Gâteau au fromage et trois chocolats.

Three Chocolate Cheese Cake

My Kitchen Bistro

OK kids, I’m going to get really serious with this one.  (Yes it's my kitchen, Yes I made this and Yes they are my photos) It’s my Birthday and I get serious on my birthday.  A real Ball Buster (excuse my French) A challenge for the cooking hobbyist.  This is a decadent Torte or Gateau that is assembled in four layers.  Anything sounds good when it’s in French. As the name implies it is cheesecake and three different kinds of chocolate assembly (Espresso cookie, Mousse and Ganache.)  Chin up, this is not as difficult as it looks, however it will take a lot of time, around twelve hours, (mostly wait time for cooking and chilling) so pick a day when you have other things to occupy your time around the house.  The key to making a good cheese cake is very slow baking in a “Bain-Marie”, i.e., water bath and the key to not going insane is the prep.  What the French call “Mise en place”.  Gather your thoughts, tools and ingredients before you assemble.  If you have to search while assembling then you are going to forget something or mess up the flow.  All sorts of tasty possibilities can be derived from the four basic recipes that make up this decadent torte assemblage.  Example: double the recipe and just make the cheese cake (Layer 2 only)

Layer 1: Oreo Cookie Crust

Making the Crust

Prep:

Line the bottom of a 9 inch x 3 inch spring form pan with parchment (cut a circle)

Wrap the outside of the spring form pan with a triple cross of aluminum foil; you are going to submerge the pan part way in water later and you need to keep the water out of the cake.

Ingredients:

1 Package 15 1/3 ounces of Oreo Cookies (about 30)

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (Melted)

2 Tablespoons Instant espresso (reduce to powder with a Mortar and Pestle)

Directions:

Pulverize the cookies (I have a food processor attachment to my immersion blender). In a bowl, add the powdered espresso and pulverized cookies and mix.  Add the melted butter and mix well. Put the mixture in the prepared spring form pan and compress and smooth with the bottom of a glass.  Put the pan in the freezer while you prepare the second, i.e., cheese cake layer.

Layer 2: The Cheesecake

Making the Cheesecake Layer

Prep:

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put a kettle of water on to boil

Get out your stand mixer and paddle (this is kind of a must to get the lightness in the batter)

You will need a roasting pan or a large oven proof container.  As I do not own a large roasting pan, my 12 inch x 2 inch cast iron skillet works perfectly.

Ingredients:

2 eight ounce packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temperature)

2/3 cup regular sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 large eggs (room temperature)

2/3 cup heavy cream

Directions:

In your stand mixer, beat at medium speed the cream cheese for 4 minutes.

Keep running and add salt and sugar and beat another 4 minutes.  Continue beating and add the extract, then one egg continue beating for one minute, then the other egg and beat for an additional minute.  Reduce the mixer speed to low to stir in the heavy cream.

Now put the foil wrapped spring form pan into the other pan (in my case skillet) and add a few cups of your hot water.  Scrape the batter into the spring form pan the batter will only fill about half of the pan. Put enough boiling water to come half way up the side of the spring from pan, then very carefully (remember hot) put the skillet and spring form combination with your cake into the oven.  Bake for 1 ½ hours, then prop the oven door slightly open and leave undisturbed for 1 more hour.  After the 2^nd hour, very carefully remove your assembly from the oven and very carefully pull out the spring form pan and very carefully remove the foil (remember hot water) place the spring from on a rack and allow to cool to room temperature, then lightly cover and place in the refrigerator to cool for another 4 hours or overnight.  When the cake has completely chilled you are ready to move on to layer 3.

Layer 3 -  Le Mousse au Chocolat

Making the Mousse

Prep:

Here is another use for a Bain-Marie: in this case a double boiler.  I don’t own one so I use a heatproof bowl over simmering water.  In either case the idea is to maintain a low and even temperature. 

You will need three bowls one of which is heat proof; I have a set of 5 stackable stainless steels bowls that I consider “Kitchen Essentials”.  Now making a real mousse (that means one not from a box) is not hard but “Mise en Place” and the exact order of process is very important to be successful. Therefore read the directions before you apply heat, so you understand what comes next.

Ingredients:

6 ounces of Good Chocolate ( I use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao bittersweet Chips)

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)

2 teaspoons instant espresso (reduce to powder with a mortar and pestle)

3 eggs, separated

1/2  teaspoon Cream of Tarter

6 tablespoons regular sugar (4 = ¼ cup)

1/2 cup very cold heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1.    Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl, over simmering water, melting the butter and chocolate together while stirring with a whisk until smooth and shiny.  Next stir in the espresso powder. Remove the bowl from heat and let cool slightly. (if the mixture is not cool enough the egg yolks will scramble instead of just tempering and cooking) Next add the egg yolks one at a time beating with a whisk until incorporate.  (Set aside)

2.    In another bowl, beat the egg whites until they foam, then add the cream of tartar and continue to whisk.  Gradually whisk in 4 tablespoons of sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks are formed.  My Immersion blender with its whisk attachment makes short work of this. (Set aside)

3.    In another chilled bowl, beat the heavy cream until it begins to foam and thicken, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla.  Whip the cream until it holds soft peaks.

