Ultimate Cracow Style Cheesecake

I like all kinds of cheesecakes, but Cracow Style Cheesecake is my favourite one. This recipe is base on Pierre Herme, found on White Plate.

Ingredients:

For crust pie:

• 250 g all purpose flour, 
• 125 g confectioners sugar, 
• vanilla beans from 1 pod (or 1 tsp. vanilla paste) 
• 125 g cold butter, 
• 1 large egg, 
• 1 hard boiled yolk, grounded;

For cheese batter:

• 1 kg cottage cheese or quark cheese,
• 8 large eggs, yolks and eggs whites separated,
• 100 g unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 100 g confectioners sugar, 
• 1 tsp. vanilla paste, 
• 3 Tbsp potato or corn starch, 
• 1 egg yolk whisked with 2 Tbsp milk, for brushing,
• 100 g seedless raisins;

Method: 

1. Place all the ingredients into a bowl, mix until they are combined. Don't overwork the dough otherwise will be hard after baking. Wrap dough in the plastic foil and put into the refrigerator for 30-40 minutes. 
2. Take ⅔ of the dough and roll out to a thickness of one-fourth inch. Place into prepared baking pan. 
3. Bake in the oven preheated to 350°F for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
4. Beat butter with half of sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add yolks, waiting after each until previous completely incorporated. Then add cheese, slowly spoon by spoon until all ingredients will be well mixed. 
5. Beat eggs whites with remain sugar until stiff peaks. 
6. Add to the cheese batter raisins and starch. 
7. Put egg whites to the batter and gently fold. 
8. Roll out the second disk of pastry slightly thinner than the bottom crust, about one-eighth inch, but into more of a square shape. Use a knife or pastry wheel to cut long strips. Create lattice pattern on the top of cheesecake.
9. Brush lattice with egg wash. 
10. Bake in a bain marin (water bath-see in Cooking Techniques and Tips) for 60 minutes in the oven preheated to 325°F. 
11. When done turn off oven and leave a cheesecake additional one hour to cool down slowly.
12. Afert an hour take off from the oven and cool down to the temperature room. After that keep in the refrigerator until served. 

Dulce de leche cheescake

Easter is coming and I'm looking for a cheesecake inspiration. This time I've tried David Lebovitz recipe. Salty Philadelphia and sweet confiture de lait ;) for me perfect combination...

Ingredients:

For the crust:

• 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs,
• 1½ tablespoons sugar,
• 6 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted, melte,
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon.

For the cheesecake:

• 2 pounds cream cheese,
• ¾ cup sugar,
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature,
• 1 cup dulce de leche,
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract,
• generous pinch of salt.

For the glaze:

• ⅔ cup dulce de leche,
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream or whole milk.

For the garnish:
 
Flaky sea salt, such as fleur de sel or Maldon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and cinnamon, until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the buttered crumbs in the bottom of the springform pan and about one-third of the way up the sides
3. Bake the crust in 9" baking pan until it’s light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, stopping the mixer between each addition to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in 1 cup of dulce de leche, vanilla, and salt. 
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in a bain marie (instruction see here) for 60-70 minutes, until the cheesecake appears to be just set in the center. If you jiggle the pan, the outer part of the cake should not move but a small circle in the middle, about the side of a bracelet, should still quiver. 
6. Turn off the heat of the oven. Crack open the oven door 1-inch, and let the cake cool in the oven, as the oven cools, for another hour. This gentle cooling will help prevent the cheesecake surface from cracking.
7. Remove the cheesecake from the oven. Set on a cooling rack. Run a knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan, then let the cheesecake cool completely.
8. When the cake has cooled to room temperature, warm the dulce de leche and cream or milk is a small saucepan over very low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove the outside of the springform pan from around the cake. Spread the dulce de leche topping over the cheesecake, pushing it right to the edge of the cake. Just before serving, sprinkle the cake with flaky sea salt, just enough so that everyone gets a flake or two in each bite.

Note: The cheesecake can be made up to four days ahead, glazed, and refrigerated. The unglazed cheesecake can also be frozen, if well wrapped, for up to 2 weeks.

Mocha torte à la Agnes Bernauer

Delicious and not to sweet. Name "Agnes Bernauer" can only be used by Kroenner Cafe in Bavaria. This torte has macaroon layers interleaved with mocha buttercream.








Ingredients for macaroon layers:

• 270 g egg whites,
• 225 g fine sugar,
• 200 g grounded almonds,
• 2 Tbsp corn starch,
• 1,5 Tbsp cocoa powder,
• 70 g confectioners sugar,
• 1 tsp cinnamon,
• 50 g sliced almonds.

