It was my birthday yesterday. (I guess, technically, it's kind of still my birthday; it's still the 8th back in Ontario.)

Anyway, it was a pretty low-key birthday overall. Both because I didn't really want to do anything big for it and because the Kidlet had caught a cold and was feeling a bit under the weather. I did want to at least make a cake to mark the occasion though. And, after perusing the various recipes in my collection, I decided to hit up this one from my collection of recipes from the Something Awful CAKE thread.

It's a pretty simple, no-bake cheesecake recipe. Nothing too fancy. Just make the crust, beat together all the ingredients for the filling, pour it over, and chill until set. No fancy techniques or decorations. No icing. No layers. But that was honestly exactly the type of thing I wanted for the day. And, if I was going to do a cheesecake, how could I resist the Milo one? It was the perfect recipe to try out while I was here in New Zealand.

Not only is it a straight-forward, chilled cheesecake full of Milo. The crust is basically just a batch of chocolate crackles mushed into the bottom of a springform pan!

I mean, it's not quite exactly the recipe from Edmonds, but only because the author has you use real milk chocolate rather than getting you to make ersatz chocolate by combining shortening, icing sugar, and cocoa powder the way the Edmonds recipe does. Same idea though.

And, given that this recipe specifically calls for 250g of "good quality milk chocolate", Reiver pointed out that the author almost certainly had Whittaker's in mind. Since it's one of the only brands that still comes in 250g blocks. So, between that, and the Milo, and the inclusion of thickened cream, this does, indeed, feel like a very NZ recipe.

It is also, as it turns out, delicious! I liked this one a lot. It's easy to make, not too sweet, and nicely flavoured. The chocolate crackle crust comes out pretty firm, so it can be a bit challenging to get your fork through it, but it tastes lovely and adds an interesting texture to the base. Also, the fact that the crust is so sturdy makes it relatively easy to lift off the pan in one piece. I mean, it was a little tricky to get any implements under it initially. But once we managed to wedge the edge of a spoon under there, we were pretty much able to lever the whole thing up and slide it over onto a plate without any worries about the structural integrity. So that was handy!

I don't think this is my favourite cheesecake that I've ever made, but it is certainly a good one! I liked it a lot, I'm glad I tried it, and I would definitely make it again.

ETA: Now that I've clicked through to the link provided in the original post, I see that this was presented as an Australian recipe, not a NZ one. Oh well... I still think it was very approparite to NZ, so no complaints here.

Milo Cheesecake

From Raspberri Cupcakes via the Something Awful forums

Ingredients

Crust

• 250g milk chocolate (preferably Whittaker's)
• 1/3 c. dessicated coconut
• 2 c. Rice Krispies

Filling

• 300mL thickened cream or heavy (35%) cream
• 340g cream cheese, softened
• 75g sugar
• 4 tsp. unflavoured gelatine
• 3 Tbsp. cold water
• 200mL milk
• 1 1/2 c. Milo (plus extra to decorate)

Directions

1. Lightly oil a 20cm (8") springform pan.¹
2. Melt the chocolate over low heat.
3. Mix in the coconut, then stir in the Rice Krispies.
4. Once everything is well-mixed, press the chocolate mixture into the bottom of the springform pan in an even layer.
5. Chill for at least 30 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Set aside.
7. In a clean bowl, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy.
8. Beat in the sugar until well-combined.
9. In a small bowl, combine the gelatine with the water and set aside.
10. Heat the milk over medium heat until just boiling.
11. Remove milk from heat and mix in the Milo.
12. Add the softened gelatine to the Milo mixture and stir until smooth and well-mixed.
13. Add the Milo mixture to the cream cheese mixture and beat until evenly mixed.
14. Fold in the whipped cream.
15. Pour the filling over the crust.
16. Chill for at least 3 hours.
17. Run a hot knife around the edge of the pan and pop off the sides.
18. Carefully lift the cake off the base and transfer to a serving platter.
19. Sprinkle with additional Milo and serve.

