Banana Cheesecake Bread: Another Way to Use Up Overripe Bananas

What happens when you have too many bananas left over to simply make a banana bread? Then you crack out the big guns and make banana cheesecake bread! 

I bought an entire bunch of bananas, and completely forgot about them: they sat in my fruit bowl until they went brown and spotty. Now, I like spotty bananas, but even for me these went too far: they had got to the powdery stage of ripeness. 

So, I didn’t really want to make a load of banana bread because a) I’m not really banana bread’s biggest fan, and b) I already have a problem with baking more than can be eaten at home. But, I do have a friend who adores cheesecake in all its manifestations! I thought I’d make him a nice treat. 

This is an extremely banana-y dessert that’s sickly sweet, so I heartily recommend that it’s served with a dark chocolate, or mocha, sauce, or dusted liberally with a good quality deep, rich cocoa powder. The bitterness is key to mellowing out the sweetness. Alternatively, you can go all-out sugar-fest and eat with a delicious caramel sauce and some chopped pecans. 

The trick is to add one large mashed banana for every 225g (8 ounces) of cream cheese to your favourite cheesecake recipe. Mine is thick and crumbly, like a European baked cheesecake, but even if you use a more custardy style, like a New York cheesecake, bananas have a good setting quality like eggs when used in baking, so don’t worry about the recipe being too soft or soupy. 

Next time I make this, I'll make a round one; but, because I had so many bananas, I made two loaves. One went to my friend, and the other went to college with my fiancé.

Cheesecake Raspberry Brownies (Wheat Free, with Dairy Free Option)

I absolutely love cheesecake, and I absolutely love brownies--so does my lovely companion--so what would be better than merging the two into one fabulous morsel? Fudgy, dense, dark brownie smothered in rich, thick, creamy cheesecake, swirled with tangy, fruity raspberry jam; what's not to like?

I've seen lots of recipes online for cheesecake brownies, but usually the brownie mixture and the cheesecake mixture are partially mixed together then baked simultaneously as one large confection; it's not common to see them cooked as two separate layers. This was a delicious experiment, which led to another trial with the ever illusive perfect brownie recipe.

This brownie recipe is another variation on my recent trials with replacing flour in cake recipes: by replacing two-thirds of the flour in a classic sponge cake with dark chocolate, and omitting the liquid, you get a deliciously dense brownie.

I thought this brownie recipe was so perfectly delicious that I actually retrospectively edited my previous blog post on fudgy brownies. I thought instead of muddying up the waters with lots of contradictory brownie recipes, I'd just update the one I wrote for Ice-Cream Month.

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

DIFFICULTY

Simple techniques, but time consuming

TIME

2 hours, plus an overnight chill

RECIPE RATING

Intermediate

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

INGREDIMENTS

Makes one 9 inch (22 centimetre) square cheesecake brownie

2 medium (US Large) eggs

4 ounces (115 grammes) unsalted butter, or baking margarine

4 ounces (115 grammes) plain or dark chocolate, 55%-70% cocoa, or dairy-free chocolate

3 ounces (85 grammes) soft light brown sugar

3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar

2 ounces (55 grammes) plain spelt flour

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla

Up to 2 tablespoons (up to 30 millilitres) cocoa powder, to taste

Cheesecake topping

1 pound (455 grammes) full fat cream cheese, or silken tofu, or unsweetened coconut cream

6 fluid ounces (170 millilitres) Greek yoghurt, or sour cream, or soya yoghurt, or coconut yoghurt

4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar

2 medium (US Large) eggs

1 tablespoon (15 millilitres vanilla essence

Jammy topping

4 fluid ounces (115 millilitres) seedless raspberry jam

2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) cornflour

1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) lemon juice

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

FREE FROM

Nuts, gluten, yeast

CONTAINS

Eggs, spelt, dairy (dairy free option in italics), maize, refined sugar

~~ ^ _ ^ ~~

METHOD

First, make the brownie layer

• Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F, Gas Mk.3), line a 9 inch (22 centimetre) square tin with tin foil, and lightly grease the tin foil.
• In a microwave safe bowl, or heatproof bowl set over simmering water, melt the butter and chocolate together. Allow to cool slightly.
• In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and sugars with an electric mixer until pale and thickened in consistency.
• Beat in the vanilla, and then slowly add the melted chocolate in a stream, beating all the time with the electric mixer, until all the chocolate is incorporated.
• Sieve in the flour, then fold through gently with a metal spoon or silicone spatula. Pour the mixture into the tin, and smooth out the top as much as you can.
• Bake for 20 minutes on the centre shelf, or until the top is dry and a cocktail stick comes out clean when poked into the middle of the cake. Allow to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack.

