mix, mix…stir, stir

This was the biggest surprise I ‘ve had in my Tuesdays with Dorie baking adventures. This cheesecake blew me away it was so good! Good cheesecake comes down to texture as far as I am concerned. I like creamy-smooth to the point that it almost feels light, which seem like an oxymoron given the cream cheese, sourcream and eggs involved in making cheesecake, but if the texture is right, it is like eating a delicious creamy cloud.

photo by David Peterman

I followed Dories advice to “mix like mad” for a “flawlessly smooth texture” and she did not lead me astray. I let my Kitchen Aid rip until the batter was thick and satiny-smooth. Baking in a water bath is also critical for nice texture, but carries the risk of a soggy crust from water leaking into the springform pan. I have a “no-leak” pan, but it leaks. After years of batteling soggy crusts, I bought a roll of extra-wide foil that I keep stashed away for this specific use. It is wide enough to wrap the outside of a springform pan without any seams. No seams, no leaking, so simple!

It may have been just the extra attention I gave to beating the batter so super-smooth that resulted in the exquisite texture, but the very gentle cooling cycle that Dorie suggests could also be a key factor. After baking, leave the cheesecake in the water bath with the oven turned off and the door propped open for an hour. Then remove it from the water bath and let it cool to room-temperature before refrigerating. This is not a baking project to start late in the evening, which I realized as I was reading the cooling instructions after putting my cheesecake in the oven at 9:00 p.m. I know the first thing to do is read the entire recipe before starting, but this is apparently one of those lessons I need to learn again and again.

A Cheesecake Factory’s menu is proof that you can take the flavor of cheesecake in any direction, but there is something to be said for plain. Well, plain with a warm Spiced Caramel Sauce. Though, I will admit to adding a little ginger powder to the graham cracker crust. It is Anne of AnneStrawberry who gets credit for the recipe selection this week. She has the recipe posted on her blog, but really you should own Baking: From My Home to Yours for the other 500 pages of recipes and baking advise from Dorie Greenspan.

Spiced Caramel Sauce

For the times when you have just shy of a cup of cream on hand

3/4 cup + 1/3 cup+ 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon allspice
2 cloves, ground (about 1/16 teaspoon)
pinch of salt

In a small dish combine the spices and salt and set aside.

In a medium pot over medium-low heat, melt the sugar in the water. Stirring initially, but stop stirring once the sugar is dissolved.  Increase the heat a bit and bring the syrup to a boil. Run a clean pastry brush that has been dipped in water around the side-walls of the pan just above the level of the syrup to wash down any sugar crystals. Repeat until the pan walls are clean. Boil the syrup until it begins to turn a dark golden-brown color. Don’t be afraid to let the caramel develop a nice dark color; a darker caramel has more flavor.

Once the syrup is at the desired color, remove the pan from the heat and carefully pour in the cream. The caramel will bubble up wildly and let off a fair amount of steam, so stand clear. Return the pan to a low heat and stir, with a clean spoon or spatula, until smooth. Then stir in the spices and salt. Serve warm.

All photos by David Peterman unless otherwise noted

Tags: Add new tag, Caramel Sauce, Tuesdays with Dorie

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Desserts, Tuesdays with Dorie. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.