I am really bad at keeping cooking notes together, I try to blame it on moving a lot, but really I have no excuse since I can just add my notes to my bookmarked recipes page. Oh well, I can also write a post with the recipe and add my notes to my blog, even better,some of you might like to try some of these recipes.
For Bill's birthday, on the fourth of July,I wanted to make him a dessert I haven't made before. At the same time,I had just succeeded in making mascarpone cheese(I still need to write about that), which was very easy to make. So I thought of tiramisu, which ended up serving a double purpose: a delicious dessert, and a hint that we are due for a trip to Italy. Reaching for Bill's stomach seems to work, since our appetite tends to be one of the main drivers to our vacation destinations.
As I was searching for a tiramisu recipe, I came across this recipe for a tiramisu cheesecake, I was immediately interested, a tiramisu and a cheesecake in the same recipe! Sounded like a double winner to me. I went through other cooks' notes and came up with an adaptation that ended up working perfectly for us. Bill is still bragging about his birthday cake, and we are talking about a May trip to Italy, and I am overjoyed for more than one reason.
The trick to making a solid cheesecake(one that doesn't crack in the middle) is not over mixing or over baking it .Add the eggs last since they create bubbles in the batter, and don't over beat it. For me, I like to place a bowl of water in the lower rack of the oven to absorb the humidity, and I place my 9 inch springform cheesecake pan in the middle rack of the oven,bake it at 325 F for 50 minutes, then turn the oven off ,crack the oven door open and leave it in there for another 15 minutes. The center of the cheesecake should still be slightly wiggly when you take it out of the oven.
Tiramisu Cheesecake:
adapted from Marty Fries's allrecipes.
Ingredients:
~ 1 (12 ounce) package lady fingers
~4 tablespoons butter, melted
~ 12 tablespoons coffee flavored liqueur,divided
~ 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
~ 1 (8 ounce) container mascarpone cheese
~1 cup white sugar
~2 eggs
~4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
~Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a pan of water on the bottom of oven.
~ Crush the package of ladyfingers to fine crumbs. Mix the melted butter into the crumbs. Moisten with 5 tablespoons of the coffee liqueur. Press into an 8 or 9 inch springform pan.
~ In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar until very smooth. Add 7 tablespoons coffee liqueur, and mix. Add the eggs and the flour; mix SLOWLY until just smooth. The consistency of the mascarpone can vary. If the cheesecake batter is too thick, add a little cream. Do not over mix at this point. Pour batter into crust.
~ Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 50 minutes, or until just set. Open oven door, and turn off the heat. Leave cake to cool in oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, and let it finish cooling. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or overnight, before serving.
After the cheesecake was completely cool, I topped it with chocolate ganache(recipe below), and lined it with lady fingers broken in half(sounds abusive ha?).It was simply delicious.
Chocolate Ganache:
~8 oz bittersweet chocolate,chopped
~1 cups heavy whipping cream
~1 tablespoon coffee liqueur(optional but recommended:)
~Place chopped chocolate in a small pan. Heat heavy cream over medium heat just to boiling point. Pour heavy cream over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Stir in the liqueur if using.
~While ganache is still warm enough and liquid, but cool enough to touch, pour over cheesecake starting at the center and working your way out to the sides.
Enjoy!
Comments (11)
What could be more perfect than Tiramisu & cheesecake. Definitely going to try this one!
Posted by sheri | July 20, 2009 6:57 PM
Posted on July 20, 2009 18:57
Looks incredible to me!
Posted by expatraveler | July 20, 2009 10:35 PM
Posted on July 20, 2009 22:35
I'm drooling onto my keyboard. Man, that looks wonderful. Must try.
Posted by Amy | July 21, 2009 5:49 AM
Posted on July 21, 2009 05:49
Hi Candi, wow, this looks so delicious! Happy B-lated to your husband. And Italy in May, yay!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! It seems easy and you provided some great tips, so I may have to try it someday.
Thanks again and have a great day today!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | July 21, 2009 7:04 AM
Posted on July 21, 2009 07:04
Wow, it looks just amazing. What a great birthday cake! And a May trip to Italy sounds so wonderful too...
Posted by Annie | July 21, 2009 7:22 AM
Posted on July 21, 2009 07:22
Ohhh - this looks absolutely amazing! I can't wait to give it a try.
Posted by Jerry | July 21, 2009 2:47 PM
Posted on July 21, 2009 14:47
Looks and sounds scrumptious! I love cheesecake and tiramisu so this is a prefect combination for me.
Happy (very) belated birthday wishes to Bill and Yay! on your plans for May!
Posted by María I. | July 22, 2009 11:26 AM
Posted on July 22, 2009 11:26
This looks amazing. I love cheesecake and all variations on it.
Posted by Barb Cabot | July 23, 2009 7:38 AM
Posted on July 23, 2009 07:38
I'm behind on looking at blogs, and just saw this. This cheesecake looks delicious! Tell Bill happy birthday!
Posted by Cindy Ruth | July 26, 2009 11:37 PM
Posted on July 26, 2009 23:37
Italy in May, that is awesome!! (I might be there too, actually.) The cake looks really good - you didn't find that the cream cheese took away from the mascarpone?
Posted by Chiocciola | August 10, 2009 7:32 PM
Posted on August 10, 2009 19:32
Chiocciola,
Yay!I was still able to taste the mascarpone in there, but definitely the ratio of cream cheese to mascarpone is high.
Posted by candi | August 10, 2009 7:48 PM
Posted on August 10, 2009 19:48