March 12, 2011

Mango Cheesecake with Basil Lemon Syrup
















I've made a few cheesecakes and so far I like this one from foodnetwork.com the best, probably because the combination of the ricotta and cream cheese made it so light and fluffy. When I make this again I will add a little more mango to give it just a bit more flavor. The most unique part of this dessert is by far the syrup. Who would have thought to add basil to a simple lemon syrup, yet I couldn't eat the cheesecake without it. Very interesting, very refined, very craveable. The recipe below serves probably 16. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS
Mango Cheesecake
8 ounces biscotti
3/4 cup butter, melted
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese, room temperature
2 cups mango puree
4 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar

Basil Lemon Syrup
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

DIRECTIONS
Mango Cheesecake
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 2 layers of heavy duty foil.
3. Finely grind the biscotti in a food processor.
4. Add the melted butter and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom (not the sides) of the prepared pan.
















5. Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes.
6. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.
7. Blend the cream cheese and ricotta in a food processor.
8. Add the mango puree, eggs, and sugar and pulse until the mixture is smooth.































9. Pour the mango mixture over the crust in the pan.
















10. Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
11. Bake until the cheesecake is firm and moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
















12. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack to cool for 30 minutes.
13. Place in the refrigerator and cool completely, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days.
















Basil Lemon Syrup
1. Place the sugar, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan.
2. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook until the sugar is dissolved. Cool the syrup completely.
















3. In a food processor combine the basil and the cooled syrup. Pulse until the herbs are finely chopped.
















4. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve.

1 comment:

  1. YES!!
    I am a huge fan of your cooking, and I am so happy you created a blog just for it :-)
    I am Cailean's friend from Seattle that is how I found out about your cooking.

    Thanks for the inspiration, I can't wait to try more recipes, although ingredients are hard to find over here, I will do my best.
    Your lemon cake has made me one popular girl here in the "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"

    Thanks again and don't stop cooking :-)

    ReplyDelete