Forest fruits cheesecake bars
Cheesecakeis a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest, layer consists of a mixture of a soft, , usually cheese cream, eggs, and sugar. If there is a bottom layer, it most often consists of a crust or base made from crushed digestive biscuits or graham crackers and the cheesecake may be baked or unbaked which is usually refrigerated.Cheesecake is a very popular dessert nowadays and many people believe that it have its origins from New York, but actually, that’s not true. Let’s go back 4000 years to see how cheesecake was really created. The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus (5th century BCE), who wrote abook on the art of making cheesecakes. The name for this type of cake (derivedfrom the Greek term) became “placenta.” Placenta was more like a cheesecake, baked on a pastry base, or sometimes inside a pastry case. When the Romans conquered Greece, the cheesecake recipe was just one spoil of war. They modified it including crushed cheese and eggs. These ingredients were baked under a hot brick and it was served warm. Occasionally, the Romans would put the cheese filling in a pastry. The Romans called their cheese cake “libuma” and they served it on special occasions. Marcus Cato, a Roman politician in the first century B.C., is credited as recording the oldest known Roman cheesecake recipe. In Greece, cheesecake was considered to be a good source of energy, and there is evidence that it was served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C.As the Romans expanded their empire, they brought cheesecake recipes to the Europeans. Great Britain and Eastern Europe began experimenting with ways to put their own unique spin on cheesecake. In each country of Europe, the recipes started taking on different cultural shapes, using ingredients native to each region.The Basque cheesecake has no separate crust but, rather, develops its crust through hard, high temperature baking. It is characterised by a burnt, scorched top which conceals a soft, gooey filling of cream cheese, sugar, eggs and cream which oozes like molten lava when cut.In the United Kingdom and Ireland, cheesecake is typically made with a base of crushed, buttered biscuits and often topped with a fruit compote. The most common commercial varieties are black cherry, blackcurrant, strawberry, passionfruit, raspberry, and lemoncurd. The usual filling is a mixture of cream cheese, sugar, and cream and it is not baked, but refrigerated. Gelatine may also be mixed in with the cheese/cream mixture to keep the filling firm. Variations are common, and include banoffee (bananas and toffee), coffee, tea, chocolate, Irish cream, white chocolate, and marshmallow flavors. Savory smoked salmon cheesecake is made in Scotland.Swedish-style cheesecake differs greatly from other cheesecakes. A Swedish cheesecake is not layered and is traditionally produced by adding rennet to milk and letting the casein coagulate. It is then baked in an oven and served warm.German-style cheesecake (Käsekuchen, Quarkkuchen, Matzkuchen; Topfenkuchen in Austria) uses quark and a freshly made dough, not Graham crackers. The Käsesahnetorte (cheesecream tart) adds cream and is not baked.By the 1900s, New Yorkers were in love with this dessert. Every restaurant had its own version of cheesecake on their menu. Even though he is best known for his signature sandwiches, Arnold Reuben (1883-1970) is generally credited for creating the New York Style cheesecake. Reuben was born in Germany and he came to America when he was young. The story goes that Reuben was invited to a dinner party where the hostess served a cheese pie. Allegedly, he was so intrigued by this dish that he experimented with the recipe until he came up with the beloved NY Style cheesecake. Arnold Reuben, owner of the legendary Turf Restaurant at 49thand Broadway in New York City, claimed that his family developed the first cream-cheese cake recipe. Traditionally, the ingredients entering the preparation of a classic New York-style cheesecake are cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch or flour, eggs, double cream, lemon zest and vanilla, with a crust made of crushed crackers or digestive biscuits, sugar and melted butter. While the flavour is quite plain, fruit coulis or jelly was often served alongside the cake.You know how much I love cheesecake, is my favourite dessert and I always liked to make cheesecake with seasonal fruits. Berries cheesecake is a classic, the first cheesecake I ever made was with blackberries and it was so delicious. Cheesecake is a perfect dessert for summer, you don't have to bake it and you can make it super fresh by using fruits. You must try the berries cheesecake, once you taste it you won't stop from eating, you just can't because is too good.
Equipment
- Square baking pan 25×23 cm
- Chopper
- Kitchen scale
Ingredients
Crust
- 250 g digestive biscuits
- 150 g melted butter
Cheese cream filling
- 650 g cheese cream
- 70 g powdered sugar
- `10 g gelatin
- 30 ml water
Fruits jam
- 250 g blueberries
- 100 g raspberries
- 100 g blackberries
- 50 g brown sugar
- 15 g corn starch
Instructions
Crust
- Melt the butter and let it cool. Chop the biscuits and mix it with the melted butter. Add the composition in a tray and let it in the fridge until the cheese cream and jam are ready.
Jam
- In a pan add the sugar and all the fruits and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Mix the corn starch with 4-5 tablespoons of liquid from the berries and add the mix in the pan. Mix well until the composition starts to thicken and let it cook for 2-3 more minutes in low heat.
- Let the berries cool until they are at the room temperature.
Cheese cream
- Mix the cheese cream and the powdered sugar until the cream softened.
- Mix the gelatin with water and warm it until the gelatin is melted. Add the gelatin in the cream and mix until you get a homogenous composition.
Assembling
- Over the biscuits crust add half of the cheese cream, add the berries jam and let everything in the freezer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add the rest of the cheese cream and let the cheesecake cool in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
- Cut the cheesecake in squares and enjoy your dessert!