Food Network.)
Mascarpone Cheesecake with Candied Pecans and Dulce De Leche Sauce
Yield: 14 servings
Crust
8 ounces shortbread cookies
1/3 cup pecans (about 1 1/2 ounces)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap outside of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil. Finely grind shortbread cookies and pecans in processor. Add melted butter and process until crumbs are moistened. Press crumb mixture onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake crust until golden, about 15 minutes. Cool crust completely on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
Filling
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2 8-ounce containers mascarpone cheese,* room temperature (an Italian cream cheese, available at Italian markets and many supermarkets)
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
4 large eggs, room temperature
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add mascarpone and flour; beat until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Gradually add sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in vanilla and lemon juice. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
Pour filling over crust in pan. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Bake cheesecake until top is golden and cake is almost set (center 2 inches will still move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool cake on rack 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered overnight. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
Arrange Candied Pecans decoratively atop cake. Cut cake into wedges. Serve with Dulce de Leche Sauce.
Candied Pecans
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
Pinch of cream of tartar
3/4 cup pecan halves (about 3 ounces)
Line baking sheet with foil; spray with nonstick spray. Combine sugar, 2 tablespoons water, and cream of tartar in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat; boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with pastry brush dipped in water and swirling pan, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Immediately stir in pecans. Quickly pour mixture out onto prepared baking sheet. Working quickly and using 2 forks, separate pecans into individual halves. Cool completely. Break candied pecans apart, leaving each pecan half intact with some candied caramel attached. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)
Dulce De Leche Sauce
Yield: 1 1/3 cups
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
Combine whipping cream and brown sugar in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Boil until mixture is reduced to 1 cup, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in sweetened condensed milk. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill. Rewarm over medium-low heat just until warm and pourable.)
Cooks' note:
Dulce de leche is a soft milk-caramel confection that is yet again one of the year's top flavors. If you don't have time to make the sauce, look for it with the ice cream toppings at the market. Note that the baked cheesecake must be chilled overnight before serving.
(Recipe from Bon Appétit.)
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