Chai Cheesecake

I go through phases of loving chai tea, and then... not so much.
Right now, though, I'm in a loving phase.
It might last a while because I've come out of a looong, chai-free spell.
 I gave it up during pregnancy. Nothing to do with the caffeine or exotic spices. No, it was the fragrance. It nauseated me. Anything perfumed did, including my own deodorised body. Tricky that. (Overshare??)
And olfactory memories are so intense that it took me a while to shake off those scent-triggers.
But, at last I'm cured (and plan to stay that way!)
So, let's celebrate with a particularly deliciously decadent chai share.

Chai Cheesecake
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Grease a 20-24cm round springform pan
Tip - turn the base of the springform pan upside down before clipping in place - it makes removing the cheesecake easier.

Base
300g butter biscuits , crushed
100g flaked almonds (plus extra for garnishing)
120g melted butter

Mix the ingredients together and press into the base of a round springform cake pan.
Cover with cling wrap and place in the freezer for 30min.

Filling:
Preheat the oven to 150'C

320g white chocolate
500g (2x250g tubs) cream cheese at room temperature
250ml cream (for a lighter texture substitute with buttermilk)
100g caster sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Chai spices

{Chai spices

2tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cardamon      

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg}

Method:
Melt the chocolate. Stir in the chai spices and set aside to cool a little.

Beat the cream cheese and caster sugar together until smooth.
With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time; scrape down the bowl between additions.
Pour in the cream and vanilla.
Beat well.
Pour the cooled chocolate and chai spices into the mixture. Beat briefly.

Pour onto the chilled base.

Bake in a water bath* for approx.1 hour  at 150'C. Leave in the oven, with the door slightly ajar, to cool. (See comments below on how to know when a cheesecake is cooked).

* For the water bath, use a roasting pan at least 4-5 cm larger than the springform pan with enough boiling water in it to come a couple of centimetres up the side of the springform pan.


White chocolate ganache.

150g white chocolate
50ml cream (35-40%fat content)

Melt the cream and chocolate together in the microwave (in 30sec bursts, stirring in between) or in a double boiler.


Pour over the top of the cheesecake.
Sprinkle with flaked almonds.

Chill for 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Enjoy!

xxM

Lemon and Lime Cheesecake

So, it's voting day in SA, and I've made my mark.
I checked that both ballot papers were stamped, I didn't touch the lines of the box with my X, and used my own pen in case there was "disappearing ink" in the official ones. No, seriously? I thought this democracy was beyond pre-adolescence. What are we, a bunch of 8 year olds??
Anyway, it wasn't the thrill that it was 20 years ago in '94, but it still felt great to cast my vote : )

But moving on from dividing up the political pie...
Take a slice of this:

Lemon and Lime Cheesecake
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Base:
300g Tennis biscuits (or 250g plain biscuits with 50g shredded coconut added), finely crushed
120g butter, melted

 Mix the above together and press into the base of a greased springform pan.
Cover with cling wrap and put in the freezer for 30min.

Pre-heat the oven to 160'C

Filling:
250g Mascarpone
250g medium fat cream cheese
250ml sour cream
150g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
Zest of 1 lime and 1 lemon

Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar together until smooth.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Follow with the rest of the ingredients.
Beat well.

Pour the mixture onto the prepared base, and bake in a water bath for 1 hour at 160'C
Leave to cool in the oven.

Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Garnish with more lime zest before serving.

Happy baking!

xxM

Nougat Cheesecake

There's a hint of Autumn in the air, and I confess - I'm glad!

 My oven has been doing double duty these past few months, shifting between baking and acting as a "drying cupboard". Last week I was juggling between baking with it, using it to store fondant decorations, dry iced cookies, and keep cake lace away from the humidity. And then I threw this cheesecake into the mix - needing a longish baking time, and cooling time in the oven - on a particularly humid day…and oh, boy! The stress! Ok, not really. No lives were lost. Just a batch of cake lace. No biggie. 

So, the cheesecake: 

Nougat Chunk Cheesecake
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Grease and line an 18cm square cake pan or a 29cm round springform pan.

Base
300g finely crushed biscuits - digestives, Marie biscuits, etc.
120g melted butter
100g chopped macadamia nuts or flaked almonds

Mix all the ingredients together and press into the base of the prepared tin.
Cover with cling wrap and place in the freezer for 30min.

Filling
Preheat the oven to 160'C

2x 250g tubs cream cheese at room temp.
160g caster sugar
250ml fresh cream (35-40% fat content)
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
200g nougat, cut into small chunks.


 Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well in between additions.
Beat in the cream and vanilla extract.

Pour into the chilled base. Drop the chunks of nougat into the batter.

Bake in a water bath at 160'C for 60-70 minutes, or until just the centre of the cheesecake jiggles when gently shaken.
 Leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar.

Once cooled, refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight before serving.

Happy autumn!

xxM 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cheesecake

I must have channelled my inner Nigella with this one.
You see, I just had to make something with peanut butter and chocolate (as one does) and conveniently had a number of the chilled ingredients in my fridge, nearing their "use by" date.
Well, to be honest they were approaching their "incinerate"date, but that's the beauty of cultured dairy - it never really goes off, just gets...more interesting.
(Did I really just write that? TMI?)

Anyway, getting back to Nigella - I put this recipe together using what I had on hand, and then had a look at similar cheesecakes to figure out the baking time. That's when I saw how similar mine was to Nigella's; especially the base.

