Brittany's PantryWhite Chocolate Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Brittany wrote this on 20 December 2012
chocolate, cranberries, cream cheese, white chocolate
Sometimes you see a picture of a dish and say to yourself “Self, I must make that.” That was my exact thought when I saw a recipe for this cheesecake in a Cooking Club of America magazine. This was several years ago and if I remember correctly, I made it twice that holiday season. When I made it again recently, scrounging up the recipe from deep within my archives, I was thrilled that it was just as easy and just and fabulous as I remembered it.
Generally, I am not a fan of white chocolate. It is way too sweet for me (shocking, but true) and is, of course, not even actually chocolate. About the only time I ever have it is when ordering a tuxedo mocha at a coffee shop. But this was one of those pairings that I knew would be successful. The rich, sweet creaminess of white chocolate cheesecake, punched with tart fresh cranberries cooked in orange juice; a winning combination! And it is festive as heck, no? A beautiful dessert to present for Christmas, New Years, or even a birthday!
Not only is it beautiful, it isn’t as hard as you think, as cheesecakes go. You can make the cranberry sauce well in advance, making this a bit easier to put together if you are pressed for time. Also, it will last for a good three days, so go ahead and make it a day or two before you need to serve it. And even though I haven’t tried it myself, I don’t see why you couldn’t freeze it. Wrap and seal it will and it would keep for a good month, I should think! Just defrost it in the fridge.
The first few times I made this I made a mental note to cut the amount of cranberries in half. Well, that mental note got lost somewhere on the desktop of my mind. So needless to say, the pic you see above is with the whole amount of cranberries. After I made (and then ate…) the cheesecake again, I thought gosh I should cut this in half. The recipe below reflects that change. It is really good, but a little too tart with so much fruit.
One Year Ago: Potato Gratin & Chai Hot Chocolate
Two Years Ago: Indian Chili, Mini Corn Muffins, Brown Sugar Shortbread
White Chocolate Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Adapted from CCA
If you feel like equal portions of fruit to cheesecake, and you really like tart cranberry sauce, double the cranberry part of the recipe. It will still be fantastic, but be aware that it may take an extra few minutes to finish in the oven.
Cranberries:
1 c fresh or frozen cranberries
1/3 c sugar
1/3 c orange juice
zest of 1 orange
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
Crust:
40 vanilla wafer cookies, crushed to crumbs (1 1/4 c)
1/4 c melted butter
1 T sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Cheesecake:
8 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 (8 oz pkg) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c sugar
2 T flour
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1/4 c cream
Put all cranberry sauce ingredients, except vanilla, into a small sauce pan and put over medium heat. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook gently until the berries pop. Stir well and set aside to cool. Once cool, add vanilla and stir. Set aside until ready to make the cheesecake. You can make this a few days ahead of time and store it in the fridge. Just bring it to room temp before you use it in this recipe.
To make the crust, mix all ingredients together until it looks like wet sand. Press evenly into the bottom of a standard, 9″ springform pan and bake at 375 for 8 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely.
For the cheesecake, melt the white chocolate in 20 second intervals in the microwave, stirring until JUST MELTED. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Meanwhile, beat remaining cheesecake ingredients together until smooth. Beat in white chocolate. Pour cheesecake mixture over the cooled crust. Drop the cranberry sauce in small spoonfuls over the surface of the cheesecake. Swirl gently with a toothpick. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until just set. The center of the cheesecake should shift just a bit, but not ripple as if liquid. Remove to the counter and let cool slowly until nearly room temp. Chill until VERY cold-at least 4 hours or up to 3 days. Slice and enjoy!
Note: As long as it is sweet, any kind of simple, homemade cranberry sauce would work here. If you have leftovers from Christmas dinner, save some and make this cheesecake for New Years!
Several years ago, when Evelyn was around three, she was sitting with me and watching Giada make this pasta on her Food Network show. This was not unusual. She is six now and still watches cooking shows with me; commenting on dishes like a seasoned chef. But this particular time, she turned to me in her sweet, tiny voice and asked if we could make this particular dish. I smiled and nodded absent-mindedly. She asked me when? When could we make it? Tonight? Nope not tonight. Tomorrow night? Sure, Evelyn, tomorrow night.
She held me to it and, as it turns out, it was New Years Day. The pasta was so fantastic, a new holiday tradition was born. What better way to start the year than with cream, carbs, and good seafood?! This dish is not particularly involved or difficult, and you can make it in the time it takes you to boil the water and cook the pasta. This makes it especially convenient if you happen to be doing a bit of weekday entertaining, are pressed for time during the holidays, or really any other time of the year. It is definitely special enough to serve to your guests. And let me just say again, this pasta is crazy fantastic. The flavor is over the top amazing, due to a few key ingredients. It earns a spot on my blog because it is just the kind of recipe I am always looking for, hence, I would imagine you are too.
I have a lot of cookbooks. A lot. Over 80 to be specific. Yes, I am currently seeking help for my addiction. Well, when I say seeking help I mean seeking more cookbooks. My Christmas list doesn’t count, does it…? Some cookbooks I use almost every week. Others I pull out once a year. I have antique cookbooks, mainstream cookbooks, local cookbooks, and specialty cookbooks. But I don’t cook every single recipe in any of them. The great thing for you is that I choose the best of the best from those books-and other places, obviously-to share here. This is one of them. It is reliable, easy, and something you are going to want to make again and again. And isn’t that the kind of dish we are all looking to add to our repertoire? I thought so.
