Baked Muscovado and Hazelnut Cheesecake with Blackberries for the Sweet World / Cheesecake (no forno) de Açúcar Mascavado e Avelãs, com Compota rápida de Amoras para o Sweet World.

20th of September and it's time for another Sweet World Challenge and this month, we decided to invite you to bake a Cheesecake.

Yes, it has to be baked!

Cheesecake is a dessert that has stood the test of time.

From its earliest recorded beginnings on Samos over 4,000 years ago to its current iconic status around the world, this creamy dessert remains a favourite for sweet teeth of all ages.

The first cheesecake was probably produced on the Greek island of Samos. Back then, this delicious dessert was believed to be a powerful source of energy. Even during the first Olympic Games in Greece, in 776 BC, cheesecakes were served to the athletes. Wedding couples were also served and cherished with this amazing dessert.

The New Yorkers fell in love with cheesecakes back in the 1900s. The credit for the creation of the NY cheesecake is bestowed upon Arnold Reuben (1883-1970). Even though he is best known for his signature sandwiches, Arnold Reuben is generally credited for creating the New York Style cheesecake. Reuben was born in Germany and he went to America when he was young.

The NY styled cheesecake was actually an experiment that Reuben did with a cheese pie. He was invited to a party where he was served with a cheese pie, and he was so dodged by the dish, that he started experimenting with it and came up with what we know today, as the NY Cheesecake.

The Classic New York style cheesecake is served with just the cake - no fruit, chocolate or caramel is served on the top or on the side. This famously smooth-tasting cake gets its signature flavour from extra egg yolks in the cream cheese cake mix.

Saying that, New York is not the only place in America that puts its own spin on cheesecakes.

In Chicago, sour cream is added to the recipe to keep it creamy.

Philadelphia cheesecake is known for being lighter and creamier than New York style cheesecake and it can be served with fruit or chocolate toppings.

In St. Louis, they enjoy a gooey butter cake, which has an additional layer of cake topping on the cheesecake filling. 

Each region of the world also has its own take on the best way to make the dessert. Italians use ricotta cheese, while the Greeks use mizithra or feta. Germans prefer cottage cheese, while the Japanese use a combination of cornflour and egg whites. There are specialty cheesecakes that include blue cheese, seafood, spicy chilies and even tofu!

Despite of all the variations, the popular dessert’s main ingredients - cheese, wheat and a sweetener - remain the same so, if you're interested, choose the kind of cheesecake you want to make and BAKE IT!

Vanilla cheesecake with blood oranges, caramel and a Hobnob and hazelnut crust / Cheesecake de baunilha com laranjas sanguíneas, caramelo e uma crosta de bolachas Hobnob e avelãs.

Cheesecake!!

Who doesn't love cheesecake?

The last of my blood oranges were used in this amazing cheesecake that pleased everyone that tried it.

The crust is absolutely divine and the filling, well, sublime!!

Although the recipe calls for 8 to 10 oranges for the topping, I only had 5 of them left and to tell you the truth, they were enough.

The recipe is from Delicious magazine and, although I only made half of the recipe, I'm leaving you the complete version.

ingredients (12 to 16):

vegetable oil, for greasing

200g Hobnob biscuits

50g roasted chopped hazelnuts

110g unsalted butter, melted

for the filling:

360g full-fat cream cheese

250g mascarpone

175g soured cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste

175g caster sugar

3 large free-range eggs

50g plain flour

for the topping:

8 to 10 blood oranges, peeled and segmented, juices reserved

100g caster sugar

30g unsalted butter

splash rum, Cointreau or brandy (I didn't use)

pinch sea salt flakes

75ml double cream

method:

Lightly oil a 20cm loose-bottomed deep cake tin.

Whizz the biscuits and hazelnuts in a food processor until very finely ground.

With the motor running, pour in the melted butter and a pinch of salt, then whizz until the mixture looks like wet sand.

Tip the mixture into the tin and using your fingers and a metal spoon, flatten the mixture onto the base. Then start to build up the sides, working it up the tin to form thin walls.

Chill the tase in the fridge.

Heat the oven to 160ºC.

To make the filling, put the cream cheese, mascarpone, soured cream, vanilla and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until smooth and runny.

Whisk in the eggs, then sift over the plain flour and whisk that in.

Pour the mixture into the chilled biscuit case, then transfer to the oven, on a baking sheet, and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until set around the edges with a good wobble in the middle.

Remove from the oven, cool and chill overnight.

For the topping, put the sugar in a heavy based pan and heat very gently until the sugar has dissolved (don't stir it).

Once the sugar's melted, turn up the heat slightly and cook to a rich golden/red caramel.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter and liqueur (if using). It will spit, so be careful.

Add the salt, then stir in the cream.

Transfer the caramel to a bowl, add 3 tbsp of the reserved orange juice and then leave to cool. Add more orange juice if the caramel sets to firmly.

