I know it's January and we're all supposed to be doing our after-holidays dieting, right? My son has a wonderful orange tree and he brought me a big plastic garbage bag full of them. My first inclination, after making a big pitcher of fresh orange juice, was to make something healthy and low-calorie. Then I said to myself, "life is too short, make some dessert!" My granddaughter loves cheesecake so I surprised her with this one evening. We all enjoyed a slice (ok, maybe two!) then I passed the remainder out to neighbors and family. In my mind, that's a perfect diet technique! I get to experience the joy of baking but the sinful calories are at someone else's home!
As I shared recently, I used some of my citrus bounty to make infused sugar. A cup of this sugar was perfect in this cheesecake, providing an intense burst of orange flavor in the cheesecake. I love the combination of oranges and chocolate so made a chocolate cookie crust. Graham crackers, gingersnaps or vanilla wafers can be substituted, depending on your taste buds.
The orange topping gave each slice an additional punch of orange flavor. I used fresh orange juice and the color was more yellow, than orange. Frozen juice would probably provide a deeper color. My husband thought it was a lemon cheesecake until he took a bite! Orange food color could be added if that is a concern, I don't think it's necessary.
It's January 17 and I've not made a dessert since this cake 2 weeks ago. That's another effective diet tip!
Orange Cheesecake
Crust
24 Oreos
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated orange peel
Topping
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Securely wrap 2 squares of aluminum foil up and around the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. (The crust is very buttery and the aluminum foil will prevent butter from seeping out of the pan onto your oven floor. It will also be extra insurance against water seeping into the crust when it's baking in its water bath).
Crush Oreos into fine crumbs using either a food processor or placing the Oreos in a Ziploc bag and crushing into crumbs, using a rolling pin or heavy cup. In a medium bowl, combine the crust ingredients and mix well. Press in bottom and 2 inches up sides of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake in preheated pan for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool before filling.
Reduce oven to 325 degrees.
To make the filling, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar and beat well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until blended. Add orange peel and blend well (I left out the orange peel and used 1 cup of orange-infused sugar). Pour into the crust-lined pan.
Place the crust-lined springform pan in a larger baking pan and add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool 1 hour or until completely cooled.
In a small saucepan, combine all topping ingredients; mix well. Cook over medium heat until bubbly and thickened, stirring constantly. Cool 5 minutes; spoon over cheesecake. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
I previously shared how my Hubbers and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory before Christmas. He enjoyed a piece of lemon meringue cheesecake which I replicated for our Christmas dinner (recipe here). While at the restaurant we perused their glass display case of cheesecakes. I think a person could gain weight just peeking inside! One of the cheesecakes that caught my interest was a red velvet cheesecake. It's two layers of red velvet cake with a layer of cheesecake in between. It's topped with cream cheese frosting and we all know that's a good thing! My step-daughter loves red velvet cake so I added this to my Christmas dessert menu. It was enjoyed by all. The colors of the cake lend itself not only to Christmas, but to Valentines Day as well. Oh, what the heck, the red works for the 4th of July, too! This cake/cheesecake combination is decadent and good anytime, but it would be the perfect dessert for an upcoming Valentines gathering. The cake is huge so make sure to invite plenty of friends, it's a little too much dessert for a romantic dinner for two!
Though red velvet cakes have chocolate in them I would hesitate to call this a chocolate cake. The chocolate flavor is very subtle. As with all baked goods, the addition of buttermilk in the batter makes for a very moist cake. And, yes, 2 bottles of food coloring is used in the cake, it is a very deep red! Red velvet cakes weren't real popular until the movie Steel Magnolias. If you recall, the groom's cake, in the shape of an armadillo, was a red velvet cake. Since then, the proliferation of cupcake shops has made this a very popular cake. Adding a layer of cheesecake to it just takes it over the top!
Don't let the length of the recipe intimidate you, each of the steps are easy to do. It does take some time, it is definitely a labor of love to make this, but your guests will appreciate it! The cheesecake layer can be made the day before. The cake is made in one bowl. The finished cake should be refrigerated so can easily be assembled the day before you need it. As with most baked goods, room temperature ingredients are always best.
Red Velvet Cheesecake
Cheesecake:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup (two 1-ounce bottles) red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons white vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted lightly to remove any lumps
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
To prepare the cheesecake layer:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place a large roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Place a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Wrap a double layer of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
In a large bowl, and using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese until it is nice and creamy. Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Mix in sour cream, whipping cream, and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Pour into the prepared pan.
Set the springform pan into the roasting pan. Carefully pour the boiling water into the roasting pan. Pour in enough water so that about an inch of the foil is under water, being careful not to get water on the cheesecake batter. Bake for 45 minutes. It should be set to the touch and not jiggly. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. When it has cooled, cover the pan tightly with foil and place the pan in the freezer. Let the cheesecake freeze completely, preferably overnight.
To prepare the cake layers:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch round metal baking pans (or spray with baking spray).
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar to the flour mixture. Using an electric mixer, at medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans, dividing equally.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans, then invert cakes onto a rack to cool completely.
To prepare the frosting:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat all frosting ingredients until it is smooth and creamy.
