Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year and to all my friends who celebrate Chinese New Year (CNY), Gong Xi Fa Chai!

I was supposed to bake a cake for this CNY but I was so loaded with work ... house chores to be exact. So, I had no time to get down to my kitchen lab at all! Anyway, I would like to share with you one more cheesecake which I baked sometimes last year. It was a delicious cake topped with creamy caramel and aromatic toasted pecans ... it's heaven! I discovered this recipe in the Net while I was searching for challenging cheesecake recipes. Then, I came across an eye-catching photo of a cheesecake with a thick chocolatish caramel dripping down the sides of the cake. I tell myself, this is it... I want to do this! The passion and the determination of making one 'successfully' drove me to start the mission almost immediately. I drove to the nearby bakery supply shop to assemble all the necessary ingredients and hit the kitchen right away.....

These photos were taken from my handphone camera (I should get a semi-pro digital cam for better quality). If you like caramel and pecan, I highly recommend this!!

Here is the recipe:

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

250g (or 1/2 pound) digestive biscuits

4 tbsp unsalted butter (melted) 

Filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese (at room temperature)

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 tbsp lemon zest

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

Caramel topping:

3/4 cup sugar

3 tbsp water

12 tbsp heavy cream

Handful of pecans to sprinkle on top (you can also substitute it with walnuts)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 325F.
2. Mix the crust ingredients together well with your fingers. Press the crust into the springform pan (I used 8") and partway up the sides, to a thickness of 1/4 inch.
3. In a small bowl, blend the cream and sour cream together.
4. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese on medium-low speed until it is very smooth.
5. Add the following ingredients i.e. cream cheese, sugar, salt, lemon juice, zest, eggs (one at a time) and cream/sour cream mixture, mixing on medium-low speed until smooth after each addition and scraping the bowl frequently.
6. Pour the batter over the crust in the prepared pan.
7. Bake with water bath until the cake has just a slight wobble in the center when nudged.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool to room temperature.
9. Cover the cake with plastic wrap directly on its surface, and chill overnight.
10. Remove the cake from the refrigerator and let it unchill slightly while you prepare the topping.
11. In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, water over medium-high heat to dissolved the sugar. Heat on medium-high without stirring, washing down the sides with a wet pastry brush occasionally, until the mixture turns an amber color.
12. Add the cream and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring from time to time, until the caramel is thick but not chewy.
13. Remove from the heat and cool at room temperature until it is slightly warmer; it should still be quite pourable at this point.
14. Pour the topping over the cake; use an offset spatula to spread it to the edges and let it drip down the sides.
15. Top with chopped pecans.
16. Chill for 2 – 6 hours before serving.

Blueberry Cheesecake

Happy New Year 2012 to all of you!!

Whenever I am not working, I would always find time to try out new recipes to improve my baking skills. I remember last year, I had this desire for cheesecakes that I would bake one cheesecake every fortnightly, well almost.  It's like when you are into something and you wouldn't want to get out of it. You just stick to it for as long as you want. That's the feeling and emotion I had.  Ok, back to my baking lab (l like to call my kitchen a lab instead because I do a lot of R&D stuff in there), here is a blueberry cheesecake which I used fresh blueberries instead of canned blueberry jam. I like the sourness of the berries that mixed together with the sweetness of the cream cheese ... take a bite of the cheesecake with the berries burst in your mouth ... that is what I called the real blueberry cheesecake!

Recipe:

Crust:
141g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
3 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs melted butter

Filling:
1 pound cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs all purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 160C. I used a round 8x8 springform pan.
2.  Combine the crushed biscuits, sugar and melted butter. Mix well. Pour the mixture  into the pan and press evenly.
3. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Set aside.
4. Combine the cream cheese and sugar and beat until smooth.
5. Stir in flour until well blended.
6. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition until the batter is smooth.
7. Stir in the vanilla and heavy cream until well incorporated. Lastly, stir in the blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared crust.
8. Bake in water bath for 50 minutes or until the centre is set. Let it cool and refrigerate overnight to get the best result.