A few months ago, gripped by baking fever, I purchased Mary Berry's Baking Bible. I quickly decided to embark upon a mission to bake everything in the book, and turn myself from an occasional baker into a bit of an expert. My Grandad Ern was a Master Baker by trade; the man responsible for introducing Danish Pastries to England in fact, and I wish it had occurred to me to spend more time learning from him, rather than simply enjoying the fruits of his effortless labours. This project is almost a way of making amends for that; I'd like to follow in his footsteps (if not in my career, at least as a hobby) and continue the proud heritage of baking in my family.
I credit my friend Rachel with the idea to write a blog about my baking exploits, hoping that there will be more successes than failures as I attempt all 213 of the Queen of Baking's recipes.
So as not to bore the husband with a monotonous diet of sponges, followed by weeks of biscuits, I've decided to tackle the recipes by selecting the first bake from each chapter, followed by the second recipe and so on. I'm not going to pick and choose; I'm determined to face my baking demons and learn how to do everything baking-related, even if the consequences are disastrous!
Everything will be photographed, with comment about how I found baking it, and a husband rating (to be taken with a pinch of salt as he has a very selective cake-tooth).


Monday 3 June 2013

40. American Chocolate Ripple Cheesecake

I finally feel like I'm back on track with my project, getting around to baking this cheesecake at long last! I'd shelved it while pregnant, because of the issues with soft cheese (even though I'm sure it would've been ok, especially with it being baked for ages) so was really looking forward to making and eating it. It's also one of those 'occasion' bakes - not one that Joe and I could get through by ourselves. We're just too healthy and riddled with guilt if we pig out too much! So, a visit to friends presented a great opportunity to make this, and fortunately it wasn't too challenging. I managed to do most of it while the littl'un sat in her rocker in the kitchen, watching me scuttle about and enjoying the noise of the mixer. I'd bashed the biscuits for the base - plain chocolate digestives -  earlier in the day, and prepared the mixture for the base in advance so that it could set. When I started filling the tin though, I noticed there didn't seem much mixture - barely enough to cover the base in fact. So I did half the mixture again and that was much better.
The filling was straightforward: loads of soft cream cheese, beaten until it was fluffy, with eggs, caster sugar and some vanilla extract added. Meanwhile, the melted chocolate was cooling down. Some of the vanilla mixture was dropped into the tin at intervals, while the rest was mixed with the chocolate. This was then added to the tin, and I was meant to 'swirl' the two mixtures together with a knife. I don't know why, but it didn't quite work, and as you can see, it just looks chocolatey on top! The cheesecake was baked for 1 hour, and then left in the cooling oven. I left it for several hours and then wrapped it up in foil and put it in the fridge. I was disappointed to see that the top had cracked, but I don't fret about how things turn out as much as I used to. If I know I've followed the recipe and baking instructions, then I know it's not my fault it turned out like that! It survived a journey in a warm car and direct sunlight the next morning and was lovely and firm when I came to cut it. Cutting it, however, wasn't an easy task. The base was quite stuck to the tin, although it did come off easily if you ran a knife under it. I think that's just par for the course with chilled bakes like this. I didn't serve many attractive portions, they were all a bit collapsed and crumbly, but the cheesecake did have a lovely texture. It wasn't claggy like some baked cheesecakes, but very rich. We got 8 portions out of it. It needed some fruit with it really, just to cut through the richness a bit.
Baker's verdict: easy to make and very tasty. I feel confident with cheesecakes now!
Husband rating: 8/10 - lovely baked cheesecake; nice and chocolatey. Needed some sharpness from fruit when served and a thicker base.
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