Two words – spring break!
So here’s to the long awaited super fantabulous start of consecutive days of sufficient sleep, cafe chilling, leisurely flipping through my collection of dessert related books, photography excursions, and tons and tons of baking.
I raise my mug of hot chocolate.
I’m not quite sure about the rest of the world, but it’s cruelly frigid in Tokyo this year – there was so much snowfall I couldn’t tell the pavements apart from the roads – so until this seemingly endless period of cold is over, a state of semi-hibernation will be my #mood.
I’ve been accumulating a few baking ideas here and there and saved the relatively time-consuming ones for this vacation. The inspiration from this cake is derived from Tasty Japan and a certain cake by Maja Vase. It’s strawberry season again so it was perfect timing to try out that decorating idea but I totally spaced out and sliced off the stems instead of just plucking them so the resultant arrangement had a somewhat harsh quality to it which I’m frankly not that into. Definitely going to try this again, post-coffee.
Actual cheesecake-wise, this is admittedly more of a visual treat. Perhaps it’s because I don’t make cheesecake often enough but something about the ingredient proportion and method struck me as strange at first glance. I followed the original recipe anyway (apart from subbing some chocolate for nutella and upping the amount of crust because I wanted it to extend upwards as well) and I think it’s a bit too heavy on the gelatin. Personally it feels weird to not whip the cream either. Anyhoo, I’m glad I gave this a go.
Wishing you all a relaxing weekend xX
Strawberry Ombré Nutella Cheesecake
makes a 6 inch cake
For the crust:
18 oreo cookies, crushed finely
42 grams unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake filling:
480 ml cream
3/4 tablespoon powdered gelatin (I would use less, maybe a 1/2 tablespoon)
115 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
37 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup nutella + 40 grams melted dark chocolate, mixed together (you may have more than you need)
To decorate:
strawberries (I used about 14 medium ones)
Make the crust: Combine the crushed cookies and melted butter. Press the mixture into the base and up the sides of a 6 inch round cake pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate for about 4 hours, or until the crust is completely firm. (I placed it in the freezer to speed up the process.)
Make the cheesecake filling: Heat the cream until it reaches a simmer. Evenly sprinkle the gelatin over the cream, let the mixture stand for about a minute or so. Bring the cream back to a simmer while whisking in the gelatin until it has fully dissolved. Let the mixture cool slightly.
Beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together until the mixture is pale and fluffy. Gradually whisk in the cream until fully and evenly incorporated.
Divide the cream cheese mixture into four portions of the following quantities: 1 1/2 cups, 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup, and the remainder. In the 3/4 cup portion, stir in about 1 1/2 generous tablespoons of the nutella-chocolate mixture; in the 1/2 cup portion, stir in about 2 generous tablespoons; in the remainder, stir in about 2 generous tablespoons.
Retrieve the crust from the fridge and first pour in the portion of filling without any chocolate. Pour in the rest of the portions in the order of decreasing quantity right in the centre of the pan. Refrigerate overnight.
Decorate: Remove the stems from the strawberries and slice them into half lengthwise. Thinly slice each half lengthwise again. (Here, I unintentionally sliced off the stems of the strawberries instead of simply plucking them off. It’s not necessarily a fatal move but I think I prefer retaining the smooth curves of the strawberries.) Tightly arrange the strawberry slices in an overlapping manner, starting from the outer edge of the cake.
Note: recipe adapted from here.
wild reverie 