Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (25 page)

You will need a special cheesecake pan (they are deep and do not have removable bottoms) which used to be difficult to find. But since the cheesecakes in the dessert book became so popular, the pan is now generally available at specialty kitchen equipment shops all around the country. (It may be bought at, or ordered by mail from, Bridge Kitchenware, 214 East 52nd Street, New York, New York 10022.)

This may be made early in the day for that night (it must be refrigerated at least 5 to 6 hours before serving), or it can be made a day or two before, or it may be frozen (cheesecakes freeze wonderfully) and thawed before serving.

3¾ ounces (¾ cup) blanched hazelnuts (filberts), or almonds, walnuts, or pecans (see Note)

2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1¾ cups granulated sugar

4 eggs (graded large or extra-large)

⅛ teaspoon almond extract

2 ounces (2 squares) unsweetened chocolate

⅓ cup graham-cracker crumbs (to be used after cake is baked)

Use an 8-inch round one-piece cheesecake pan 3 inches deep. Butter it lightly all over the bottom, up to the rim, and around the inside of the rim or the cake will stick and will not rise evenly. Any unbuttered spot will prevent the finished cake from sliding out of the pan easily. Set the buttered pan aside.

The nuts must be finely chopped or ground. This may be done in a nut grinder, a food processor, or a blender. If there are a few uneven or larger pieces, it is all right (it is even better with some large pieces). Set the ground nuts aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the cheese, scraping the bowl frequently with a rubber spatula until it is very smooth. Beat in the vanilla and then the sugar very well, and then add the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl with the spatula and beating only until smooth after each addition. After adding the eggs, do not beat any more than necessary—this cheesecake should not be airy.

Remove 2 cups of the mixture and transfer it to a mixing bowl. (The remaining batter should be left at room temperature while the layers are being frozen.) Add the ground nuts and the almond extract to the 2 cups and stir to mix.

This will be the first layer. Pour it carefully into the middle of the pan. Very gently shake the pan to make the cheese mixture as smooth and level as you can. Keep the edges clean and straight.

Place the pan in the freezer for 1 hour or a bit longer until the layer is firm enough to be covered with the next layer without losing its shape.

Remove and set aside 2 more cups of the basic batter for the top layer.

Place the chocolate in the top of a small double boiler over hot water on moderate heat. Cover until melted. Then uncover and remove the top of the double boiler.

Mix the chocolate into the batter that is remaining in the mixer bowl.

Place the chocolate batter carefully by rounded teaspoonfuls all over the cold nut layer and very gently shake the pan to level the chocolate mixture—keep the edge as straight and neat as you can.

Return the cake to the freezer. The chocolate layer will need only about 15 or 20 minutes to become firm.

Adjust a rack to the lowest position in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the chocolate layer is firm enough, spoon or pour the white layer carefully and evenly over it. Level the top by briskly rotating the pan a bit first in one direction and then another.

Place the cheesecake pan inside a larger pan. The larger pan must not touch the sides of the cake pan and it must not be deeper than the cake pan. Pour hot water into the larger pan to a little more than halfway up the side of the cake pan. (If the large pan is aluminum, adding about ½ teaspoon cream of tartar to the hot water will keep the pan from discoloring. You don’t have to mix it—just put it in.)

Bake for 1 hour and 50 minutes. (This takes more baking than the other cheesecakes because it is partially frozen when it goes into the oven.) The top of the cake will be a rich golden brown and feel dry to the touch, but the cake will still be soft inside. (The cake will rise to or above the rim of the pan while it is baking, but it will sink below the rim as it cools.)

Lift the cake pan out of the water and place it on a rack for about 2 hours until it is completely cool. Do not chill the cake in the refrigerator or the butter will harden and the cake will stick to the pan.

Let stand until the bottom of the cake pan has reached room temperature. Then, to facilitate removing the cake from the pan, dip the pan for a few seconds into a large container of deep hot water (it can be boiling hot). Dry the pan. Place a flat plate or board over the top of the pan and invert. Remove the cake pan.

Sprinkle the bottom of the cake evenly with the graham-cracker crumbs. (If you are going to freeze the cake, place a round of wax paper on top of the crumbs so that you will be able to lift the frozen cake from the plate and wrap it in plastic wrap.) Now, very gently place another flat plate or board (it should not be too heavy) on top of the crumbs (or on top of the round of wax paper). Hold it all with one hand underneath and one hand on top, with the fingers of both hands spread out. Very carefully and quickly turn everything over so the cake is right side up (once you start to turn it over do not hesitate—it should be an even and smooth motion). Do this without pressing too hard or you will squash the cake, which is still soft.

Refrigerate for at least 5 to 6 hours or overnight. Or freeze it. (Wrap after freezing and thaw before unwrapping.)

Serve at room temperature—it is more delicate and creamy at room temperature. But some people love it very cold. I’m wild about it either way.

NOTE
:
Hazelnuts usually come with brown skins which must be removed (see directions for blanching, page 10). Or, if you buy them already skinned but not toasted, toast them to bring out their flavor. (To toast, place them in a shallow baking pan in a 350-degree oven. Shake the pan occasionally until the nuts are only lightly colored.) Hazelnuts are difficult to find. I buy them unblanched at a health-food store, or blanched but not toasted from a wholesale nut dealer. If you use almonds they should be blanched (see page 10) and toasted as above.