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¹ I ended up using a 24cm (~9") springform pan for my rendition of this cake. Obviously this resulted in a wider, but shorter cake, but it was fine. The crust was still thick enough and everything seemed to work out fine. That said, if you'd like a taller cake, the smaller pan is definitely the way to go. ^Back

I still kind of can't believe that I found a recipe that fit my ingredients so well. I had cream cheese, fresh goat cheese, and mascarpone to use up. This cake uses all three. And it calls for cranberries and pistachios, both of which I had in the freezer. And the cranberries have been going begging for months now, so I was thrilled to finally have a use for them. (I kept contemplating trying to make cranberry curd to use as either a cake or pie filling, but never quite getting around to it.)

And the cake was delicious. Not, I think, my favourite cheesecake, but it was still really good.

The cake itself is very simple. Just cheese, eggs, and a bit of sugar and vanilla. No crust either! The topping is a little more complicated since you have to poach the cranberries and then strain them and use the poaching liquid to make a gelée. Plus there's making the candied pistachios. But none of those tasks are particularly onerous. I think the worst part of making this cake was all the waiting! Everything needs to be cooled and cilled to set up properly, so it takes forever to be ready to eat. (I actually got impatient and cut mine before the topping had completely set. It was still tasty, just a bit messy.)

Goat Cheese Cake with Wine-Poached Cranberries and Candied Pistachios

Slightly adapted from Food & Wine

Ingredients

Cake

• 375g cream cheese, softened
• 225g fresh goat cheese
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 vanilla bean
• 340g mascarpone
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

Topping

• 1 c. port¹
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 2-3 strips of lemon peel (~2cm x 5cm each)
• 225g fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1 Tbsp. cold water
• 1 1/4 tsp. unflavoured gelatin
• 1/2 c. candied pistachios

Directions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and wrap a 23cm (9") springform pan in tin foil.
2. Combine the cream cheese, goat cheese, sugar, and salt.
3. Split open the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds, and add them to the bowl with the cheeses and sugar. (Put the vanilla pod in your sugar bowl or save it for another use.)
4. Beat the cheese mixture for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the mascarpone and beat it in.
6. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
7. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared springform and place it in a roasting pan or other large vessel. Pour hot water into the roasting pan until it comes ~2/3 of the way up the side of the foil-wrapped springform.
8. Carefully transfer the cake in its bain marie to the oven and bake at 160°C (325°F) for ~60 minutes².
9. Transfer springform pan to wire rack to cool.
10. After 1-2 hours, transfer cake to fridge and chill for at least an hour or two before proceeding. (Overnight would be better, but I'm not that patient!)

Topping

1. Combine wine, sugar, and lemon peel and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Cook, stirring occasionally, for ~3 minutes.
3. Add cranberries and cook until they begin to pop (~3 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and allow to cool (~1 hour).
5. Pour mixture through a fine mesh strainer, reserving both the cranberries and the poaching liquid. (Discard the lemon peel.)
6. Place cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle with gelain. Set aside for 5 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, return poaching liquid to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
8. Cook, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes.
9. Remove from heat, add softened gelatin, and stir until dissolved (~1 minute).
10. Pour mixture through a fine mish strainer into a bowl and let cool to room temperature. Skim off any foam or bubbles.
11. Pour gelatin mixture over the chilled cheesecake, tilting to completely coat the top of the cake.
12. Chill, uncovered, until gelatin has set (~1 hour).
13. Meanwhile, make the candied pistachios as directed.
14. Once gelée has set, decorate the cake with the poached cranberries and candied pistachios.
15. Run a hot knife or offset spatula around the edge of the springform pan, then remove the sides.

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¹ I didn't have any port and I didn't want to go out and get a bottle just for this, so I mixed ~1 tsp. of brown sugar into a cup of dry red wine and called it a day. ^Back
2 I checked my cake after 60 minutes and it still seemed really, really jiggly, so I gave it another 10. Then I was worried that it still wasn't done, so I turned off the oven, but put it back in the warm oven for another 10 minutes. I think that last 10 minutes in the warm oven may have been a bit too much though, because my cake came out kind of crumbly. Next time I should probably cook it a little less. Oh well... ^Back

My mom makes fabulous cheesecakes and, over the years, has shared several of her recipes with me. Surprisingly, this is not one of those recipes. I was tempted, but the lure ATK's promise of a "foolproof" cheesecake was too strong. (Plus, there's something very satisfying about getting to check off another recipe in one of my cookbooks.)

