Vanilla Cheesecake With Chocolate Hazelnut Crust And Raspberries Recipes

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F. With mixer, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Add egg, ReaLemon® and vanilla and mix well. Press raspberries firmly into bottom of crust, reserving a few whole berries for garnish. Slowly pour cream cheese mixture over fruit. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool.
• Chocolate Glaze: In small saucepan, over low heat, melt semisweet chocolate with whipping cream. Stir until thickened and smooth. Remove from heat. Glaze over cheesecake. Chill. Garnish as desired.

HAZELNUT AND CHIPPED CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Using a blender or a food processor, finely chop 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Place in a small mixing bowl. Add vanilla wafer crumbs, ground hazelnuts, 2 tablespoons white sugar, and melted butter or margarine. Mix until well combined. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in a preheated 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) oven for 15 minutes. Cool.
• In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add 1 cup white sugar; mix well. Add the eggs and 3 tablespoons liqueur. Mix until well blended. Coarsely chop 1 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips, and add to the cream cheese mixture. Stir. Pour batter into the cooled crust.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 1 hour. Let cake cool for 1 hour. Remove outer ring from pan. Then let cool completely.
• Melt 2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips over hot (not boiling) water. Stir until smooth. Dip 13 hazelnuts into the chocolate, covering one-half of each nut. Shake off the excess chocolate. Place on a waxed-paper lined plate. Chill until set.
• To the remaining melted chocolate, add sour cream. Mix well. Stir in 1 tablespoon liqueur. Spread glaze on top of the cooled cheesecake. Garnish with chocolate dipped hazelnuts.

CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°. Combine cracker crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Bake until lightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack., For filling, in a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Heat over low heat, stirring until gelatin is completely dissolved. Add the semisweet chocolate; stir until melted. , In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar substitute and sugar until smooth. Gradually add chocolate mixture and the cocoa. Beat in vanilla. Pour onto crust; refrigerate until firm, 2-3 hours., Arrange raspberries on top of cheesecake. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen.

SWIRLED RASPBERRY & CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Separate eggs; let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Place a greased 9-in. springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. , In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and confectioners' sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of prepared pan. Place raspberries and sugar in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Strain and discard seeds., Preheat oven to 325°. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add egg yolks; beat on low speed just until combined. Remove 1 tablespoon; stir into raspberry puree. Remove half the remaining mixture to another bowl; stir in cooled chocolate. , In a large bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. With a spatula, fold half the egg whites into chocolate mixture until no white streaks remain. Pour over crust. , Fold remaining egg whites into plain cream cheese mixture; spread over chocolate layer. Drop raspberry mixture by tablespoonfuls over top; cut through filling with a knife to swirl., Place springform pan in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of boiling water to larger pan. , Bake 55-65 minutes or until center is just set and top appears dull. Remove springform pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool cheesecake on a wire rack 10 minutes; loosen edges from pan with a knife. Cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight., Remove rim from pan. Serve cheesecake with additional raspberries if desired.

RASPBERRY AND VANILLA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• To make the crust, place the wafers in a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process until finely crushed. Add a couple of drops of water. Press the mixture evenly and firmly onto the bottom of a springform pan (see note below), making a fist and using the back of your hand and fingers. Refrigerate the crust while you make the filling. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Using an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. On low speed, add the sour cream and vanilla and set aside. In a clean mixing bowl, using the whisk attachment, combine the eggs and 1 cup of the sugar. Whisk for 4 to 5 minutes until fluffy. Fold in the softened cream cheese mixture. Separate this mixture into two large glass bowls. To one of the bowls, add the raspberry puree, mix well. In another bowl, using an electric mixer with clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites. Start at low speed and increase the speed as the peaks form. Slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar. When the whites are stiff but not dry, scrape them equally into the two bowls of filling and use a spatula to gently fold them in. Don't over mix the filling. Pour alternating plain mixture and raspberry mixture into the prepared pan until the pan is filled. Bake for approximately 1 hour, until the cake has risen and browned slightly and it just shimmies when you gently move the pan. It's a good idea to place the springform on a low, flat, pan, such as a pizza pan, to catch any batter that leaks. Turn the heat off and let the cake stand in the oven for 1 hour more. Remove the cake from the oven and cool before serving. You can make this cake a day ahead.

VANILLA-HAZELNUT CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Draining the Cheese.
• Set a strainer over a bowl and spoon the cottage cheese into it. Cover the set-up with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least all hour or until the excess moisture has drained out of the Cheese.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Making the Hazelnut Paste.
• While the cheese is draining, stir 3 tablespoons of - the sugar and the water together in a small saucepan. Cover the pan, set it over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Remove the cover, dip a pastry brush into cold water, and wash down any sugar crystals that may have formed on the sides of the pan. Keep the pan uncovered and continue to cook the sugar until it turns very pale yellow--drop a little on a white plate to test the color. Add the chopped hazelnuts to the pan and stir gently with a small wooden spoon or a chopstick just until the nuts are coated with syrup. Swirl the pan carefully and continue to cook until the syrup tests medium amber on a white plate. Immediately turn out the caramelized nuts onto the parchment-lined baking sheet. Set the caramel aside to cool and harden. Break the caramel into pieces and process to a paste in a food processor. Scrape the paste into a small bowl, cover, and set aside.
• Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF Line a 2-inch-high 8-inch round cake pan with a parchment paper circle and coat the sides of the pan lightly with vegetable oil spray. Put a kettle of water on to boil and set aside a roasting pan that will hold the cake pan and about an inch of boiling water.
• MAKING THE BATTER.
• Spoon the drained cottage cheese into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and process for 2 to 3 minutes scraping down the sides as needed. Don't try to cut the processing time short-you need this time to make the cottage cheese silken. Leave the cheese in the processor while you prepare the rest of the batter's ingredients.
• Soften the Neufchatel cheese by either warming it gently in the top of a double boiler or heating it in a microwave oven for about 30 seconds; stir until smooth. Put the Neufchatel cheese into the work bowl along with the soft, pulpy seeds from the vanilla bean (just scrape them out of the pod with the point of a small knife) or the vanilla extract. Add the eggs, the remaining I cup sugar, and the salt and Pulse just Until the mixture is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times during the process. Don't overdo it, or you'll have a thin batter.
• Measure out 1 cup batter and gradually add it to the hazelnut paste, mixing well. Pour the remaining batter into the prepared pan. Drop 10 spoonfuls of the hazelnut batter randomly over the vanilla batter. Dip a table knife into tile pan and swirl the two batters to create a marbled pattern-take care not to overmix, or you'll end up blending, not marbleizing, the batters.
• Put the cake pan into the roasting pan, open the oven, slide out the lower rack, and place the pan on it. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan and then very carefully slide the oven rack back into position, taking care not to let any water slosh onto the cake. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the cake has risen slightly and is just beginning to come away from the sides of the pan. Remove tile cake from its water bath and put it on a rack to cool to room temperature. or for as long as 2 days.
• When completely cool, cover and chill for at least 24 hours, Or for as long as 2 days.
• UNMOLDING THE CAKE.
• To unmold the cake, run a thin metal spatula around the edges. Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap, place a flat plate or a cardboard cake round against the plastic, and invert the cake and plate. Rap the pan lightly to release the cake-you'll feel it fall against the plate-then remove the pan and peel away the paper. Put a serving plate or cardboard cake circle on the cake and carefully turn the cake so that it is right side up on the circle. Remove the plastic wrap and press the crumbs around the sides of the cake. Cut the cake using a long sharp knife, dipping it into hot water and wiping it dry between cuts.
• STORING.
• The cake will keep for 2 days in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap.