Friday, January 25, 2013

Cranberry cheesecake


Red & white.  Sweet & tart.  Creamy & crunchy.  Mmmm - what an excellent harmony of contradictions!  This cheesecake is a perfect dessert to prepare on a lazy Sunday afternoon.  You can watch the food processor do the work for you, while you sip a good aperitif -- ekhm, I mean herbal tea -- and nibble on a left-over biscuit.

The cheesecake it ridiculously easy to make, but at the same time looks impressive -- so you can invite people over to show off, and listen to their compliments of you rising to the heights of culinary stardom.



This cheesecake reminds me a lot of American cheesecakes you can get at Starbucks or other coffeehouses.  It's nothing like traditional Polish cheesecakes, which is all the better for me, as I don't like the latter.   It's so un-be-lie-va-bly creamy that you have to be careful when cutting it (it's best to use a big, sharp knife, dipped in boiling water (and wiped dry)).  
 
You could also prepare it in cute small baking trays and serve as individual portions.  Especially recommended, if you're after even more compliments.


The cheesecake is very versatile and can be made all year round.  You can also use other fruit and types of chocolate.  I promised my boyfriend (who was very sad to see how quickly the cheesecake "disappeared") to make a sour cherry & dark chocolate version next time.  I have a suspicion it will be just as excellent.


The recipe comes from Dorotus' blog.


Ingredients:

  • 180 g of digestive biscuits
  • 80 g of butter (melted)
  • 450 g of cream cheese
  • 1 large egg
  • 180 g of white chocolate + 70 g for decoration
  • 100 ml of cream
  • 110 g of powdered sugar (next time I would add a bit less, as the cheesecake was a tad too sweet for my taste)
  • Zest of 1 lime
  • 300 g of fresh cranberries
Directions:
  • Crush the biscuits in a food processor, or by hand (you can put them in a ziploc bag and crush with a rolling pin).  Add the melted butter.  Distribute evenly on the bottom of a round baking tray (lined with parchment paper and 24 cm in diameter), and push down with your fingers.  Refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the over to 160°C.
  • Melt 180 g of chocolate and the cream in a bain-marie (bowl over a pot with boiling water).  Let cool down a bit.
  • Mix the cream cheese, egg, sugar and lime zest until smooth.  Add the cooled down chocolate and mix again.
  • Pour mixture over cooled biscuit bottom.  Sprinkle cranberries on top.  Bake for around an hour.  Let cool down.
  • Melt the remaining chocolate in the bain-marie.  Decorate the cake using a spoon or a cake decorating pen.  Refrigerate for a few hours, preferably over night, before serving.


Bon appetit!




2 comments:

  1. Jakiej śmietanki używasz(ile procent)? Zrobię z borówką amerykańską. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hej, uzylam smietanki 35%. Sernik z borowka brzmi super -- tylko dalabym wtedy zdecydowanie mniej cukru + ewentualnie troche soku z limonki.
    Pozdrawiam :)

    ReplyDelete