4.    Now gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture.  The catch word here is fold not beat.  Next fold in the whipped cream.  Do not over mix the mousse, but do blend the cream in well. 

5.    Finally put the mousse on top of the cooled cheesecake, while still in the spring form pan.  (at this point your torte will come to within 1/2 inch of the rim of the spring form pan.)

6.    Cover with foil (don’t allow foil to touch the mousse) and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. You can speed things up in the freezer but be careful the mousse doesn’t freeze.

Layer 4.  The Chocolate Ganache

Yum, Chocolate Ganache

Prep:

Ingredents:

1/2 cup of heavy cream

4 1/2 ounces of good Chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% Cacao bittersweet Chips)

1 teaspoon instant espresso (powdered with a mortar and pestle)

2 teaspoons dark rum

Directions:

Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat to just before it boils (do not boil).  Put the chocolate into the cream and remove from heat, stirring until smooth.  Stir in the espresso and rum.  When smooth allow to cool for about 15 minutes then pour over the torte, while it’s still in the spring form pan.  Release the spring form and carefully smooth out the ganache from the center. (Important the ganache must be cool (not cold) before you pour or you will have a mess) Refrigerate at least 2 more hours.

Final presentation:

Decorate with piped cool whip and or fruit to your liking and a small dust of dark chocolate cocoa. Enjoy

Enough desserts for a while, my next blog will be an Entree, I promise.  

Dave

Banana Cream Pie (Super Easy)

Banana Cream Pie

I made the Pie for a party at the request of a friend.  The original idea for this great tasting pie came from a Pinterest post, but then as always, I can’t leave well enough alone, i.e., if it sounds good it can be better and in this case with a fall spice twist.  You could do this recipe even quicker by buying a pre made pie shell at the supermarket, but here I use my favorite gram cracker and gingersnap homemade shell.  I have also made this with crushed Oreo cookies as a shell.  The important thing is, don’t be afraid to experiment.  Find a basic recipe you like and add your favorite tastes or consistencies to it and make it your own.  My indispensable kitchen appliance here is my emersion blender, which I use to make the crumbs as well as blend the filling.  I also have made crumbs by banging the cookies in a plastic bag with a rolling pin, whatever floats your boat.  I usually make things completely from scratch, but for this recipe I use package pudding and premade whipping cream.  If you really want to do it from scratch, vanilla pudding is not hard to make (Milk, sugar, Cornstarch, flavoring and a pinch of salt, heat to thicken) There are plenty of recipes out there.  The same goes for the Whipping cream or Crème Chantilly (Heavy whipping cream, confection sugar and flavoring, whipped to peaks) It all depends on how much time you want to spend.  I happen to think that J E L L O makes great quick and easy puddings so I use them a lot.  Ok, Ok, enough rambling: Six Sigma would call it “5s”, the French call it “Mise-en-place”(putting in place), I call it “get your act together”. Nothing is worse than trying to make something while you are constantly looking for something.  Read the ingredients, measure everything, dirty a few dishes, set it all out in front of you and get all your utensils and bowls together before you begin to assemble.  Of course the best part of this pie is eating the final result.  Enjoy.

Beginning the Mise-en-place

 

Ingredients:

Making the Crust

1 cup cinnamon graham crackers (crushed)
1 cup gingersnap cookies (crushed)
3 tablespoon sugar
8 tablespoon melted butter

3 bananas (sliced)

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

150 grams (5 ½ oz.) Instant French Vanilla Pudding

2 2/3 cup cold milk (a little less than the 3 cups if you were making pudding)

1/4 teaspoon banana extract
1 (8 ounce) Cool Whip Cream
1 Teaspoon grated Bitter Sweet Chocolate.

Steps

1. In a large bowl mix together cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
2. Press into a 9 inch Pie dish or pan.  Place into the fridge for about 20 minutes to set the crust.

Line with banana slices, sprinkle with Nutmeg

3. Slice the bananas and line the bottom of the pie and up the sides.  Lightly sprinkle ½ the nutmeg on top of the bananas. 

4.  Prepare the pudding, by adding the milk and banana extract.  Blend well.

5.  Pour into the prepared pie shell on top of the bananas and allow to set.  Put in the fridge for about 10 minutes to chill and allow to set well. ( Note you are using a little less milk so you get a firmer pie filling)

6.  Lightly sprinkle the balance of the nutmeg on top of the set pie filling.

7.  Spread the cool whip on top of the pie.

Make the Pudding

Finish off the Pie

8.  Shave the Bitter Sweet Chocolate on top of the Cream Pie to finish ( I use a micro plane) 

It's best to share with friends as you will eat this all yourself if you don't

Dave