If you use walnuts or pecans they should not be toasted. But if they are ground in a processor or a blender you must be very careful (especially with walnuts). Stop the machine while they are still in small pieces, or they will become oily and pasty—they should remain in little pieces and should not become a nut-butter.

Mocha Velvet

11 TO 14
P
ORTIONS

My friend, Lora Brody, a cateress and chocolate-dessert-and-cookie expert in West Newton, Massachusetts, has had a special reputation for her cheesecakes since her original recipes for Ginger Cheesecake and Main Course Cheesecakes were printed in
The New York Times.
This is Lora’s recipe for a chocolate cheesecake. It is a large, beautiful, delicious refrigerator cake (the filling is not baked) with an unusually mellow and exotic flavor that comes from a combination of ricotta cheese, coffee, and chocolate.

It is best to make this a day ahead. You will need a 10-inch spring-form pan.

CRUST

8 ounces Amaretti (see Note)

½ cup graham-cracker crumbs

¼ pound (1 stick) sweet butter, melted

Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter the sides only (not the bottom) of a 10 × 2- or 3-inch spring-form pan.

The Amaretti must be ground into fine crumbs. Grind them in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, or in two or three batches in a blender, or place them in a strong bag and pound them with a rolling pin. You will have 2 cups of crumbs. Set aside and reserve ½ cup. Place the remaining 1½ cups in a mixing bowl. Stir in the graham-cracker crumbs and then add the melted butter and mix well.

Turn the crumb mixture into the pan. With your fingertips press some of the crumbs against the sides of the pan, but leave a rim of uncrumbed pan about 1½ inches wide around the top of the pan. The crust should be 1½ inches high. Don’t worry about the top edge of the crumbs being a perfectly straight line. Press the remaining crumbs firmly against the bottom of the pan. (Try not to concentrate the crumbs too heavily where the sides and the bottom of the pan meet.)

Bake the crust for 5 minutes, then let it cool completely.

FILLING

1 tablespoon plus 1½ teaspoons (1½ packages) unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon cold water

8 ounces semisweet chocolate

⅓ cup dry instant espresso or other dry instant coffee

1 cup boiling water

½ cup granulated sugar

32 ounces (2 pounds) whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup heavy cream

Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a small cup and set aside to soften.

Break up the chocolate and place it in a heavy 2- to 3-quart saucepan.

Dissolve the espresso in the boiling water and pour it over the chocolate. Place over low heat and stir frequently until the chocolate is melted. Then stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Add the softened
gelatin and the sugar and stir over low heat for a few minutes to dissolve. Remove from the heat and set aside, stirring occasionally, until cool.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer beat the ricotta cheese well. Add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture and beat until thoroughly mixed. Remove from the mixer.

Whip the cream until it holds a shape but not until it is stiff. Fold into the chocolate mixture.

Pour about half of the filling into the cooled crumb crust. Sprinkle the reserved ½ cup of ground Amaretti evenly over the filling. Cover with the remaining filling. Spread the top smooth, or form a neat design with the back of a spoon (I make parallel ridges).

Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

Several hours before serving, remove the sides of the pan as follows:

Insert a sharp, heavy knife between the crust and the pan. Pressing firmly against the pan cut all the way around the crust, then release and remove the sides.

The cake may be removed from the bottom of the pan if you wish. If so, it should be done now. Use a firm (not flexible) metal spatula (either a wide one or a long, narrow one). Insert it gently and carefully under the bottom crust and ease it around to release the cake completely. Use two wide metal spatulas, or a small, flat cookie sheet, or the removable bottom of a quiche pan or layer-cake pan to transfer the cake to a platter.

TOPPING

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon granulated or confectioners sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

About ¼ cup toasted almonds, blanched or unblanched, and thinly sliced (toast by baking in a 350-degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes until lightly browned)

In a small, chilled bowl with chilled beaters whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla until it holds a shape and is firm enough to be used with a pastry bag.

Fit a pastry bag with a star-shaped tube, place the cream in the bag, and form a decorative border with the cream around the rim of the cake. Or place it by spoonfuls around the rim.

Crumble the toasted almonds slightly and sprinkle them over the whipped cream.

Refrigerate.

NOTE
:
Amaretti are extremely crisp Italian macaroons. All Amaretti are not the same—some are made with almonds—but the brand I buy, Amaretti di Saronno, Lazzaroni & Company, is made with apricot kernels and they have a special flavor. These come in an 8-ounce box (as well as larger tins), with the macaroons wrapped two together in pastel tissue papers, 20 little packages (40 1½-inch cookies).

Amaretto-Amaretti Chocolate Cheesecake

6 OR
M
ORE
P
ORTIONS

This is a chocolate cheesecake flavored with Amaretto and Amaretti and almond paste, on a bottom crust of chocolate and Amaretti. It is an extravaganza par excellence, with a radically unusual and irresistible taste. (Amaretto is an Italian almond-flavored liqueur; the brand I use is Amaretto di Saronno. Amaretti are crisp Italian macaroons; the brand I use is Amaretti di Saronno, Lazzaroni & Company. Incidentally, this liqueur and these macaroons are both made with apricot kernels, not almonds. It is important to use this special liqueur and these special macaroons in order to have the special flavor of this special cake. See Note at end of recipe for sources.)