Rum Truffle Strawberry Cheesecake

Rum Truffle Strawberry Cheesecake

Sometimes friends and family get Christmas Day dessert as a gift from our family on Christmas Eve. It has been a bit of a tradition at our house for the past few years. Putting too many on that list can turn into a logistical nightmare so a selection of the bounty from our annual November freezer cookie blitz is now most often what this lucky list now receives.

Invitations to parties and pot lucks however, still have us taking along a decadent dessert to grace the table and this year this particular cheesecake was a huge hit at several venues. The inspiration comes from homemade rum truffles that I sometimes make and once dipped fresh strawberries into to adorn the top of my very popular Strawberry Screech Black Forest Cake. Everyone loves that flavor combination so this new cheesecake was the result and another new dessert favorite was born.



Strawberry Compote Topping

• 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup sugar

Combine in a saucepan and bring to a very gentle boil. Thicken with 

• 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 
• ¼ cup cold water

which is added to the strawberries while stirring gently. Boil gently for 1 additional minute, stirring constantly. Cool completely for several hours in the fridge.

Cookie Crumb Crust

In a small bowl, combine:

• 1 1/3 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter

Press into the bottom of a lightly greased or parchment lined 9 inch spring form pan. (Grease bottom only!) Parchment paper is ideal here because it makes it very easy to release the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan.

Cheesecake 

Cream together:

• 3 eight ounce packages ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar

Add, one at a time

• 3 eggs

beating well after each addition. Add:

• 3 tsp vanilla extract

Finally blend in:

• 1 cup whipping cream

Pour over the prepared base and bake in a bain marie at 300 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. (Learn about using a simple bain marie by clicking here.) The cheesecake does not have to brown at all in order to be fully baked; the surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked. It can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.

Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp knife completely around the edge of the pan. This will allow for the cheesecake to shrink as it cools and hopefully not crack (but who cares if it does? I am never bothered by a crack or two in the surface) Allow the cheesecake to cool thoroughly on a wire rack at room temperature. (NOT in the fridge). Refrigerate after fully cooled. Chill for several hours or overnight.

Rum Truffle Ganache 

The rum truffle ganache is used to cover the cheesecake and to dip the strawberries.

• 2 cups dark chocolate chips (or semisweet)
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 3 tbsp dark rum, optional (or 1 tsp rum extract) 

Melt together, just until smooth in a double boiler. Do not over heat. Just as it is melted remove from the heat. Dip in:

• 10 -12 large strawberries

Place the dipped strawberries on a piece of parchment paper or wax paper and chill until ready to garnish. Pour the remaining ganache over the chilled cheesecake and spread very quickly and evenly over the top and sides with a flat spatula. Return the cheesecake to the fridge to chill again.

Vanilla Whipped Cream

• 2 cups whipping cream
• 3  rounded tbsp icing sugar (ie powdered sugar, confectioners sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine and whip until stiff mounds form. Using a piping bag (or a large Ziploc bag with the corner snipped off) pipe mounds of the vanilla whipped cream all around the border of the cheesecake, to form a sort of well for the strawberry topping. Spoon the Strawberry Compote Topping onto the center of the cheesecake and garnish with the chilled dipped strawberries. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Orange Cake with Easy Chocolate Truffle Frosting

Orange Cake with Chocolate Truffle Frosting

Yes, I am a little obsessed with the combination of chocolate and orange and I think I've figured out why. Baking has always been a part of my family life and some of my earliest memories include sitting in my Nan's kitchen waiting to see what she would bring out of the pantry as a treat for her gaggle of grandchildren. Raisin tea buns, date crumbles, rocky road squares and peanut butter cookies were regular mainstays in Nan's pantry but it seemed there was always an orange cake with chocolate frosting and a sprinkle of coconut for garnish sitting in the fridge. Nan was more prone to use a cake mix than make a scratch cake at the time but this flavor combination became a favorite of mine and you can find quite a few recipes celebrating this taste combination on this blog. If you are a chocolate-orange lover and enjoy those recipes, I think it is Nan Morgan that  you really have to thank for it.

