cheesecake Archives - Page 2 of 4

Maida Heatter Bull’s Eye Cheesecake

April 28, 2019February 20, 2022 Zoë François 277 Comments

Bull's Eye Cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust on a glass cake stand

The title of Maida Heatter’s new book sums up why I love my job, Happiness is Baking. When I am sad, I bake! When I am celebrating, I bake! No matter where my mood starts out, I’m always carried to a place of joy as I make my way through a recipe.

Maida Heatter has lead me on so many journeys in the kitchen that they are literally countless. I have nearly all of her books and was so thrilled to find out that at the happy age of 102, she has a new one for all of us bakers to enjoy.

I went to a classic recipe, the Maida Heatter Bull’s Eye Cheesecake, because it is so striking and delicious. I believe she developed this recipe for one of her first books in 1974. The recipe stands alone and needs nothing but a plate and fork, but sometimes I just can’t leave well enough alone and I draped the whole thing in a glossy ganache.

Bull's Eye Cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust on a glass cake stand, draped in ganache.

You can watch me make the Maida Heatter Bull’s Eye Cheesecake and pour the ganache over the top for a perfectly smooth finish in my instagram videos. Maida Heatter and her publisher have graciously allowed me to share the recipe, which is below.

You can also find my Show Stopping Cheesecake Class on Craftsy (Now BluePrint), where I show this technique and all kinds of other simple and fancy cheesecakes. Check out my essential cheesecake making equipment in my Amazon shop.

Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake

March 31, 2019March 22, 2022 Zoë François 1 Comment

This Strawberry Rhubarb Fool Cheesecake was a happy mistake. You know how they say you learn from your failures? Well, I was going for a tourteau fromage and it went wrong in a big way.

Pomegranate Swirl New York Cheesecake

December 9, 2018January 5, 2022 Zoë François 4 Comments

The first cheesecake I recall eating was from Junior’s in Brooklyn. I’d go there with my grandparents and my aunts, Sylvia and Rose, when I was little. There was always a ton of food and loud conversation, but the only thing I remember clearly is the cheesecake. It was tall and smothered in impossibly red strawberries.

The last time I ate cheesecake at Junior’s was the day I bought my wedding dress at Kleinfeld’s Bridal shop, when it was still in Brooklyn and long before there was a reality TV show about it. All the women in my family piled into the fitting room and the very bossy attendant said, “I have the dress for you!” and left. She came back with a dress, I put it on and everyone started to cry. I did try on a few more, since we’d intended to make a whole day of it, but she nailed it on the first try. We left that fitting room and went to Junior’s for lunch. The cheesecake was not as great as I had remembered from when I was a kid, but it was exactly what the day called for, tradition.

Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake

October 6, 2018July 10, 2022 Zoë François 15 Comments

Don’t be fooled by the picture, this is a cheesecake, not a sponge cake. I have seen Japanese Cotton Soft Cheesecake all over the internet for years, but hadn’t come around to trying it until now. My fellow instagram baker, Silvia Colloca, just sent me her latest cookbook, Love Laugh Bake!, and she has a version of this internet sensation made with mascarpone.

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake!

June 10, 2018April 26, 2022 Zoë François 61 Comments

This is my homemade version of a 1960s dessert. The original recipe could have been found on Strawberry Jell-O package or Cool Whip containers. I thought it was brilliant, despite the fact that it was overly sweet, too stiff from the Jell-O and, if one were being picky, they may point out the slight chemical aftertaste. But, in its defense it was fast and very pretty. My version of no-bake strawberry cheesecake is made with nothing but fresh sweet strawberries, cream cheese, real whipped cream, and just the slightest bit of gelatin to keep it standing tall until you bite into it, then it melts in your mouth. No oven required, which makes it ideal for the sultry summer days.

Watch my video on how to make and assemble the strawberry cheesecake in my instagram highlights.

Super “Light” Cheesecake with Armagnac Prunes

April 16, 2018December 8, 2021 Zoë François 2 Comments

There are many styles of cheesecake. I often go for a super dense, silky smooth, custardy cheesecake, but other times I want something a bit lighter with more of a soufflé texture. This cheesecake falls into that second camp.

There’s almost two pounds of cheese in this beauty, so to call it “light cheesecake” is a bit of a stretch, but the texture honestly is. The trick is to whip the egg whites and fold it into the batter. The cake is then baked in a dry oven, as opposed to a water bath, which means the cake soufflés as it bakes, creating a more open and airy texture. This cheesecake cracks like crazy and that’s just part of it’s rustic charm. I actually like that look, but I ended up topping it with whipped cream, so no one will be the wiser if you want something a bit more polished.

I added a layer of prunes to my light cheesecake that are cooked in Armagnac and oranges to add a bit of depth to the flavor (you could also use dried cherries or apricots) and topped it with toasted almonds for a bit of texture.