I did make a couple very minor changes to the recipe -- mostly to avoid having leftover ingredients -- but I tried to follow the instructions very closely. I don't have much experience with cheesecakes, so I was out of my comfort zone here. It seems to have turned out well though, despite my worries about it being underbaked, overbrowned, or not sweet enough.

I might be tempted to try turning the oven up very slightly next time, but I'm undecided. It did seem cooked in the end, so maybe it's best not to mess with it. I have similar thoughts about the browning step at the end. I felt that even just four minutes at 500°F made it quite dark and wondered if 475°F might not be a more suitable temperature. I may experiment with that next time. I'll see.

Sorry, I forgot to snap any photos and it's all gone now. Another thing to try to remember for next time!

New York Cheesecake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Crust

• 3/4 c. graham cracker crumbs (or 6 whole graham crackers, crushed)
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 1kg (2.2 lbs) cream cheese, softened
• 135g mascarpone (or more cream cheese)
• 1 1/2 c. sugar, divided
• 1/3 c. sour cream
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 7 large eggs¹

Directions

Crust

1. Place one over rack in the upper middle position and one at the lower middle height.
2. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and brush the bottom of a 23cm (9") springform pan with melted butter.
3. If you're starting with whole graham crackers and have a food processor, this whole procedure can be done with short pulses in the food processor. If you're starting with whole graham crackers and don't have a food processor then a molcajete or a Ziploc back and a rolling pin are probably your best bet for arriving at the crumb stage.
4. Combine the graham cracker crumbs and sugar, mixing well.
5. Add the flour and mix until evenly combined.
6. Pour in the butter and mix with a fork until all the crumbs look moistened.
7. Dump the crumb mixture into the greased pan and press it down firmly to form an even layer.
8. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to tamp it down and smooth it out a bit more.
9. Bake at 160°C (325°F) on the lower middle rack for 12-13 minutes.
10. Set aside to cool while the filling is prepared.

Filling

1. Reduce oven temperature to 95°C (200°F) and carefully grease the sides of the springform pan with a bit of melted butter.
2. Beat the softened cream cheese and mascarpone (if using) with 3/4 c. of the sugar for ~1 minute.
3. Add the remaining 3/4 c. sugar and beat for another minute.
4. Scrape down the bowl and add the sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla and beat for 1 more minute.
5. Beat in the eggs one or two at a time.
6. If desired, strain the filling through a fine mesh strainer.²
7. Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan and set aside for 10 minutes to allow air bubbles to rise to the surface.
8. Gently draw the tines of a fork across the surface to pop the air bubbles.³
9. Bake the cheesecake on the lower middle rack at 95°C (200°F) for 3-3.5 hours⁴. If you don't mind poking a thermometer into the top of the cake -- which seems criminal if you went to the effort of straining the filling and popping all the bubbles on the surface -- then you can test for doneness with an instant-read thermometer. Look for an internal temperature of 74°C (165°F).
10. Remove the cake from the oven and preheat the oven to 260°C (500°F).
11. Once the oven is preheated, place the cake on the upper middle rack and bake for another few minutes⁵ until the top is well-browned. Watch it carefully!
12. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
13. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan, then continue cooling, in pan on wire rack, for 2-3 hours.
14. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 6-24 hours⁶ before serving.
15. Serve as-is or with a fruit compote of your choice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for six eggs + 2 yolks. This would definitely make the cake richer, but I didn't want to have to deal with figuring out what to do with two leftover egg whites, so I just put in an extra whole egg in place of the two yolks. This doesn't seem to have hurt the cake any. ^Back
2 I skipped this step. ^Back
3 I did do this step, but it didn't seem to work very well. A lot of the air bubbles seemed very reluctant to pop. I'm sure it's beneficial if you want the smoothest possible top, but I'd be inclined not to bother next time. It's fiddly and the bubbles don't bother me enough for it to be worthwhile. ^Back
4 Mine needed every minute of the full 3.5 hours. To the point where I was worried that it was still a bit underdone at the end of baking. I think it was fine in the end, but it made me a bit nervous. ^Back
5 ATK suggests 4-12 minutes, which is a pretty wide range. Mine was already quite dark after 4 minutes. As noted above, I think I would be tempted to try browning it at 250°C (475°F) next time, just to see how it goes. ^Back
6 Mine definitely didn't get a full six hours in the fridge before cutting, but it seemed none the worse for wear for it. ^Back