Then, make the cheesecake layer

• Place the jam in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until it melts and begins to simmer. Mix the cornflour, lemon juice, and a few teaspoons of water together in a cup to make a slurry.
• Beat in the slurry and continue to cook for a minute or two, until the mixture thickens. Allow to cool completely before using in the cheesecake.
• Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2)
• In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a wooden spoon until smooth, and then beat in the yoghurt, or sour cream. Mix the sugar in gently until completely incorporated.
• Gently mix in the eggs, one at a time, until completely blended. Try not to beat to hard, as beating the eggs can add in too much air and cause the cheesecake to crack.
• Pour the mixture out onto the brownie layer, smooth out as well as you can, then dollop the jam on top in polka dots all over the top.
• Using a cocktail stick or thin knife, swirl the jam into the cheesecake. I did this by running the cocktail stick back and forth in across, then up and down, then diagonally.
• Bake on the centre shelf for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the outside edge of the cake is firm and set, but the centre is still a little jiggly. It shouldn't be liquidy, just jiggly like a firm jelly.
• Open the oven door and turn off the oven, and allow it to cool to room temperature, about an hour or two. Transfer the cheesecake to the fridge and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

STORAGE

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Ice-Cream Month: Tiramisù Ice-Cream (Wheat Free)

Ti piace il gelato? Hai un gelato tiramisico!

 

Granted, this isn't actually proper gelato, but I love me some tiramisù! I've made a few tiramisù inspired desserts on this blog, mostly involving cheesecakes, because it's one of my favourite muses: the combination of cheesecake-like cream, sponge cake, coffee and chocolate is just right for me. It's a decadent creamy treat, with a kick.

I first made tiramisù inspired ice-cream about four years ago for a Dutch friend, but it never made it to the blog because we ate it all. So, in honour of Ice-Cream Month, I thought I'd make it again.

This one went a bit pear shaped because the cream didn't whip up right for me this time: I think my ingredients were too warm. It still tasted amazing, but didn't layer and swirl as well as I might have liked. As such, I will reiterate that it's imperative that your ingredients are all cold! That way you'll get lovely fluffsome ice-cream that'll stay super soft in the freezer.

This also uses some yoghurt for sourness, and mixed in equal proportions with icing sugar it can replace some of the condensed milk in your recipe. Although, to maintain the silky texture, never replace more than half of the condensed milk.

INGREDIMENTS
Makes about 2 pints (about a litre) of ice-cream

For the ice-cream base

• 16 UK fluid ounces (455 millilitres) whipping cream
• 10 UK fluid ounces (285 millilitres) condensed milk
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) Greek yoghurt
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) icing sugar
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) instant espresso powder
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

To assemble,

• 1 medium egg, separated
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) white spelt flour, sifted
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) sunflower oil
• Chocolate syrup, for assembly
• Optional: white rum, for sprinkling

Instead of making sponge cakes, you can just use shop-bought trifle sponges. I make my own because I can't buy wheat-free trifle sponges in Ireland.

METHOD

First, make the sponge cakes.

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F, Gas Mk.7), and line a flat tray with non-stick baking paper.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add in the sugar while beating until you have a glossy meringue that holds stiff peaks.
• Beat in the yolk and oil, then switch to a metal spoon to fold in the flour. Be sure to fold it in completely.
• Spoon little blobs of cake mixture onto the baking paper, tap the tray on the work surface a few times, and then bake on the centre shelf of the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. The cakes will be done when they are an even golden brown, and springy to the touch.
• Allow to cool completely before assembling the ice-cream. If you like, you can sprinkle them gently with some white rum, but this is completely optional.

Then, make the ice-cream base.

• In a measuring jug big enough to hold a UK pint (570 millilitres), mix together the Greek yoghurt and icing sugar until it becomes flowing and smooth. Top up the yoghurt mixture up to 12 UK fluid ounces (340 millilitres) with condensed milk. You might have some condensed milk leftover, so use that for another project.
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream to soft peaks. Fold in the yoghurt and condensed milk mixture and the vanilla essence, then continue to beat until it hold medium peaks.
• Divide the mixture in two: leave one part plain, and into the other part fold the espresso powder.

Now, assemble the masterpiece.

