Arrivederci nonna, time to take your old school tiramisu and get to the back of the line.
I'm here to bring you an Amer-Italian fusion masterpiece, Tiramisu cheesecake. The old world tiramisu flavors of espresso, ladyfingers, and marscapone meet with the creamy rich decadence of a new world, New York Style Cheesecake.
I'll have to admit I'm not the biggest desert kind of guy, but when I do eat sweets it's a piece of cheesecake. I usually go to the local bakery and pick up a slice because I have always been terrified of cooking a cheesecake in a water bath. Well, I finally did it, and let me tell you it is AMAZING.
This isn't a fast process but nothing great comes easy, and I have a lot of tips to help you out.
The Ingredients:
- 6oz of ladyfingers
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 10 tablespoons of Kahlua liqueur
- 1 tablespoon of instant espresso
- 3 (8oz) packages of cream cheese
- 1 (8oz) container of marscapone
- 2 eggs (large, NOT jumbo)
- 2 tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup of sugar
- Some unsweetened cocoa powder for garnishing
Make sure to let all of the ingredients get to room temperature before you start!!!
Step 1.
Add ladyfingers to a large, heavy duty freezer bag.
Roll a rolling pin over the bag to grind the ladyfingers into fine crumbs.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add to the bag. Also add 5 tablespoons of Kahlua. Knead the crumb mixture until everything is well mixed. Thoroughly grease a 9x3 spring form pan on bottom and sides and press crust mixture into the bottom.
Step 2.
Set your oven to 350 degrees. On middle rack place a roasting pan (or equivalent) filled with 3/4 of an inch of water. Let oven preheat.
Spring form pans are notorious for leaking so begin prepping your spring form pan by placing it in a crock pot liner. Gather the excess of the crock pot liner and twist the excess until the liner is tight around the outside of the spring form pan. Tie what you have just twisted.
Step 3.
In a mixing bowl add the cream cheese, marscapone, and sugar. Stir until it is very smooth. (It's okay to have a few very tiny lumps of cream cheese in the batter. They will melt during the cooking process). You can't really over-mix here so have at it.
After every thing is smooth add the 3 remaining tablespoons of Kahlua and tablespoon of instant espresso and mix. Here is where you need to be extra careful: add in the eggs and flour until they are just incorporated into the mixture. Do not over-mix here! Just barely incorporate the eggs into your batter and stop.
If you're like me this is where you always doubt yourself. "Did I mix enough? Too much?"
If you think you might have over-mixed the batter, give your bowl a few taps with a wooden spoon. This should help air bubbles rise to the top and you can just pop them with a toothpick.
Step 4.
Add your cheesecake batter to the spring form pan. Do this slowly (one scoop at a time), so you don't break your crust. Smooth out the top, it doesn't have to be perfect.
Now, use one piece of an extra wide, extra heavy piece of aluminum foil and wrap around the outside of your spring form pan and crock pot liner. This should take care of any water leakage or condensation that would make your cheesecake soggy.
Once oven is pre-heated, everything is ready. Place your spring form pan into the roasting pan filled with water. Close the door and do not open it! (I know, it's tempting).
Step 5.
After about an hour your cheesecake should be finished. Give it the "jiggle test". Watch this video to see what I mean.
If your cheesecake passes the jiggle test, turn off the oven and crack the oven door. You don't want this thing to cool too rapidly. Let it sit in the warm oven with the door open for 1 hour.
Take the cheesecake out of the over and place into the fridge for about 4 hours.
After that, garnish with unsweetened cocoa powder and EAT.
If you followed these directions you shouldn't have any cracks in your cheesecake but if you do, don't worry about it. It's still delicious.
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