So, I’ve been on a cheesecake kick lately. Lactose intolerance be damned! Sometimes I will get stuck on one particular thing and make it over and over until I get sick of it and right now it’s cheesecake.
A good cheesecake is really time-consuming and hard work, but is a thing of beauty. It takes a homemade crust, a springform pan, a water bath, several hours of cooling, etc., etc., all to try to ensure a non-cracked surface, when, in my experience, they usually crack anyway. Or you can go the easy-peasy route with a premade crust and just fill it and bake. These usually crack as well, but not as bad and with better recovery after cooling. My favorite of these easy cheesecakes is the second one on this page- the one with the sour cream topping. It is incredibly delicious for being so easy and fast.
I’m thinking of making a honey cheesecake, because when I put cream cheese and honey on toast, it tastes amazing, and I think it might make a good cheesecake. So that’s in the works for sometime this weekend. You know when I am running my oven in my little hotbox of an apartment when it’s over a hundred degrees out, I am devoted.
Got any good recipes, or ever had honey cheesecake and liked/didn’t like it?
The recipe says “chocolate malt,” so I assume they’re talking about Ovaltine, right? (and not a dark, roasted type of malt typically used for brewing called “chocolate malt.”) They do still sell that at grocery stores.
I got on a cheesecake kick when I was on a low-carb diet. I had all these different DaVinci flavored sugar-free syrups and drops I’d test. My favorite was a pumpkin spice cheesecake with a nut crust, but on that Moms Who Think site they have one that looks even better, with all kinds of sugary goodness. Pumpkin praline! I want to try that NOW.
I love cheesecake but since I’ve been dieting the last 8 months I haven’t had any. I’ve never used a water bath and I’ve had pretty good success with not cracking the top, it’s been so long I don’t remember what I do but it’s straight out of Joy of Cooking. Of course cracks aren’t all bad I always use berrys and sugar to top the ones that develop a crack so it becomes a good thing.
One of my neighbors did me a favor this week so I was going to bake them some angelfood cake but now I’m thinking that it’s time to break out the cheesecake the honey sounds fantastic maybe a straight substitution for the sugar will work.
We got some malt powder at the grocery store two weeks ago. for some odd reason, it was with the ice cream toppings instead of the drinking chocolate where I expected them to be. Maybe people only use malt for ice cream malts these days?
I love cheesecake, but I have to admit that my homemade cheesecake isn’t any better than storebought, so I never make them. Just too much work.
My favorite is still plain’ ol’ cheesecake with strawberries or cherry topping. Simple, classic, desert perfection.
My cheesecakes never crack anymore. The secret, from what I can tell, is to cook a LONG time at a LOW temp and then, after you turn the oven off, just leave it in there for gradual cooling. I cook my cheesecakes for nearly 2 hrs at 250. You have to be able to identify when to turn off the heat, though… the edges will be set, but the center still rather jiggly.
I love and adore cheesecake and in order to reduce the odds of me eating the entire thing in a couple days I’ve started making mine in muffin tins. I use cupcake liners and split the crust mixture among about 2 dozen liners, bake them in a water bath and cool in the oven before removing (helps keep me from burning myself with spilled water too).
I freeze them and when I’m not patient enough to let them thaw before eating, thin slivers of frozen cheesecake are an amazing treat.
There’s a third option, too: My uncle has an absolutely wonderful recipe for impossible cheesecake. For those who don’t know, an impossible pie is a pie for which you don’t need a crust, because the other ingredients form their own crust in the process of baking. Unfortunately, I don’t have his recipe.
I agree and I ain’t much of a cook. I can make cheesecakes that taste great. They are very easy to make. I actually LIKE the cracked crusty top better than the non cracked type
Homemade crusts are easy, if you make a cookie/graham cracker crust. Just crush up your cookies finely, add melted butter until it all binds and, voila, you’re done. And it’s the perfect crust for cheesecake.
I don’t think the baking aspect of it is that hard (it’s basically just like making a custard), but you can check out many no-bake cheesecake recipes out there, which make a very good, although somewhat different, product.
I have been eyeing this recipe for a couple of weeks- good to know that it’s recommended, I’ll have to try it!
And I agree, the crust isn’t hard to* make*, but it seems to be overly difficult for me to apply it to the sides of the pan, especially. It can take me the better part of an hour to put the crust in a springform pan- maybe it’s just me. Cheesecake is a lot of work, although it is usually worth it.
Really? An hour? Even when I crumble the graham crackers myself, it only takes a few minutes to throw together a crust and press it to the bottom of a springform pan.
As far as the cheesecake itself, I think they are one of the easiest desserts to make. I do make to put my cream cheese out a few hours ahead of time in order to make it easier to blend, but other than that, I just throw them in a mixer, blend and pour onto the crust. Bake, and you’re done!
This recipe makes a little 7" cheesecake, which is perfect for two people. It is a bit of a pain to make, but totally worth it:
Pumpkin Cheesecake
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup ground pecans
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1/4 cup white sugar
1 medium whole egg
1 medium egg yolk
1 tablespoon whipping cream
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Combine the graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans, 1 tablespoon white sugar, 1 tablespoon brown sugar, and the melted butter or margarine and mix well. Firmly press mixture into one 7 inch springform pan.
Combine the 1/2 cup white sugar, the pumpkin, 2 egg yolks, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. Mix well, and set aside.
Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy; gradually add 1/4 cup white sugar and mix well. Add the whole egg, remaining egg yolk and the whipping cream, beating well. Add cornstarch and vanilla and lemon flavorings, beat batter until smooth. Add pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 50 to 55 minutes. Do not overbake. Center may be soft but it will firm up when chilled. Let cheesecake cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate.
Wow…cheesecakes are my go-to when I want quick and easy! I’ve posted my recipe here before, and don’t have time to do it again right now because, oddly enough, I’m in the middle of making a blueberry cheesecake. But I don’t bother with crumbs up the side, I make mine usually in a 9x13 pan, no water bath, and it rarely cracks…and if it does…well, that’s what the sour cream topping is for…to hide cracks! I find if I use the regular Philadelphia cream cheese, it doesn’t crack. Any other kind of cream cheese, any other brand, and it cracks and doesn’t taste good. I’ll post my recipe later.
I agree, some cheesecakes can be quick and easy. When I say work, I mean those fancyschmancy cheescakes with upwards of 20-30 ingredients and different steps and hours involved and they are a lot of work. As for my problems with the crust, it may be my set of non-stick springform pans- they’re non-stick. ?
Anyway, the honey or chocolate malt (not Ovaltine!) cheesecake must be postponed, as I actually just made strawberry shortcake (yum!), but there’s the whole weekend coming up.
So what exactly is “chocolate malt”? I assume it’s chocolate malted milk powder, and not actual chocolate dry malt extract you get from your brew supply store. If so, Ovaltine is one brand of chocolate malted milk powder. Carnation is another popular one, and is labeled as “chocolate malted milk powder,” but Ovaltine is a chocolate malted milk powder, too. Look at the label here. Says “Ovaltine: Chocolate Malt.” I assume the recipe as given is just using the generic term, so you could use Carnation, Ovaltine, or Horlick’s.