• In a two-pint (1 litre) pudding basin, layer the ice-cream bases with crumbled cakes and chocolate syrup as you want. Once layered, swirl with a knife to marble the layers, and then decorate the top with more crumbled cake and chocolate syrup.
• Cover with the lid or some cling film and freeze for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

Recipe Revision: Baked Cheesecake, but a large one this time! (Gluten Free Option)

I know I shouldn't be tempting you all during Lent, but here is a particularly luscious and decadent treat: baked cheesecake!

I love cheesecake, and I particularly like baked cheesecake. I've never been a huge fan of chilled cheesecake because the texture is too jellyish, and I really detest the feeling of jelly. Baked cheesecake has a super rich, dense texture with a smooth finish that's irresistible.

I have done many baked cheesecakes over the years, from peanut butter and chocolate, to coconut and lime, to black forest style, to tiramisù, to my most popular Millionaire's cheesecake, but you have noticed that they are all small. And some of them are made with a meringue base, which has high likelihood of shrinkage, which has always irked me, despite lauding the development at the time. 

But not only have I had difficulty with making little cheesecakes, which are supposed to be easier, I've always found it incredibly difficult to get large cheesecakes to work: they are plagued with cracks, sunken surfaces, or shrinkage. They never had the lusciousness I wanted.

However, over the last year or so, I have been experimenting with more recipes that use baked custard style fillings. I did a pumpkin pie, which is a custard based on mashed pumpkin, evaporated milk, and eggs, which made me realise that cheesecake filling is essentially a glorified cream cheese custard.

It all made sense all of a sudden.

Custard bases are cooked at a low temperature to set, rather than bake like a cake. And the enemy of all custard fillings is the unnecessary addition of air.

I modified the ratio of the pumpkin pie recipe, which essentially uses one egg to set about half a pound (225 grammes) of purée and four fluid ounces (120 millilitres) of evaporated milk, and simply did a swap. I also used the same baked biscuit crumb base as I did in my Key Lime pie and Mississippi Mud pie recipes.

It all seems so simple now! (Of course, all people's ovens an ingredients are different, so a success for me won't automatically convert to success for others. But don't be discouraged!)

INGREDIMENTS
For one 8 inch (20 centimetre) round cake

For the crust,

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) plain biscuits, crushed, such as digestives, or gluten free variety
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) butter, melted
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) brown or white sugar

For the filling (all ingredients must be room temperature for the best results,

• 1 pound (455 grammes) full fat cream cheese (you can also replace half with marscapone for even smoother results)
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar
• 6 fluid ounces (180 millilitres) natural yoghurt (for a thick, dense cheesecake), or whipping cream (for a lighter, more custardy cheesecake)
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence, or lemon juice, or any essence you like
• Optional: 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) lemon zest, or zest of any citrus fruit you like

HOW-TO

First, make the base

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, Gas Mk.4), and line the sides of an 8 inch (20 centimetre) round loose-based cake tin, and wrap the loose bottom with foil. Put the bottom back into the tin and set aside.
• Crush the biscuits finely, and mix in a large bowl with the butter and sugar. Mix until the crumbs are all damp with the melted butter, until it looks like wet sand.
• Pour the crumbles into the cake tin, and press the mixture into the base and sides of the tin, about two inches (5 centimetres) up. Make sure it's packed good a tight: you can use a flat bottomed glass to get the corner nice and sharp.
• Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the surface of the biscuit base is set.
• Once cooked, remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2), or turn it off until you want to use it again.
• Allow to cool completely before you fill it; about half an hour.

Then, make the filling,

• Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F, Gas Mk.2).
• In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth with a wooden spoon. Avoid the temptation to use an electric mixer, as that will introduce too much air.
• Add the sugar in a little at a time, mixing well between each addition. I add it gradually because sometimes if you add all the sugar it can make the cream cheese go runny.
• Mix in the yoghurt, vanilla essence, and lemon zest, if using, and then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each one.
• Once all the ingredients are well mixed together, gently pour the mixture into the base. Tap it gently on the work surface to rise all the little air bubbles to the surface. If you want to eliminate as many bubbles as possible, run a knife through the mixture.
• Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake for an hour. Keep an eye on it after 45 minutes, just in case your oven runs hot.
• After 45 minutes, check the cheesecake: gently slide the oven shelf out, and--making sure to protect your hand with an oven glove or tea towel--gently shake the cheesecake. The outside two inches (5 centimetres) or so should be completely set, and the centre should wiggle like a jelly. If you touch the top of the cake with a clean fingertip, the surface should be dry, not sticky.
• If the cake doesn't pass the test, cook for a further ten minutes before testing again.
• When the cake is cooked, turn off the oven and open the door. Cool the cake to room temperature in the oven, then move to the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.

