Making Artisan Cheesecake — Just in Time for the Holidays! {Giveaway Closed}

Mmmmm cheesecake.  Rich, decadent, delicious cheesecake.  I am a fan of this classic dessert, and have been for years.

My mom used to make a really delicious sour cream/cream cheese cheesecake that was dense and tangy, thanks to the secret ingredient of a little bit of lemon juice.  Her process of making cheesecake was quite elaborate, too – involving a special springform pan, a water bath and leaving the oven door slightly ajar with the oven off for 30 minutes after baking.

The torturous part with making cheesecake, of course is the waiting.  Once baked, it has to be completely cooled and then chilled for many hours.

But when it’s a good cheesecake, oh, it’s SO worth the wait!

So when my former colleague, Chef Melanie Underwood of NYC’s Institute of Culinary Education, authored her latest cookbook, Making Artisan Cheesecake, I was delighted to receive it and try my hand at a few recipes.

Let’s see if we can make mom proud…

Before I get to the two cheesecakes I baked, I have to share with you that Chef Melanie has such a wonderful way of explaining the steps to making cheesecake in layman’s terms.  Because let’s face it, making a cheesecake takes precision and patience, and can be a little intimidating to someone not entirely comfortable in the kitchen.

Not with this book.

The way it is written is quite conversational, and anticipates questions you might have along the way, providing precise details and tips in a very easy-to-follow way.

We can ALL be artisan cheesecake bakers with this book!

I made two cheesecake recipes: Philadelphia-Style Cheesecake and Pumpkin Cheesecake.

First up, Philadelphia-Style Cheesecake:

 

Tips:

• Chef Melanie recommends that ALL ingredients are room temperature.
• The water bath really makes a difference in the baking process — you’ll see why when you see my pumpkin cheesecake below!
• Chef Melanie’s recipes call for a 10-inch springform pan.  I had an 8-inch springform pan.  She advised me to not adjust the recipe, but rather adjust the baking time a bit — my cheesecake baked for approximately 10-15 min longer and yielded a delicious, rich, high cheesecake.  The crust was especially spectacular because it was on the thicker side and almost had a nice buttery flavor that hinted of caramel.

Pumpkin Cheesecake:

 

 

 

Tips:

• Chef Melanie encourages you to substitute other squashes in place of pumpkin: butternut squash, sweet potato, yam all yield wonderful cheesecake varieties!
• The crusts can also be sweet dough crust or cream cheese crust.

With the holidays here, what foodie wouldn’t love a fantastic dessert cookbook to add to their collection? Chef Melanie is giving (1) one copy of her book, Making Artisan Cheesecake to one lucky mom a la mode reader.  To enter, comment below and share what is your favorite type of cheesecake.

oxox

-mom a la mode

 

{I received a complimentary copy of Making Artisan Cheesecake for review purposes only.  All opinions expressed here are solely mine. Complete contest rules are below.}

 

 

Terms and Conditions:

 

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 

 

• Promotion Description: The ‘Making Artisan Cheesecake Giveaway’ (“Sweepstakes”) begins on 11/16/2015 at 7:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) and ends on 11/21/2015 at 12:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) (the “Promotion Period”). By participating in the Sweepstakes, each entrant unconditionally accepts and agrees to comply with and abide by these Official Rules and the decisions of Groupe a la Mode, LLC (“Sponsor”), which shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor is responsible for the collection, submission or processing of Entries and the overall administration of the giveaway. Entrants should look solely to Sponsor with any questions, comments or problems related to the Sweepstakes.

 

 

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– 1(#1) winner will receive [(1) Making Artisan Cheesecake cookbook max value $24.99] (approximate retail value or “ARV”: $24.99)

 

 

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