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Friday, January 30, 2015

New Year and some Cherry fun.....

Cherry Cheesecake!!!

Hello peeps,
Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and new years eve. I am a bit late with my new year post, but better late than never, right? :) So it's adios 2014 and welcome 2015. Although my 2014 was a whole lot of fun and very exciting, I have no idea where it went. It was a series of trips which were fun but as always too short, having family and friends staying with us and lots of other things in between. I was left with no time to blog, I know it's a lousy excuse but that's all I have...:-> But I do hope my 2015 is as fun and spontaneous as 2014 with lot's of time to blog too!! :D And my resolution this year is to not begin most of my posts with a sorry note for not blogging enough. ;)
I saw this recipe while flicking through a woolworths magazine and once I saw the pictures I just couldn't leave it well alone. :) And the other compelling reason being my mum absolutely LOVES cheesecake and I wanted to make it for her before she left. I am totally glad that I tried it because everyone who tasted the cheesecake loved it, even W who's a cheesecake hater...hehe
So, let's begin this new year with some cherry cheesecake and wishing all my readers a fabulous 2015 ahead, lets move on to the recipe.

Recipe source: Woolworths magazine
Ingredients 
Unibic coconut macaroons - 2 packs
Gelatin - 2 tsp
Water - 2 tbsp
White chocolate melts - 250 g
Cream cheese - 500 g (at room temp)
Caster sugar - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Thick cream - 300 ml (whipped)

Candied Cherries:
Cherries - 200 g (pitted and chopped)
Whole cherries - 15
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/3 cup
Rum flavouring - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:
Heat a pan and melt the sugar along with the other ingredients under candied cherry except the cherries.
Allow the syrup to thicken a bit before adding the pitted cherries, once coated set the cherries aside. Reserve the remaining syrup to use as a topping sauce while serving the cheese cake.  
Lightly grease a cheese cake/muffin tray with removable bases and flatten the macaroons to the base of each muffin hole using your fingers.
In a small heatproof bowl combine gelatin and 2 tbsp water. Let it stand in a bowl of simmering water until the gelatin dissolves. 
Meanwhile, melt chocolate in a bowl over simmering water, stirring until smooth. Stir the gelatin mixture into the melted chocolate until combined. Set aside.
In another bowl beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy.Add chocolate mixture and beat until combined. Fold in the whipped cream and candied cherries into this.
Spoon the cheesecake filling into each muffin hole and smooth with a spatula.
Chill for 2 hours or until set.
When you are ready to serve the cheesecake, dip the whole cherries in the sauce and place them on top.

Tips:
If you can't find coconut macaroons replace the base with digestive biscuits. Grind the biscuits along with butter in a food processor until crumbly and press it down in each muffin hole.
If using a normal cake tin then line it with baking paper so it's easy to lift the cheesecake after chilling. Also run the sides with a knife after dipping in hot water to make this process easier. Please check out this link for additional help.





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