Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Nunu's Kitchen: New York Cheesecake pie

Cheesecake has always been the bane of my baking existence. No bake ones wouldn't set properly, and baked ones would burn on the outside and runny on the inside with a cracked top. So I don't know how it was exactly that I found myself making cheesecakes on a Sunday night. Oh yes, it was because I had temporarily become single as Mr. Nunu was out playing Settlers. How can something so complicated possibly be fun?!
I used this recipe for Chantal's New York style cheesecake with some changes. The resulting cheesecake tastes EXACTLY like the ones you buy from the bakery! It is rich and creamy and fluffy and dense and velvety all at the same time. I managed to make two 10" pies plus 5 teeny weeny cupcakes from the batter.   You can halve the ingredients for 1 pie or pour everything into a 10" spring-form tin.
You will need:
  • 3 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 3 (250g) packages cream cheese
  • 1 cup and 2 tablespoons white sugar
  • 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 2-1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
For the sauce:
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen mixed berries
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1 tbsp jam (I would recommend some sort of berry jam)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • squeeze lemon juice
  1. Preheat oven to 325F for a pie and 350F for a cake (163 degrees C).
  2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter and ground cinnamon. Press onto bottom of pie dish. I used a disposable pie dish to avoid washing up xD
  3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar and milk until smooth. Mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
    The recipe actually says that you should cream the cheese and sugar together until smooth before you add the milk. I've found this to be rather impossibru as the cream cheese tends to stay rather solid even after 30mins out of a fridge. Adding the milk helps everything churn better so you don't end up over mixing. Cutting your cream cheese into smaller chunks help too.
  4. Fill a baking tray with water and put this tray on the rack directly below the rack your cheesecake is going to bake on. This bit of ingenuity is apparently called a "water bath". The water in the tray turns into water vapour inside the hot oven and cools down the oven somewhat. This somehow prevents your cheesecake from cracking.
  5. Bake pie at full temperature for 35-40 minutes, turn temperature down to 300 and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Cheesecake is done when the edges have puffed and turned colour a bit but the middle is still slightly wobbly. At that point, switch off the oven but allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for 20minutes or so with the oven door cracked open an inch or so. The idea is cool the cheesecake off gradually. You should refrigerate the cheesecake over night before serving.
  6. To make the sauce, boil the water in a small sauce pan, add the sugar, jam, and lemon juice. Once this has reduced to a syrup like consistency, add the mixed berries.
  7. ?
  8. Profit. Serve cheesecake with mixed berry sauce and fresh fruit.

19 comments:

  1. Looks really good! I love cheese cake too! ^_^

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  2. Ohh this looks so tasty...too bad I suck at bakey! Ill just tell my mom about this haha.

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  3. grrreat success!! the mini ones look so cute. this judgy face will give it a go sometime soon XD

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  4. Nom nom!! You make me really want some cheesecake now T^T poo poo. Glad yours turned out really well this time ^^ looks super delish, hope mr nunu got to appreciate it :3

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  5. Om nom nom, all my baked ones have failed in the past, so I just stick to no bake ones where I make it before I go on a night out, get ready, go out, am a bit drunk, snarfle up some cheesecake which has set for 3 hours, bed. LOL

    I MUST try your recipe though :)

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  6. How about a green tea cheesecake? :D

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  7. bookmarking this to try! the mini cheesecakes look so cute :) my dad bakes his leche flan in a water bath to keep it from cracking too.

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  8. That looks good!! i may try it hehe funny I bake when i have absolutely nothing to do too lol

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  9. *BOOKMARK* yummm yummm yumm. *rubs belly*

    I am going to make this one day. I have never had a real NY cheesecake before except for some frozen thing that was masquerading as one, and didn't taste like much at all. xD

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  10. wow that look ssoooo good!
    I love cheesecake & I love strawberries!

    xoxo HitomiNeko xoox
    http://hitomineko-hn.blogspot.com

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  11. Looks so delicious. I love berry cheesecakes, especially when it's completely covered in berries. Yum!

    tealeafcafe.blogspot.com

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