VARIATIONS

• You can replace up to half of the cream cheese with peanut butter, coconut cream (which is the firm bit in a can of separated coconut milk), or chocolate hazelnut spread.
• You can add in ground spices or cocoa powder also, making sure to sieve it in to prevent lumps.
• Switch up the essences, or citrus juice, if you like.
• You could also swirl in some syrup, lemon curd, or jam for a pretty marble effect with a good flavour.
• If you like, you can change the kind of biscuits you use in the base. You could use chocolate biscuits, or spiced biscuits, or a mixture of any biscuits you like.

No blogs on this day in 2014, 2015, or 2016

THIS TIME IN 2013: Wheat Flour Alternatives

Neapolitan Cheesecake Gâteau (Wheat Free)

Happy autumn to all my Irish readers! But to everyone else, I'm pretty sure it's still summer.

This week was my little sister's 19th birthday. I remember to this day when she arrived: she was in a carry cot on the kitchen table, all little and brand new and cute. Now, she's a young woman with thick dark hair as long as an old fella's life story and sparkling blue eyes. I know I shouldn't refer to a 19 year old woman as my little sister, but she always will be; even when she's 99.

Generally speaking for her birthday cake, she asks me to make her either cheesecake (and I've done many cheesecake recipes over the years of this blog as a result) or superdy duperdy chocolate upon chocolate cake. So this year I thought why not do both at the same time?

My sister loves pink, and she loves cheesecake, and she loves chocolate, which makes my brain jump to a very specific classic flavour combination: Neapolitan.

In its beginnings, Neapolitan ice cream -- supposedly invented in Naples, as the name would suggest -- was actually supposed to look like the Italian flag: green pistachio ice cream, next to white vanilla ice cream, next to red (well, pink) cherry ice cream. When it was brought to the States by Italian immigrants, they altered it to chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla to please the American palate. Oddly enough, as I've probably mentioned in earlier recipes inspired by the flavour combination, when I had Neapolitan ice cream as a kid the chocolate part was substituted with lemon ice cream, which was nicer in my opinion.

Neapolitan combines two of my sister's favourite things: pink, and chocolate.

I decided that I was going to sandwich some luscious no-bake strawberry cheesecake in between a dense chocolate cake base and a light and fluffy vanilla cake top. Then wrap it all up in strawberry flavoured whipped cream cheese icing, and glazed with marbled dark and white chocolate.


Admittedly, this recipe is mostly chocolate and strawberry with a bit of vanilla and white icing thrown in for good measure, but I think the title is still appropriate.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy (dairy substitutes can be found in italics)
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS

For one 8 inch (20 centimetre) round chocolate cake

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) cocoa powder
• ⅔ teaspoon (4 millilitres) baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 1 medium egg
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 ounce (30 grammes) sunflower oil
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) whipping cream or evaporated milk
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence

For one 8 inch (20 centimetre) round vanilla cake

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) cornflour
• ⅔ teaspoon (4 millilitres) baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• 2 medium eggs
• 3 ounces (85 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 ounce (55 grammes) sunflower oil
• 2 fluid ounces (60 millilitres) milk
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

For the strawberry cheesecake filling:

• 10 ounces (300 grammes) cream cheese, chilled
• 5 fluid ounces (150 millilitres) whipping cream, chilled
• 2 to 4 ounces (55 to 115 grammes) strawberry milkshake powder, to taste
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• Red or pink food colouring

For the strawberry whipped cream cheese icing:

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, room temperature (or half butter, half solid vegetable fat, like in this recipe)
• 6 ounces (170 grammes) cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) icing sugar
• 4 tablespoons (60 millilitres) strawberry milkshake powder
• 3 fluid ounces (90 millilitres) whipping cream, chilled
• Red or pink food colouring
• Coloured sprinkles, for decorating

For the marbed glaze:

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white chocolate
• 1½ tablespoons (23 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) whipping cream

and

• 1 ounce (30 grammes) dark chocolate
• ½ tablespoon (7 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) whipping cream