To assemble the cake:
Place one cake layer onto the center of a cake plate or platter. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the springform pan, and slide a knife under the parchment paper to remove the cheesecake from the pan. Peel off the parchment. Measure (by eye) the cheesecake layer against the cake layers. If the cheesecake layer turns out to be slightly larger than the cake layers, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake so it will be the same size as the cake layers. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Place the second cake layer on top of the cheesecake.
To frost the cake:
First apply a "crumb coat" layer of frosting to the cake. This is done by using a long, thin spatula to cover the cake layers completely with a thin and even layer of frosting. (Be sure to wipe off your spatula each time you are about to dip it into the frosting so you aren't transferring red cake crumbs to the frosting!) Don't worry about seeing the cake through this layer; this layer is meant to be the base for the final layer of frosting. Once a thin layer of frosting has been applied, place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set the frosting. Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the second layer. Start by adding a large scoop of frosting on the top of the cake. Using a long, thin spatula, spread the frosting evenly across the top of the cake and down the sides. Because a crumb coat layer was used there should be no cake crumbs floating around in the final frosting layer. Decorate, as desired. **
** I didn't do any additional decorating. You can top with shaved white chocolate, sprinkles, or candy.
Recipe adapted from Food, Folks and Fun.
My Hubbers and I recently had lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. As the name implies, there is a lot of cheesecake to choose from. In addition to a bakery display case full of decadent cheesecakes, they also had TV screens flashing pictures of various cheesecake offerings. How could anyone resist? My Hubby honed in on their lemon meringue cheesecake and didn't deviate from that when we were presented with the full dessert menu. The cheesecake was topped with lemon curd and meringue. He ate every crumb and proceeded to ask me if that was something I could replicate for Christmas. I took that as a challenge and got to work looking up recipes. Being the nice Hubby that he is he told me that mine was much better than the restaurant's version. He has a few brownie points in reserve now! All my guests enjoyed the cheesecake so I will definitely make it again.
The starting point of the cheesecake was a recipe from the cookbook Luscious Lemon Desserts by Lori Longbotham. What attracted me to this recipe was the method of grinding sugar and lemon zest together. Rather than having large pieces of zest in the cheesecake, which some don't find attractive, the zest was finely ground with the sugar providing a subtle lemon flavor. More lemon flavor was provided by using some lemon juice. I took it one step further and marbled fresh lemon curd into the cheesecake batter. The cheesecake also has sour cream in it. The result was a lemony, very creamy, cheesecake. More lemon curd was spread on the top of the cheesecake and then a cooked meringue on top of that. It was pretty and, oh, so, good!
In my opinion,commercial lemon curd pales in comparison to the fresh version. It's not hard to make; it's egg yolks, lemon juice, and sugar cooked to a spreadable consistency. It can be made a day or two ahead of time and you will have extra for other uses. I use this recipe.
Most meringues are uncooked and are applied on top of a hot filling, which cooks the underside of the meringue, before placing in the oven and browning. This method wouldn't work with a chilled cheesecake. The thought of uncooked eggs didn't appeal to me so I went with a cooked meringue. It's got more of a marshmallow texture, rather than a light and fluffy meringue.
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake:
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest, finely grated
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lemon juice, fresh squeezed
3 large eggs
1 cup (approximately) lemon curd, chilled
Position rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Butter the bottom and side of a 9" springform pan. Have ready a roasting pan. Put on a kettle of water to boil for the water bath.
Stir together the crumbs and butter with a fork in a medium bowl until combined well. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until crust is set; let cool on a wire rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Process sugar and lemon zest in a food processor until zest is finely ground.
In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese beginning on low speed; increasing to medium-high, until light and fluffy.
Gradually add sugar mixture, scraping down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula, continue beating until smooth.
Add sour cream and lemon juice; beat until well blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Wrap the outside of the springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, then pour half the filling into the pan. Dollop large teaspoons of lemon curd on top; with a knife marble the curd into the filling. Repeat with remaining filling and more lemon curd. Set the pan in the roasting pan. Place the roasting pan in the oven and carefully pour in enough boiling water into the roasting pan to reach halfway up the side of the springform pan.
Bake for 70-75 minutes or until the center is almost set but still slightly jiggly. Do not overbake, the cheesecake will firm as it cools.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the water bath for 15 minutes. Remove from the bath; let it cool on a wire rack.
Remove the foil; refrigerate the cheesecake in its pan, loosely covered, for at least 8 hours or overnight, until thoroughly chilled.
Run a table knife around the inside edge of the pan; remove the pan's side. Spread approximately 1/2 cup lemon curd over the top of the cheesecake.
Top with meringue and brown the meringue using a kitchen blow torch.
Meringue:
4 large egg whites
3/4 cup granulated sugar
Fill the bottom of a double boiler with about 2-3 inches of water. Bring to a boil.
Whisk the eggs and sugar in the top of the double boiler (or use a bowl and saucepan). Place on top of the pan with the boiling water. Whisk constantly for about 5-7 minutes, until the mixture reaches 140 degrees (use a candy thermometer).
Immediately transfer the hot mixture to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at high speed until stiff peaks form.