One Year Ago: Filet of Beef & The Best Carrot Cake Ever
Two Years Ago: Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins & Hot Chocolate #1
Holiday Pasta (Creamy Penne W/Shrimp)
Adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis
If you haven’t ever used clam juice before, fear not. I know it sounds weird but it adds a tremendous amount of flavor to this dish. Do not skip it! In my grocery store, it is located by the canned tuna and salmon.
1 lb penne pasta, cooked according to package directions
1/4 c olive oil
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 c chopped basil
1/2 c chopped parsley
healthy pinch of red pepper flakes
1 c white wine
1/3 c clam juice
3/4 c heavy cream
1/2 c parmesan
While the pasta cooks, sauté the shrimp in the olive oil with a bit of salt and pepper over medium heat until just barely pink. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate and set aside. Add the garlic to the pan and let cook for about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and half the fresh herbs. Let cook, stirring often until hot and starting to sizzle-about 2 minutes. Add the wine and let bubble for a full minute, cooking out some of the alcohol. Add the clam juice and cream. Bring to a bubble over medium low until reduced by half and is starting to thicken slightly. Add 1/4 c of the cheese, the rest of the herbs, the shrimp, and the cooked pasta. Toss and heat together until hot. Top with the last of the cheese and serve!
Creme Brulee: Showstopper
Brittany wrote this on 10 December 2012 cream, eggs, gluten-free
Creme Brûlée. A rich and creamy, lightly sweetened custard topped with toasted sugar so crunchy you have to ‘crack’ it to eat it. *sigh* If you have never eaten this, I have no words to describe it that would do it justice. If you have had it, you are swooning off your chair right now. Yeah. It is that good. And…*blushing*…I don’t want to brag….but…well…mine is the best.
I wish I could say I was kidding, but I’m not. I have had a LOT of creme brûlée at a LOT of different places all over the country (in the name of research and self improvement, of course…) and I have yet to eat one I like more than mine. I have been so disappointed with other versions that some years ago, my husband convinced me to stop ordering it and instead, just make it more often at home. Umm, OK!
Truthfully, I don’t make it all that much; a few times a year is all. Mainly for the obvious reasons. It isn’t exactly health food. But every once in awhile, I come across a recipe-recently, it was a batch of cookies-that calls for 4 egg whites. And then, a little bell goes off in my head-DING! Creme Brûlée needs 4 egg yolks…
And then I make this and all is right with the world!
Please do not be intimidated! This is so much easier than you might think! Years ago, when my husband I were first married, I came across a recipe for this dessert and was curious. I had had it only once in a restaurant and, like the rest of the natural world, was hooked. When I read the process for making it, I was floored. I said to myself, “Self?! This is easy! You can do this!” So I did. I made it. I only had large ramekins at the time. As in, the size of a cereal bowl. So, not really ramekins, I guess. More like mini soufflé dishes…Anyway, I made it. Often. And I experimented, but always came back to my classic original version. To be fair, I was serving it to hungry sailors who will eat anything, but even they agreed; plain was the best. As a result, to this day, I still get comments from our NAVY family about my creme brûlée.
And now, you can too! Well, not comments from my NAVY family…that would be weird…but from your own family and friends! It is a great make-ahead dessert! You HAVE to make it in advance so it is perfect for busy get togethers. It is gluten-free, already portioned, easy to make, and impressive! A few simple ingredients and you can have a showstopper of a dessert for the holidays, a birthday, anniversary, or a Tuesday. And if you become locally famous for it and have to eat it over and over and over (bummer), I expect an email of thanks. I offer a hearty ‘Your Welcome!’ to your tastebuds in advance.
Above: Cold, naked custards, ready for a burnt sugar hat! Our blow torch is just outside of the frame.
Below: Pure, utter, scrumptiousness.
One Year Ago: Coconut Bon Bons, Peanut Butter Bon Bons, Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, Super Easy Peppermint Chocolate Chip Cookies, Speedy BBQ Chicken Sandwiches W/Coleslaw
Two Years Ago: Honey Buns, Puppy Chow, Chewy Ginger Cookies
Classic Creme Brûlée
Ramekins are unfortunately necessary to make this. You can find them here and use them for a myriad of other things. Bake dip in them, use them to serve ice cream, snacks, all kinds of stuff. Most are freezer, oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe.
2 c heavy cream
4 egg yolks
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp good vanilla extract
In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks and vanilla together. Set aside. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, gently heat the cream and sugar together over medium low heat until the mixture is just starting to steam and the sugar is melted. While whisking the yolks, slowly pour in the cream mixture, whisking all the while and going slow so as not to curdle the yolks. Pour the whole mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl or vessel easy to pour from. The sieve will get any bits of yolk and ensure a super creamy custard. Place four (5-6 oz) ramekins in a large glass dish. Portion the custard out between them-carefully! Pour hot tap water in the pan until it comes halfway up the ramekins. The water bath cooks the custard gently so you have a creamy, wonderful dessert-not sweet scrambled eggs. Blegh. Bake in a 300 degree oven, for 25 minutes or until the custards are just set. The centers should wiggle a bit but not ripple. Remove custard dishes from water and set on the counter to cool. Chill until very cold-a good 3 hours or overnight. When ready to serve, sprinkle a thin layer of sugar (1 tsp or so) over the custards and slowly and VERY CAREFULLY melt the sugar until toasted and brown using a blow torch. Alternatively, you can place all the custards on a sheet pan and quickly do this under the broiler. You don’t want to heat the custards, just melt the sugar. Serve immediately.
Note: If you object to using fire, and just don’t want to mess with it, the custards can be eaten just as they are with a bit of whipped cream. While technically, it won’t be creme brûlée, it would still be crazy good. Also, if your ramekins are smaller or larger, just adjust the cooking time accordingly. They will still turn out just fine!
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