HOW-TO

First, make the chocolate cake

• Preheat the oven to 160ºC (320ºF, Gas Mk.3, warm), and grease and flour an 8 inch (20 centimetre) round cake tin.
• Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder together either in a large bowl, or onto a large piece of greaseproof paper. Set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk the egg and caster sugar together by hand with a balloon whisk or with and electric beater, until it has doubled in volume, turned pale yellow, and leaves a trail when you lift the beaters/whisk.
• While beating, gradually add the oil in a slow steady stream until fully incorporated.
• Add in half the sieved dry ingredients, and fold in with the balloon whisk or with a rubber spatula.
• When almost fully mixed, but with a few dry patches, add in the cream and the vanilla essence, and fold in until almost combined.
• Add in the last of the dry ingredients, and fold in completely until you have a smooth mixture.
• Pour the mixture into the tin, and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until springy to the touch and a cocktail stick poked into the centre comes out clean.
• Allow to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before turning to cake out to cool completely.

Then, make the vanilla cake,

• Wash and dry the same tin as before, and again grease and flour it. Raise the oven temperature to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4, moderate).
• Make the cake following the same technique as above, but this time there is cornflour instead of cocoa powder, an extra egg, and milk instead of cream.
• Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a light golden brown and springy to the touch.
• Cool in the tin for 10 minutes as before before turning out to cool completely.

Now, make the filling,

• In a mixing bowl with a balloon whisk or electric beater, beat the cream cheese with the strawberry milk powder, lemon juice, and vanilla essence until smooth.
• Add in the whipping cream and beat vigorously until it has become creamy and holds stiff peaks.
• Add the food colouring a drop at a time until you get a delightful bright pink colour.
• Fill a large piping bag with the mixture, fit with a large round tip, or simply cut the end off the bag if it is a disposable one.

Now, to make the layers,

• Cut the domes off both the cakes, making sure the layers are equal in height.
• Pipe a smear of the filling onto the serving plate or cake board, and secure the chocolate layer, cut side up.
• Pipe the filling onto the chocolate cake, making a dam around the edge. Use all the filling.
• Put the vanilla cake on top, cut side down, and press gently to secure. You do not want the filling to squish out the edges.
• Put in the fridge for an hour or two to chill completely.

Once chilled, make the icing,

• In a mixing bowl, beat the room temperature butter (and vegetable fat, if using) with an electric beater or balloon whisk, until light and fluffy.
• Add the cream cheese, and whisk again until thoroughly combined
• Add the strawberry milkshake powder, and beat again until it also is thoroughly combined. Little by little, beat in the icing sugar.
• Pour the cream into the mixture, and whisk until thick and creamy, and the icing holds stiff peaks.
• As with the filling, add the food colouring a little at a time until you get a lovely bright pink colour.

Now, make the glazes,

• In one cup or small bowl, mix the white chocolate with it's allotted quantity of cream and oil. Heat very gently in the microwave, or over a pan of simmering water, until completely smooth and freely running.
• Repeat this process with the dark chocolate.

Now, for the final assembly,

• Fit a piping bag with a medium or large star tip. Fill the bag with the icing.
• Pipe stripes up the side of the cake, and pipe a border around the edge of the top of the cake. 
• Smooth out with a palette knife, the blunt side of a table knife, or an icing smoother (you can also use an old bank card or the like, making sure to wash it thoroughly before use). This technique means there's no unnecessary spreading around of the icing, which could dislodge the layers.
• Cover the top of the cake with the white chocolate glaze mixture. The border you piped earlier will prevent the glaze from spilling over the edge. Use the dark chocolate glaze to make a pattern on the top: you could marble or feather, or just add splotches. Whatever you please!
• Finally, pipe rosettes around the edge of the top of the cake, and dust with sprinkles.
• Allow to chill in the fridge for at least 2 full hours before serving. Allow the cake to temper to room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.

This cake takes an awful lot of assembly, as you can see, but it's very worth it. It's not something you want to try if you haven't made at least on layer cake before.

This time in 2015: Something Savoury: Tomato Soup with Cheese Buns (Wheat-, Dairy-, and Egg Free)
This time in 2014: No-Gelatine Chilled Cheesecake: Chocolate
This time in 2013: Soft Vanilla Fudge

Coffee 'Cheesecake' Gâteau

This week has been light on recipes because my oven at home has finally decided to give up the ghost. Petitions to the landlord for a replacement have been unsuccessful as of yet, and luckily enough for me my mother - whose kitchen has quite a nice oven - isn't too far away. As such, a lot of my eating of late has been stovetop based...

In better news, this is my 198th recipe, meaning that the big two-oh-oh is very nearby! I think I have something lovely planned for it, whenever it may be. This whole not having an oven thing has made baking on the regular quite a challenge.

