Massive Ganache-Topped Cheesecake
Continuing in the trend of me being terrible at timely updates...
I made this gigantic cheesecake in December. I've made the recipe before, but this time I wanted to jazz it up a bit, so I went with a ganache layer on top and a piped star border - the first time I've done any decorative piping!
I used Bakerella's recipe for the cheesecake and followed Willow Bird Baking's proportions for the ganache - recipes and links below:
I made this gigantic cheesecake in December. I've made the recipe before, but this time I wanted to jazz it up a bit, so I went with a ganache layer on top and a piped star border - the first time I've done any decorative piping!
I used Bakerella's recipe for the cheesecake and followed Willow Bird Baking's proportions for the ganache - recipes and links below:
Cheesecake (from Bakerella)
2.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 (8oz.) packages cream cheese
1.5 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Ganache (from Willow Bird Baking):
1½ cups heavy cream
20 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used 3/4 semisweet and 1/4 bittersweet)
Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Once the cream reaches a simmer, pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circles until a smooth ganache has formed. Pour 1 – 1.5 cups of the ganache over the bottom of the crust. Freeze until the ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature for later decorating.
This recipe makes a ton of extra ganache, so I decided to make chocolate truffles from it! I'll post those soon - I hope. So many photos to edit!
The ganache was really easy to cover the cake with, but I ran into some issues piping the border - I let it cool a bit so it would hold the star shape, but it turns out there's a very narrow window of "pipability" - if I waited a bit too long, the ganache would harden. Perhaps this was because room temperature is a bit cold in the winter, but it was quite a pain. I'd say it was ultimately worth it, but I'd definitely prefer making ganache decorations during warmer seasons from now on!
2.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 (8oz.) packages cream cheese
1.5 cups sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 Tbsp lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar.
- Stir in melted butter until moistened.
- Pour the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan (3 inches tall). Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of the pan.
- Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove and cool to room temperature.
- To make the cheesecake filling, cream the sugar, cream cheese and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.
- On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.
- On low, add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla just until combined.
- Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325.
- Make sure to take it out of the oven before the center looks done. It will be kind of wobbly and it will move in one piece. The center will look more shiny than the edges. That’s ok because it will continue to cook a little while it’s in the pan.
- Remove from the oven and let cool completely to room temperature.
- Hope that it doesn’t crack.
- Go ahead and separate the cheesecake from the sides of the pan by running a knife around the edges. I also opened and reclosed the springform pan to help separate.
- Chill in the refrigerator overnight. That’s right. It’s best to make this the day before because it needs plenty of time to chill and firm up.
Ganache (from Willow Bird Baking):
1½ cups heavy cream
20 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used 3/4 semisweet and 1/4 bittersweet)
Bring the cream to a simmer in a medium saucepan. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Once the cream reaches a simmer, pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circles until a smooth ganache has formed. Pour 1 – 1.5 cups of the ganache over the bottom of the crust. Freeze until the ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature for later decorating.
This recipe makes a ton of extra ganache, so I decided to make chocolate truffles from it! I'll post those soon - I hope. So many photos to edit!
The ganache was really easy to cover the cake with, but I ran into some issues piping the border - I let it cool a bit so it would hold the star shape, but it turns out there's a very narrow window of "pipability" - if I waited a bit too long, the ganache would harden. Perhaps this was because room temperature is a bit cold in the winter, but it was quite a pain. I'd say it was ultimately worth it, but I'd definitely prefer making ganache decorations during warmer seasons from now on!
And now for the inevitable outpouring of photos :D
Lots of ganache.
I'm in love.
And if I were you, I'd be getting pretty hungry right about now.
Don't worry, I'm not out of pictures yet!
How about now? :)
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Just one more!
I really wanted a nice picture of the inside of the cake, but it was eaten too quickly x]
I definitely recommend trying this out - it makes for an extremely impressive display, but making a cheesecake isn't very hard at all! And of course, there's the delicious payoff...
Lots of ganache.
I'm in love.
And if I were you, I'd be getting pretty hungry right about now.
Don't worry, I'm not out of pictures yet!
How about now? :)
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Just one more!
I really wanted a nice picture of the inside of the cake, but it was eaten too quickly x]
I definitely recommend trying this out - it makes for an extremely impressive display, but making a cheesecake isn't very hard at all! And of course, there's the delicious payoff...
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