Tip the orange wedges onto a few layers at kitchen paper, then pat gently with more kitchen paper to dry them slightly.

Remove the cheesecake from the fridge 30 minutes before serving and transfer it to a serving plate.

Pile the orange segments on top and drizzle with the caramel.

__________________

Cheesecake!!

Quem não gosta de cheesecake? Nós por cá adoramos e devo dizer-vos que este é especialmente delicioso!!
Decidi publicá-lo agora, numa semana que já vai sendo muito doce aqui pelo blogue, mas achei que seria uma sobremesa fantástica para o almoço de Domingo de Páscoa.
Fica a sugestão...

Volto a repetir, caso não encontrem laranjas sanguíneas, façam-no com laranjas normais, pois o resultado será o mesmo, ou seja, MARAVILHOSO!!

Esta crosta, feita com bolachas Hobnob e avelãs, é a melhor de sempre e o recheio, bom..., recheio típico de cheesecake, calórico, nada saudável nem aconselhável a quem aderiu à "moda" do saudável.

As laranjas dão-lhe a frescura necessária e são a parte saudável desta sobremesa. O molho de caramelo..., é o golpe de misericórdia para arruinar com a dieta...

A receita pede 8 a 10 laranjas, mas eu já só tinha 5 e foi as que utilizei e para vos ser sincera, não achei que precisasse de mais.

A receita é da Delicious magazine e embora eu só tenha feito metade da receita, deixo-vos a versão original e completa, que poderão adaptar caso queiram experimentar este exemplar típico do pecado da gula.

ingredientes (para 12 a 16 fatias):

óleo vegetal, para untar a forma

200g bolachas Hobnob

50g avelãs, tostadas e picadas

110g manteiga sem sal, derretida

para o recheio:

360g queijo creme, tipo Philadelphia

250g mascarpone

175g soured cream ou natas azedas

1 colher chá de pasta ou extracto de baunilha

175g açúcar refinado branco

3 ovos grandes (L), de preferência biológicos

50g farinha de trigo branca

para o topping:

8 a 10 laranjas sanguíneas, descascadas e segmentadas, sumo reservado

100g açúcar refinado branco

30g manteiga sem sal

um bocadinho de rum, Cointreau ou brandy (eu não usei)

uma pitada de lâminas ou flor de sal

75ml natas para culinária

preparação:

Untar com o óleo, uma forma de 20cm de diâmetro profunda e com fundo amovível.

No copo do robot de cozinha, reduzir as bolachas e as avelãs a migalhas finas.

Com o motor do robot ligado, adicionar a manteiga derretida e uma pitada de sal e processar até obter uma mistura tipo areia molhada.

Despejar a mistura na forma e com as mãos e uma colher metálica, forrar bem a forma com esta mistura, começando pelo fundo, erguendo depois paredes finas da mistura, em toda a volta da forma.

Colocar a forma no frigorífico e aquecer o forno a 160ºC.

Para fazer o recheio, colcoar o queijo creme, o mascarpone, as natas azedas, o açúcar e a baunilha, na taça da batedeira eléctrica e bater até a mistura estar bem cremosa e macia.

Adicionar os ovos e voltar a bater até tudo estar bem incorporado.

Peneirar a farinha sobre a mistura anterior e envolver ou bater, tudo muito bem.

Deitar a mistura sobre a base de bolacha, colocar a forma sobre um tabuleiro e levar ao forno por 50 a 60 minutos, ou até o recheio estar firme a toda a volta, mas mole no centro quando se abana a forma.

Retirar o cheesecake do forno, deixar arrefecer e depois colocá-lo no frigorífico de um dia para o outro.

Para o topping, colocar o açúcar num tacho e aquecer sobre lume brando, sem mexer, até o açúcar derreter.

Quando o açúcar estiver derretido, aumentar o lume e deixar cozer até o açúcar atingir um caramelo castanho/avermelhado.

Retirar do lume e misturar a manteiga e o licor (caso usem), mexendo rapidamente. Atenção para não se queimarem, pois a mistura vai ferver.

Adicionar as natas e o sal e mexer tudo muito bem.

Transferir o caramelo para uma taça, adicionar-lhe 3 colheres sopa do sumo de laranja reservado e deixar arrefecer.

Caso o caramelo comece a solidificar muito enquanto arrefece, adicionar mais sumo de laranja, até obterem a consistência desejada.

Entretanto, colocar os segmentos da laranja entre folhas de papel absorvente de cozinha, a fim de secá-las bem, para que depois não escorram sumo em cima do cheesecake.

Retirar o cheesecake do frigorífico cerca de 30 minutos antes de servir.

Desenformar o cheesecake sobre um prato de serviço, decorá-lo com os segmentos da laranja e regá-lo com o caramelo.

Recipe / Receita: Delicious magazine (March 2016).