So, this week was my brother's birthday! I cannot count (well, I probably could if I spent the time going through the list of posts) the amount of birthday cakes I've done at this point. A lot. Usually the same one every year for each family member. As convenient as that is in its predictability, it doesn't leave much room for trying something new.

This year, he asked for his two favourite cakes combined: coffee cake, and cheesecake. I decided to try and find an unusual way to mash them up.

I made two coffee sponge sandwiches as in this recipe, using 4 eggs and scaling the other ingredients up accordingly. Instead of milk, also, I used strong coffee; I split the mixture between two greased and floured 8 inch (20 centimetre) round sandwich tins. When they were baked, I drizzled them in coffee syrup, made using equal volumes of caster sugar and strong coffee, and boiled in a saucepan until slightly thickened. For this, I used 4 tablespoons each of coffee and sugar.

To add in the cheesecake element, I used a whipped cream cheese icing. I followed the same method as I did for my carrot cake with orange cream icing, replacing the caster sugar with icing sugar (for convenience's sake), the orange juice with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, and leaving out the zest entirely.

I used a third of the icing to sandwich the cakes, then used the remainder to ice the cake, I sprinkled some cocoa powder in the middle to resemble a cappuccino, or to summon the image of a tiramisù to mind.

It was very tasty, and also gave me a bit of inspiration to try a new way of making chilled cheesecakes without all the fuss. I find that every time I make one new thing, it inspires a slew of new things; you gotta love creativity.

Neapolitan Cheesecake (Wheat Free)

It was this August bank holiday weekend, 2015, that my little sister turned 18 years old, and was no longer little. For her birthday she requested cheesecake, and cheesecake I provided!

Despite not being able to decide between a chocolate or a strawberry cheesecake, she had very specific instruction that the cheesecake be of the chilled variety, and definitely not baked. She spent so much time umming and aahing about which flavour she wanted, that I decided to make both.

Now, as I have mentioned in my previous Neapolitan adventures, here in Ireland it's vanilla, strawberry, and lemon, not chocolate. However, to fit in with my sister's request, I did the typical white pink brown combination.

I didn't really know how to decorate it once I had made it, but at the moment sprinkling biscuit or cake crumbs onto the finished cake is in vogue, so jumping on the bandwagon kinda worked this time. You can decorate your cake however you want, though.

Taking the recipe I used to make her cheesecake last year, I decided to play with it a little to see if I could make it more of a formula instead of a static recipe, dividing the ingredients into parts and ratios. It worked very well: in fact, there was an opinion among the consumers that it was one of my finest cheesecake creations.

This recipe has been slightly edited so that the chocolate and strawberry layers are equal. In my cake, the chocolate layer was a little deeper than the strawberry one.

FREE FROM
☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts
☑ Eggs

CONTAINS
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products
☒ Dairy

INGREDIMENTS

For biscuit base,

• 3 ounces (85 grammes) white spelt flour
• 1 ounce (30 grammes) porridge oats
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) cocoa powder
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) butter, at room temperature
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• Pinch of salt

For chocolate layer,

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) whipping cream, cold
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) good quality milk chocolate
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 2 to 4 tablespoons (30 to 60 millilitres) caster sugar, to taste

For strawberry layer,

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 4 fluid ounces (120 millilitres) whipping cream, cold
• 4 ounces (115 grammes) strawberry jam, at least 50% fruit content
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) lime juice, or 3 tablespoons (45 millilitres) of lemon juice
• 2 to 4 tablespoons (30 to 60 millilitres) caster sugar, to taste

For white chocolate icing,

• 7 ounces (200 grammes) whipping cream
• 3½ ounces (100 grammes) white chocolate, in small pieces
• 1 teaspoon (5 millilitres) vanilla essence

METHOD

First, make the base.

• Line the sides of an 8 inch (20 centimetre) round loose bottomed tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4).
• In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, oats, cocoa, salt, and caster sugar together until blended. Rub the butter into the dry ingredients to make a coarse crumbly mixture.
• Tip the mixture into the tin and even out with the back of a spoon, pressing very gently. 
• If you want, you can take a tablespoon or two of the crumbs and bake separately to make the topping: just sprinkle them on a small ovenproof dish and bake alongside the main crust
• Bake for 10 minutes, only enough to set the crust. Take out of the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.

Once the base is cold, make the chocolate layer.

