Tag Archives: cheesecake

Coconut Cheesecake (flourless)

Hello guys! How are you doing these crazy days? Hope you stay home, safe and healthy. Sometimes I forget about this coronavirus situation, that I stay home not because it’s quarantine and lockdown but because I decided to bake something and spend time home… I’d love to drive somewhere and discover a new coffee shop and sit there over a cup of aromatic flat white… I miss the beach, I miss paddling in the sea I want to go to the nearest supermarket without wearing face mask and gloves, and buy a freshly baked bun there and eat it on the way back I want to go to the park with my little one and run and play with a ball there… I miss everything, I miss the world. Sigh.

I hope this will end soon somehow, and we will able to do whatever we enjoy doing.

A few months ago I’d wrote that this cake with sweet dried cherries will be tastier… but today, today everything is different. I know it’s difficult for someone to come by to Russian tvorog but if you’re lucky to find pure one – use it, better 5-9%. I make tvorog myself: boil a large quantity of plain yogurt (or 3%-kefir/soured milk). As another great alternative for tvorog, Bulgarian and Cypriot cottage cheese works well, or Ukrainian is much the same.

Moreover, if you don’t have enough coconut flakes, keep them to sprinkle the cake top, or even don’t use it at all, and use plain white flour in the cake batter. Now you can see – that this cake recipe is very simple and can be adopted very easily. Don’t miss this incredible and tasty cake! Hope you will make it soon. Stay safe guys!

Coconut Cheesecake (flourless)

Servings: 4-5
Time: 50-60min
Difficulty: very easy
Print

*dried cranberries are also good

What you’ll need

400g tvorog/cottage cheese

70g white sugar

4 egg yolks

2 tbsp dried cherries, optional*

1-2 tbsp dried pineapple cubes, optional*

100g unsweetened coconut flakes

4 egg whites

a pinch of salt

How to make it

Whisk tvorog with sugar and egg yolks.
Fold in dried fruits, if using, and coconut flakes.
In a separate bowl, slightly beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks. Carefully fold into batter.
Line the baking tin with paper, grease and pour in the batter.
Bake in preheated 180C oven for 40 minutes.
Allow to cool in the tin for some time and transfer to the serving plate. Sprinkle with some coconut flakes, if desired.

Enjoy!

The duo cake

Cheesecake or chocolate cake? This cake is perfect for those who can not choose! I called it ‘the duo cake’ because it combines both the chocolate cake and cheesecake. It turned out great from the first attempt, moreover this cake is so delicious, smooth chocolate part shades nicely into the cheesy-one. The cake has amazing aroma of dark chocolate, sweet vanilla and sunny orange. I hope you will give it a try! 🙂

The duo cake

Servings: 8-10
Time: 2hr 30mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

For the recipe I used 20cm square cake tin, but round tin is also can be used.

Ingredients

Cheesecake part

500g cream cheese (Philadelphia)

70g white sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

1 egg

50ml double cream (30%), optional

1 tsp vanilla exctract

zest of one orange

Chocolate part

160g flour

40g cacao powder (unsweetened)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 tsp salt

100g brown sugar (or white sugar)

2 eggs

70g butter, melted

200g sour cream

Top
1-2 tbsp chopped dark chocolate (70-75% cacao)

orange zest

Preparation method

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with sugar and cornflour, mix in egg until just combine, then fold in cream if using. Add vanilla and orange zest.
In another bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder, add salt, baking powder and soda.
In a bowl, beat eggs with brown sugar. Mix in melted butter and sour cream.
Pour egg mixture into flour, combine but don’t overmix.
Line 20cm square baking tin. Pour in chocolate mixture. Then pour cheesecake mixture onto the top of chocolate one. Sprinckle with chopped chocolate and orange zest.
Bake in preheated 180C oven for 45-50 minutes.
Let the cake cool complitely, then cut into squres.
I served mine with cranberries, their sourness suits well with the cake.

Enjoy!

Adapted from Godiva.com

Pumpkin Cheesecake

It’s my very first pumpkin cheesecake! 🙂 I do love both cheesecake and pumpkin, but never tried to combine them together until I baked too many pumpkin slices and already couldn’t eat them.
Cheesecake is enjoyed by millions around the world, and each person has its own take on the best way of making it. Truly a scrumptious dessert! I guess that the pumpkin cheesecake is the America’s favorite dessert. Moreover, I’ve heard about National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day, is that true? In Russia we eat pumpkin, too, but usually it’s sliced and simply baked with sugar, or whole pumpkin stuffed with grains (have a look at my recipe here).
I knew how to make a basic cheesecake, so I just added pumpkin puree and some spices. Oh, I’m so happy with the result! The only thing I was worried that it can be too wobbly, finally it set good, just cracked a little. The texture is perfect – creamy, deliciously smooth and not-very-sweet, everything how I like. Unfortunately, the cheesecake has some unwanted calories, thus for weight watchers I recommend to substitute cream cheese with low-fat cottage cheese or quark.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Servings: 8-10
Time: >1hr 30mins
Difficulty: easy
Print

You need 18cm baking tin for this recipe

Ingredients should be at room temperature

Crust

150g graham crackers, finely crushed

80g butter, melted

Filling

350g cooked pumpkin, then pureed

220-250g cream cheese

30g brown sugar + 40g white caster sugar

2 tbsp double cream (35% fat)

2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk

2 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour)

1 tbsp plain flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger powder

small pinch of ground cloves, allspice and salt

Method

To make crust. In a medium bowl, blend butter with graham crumbs. Press the mixture into the base of baking tin to create an even layer. Chill for 10 minutes in the fridge, then bake in preheated 160C oven for 5-7 minutes. Take the tin out and let it cool for 10 minutes.
To make filling. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with sugar until smooth consistency. Add pumpkin and combine. Break one at a time, add egg yolk, mix to combine. Add double cream, cornstarch, flour and all spices. Beat until well combined. Pour the filling into crust, spread evenly and bake in preheated 180C oven for 45-50 minutes.
Take the tin out of the oven, let it cool at room temperature. Cover the baking tin and refrigerate overnight.
Remove cheesecake from the tin and slide onto a plate, slice and serve.

