I cleared my schedule on Saturday to make Espresso Cheesecake. It's one of 18 recipes included by Gesine Bullock-Prado in her book, Confections of a Closet Master Baker.
Why I chose this recipe: I hand roast my own coffee several times a week on a Coleman camp stove. It results in peak flavor with no rancidity. I was looking for a recipe to show off my roasting skills. Plus, I love coffee!
Play-by-Play: The recipe calls for a 9 inch springform pan to make an 8 inch cake (there may be a typo in the book). I have springform pans in many sizes except for 9 inch (does this ever happen to you?). The closest I found was a 9 inch cake pan with a drop bottom. It worked fine. Gesine wrote helpful tips along the way which made it easier. She said to grind the espresso beans to an ultra-fine texture (no crunch) before adding to the batter. The recipe calls for a cup of coffee and tablespoon of instant espresso. I decided to use a cup of espresso and regular instant (which is all I had). The batter was very thin which surprised me. I thought I had ruined the cake but everything was okay. With the leftover batter I made a miniature cheesecake for a friend. Today I'll be cleaning my oven because the pan leaked.
Prep Time: 1 hour (not counting roasting time).
Cooking Time: Anywhere from 2-4 hours. In my case it took 3 hours at 200 degrees. Once cooled, the cake needed 3 hours in the refrigerator before eating.
Results: OMG! Really creamy texture and over the top taste; bitter but just the right amount. We each had two slices and it took willpower not to go for a third. This is the best cheesecake I've ever tasted. Since coffee is a big part of the flavor, I suggest you use the freshest beans possible if you don't hand roast. (Hugh really missed out).
Recipe Note: Gesine wrote that the cheesecake base was developed by her mom and inspired by a famous New York brand. Even though Lindy's was not mentioned in the recipe there was reference to it later in the book.
This week I'll be reviewing, "Confections of a Closet Master Baker." I'm also giving away a free copy on February 28.
What's your favorite cheesecake?
I used to make a chocolate/espresso cheesecake, but I don't remember where the recipe came from. But this one looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try to win the book too -- thanks for having a give-away.
WOW...This cheesecake looks heavenly. I wish my husband could whip up one of those---really anything other than toast...LOL
ReplyDeleteThis looks just delicious! My daughter and I made a chocolate-peanut butter cheesecake last weekend. It was really too rich, but I'll bet the espresso/ chocolate combo would be perfect.
ReplyDeletePicture perfect!!
ReplyDeleteI am not much of a chocolate person - but I do love sweets. Right now my current favorite cheesecake is Key Lime. Perhaps I am longing for a warmer climate?
Well that's making my mouth water!
ReplyDeletethat cheesecake looks unbelieveable. I love baking, and chocolate, and coffee, and cheesecake so i think I really need to make this! I was just kicking myself for not making a cheesecake for my recent birthday; might have to have a "second birthday" soon!
ReplyDeleteOhh, I've been waiting for this post! Yum! Don't think I've ever met a cheesecake I didn't like! One recent fave was a creme brulee cheesecake. I don't drink coffee but I love coffee and chocolate flavored desserts-- this cheesecake looks absolutely fabulous!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of fabulous, Mrs. Baja's Cozy Book Nook presents your fab blog with the Honest Scrap Award. Come visit, grab your logo and check out the details. You aren't required to participate but wanted you to know how much I appreciate and enjoy your blog!
Lesa
http://baja-greenawalts-cozybooknook.blogspot.com/
OMG!!! This looks so good. What could be better than coffee, chocolate and cheesecake? It's fabulous.
ReplyDeleteI'm link you up for this week, so no worries. Here's what you do in the future: go to most recent Weekend Cooking post (Feb. 20, this weekend) and put your name and recipe in the box labeled "your name" and you paste in the URL for your post in the box labeled (conveniently enough :) ) "your URL". Then click on "enter" and you're done! If all else fails, leave your link a comment to the current week's Weekend Cooking post and I'll do it for you.
I'm so glad you're playing along. I would have hated to miss this post.
Thanks for all of the nice comments!
ReplyDeleteGilion: Good luck on the giveaway. This espresso cheesecake has no chocolate (so half the guilt?).
Diane: It tasted heavenly and went down very smooth. If your husband wants a new challenge have him try this. It's better than toast!
JoAnn: I love peanut butter too. Even though this cake looks like it has chocolate there's none in the recipe. It has brewed coffee, coffee grounds, eggs, cream cheese, a little flour and sugar. The crust is Oreo cookies.
Molly: Key lime sounds nice. I use it as the base for my lilikoi pie. Maybe I'll save that for another weekend post.
Jill: I drank a cup of espresso with the cheesecake for an extra kick!
Marie: This is the first cheesecake I've ever made.
Lesa: If you like coffee flavored desserts, this is a true winner.
Beth: Thanks for your help. I was trying to find the link on the introductory post and never thought to look at your most recent one. I'm glad to be part of the group!
Wishing everyone Aloha and a sweet week!
Rob
I can't wait to read more about this book. I just know I'm going to buckle and download it. lol
ReplyDeleteThe cheesecake sounds divine. I'm absolutely desperate for some food now. :)
Hi Andi...I'm working on the review today so stay tuned....
ReplyDeleteAlso...I need to correct myself..of course there's chocolate in the recipe...it's in the crust.
Aloha from Rob