• In a bowl or jug, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 1 minute intervals on the Defrost setting, mixing between each spin in the microwave. Alternatively, you can melt the chocolate traditionally in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool.
• In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Fold in the cooled melted chocolate until fully mixed. Add the sugar to taste: you may not need all the sugar.
• In a separate bowl or jug, whip the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Fold gently but quickly into the chocolate cream cheese mixture. Taste for sweetness again, adding more sugar if you want, but working quickly to not deflate the mixture.
• Pour into the tin on top of the crust and smooth out evenly. Chill for an hour before adding the strawberry layer.

To make the strawberry layer,

• In a small bowl, beat the jam to make it smooth and to even out the texture.
• As before, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl, then fold in the jam until fully mixed. Add the lime juice, and then add the sugar to taste.
• Whip the cream in a separate jug or bowl until it forms stiff peaks, then fold into the strawberry cream cheese mixture. Taste for sweetness again, adding more sugar if needed.
• Pour on top of the chocolate layer, smoothing out with a spoon. Put in the fridge to chill overnight.

Also make the whipped white chocolate icing,

• Put the broken white chocolate in a small mixing bowl or large jug.
• Heat the whipping cream either in a saucepan over medium heat, or in the microwave, until it reaches simmering point: little bubbles should appear around the edges and it should be steaming hot.
• Pour the hot cream over the white chocolate and let it stand for about 2 minutes. Then, mix thoroughly with a spoon or balloon whisk; the heat of the mix will have started to melt the chocolate.
• Allow to cool to room temperature before putting in the fridge to chill overnight with the cheesecake.

The next day, assemble the master piece.

• An hour before you intend to serve your cake, you will need to ice it. Take the white chocolate cream and whip it until it makes soft peaks.
• Use half of the cream to ice the sides very carefully. Make sure that your icing utensil, whether it's a palette knife, table knife, or the back of a spoon, only touches the icing layer, and not the cheesecake layer: this will prevent smearing.
• Put the remaining half in a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe a rosette design around the edge of the top.
• Sprinkle the biscuit crumbs on the top, if you like, or leave it plain.

This cake is very rich and indulgent, and this cake can serve up to 16 people, so eat with caution. It will keep in the fridge, covered, for about 3 to 5 days.

THIS TIME IN 2014: How NOT to Make Hazelnut Ice-Cream
THIS TIME IN 2013: Traditional Coconut Ice

Tiramisù Mini Cheesecakes (Wheat Free)

Good Monday all my wonderful readers! I apologise timely for the lack of Friday recipe, and I have no reasonable excuse: I was busy socialising. I had a party on Saturday night though, and I made some very tasty mini cheesecakes, and these ones were a twist on the classic retro dessert tiramisù!

Fluffy sponge base, silky vanilla cheesecake with a coffee syrup swirl, topped off with some whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder... it is sinfully delicious, and actually very similar to a normal tiramisù, bar the raw egg.

Each person who has eaten one of these morsels has said to me that the coffee flavour in a cheesecake is very unusual, but very nice. The coffee is swirled in, making it quite subtle and not overpowering, but good and intense in some pockets where the syrup has collected.

This is what the cake looks like without the cream and the cocoa dusting...

Without the cream and cocoa dusting that makes this a 'tiramisù' cheesecake, it's a simple and elegant coffee swirl cake, which is equally delicious.

I love mashing up classic desserts, and if you've been following my blog regularly you will have noticed many varieties of dessert mash-ups, which mostly revolve around ice cream and cheesecake, which are my two favourite desserts. However, I have done a nice Neapolitan Coconut Ice mashup, which is neither cheesecake or ice-cream related.

But anyway, back to the actual making of this concoction. This was my second attempt at this particular recipe, the first one failing on account of a botched base sponge: I had both used the wrong sort of cake, and forgotten the baking powder. Thus, they were tough and stodgy, and dislodged themselves from the cream cheese layer. Fail.

I then put my thinking cap back on, and remembered that traditionally tiramisù is made with savoiardi biscuits (or lady fingers), which are little fingers of fatless sponge. I slightly enrich my fatless sponge with sunflower oil to make it more flexible, but it's still very light and airy. It worked much, much better, and even the cream cheese layer and the swirl worked out a bit better the second time too. I think the practise run did me good.