Well, I couldn't unmake it by then, so I decided to take photos anyway and share it with you.
But if you want to go get Nigella's version rather - I won't take offence.  Really! I'm mean it ... it's Nigella!

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create (really!)


NB - allow for sufficient chilling time when making a cheesecake.

Crust:
280g butter biscuits, finely crushed*
100g butter, melted
50g chopped roasted salted peanuts
75g dark chocolate cut into small pieces.

*(use digestive biscuits / Marie biscuits - I use the butter biscuits left over from classes, which I freeze until needed).

Mix all the ingredients together and press into the base of a greased and lined 20-22cm springform pan.
Place in the freezer for 30min.

Filling:
250g mascarpone
250g cream cheese
150g caster sugar
300g peanut butter
3 eggs
250ml sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, vanilla and sugar together until smooth.
Add the peanut butter, mix well.
Beat in the eggs and sour cream.

Pour onto the chilled based and bake in a water bath* at 170'C for 60-70min or until just the centre of the cheesecake is slightly wobbly.
Allow to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar. Then refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours, before spreading on the ganache topping.

*To bake in a water bath:

  wrap foil around the springform tin and place it in a roasting pan with enough water in it to rise 2cm   up the side of the springform pan.

Ganache:

240g dark chocolate - chopped into small even sized pieces.
120ml fresh cream (35-40% fat content)

Melt the chocolate and cream together in a double boiler.
Once most of the chocolate is melted, stir until smooth.
Leave to set until it has an easy spreading consistency.

When the cheesecake has chilled, spread the chocolate ganache on the top and smooth.
Place back into the fridge for 30 min before serving.

Enjoy!

xxM

Nutella Cheesecake

Somehow, in the past couple of years Nutella has become a pantry staple in this house.
Not (just) for spreading lavishly on bread or sneaking decadent spoonfuls, but as a quick fix for almost any sweet situation.
 Needing inspiration? Grab a jar of Nutella and oh, golly - you'll be inspired!
... I speak from experience: I literally threw these ingredients together the afternoon of the event that it was intended for - forgetting that it would need cooling and chilling time - but thankfully managed to get it in the fridge for long enough for it to work.

Nutella Cheesecake.
Recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Prepare a 15cm square cake pan with baking parchment:
 Spray the tin with non-stick baking spray, then cross two pieces of parchment over in the pan - let the parchment extend well above the sides of the pan to facilitate removing the cheesecake from the pan once baked. Spray the parchment with baking spray.

Ingredients:
Base
250g chocolate cookies
80g melted butter

Break the cookies into small pieces, then use a food processor to blitz until finely crumbed.
Mix with the melted butter, and press the mixture firmly into the base of the pan.
Chill in the freezer for 30minutes.

Filling
250g cream cheese
250ml fresh cream
4 eggs
80ml caster sugar
300g Nutella
1 tsp vanilla extract

Beat the sugar and cream cheese together until soft, then add the eggs one at a time. Followed by the rest of the ingredients, and beat until smooth.
Poor over the chilled base and bake in a water bath for 1 hour at 160'C.

Leave in the oven to cool (with the oven door closed), then refrigerate for at least 4hours or preferably overnight.
Remove from the baking tin by first running a knife between the tin and baking parchment, then gently pull up on the sides of parchment and ease the cheesecake upwards.

Dust with icing sugar or sprinkle with chopped roasted nuts before serving.
Serve chilled.

Here's a quirky idea - print this recipe and attach it to a jar of Nutella as a sweet Christmas gift : )

 Happy holidays!

xxM

Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake

Ooh, boy! School holidays are expensive! This is the first time I've experienced it - probably because this is the first long holiday that we've had with two children at home, who are now used to a whole morning of pre-school entertainment.
 In the first week, playdates, puzzles, painting, play-dough and Lego were enough to keep us busy; but week 2 took us to another level. We've gone out for ice-cream (frozen yoghurt) and for lunch (indoor play area); visited the animal farm (add 2x pony rides) and gone to the movies (add 2x popcorn).
Then there are all the extras that we buy every time we go to the supermarket because we're suddenly sooo hungry as soon as we're at the store, even though we had breakfast, second breakfast and a snack before we left home.
And because I was ready to crack by Friday morning, I went out solo for a bit of me-time shopping, and spent more money - on things for them!!

 I'm actually really enjoying the holidays!

Here's a great me-time grown-up indulgence:

Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake.
recipe by Tea, Cake and Create

Line an 18cm square pan with baking paper - making a cross of paper that extends above the sides of the pan facilitates removal of the cheesecake from the pan after baking.


Alternatively use a round springform pan.

Base

100g butter, cut into cubes
200g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup flour, sifted
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup chopped roasted pecan nuts

Melt together butter and chocolate. Allow to cool.
Beat the egg and sugar together. Stir in the chocolate mixture, pecan nuts and flour. Mix until all incorporated.

Spread into the base of the prepared pan.
Bake at 180'C for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temp to 170'C

Topping

2x 250g tubs cream cheese
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use Vanilla Girl vanilla extract, so it's 8-10drops)

Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until soft, then add the rest of the topping ingredients and beat until smooth.

Pour the topping over the base (after it has baked for 10 min).
Return the pan to the oven and bake for 45 minutes** at 170'C
**30 minutes, Megan - if you prefer the topping to be fridge cheesecake consistency : )

Leave to cool in the oven with the door ajar.

Refrigerate 3-4 hours or overnight.

Top with fresh berries or streaks of chocolate to serve.

Enjoy - oh, I know will!

; )

xxM