Mascarpone cheesecake and hiking fun

I can't believe I'm doing such a terrible job at keeping the blog going. And I'm really sorry guys. Because I have actually been baking quite a bit. But apologies aside, I'm back again. If you wonder what I've been doing, teaching has been a huge part of it, but I've also had quite a few adventures in Portland. I moved, from downtown to SE. I love it here. 

The dangers of SE include amazing food places. Like 'Fire on the mountain', 3 blocks away, or 'Screen door', 5 blocks away. Sigh. I also got a bike! And I fell from it, day 1, after sticking my wheel on the railroad tracks. Minor issue, hurt knees but unhurt ego! I also... BOUGHT AN ICE CREAM MAKER!. First batch will happen today. Oh lord, dangerous!

And last but not least, I went hiking and celebrated 'jewster'. We'll talk about 'jewster' in a future post. The hike was a 12 mile! hike at Eagle Creek. Wonderful experience. The downside is that you have to do the 12 mile route if you want to see the waterfalls, but it's totally worth it. Even if on the way back your feet completely disagree.

This is the great waterfall you're rewarded with at the end of the hike. But on the way you find gorgeous things like this...

Well, without further delay, here's the recipe for the cheesecake!

Mascarpone cheesecake (adapted from Gourmet)

For the crust
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
5 T butter, melted
1 T sugar

For the filling
20 oz cream cheese (2 1/2 eight-ounce packages), softened
8 oz mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 cup)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
a dash of salt

To make the crust.Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan or in my case, a pie pan. (easier to take to your friends house)

Whisk graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a small bowl and then stir in melted butter to moisten all the crumbs. Press the mixture onto the bottom and about half ways up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let it cool.

For the cheesecake:
Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined. Pour on top of the cooled crust, being careful not to disturb it. Bake for about an hour, until the edges separate from the pan and the top is slightly browned. Let it cool in the fridge at least for 3 hrs. 

Chocolate cheesecake

Yesterday we celebrated my roomie's birthday with a nice dinner at home and I obviously offered to make a birthday cake...

I really wanted to try making a chocolate cheesecake and let me tell you it's easy and yummy! Only remember! you have to make it one day in advance so that it cools properly!

 

The recipe comes inspired from Emeril's New York Style Chocolate Cheesecake. I'm not sure if it's an adaptation because I changed a few things but the idea is there and my recipe is as follows.

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder

To assemble the crust break the graham crackers into crumbs. I put them in a ziploc bag and crushed them using a rolling pin (mess free!). To the crumbs add the tablespoon of cocoa powder and mix well. In a bowl melt the butter and stir in the mix. Generously butter your springform pan and add the crumbs to the bottom. Press them down to form the crust (measuring cup works great for this). Set aside.

For the cheesecake:

2 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 plain non-fat yogurt*
8 ounces melted bittersweet (you can use semisweet) chocolate
1 cup granulated sugar

*The recipe calls for sour cream but I didn´t have any and the yogurt substitution worked pretty well. 

Preheat oven to 350 F
In the microwave, or in a double boiler, melt the chocolate and set aside to cool.
In a bowl, mix together the cheese and sugar until creamy (be sure to have the cheese at room temperature before you start). Mix in the vanilla extract and the eggs one at a time. Add the melted chocolate and then the yogurt. (The recipe called for the flour first but I didn't read correctly and I added it at the end. It worked just fine). Stir in the flour and mix until combined.  Carefully pour the batter in the springform pan.
Bake for 1 hr until set. Let cool in the oven for about 1 hr. This is supposed to prevent cracking. Mine cracked anyway. Transfer to the fridge and cool overnight.

For the garnish

Prepare a ganache adding 1/2 cup of boiling heavy cream to 1 cup of chocolate (whatever kind rocks your socks) and mixing until the chocolate dissolves. Cool slightly and then pour on top of the cheesecake. Works wonderful to cover any cracks.  Cool in the fridge. If desired, decorate with fresh strawberries.