FREE FROM

☑ Soya (check for soya lecithin)
☑ Yeast
☑ Wheat
☑ Nuts

CONTAINS
☒ Eggs
☒ Dairy
☒ Gluten
☒ Refined sugar products

INGREDIMENTS

For 12 muffin sized cheesecakes:

For the sponge cake bases:

• 1½ ounces (40 grammes) white spelt flour
• ½ ounce (15 grammes) cornflour
• Pinch of salt
• 1½ ounces (40 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) sunflower oil
• 1 medium egg
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) milk, or water

For the vanilla cheesecake filling:

• 8 ounces (225 grammes) full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 1 medium egg
• 2 tablespoons (30 millilitres) natural yoghurt, cream, or milk
• 2 teaspoons (10 millilitres) vanilla essence, or the seeds of one vanilla pod
• Pinch of salt

For the coffee syrup:

• 2 ounces (55 grammes) caster sugar
• 2 fluid ounces (60 millilitres) strong coffee
• Optional: 1 tablespoon (15 millilitres) white rum or Marsala

To serve:

• 8 fluid ounces (240 millilitres) whipping cream
• 1 or 2 tablespoons (15 or 30 millilitres) icing sugar
• Cocoa, for dusting
• Optional: Grated dark chocolate, or decorating

METHOD

To make the bases:

• Preheat oven to 180ºC (350ºF, Gas Mk.4). Line a 12 hole muffin tin with large paper cases and set aside.
• Get a large mixing bowl and a smaller bowl, and separate the egg, putting the white in the large bowl and the yolk in the smaller bowl. To the yolk, add the oil and the milk and mix well until smooth and fully combined.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the white until it forms soft peaks, then gradually add the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time, beating all the while. Beat until it forms stiff peaks. (Once you have finished beating, you will need to wash the beaters as you'll be using them later to whip egg white again).
• Pour the yolk mixture into the whites and gently fold together. It should still be as fluffy and as increased in volume, but a little more yellow.
• Sieve in the spelt flour, cornflour and salt, then fold very gently until you get a batter that is relatively thick. Divide the batter between the 12 cases; it won't seem like much, but it rises quite a bit so don't worry.
• Bake the bases for 8 to 10 minutes, or until set and slightly springy to touch, and the faintest of golden brown. Remove from the oven, set on a wire rack, and reduce the oven temperature to 150ºC (300ºF, Gas Mk.2)

When your bases come out of the oven, immediately prepare the coffee syrup:

• In a saucepan, heat the sugar and coffee over a low heat until this sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, and cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bubbles are a little less rapid and the syrup has visibly thickened slightly.
• Remove from the heat and, if using, mix in the rum or Marsala.
• Using a pastry brush, gently dab some of the syrup onto the little sponge bases. If you don't have a pastry brush, use a spoon to sprinkle half a teaspoon's worth of syrup on each sponge.

Now, make the cream cheese layer:

• Like with the bases, you will need two bowls, both about the same size. Separate the egg, putting the white in one bowl and the yolk in the other.
• To the yolk, add the cream cheese and mix until smooth and creamy. Gradually add half the sugar to the cream cheese mixture, mixing between additions, so the cream cheese doesn't turn runny. Gently stir in the yoghurt and vanilla.
• Using an electric mixer once more, whip the egg white as before, gradually adding the remaining sugar and the pinch of salt.
• Once the white is beaten to stiff peaks, gently fold it into the cream cheese mixture in two additions. You'll have a lovely light batter.
• Divide the batter between the 12 cases, spreading out evenly. Give the tray a firm tap on the work surface to even out further and release any trapped air bubbles.
• Pour about a teaspoon (5 millilitres) of coffee syrup into the centre of each cheesecake and then, using the tip of a knife or a chopstick, swirl the syrup into the cream cheese layer. Don't overdo it, or you'll end up completely mixing the syrup in and losing the swirl effect.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until set around the edges and a little bit jiggly in the middle. Remove from the oven and cool for about 10 minutes in the tray before transferring the cakes carefully to a wire rack.
• Chill for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. Serve chilled.

To serve:

• Whip the cream and icing sugar to stiff peaks using , and then use it to fill a piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle. Pipe a little rosette on each cake, and dust with some cocoa powder. If you like, you can sprinkle some grated dark chocolate on top too for that extra decadence factor.

Now, as you've probably read, there are quite a few steps involved in making these, but none of these steps is very complicated. But the result is delicious and well worth the effort. These are a great little morsel to bring along to a party, because everyone can have a serving of cheesecake without the hassle of cutting up or plating up.

THIS TIME IN 2014: Spanner in the Works: White Spelt Flour No Longer Exists

THIS TIME IN 2013: Dinosaur Kimberleys (Wheat Free)