Cheesecake

Cinnamon, nutmeg and a secret ingredient make this mouthwatering cheesecake anything but ordinary. Cool and creamy with just the right amount of spice...it’s absolutely irresistible!

This cheesecake from California’s Wente Vineyards is ethereal and easy. An Italian grandmother might scold you for not using ricotta, but good-quality mascarpone will yield a smoother, richer, and denser cheesecake. Feel free to experiment with different kinds of biscotti such as chocolate, but really, what makes this cheesecake are the balsamic strawberries, which are sweet and tart—the perfect counterpart to the cheesecake’s richness.

Greek yogurt lends an unexpected tanginess to this light no-bake cheesecake. Use pomegranate juice that has been flash-pasteurized (such as Pom); fresh juice can turn brown when cooked.

You may never bake a cheesecake again; Laiskonis sets his super-light filling with gelatin instead of eggs and flavors it with a refreshing hit of citrus.

Once chilled, this cake can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to three days. In fact, it actually tastes best after being chilled overnight. Let it stand at room temperature for twenty minutes before serving.

This is about the easiest cheesecake you can make—it takes only fifteen minutes to assemble and one hour to bake. Although rich, this cake is lighter than traditional cheesecakes because it calls for ricotta instead of cream cheese.

Smaller adaptations of favorite desserts, such as raspberry-swirled cheesecake, are always appealing. Everyone gets his or her own, with plenty of buttery graham-cracker crust in each bite. Drops of fresh raspberry puree are pulled through cream-cheese batter to give the cakes a marbleized look. Baking the cupcakes in a hot-water bath produces the creamiest results and prevents the batter from sinking in the oven.

These single-serving delights are a staff favorite—not only because they are delectable, but also since they are easy to prepare. Instead of a cookie-crumb crust, a whole sandwich cookie serves as the base for each cheesecake. In addition, chopped cookies are mixed into the filling.

Take all the layers of classic cheesecake—crumbly graham-cracker crust, rich, creamy filling, and fresh fruit topping—and combine them in a modern tart. Sour cream ups the tanginess factor of the filling; almonds round out the cookie crust; and sugar sweetens the plums, which are cooked into a jam. Save some of the cooking syrup for tossing with the blueberries before scattering them over the top.

It has become a tradition in my house that I make everyone’s favorite dessert on his or her birthday. Garth’s favorite is German Chocolate Cake, Taylor’s is Banana Pudding, and so on. When it came time for my friend Joe’s birthday, his wife, Kim, let me know that his favorite was cheesecake. “No problem,” I said, as I started thinking about that awesome cheesecake in a box I was going to make (I have to admit that it’s my favorite). “He loves the old-style New York cheesecake,” she explained. Umm … no problem? But I was committed, so I did what I always do: call my family for help. Beth hooked me up with several cheesecake recipes, and this is the one I like best. It made me a big hit on Joe’s birthday.

This blueberry cake is a great alternative to classic cheesecake, especially in the summer, because it tastes less heavy. The Cream Cheese Icing makes this version of the cake less sweet than a typical vanilla cake. The graham cracker crumbs around the sides of the iced cake add a decorative touch, while completing the flavor and texture combination that brings cheesecake to mind. For an added element, try substituting Citrus Cream Cheese Icing (page 146) for the traditional icing.

THIS CREAMY CHEESECAKE IS MUCH LIGHTER THAN the classic New York cheesecake. Instead of cream cheese, we use Beecher’s Honey Blank Slate, a naturally cultured, soft, fresh farmer’s cheese blended with Washington State honey, but a good substitute is fresh ricotta cheese mixed with honey. One tip for a successful cheesecake: Before serving, run a knife around the edge to separate it from the pan. This will help prevent the cheesecake from cracking. Top the cheesecake with Caramel Sauce (page 183) or Northwest Berry Syrup (page 221).

SECRET INGREDIENTS This cheesecake has a velvety texture but less fat than more familiar versions, thanks to reduced-fat versions of cream cheese and sour cream—plus the unexpected addition of low-fat cottage cheese. With its delectable cherry topping, this dessert will please everyone, even those not counting calories.

SECRET INGREDIENT When puréed in a food processor, nonfat cottage cheese—high in protein but low in calories—becomes a smooth, creamy base for delectable cheesecakes such as this chocolate-espresso flavored version.

If you choose to bake only one cookie from this collection, make it these bites. The crisp cookie base provides the perfect contrasting setup to the luscious caramel-flavored dulce de leche—caramelized milk—hidden under the creamiest cheesecake layer. The final snazzy drizzle of dulce de leche is not essential, we know, but it makes the bites downright irresistible.