Enjoy!

[Click the photos for a closer look]

Cottage cheese and cranberry pie

Winter holidays are almost here and I can’t wait to celebrate! Holiday preparation is already well underway and it can be stressful, but I love this hustle and bustle season: frenzied shopping, decorating homes and work places, buying delicacies and champagne, choosing and wrapping gifts for family and friends. I’m absolutely absorbed in the planning of New Year dinner. Shopping list is written, salads and starters are chosen, goose and turkey are waiting in the freezer. And certainly I couldn’t forget about desert. For me it’s an important and sweet part of the dinner. Any festive dinner should be finished with a perfect cake! Have you chose the one? What will be the sweet star on your table? Will it be traditional cake or pudding, that you make every year or a fancy cake, that you’ll order from a restaurant?

This year I’ll be making the vanilla cheesecake with cranberry or red currant compote. It sounds simple, but that’s exactly what we need this winter – delicious, smooth and tender cake. 🙂 But if you’re tired and bored from all traditional desserts, why don’t you try my festive cake recipe. It seems similar to cheesecake, but I used tvorog (cottage cheese) and sweet condensed milk, and its taste and structure became different. Bright cranberries on the top make this milky and sweet cake absolutely festive! Definitely all guests’ eyes will be on this cake!

If you noticed cranberries are small, because it’s Russian, they are smaller and juicier compare to American cranberries. Needless to say, you can use any cranberries you can find, or frozen cherries are also great here.

Cottage cheese and cranberry pie

Servings: 6-8
Difficulty: moderate
Print

A new take on the vanilla cheesecake, this cake will go down well on any occasion.

Ingredients

Crust

260g flour

160g butter

1 small egg

2-3 Tbsp caster sugar

1 egg yolk for brushing the pastry crust, optional

Filling

450g tvorog/cottage cheese

3Tbsp cream cheese, optional

3-4Tbsp sweetened condensed milk

2 large eggs or 3 small

2 tsp granulated sugar (or omit it and add more condensed milk)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp cognac or brandy, optional

3 Tbsp ground almonds

100-150g cranberries

almond flakes, for decoration

icing sugar, for decoration, optional

Preparation method

Make the cake crust. Cover and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll out 3mm thick and cut a circle larger than 20cm (approx.26-28cm) baking pan. Bake blind in preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes. Then remove the weights, optionally brush with egg yolk, then return to the oven and bake for 5-6 minutes more.
Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl beat eggs with condensed milk and sugar if using until the mixture is pale and sugar almost dissolved. Add vanilla, cognac, cream cheese and mix.
If the cottage cheese is very crumble first mash it with a fork, then add to the filling mixture along with ground almonds, and stir to combine. Taste, add more condensed milk if it’s not enough sweet.
Pour the filling into pastry crust. Arrange cranberries on top, and decorate with almond flakes.
Reduce the heat to 170C and bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is set.
Let it cool in the baking pan for 10 minutes, then carefully take out and put on a serving plate. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired.
Enjoy!

German Cheesecake – Käsekuchen

October 9, 2014
milkandbun
49 comments
baking, cheesecake, dessert, food, food blogger, food photography, food styling, fromage fraise, German cheesecake, photo, photography, quark, recipes, sweet

Last weekend I went shopping to the local supermarket and found a dairy product which was new to me – fromage fraise (quark). So, I bought the quark in the hope of finding a recipe and use it somehow. I was browsing the net, when stumble upon the info that Germans making their cheesecake version and using quark; even though I use Jamie Oliver’ cheesecake recipe most of the time, I decided to try new recipe without hesitation. And what do you think! The cheesecake turned out golden and very fluffy, but after setting in the fridge it fell down.. The texture was creamy and tender, and it reminded me the bake with cottage cheese from my childhood. So, if you are not fun of heavy and over-sugary cheesecakes, it’s your option! I will make it again for sure.

German Cheesecake - Käsekuchen

Ingredients for 22cm baking pan

Crust

170g all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla sugar

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

70g butter

1 egg

Filling

600g quark

3 eggs, separated yolks and whites

150g granulated sugar

80g butter, at room temperature

1/2 lemon, grated zest, optional

180ml heavy cream

vanilla bean, seeds

1 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp lemon juice

a pinch of salt

Method

Crust. Sift the flour in a big mixing bowl, add baking powder, salt, vanilla, sugar and mix. Add butter and egg, knead until smooth. Cover the dough and keep in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Filling. Beat egg yolks with sugar and vanilla until pale. Add butter, lemon zest and beat again. Add heavy cream and quark and stir to combine. Beat egg whites with salt and lemon juice until stiff; then gently fold into the quark batter along with cornstarch, adding a little at a time.
Line the baking pan with paper. Roll out the dough into 30cm circle, or simply place it in the baking pan and press it, pushing it up the sides to make a rim.
Pour the filling over crust and smooth with spatula.
Bake in preheated 160C oven for 45-55 minutes until the top is golden and the filling set. If the top browning too much, cover with a piece of foil.
Cool the cheesecake at the room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for 3-6 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!