1. Sift almond flour three times. Discard any large pieces that do not pass through a sieve. Make sure that at the end you have desired weight. Add confectioners sugar, cocoa powder, cinnamon and sift one more time almond mixture into a clean bowl. 
2. Brush the bowl of a stand mixer with a lemon juice to make sure it's not greasy. Beat egg whites until foamy with a whisk attachment. Add slowly fine sugar spoon by spoon and beat on medium speed for 5-10 minutes, or until stiff peaks form. The beaten egg whites should stick to the whisk when you remove it.
3. Pour dry ingedients into the bowl with egg whites. Using a spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg whites, until the batter is thick and lava-like. This should take about 70-80 folds. Do not overmix. The batter should slowly fall off your spatula when you pick it up and any peaks in the batter should settle down within 20 seconds. 
4. Transfer batter to a piping bag fitted with large tip. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pipe 5 circles 7" diameter onto parchment paper. Once all layers are piped out, slam the baking sheet against a flat stable surface, then rotate, and slam again. This is done to force any large air bubbles to the surface. 
5. Sprinkle each layer with 10 g of sliced almonds.
6. Preheat oven to 340°F. Bake all 5 circles at once on the middle rack for 20-30 minutes. Oven temperature varies, so keep an eye on them. That should be crispy, flat and light brown. Do not over bake them. Let cool on baking sheet for 20 minutes and transfer to the wire rack.

Ingredients mocha buttercream:

• 6 large egg yolks,
• 100 g + 30g fine sugar,
• 3 Tbsp corn starch,
• 3 Tbsp all purpose,
• 600 ml whole milk,
• 3 Tbsp instant espresso coffee,
• 250 unsalted butter, room temperature,
• 3-5 Tbsp coffee liquor

1. In the medium size of pot boil 500 ml milk with sugar (110g) and instant espresso coffee.
2. Whisk egg yolks with remaining milk (100 ml) and both kinds of flour.
3. Pour yolks mixture into boiling milk and whisk until getting thick, pudding consistency. Cover with plastic wrap making sure that it touch to the pudding surface.
4. Beat butter with 30 g sugar until pale and fluffy. Add coffee pudding slowly beating each time until smooth and creamy. Be careful, do not overbeat butter.

Assembling the cake:

• ½ cup sliced almonds,
• 2 Tbsp confectioners sugar.

1. Divide buttercream into 5 portions. 
2. Spread or pipe the buttercream on top of the first cake layer and stop 1/4 inch away from the edge. Place the next round of cake on top, press down starting from the center and moving out towards the edges. Repeat with each cake layer until all the layers have been stacked. 
3. Frost a side using remaining buttercream and sprinkle with sliced almonds. Drizzle top of the cake with confectioners sugar. Cake can be prepared day ahead. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Enjoy!

*Note: for this recipe I'm using metric system of measurement. In case of this cake it's very important to be specific with weight of the ingredients.

Inspiration: Moje Wypieki and Oetker website

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour,
• ¾ tsp. ground cinnamon,
• ½ tsp. ground ginger,
• ¼ tsp. ground cloves,
• ¼ tsp. ground all-spice,
• ¼ tsp. ground cardamom,
• ½ tsp. salt,
• 1 tsp. baking powder,
• ½ tsp. baking soda,
• 2 large eggs,
• 1 cup granulated sugar,
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted,
• ½ cup buttermilk,
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract,
• 1 ½ cup pumpkin purée,
• 4 oz dark chocolate, melted,
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder,
• 3 oz white chocolate,
• ¼ cup whipping cream,
• 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together eggs and sugar. Add melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla. Whisk until combined. Fold in pumpkin.
4. Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients and whisk just until no lumps remain.
5. Divide batter in half. Add the melted chocolate and cocoa powder to half of the batter; stir to combine.
6. Add the two batters to the pan, alternating between pumpkin and chocolate. Using a table knife, swirl through the batter. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove and cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
7. In a small saucepan, bring whipping cream just to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate pieces. Do not stir. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add corn syrup and stir until smooth. Drizzle over cake. 

This is not last minute cake, the best on next day.
 *Sources: Better Homes and Gardens

Tiramisu Torte

Quick, simple and sooo delicious! 

Ingredients:

• 6 egg yolks,
• 2 oz cold water,
• ½ cup extra fine granulated sugar,
• 2 teaspoon gelatin,
• 14 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature,
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract,
• 6 egg whites,
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar,
• 1 cup espresso or very strong coffee, at room temperature,
• 2 oz whisky,
• 7 oz ladyfingers + another 7 oz to garnish (optional).

Method:

1. Place gelatin in cold water and set aside.
2. Brew the espresso (or coffee). When cold add whisky and set aside.
3. Fill a saucepan with a small amount of water and bring to a boil and then turn to a low simmer. In a bowl whisk together egg yolks and sugar and whisk well. Place the bowl over the simmering water and whisk constantly until the yolk mixture reaches at least 165°F (74°C). The mixture should be thick and the color should be pale yellow. Remove from heat.
4. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until they hold stiff peaks.
5. In large bowl beat mascarpone cheese, gelatin and vanilla extract untill fluffy. Add the yolks mixture and combine until incorporated. 
6. Once the yolk-mascarpone mixture has cooled a little, gently fold in half of the beaten egg whites into the yolk-mascarpone mixture, then the remaining half just until fully incorporated.

Assemble Tiramisu Torte

1. Dip ladyfingers (side without sugar) into the coffee. Line the bottom of 7 in round cake pan with removable bottom. Try to match the ladyfingers as much as you can to make nice layer.
2. Spoon one third of the mascarpone filling over the lady fingers and spread into an even layer.
3. Dip same number of the ladyfingers into the coffee and arrange a second layer over filling. Spoon remaining mascarpone mixture over ladyfingers.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 6 hours.
5. Garnish with remaining ladyfingers and chocolate (optional).