Orange Cake

Sift together and set aside:

• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Cream together until fluffy:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after every addition;

• 4 eggs at room temperature 

Mix in :

• zest of two medium size oranges, very finely chopped

Beat in:

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Gently fold in the dry ingredients in three equal portions, alternately with

• 1 cup undiluted evaporated milk

When adding dry and wet ingredients alternately in any baking recipe, always begin and end with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter evenly into 2 well greased and floured 8 or 9 inch cake pans. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch it carefully, you will not want to overbake this cake, as soon as the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Chocolate Truffle Frosting

• 4 cups dark chocolate chips
• 1 cup whipping cream

Stir constantly over a gentle simmer in the double boiler, just until melted and smooth throughout. You do not want this mixture to get hot, it should be just at the melting point and only lukewarm to the touch.

In a separate bowl, whip to firm peaks:

• 3 cups whipping cream

Add the whipped cream to the chocolate mixture in four portions, folding gently after each addition until the whipped cream is completely incorporated into the chocolate. 

At this point you will probably have to chill this frosting for a half hour or so in the fridge if it is too soft to work with. Just give it a quick fold with a rubber spatula every 10 minutes so that it cools evenly in the fridge.

Fill and frost the cake layers with the frosting and garnish with orange slices if desired. Chill the cake for a couple of hours before serving.

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tuxedo Tarts

Thanks to Janette who suggested a garnish of White Chocolate Whipped Cream to my Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tarte; it inspired this little invention. I previewed these photos over on the Rock Recipes Facebook group as I often do with completed recipes that I haven't gotten around to actually writing yet, and I got so many message responses from it that I decided to post it here right away. Really, it is just a variation on the Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tart that was posted a couple of weeks back. Find that recipe here: http://nlrockrecipes.com/2008/11/strawberry-chocolate-truffle-tarte.html

These do present nicely as individual tarts which are a great idea for the upcoming holiday entertaining season. I made them in 4 inch individual tart pans but they could easily be made in muffin tins if you don't have such pans. The baking time has to be adjusted of course; I found that these tarts only took 15 minutes in the oven after baking the pastry shells. I'd estimate about 10 minutes if baked in muffin tins.

The addition to these tarts is a white chocolate flavoured whipped cream that I piped on top to envelop a fresh, ripe strawberry, the recipe for which follows.

White Chocolate Whipped Cream

Scald to almost boiling in the microwave

1/4 cup whipping cream

Pour immediately over

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

Let stand for five minutes to allow the chocolate to melt, then stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, beat to firm peaks

1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp icing sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk in the white chocolate mixture in three equal portions until well incorporated. Chill for an hour or two before piping the cream on top of the tarts. Store in the refrigerator.
Makes a very nice garnish for many other desserts as well.

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tarte

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tarte

This is an idea that I had based upon my Tarte au Chocolat recipe. When I make Chocolate Dipped Strawberries I usually use chocolate ganache instead of plain melted chocolate because it melts in your mouth faster making the flavours combine better. So... a chocolate truffle tarte with strawberries on top seemed like a natural. It was well appreciated by the in-laws who came for Sunday supper this weekend. The leftovers were divided between three friends who were lucky enough to find a surprise on their doorsteps yesterday.

Strawberry Chocolate Truffle Tarte

A word about the chocolate for this recipe before you begin. Good quality chocolate is essential for this recipe. I use chocolate that has an absolute minimum of 50 % cocoa. I think darker is better but tastes vary.

For the pastry:
½ cup butter, cut in small pieces
1 cup + 1 tbsp flour
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two knives, leaving small peas sized pieces of butter throughout the mixture. Add egg and vanilla and mix together only enough to make a dough form. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for a half hour before rolling out.

You can make your dough the previous day but make sure you take it out of the fridge for 10 minutes to warm slightly before rolling out.

Roll the dough into a 12 inch round and place in the bottom of a 9 inch tarte pan or pie plate. You will need to blind bake this crust for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F before adding the filling. Blind baking is essential so that the bottom crust will not get soggy. Let the dough hang a half inch past the rim of the pan to allow for shrinkage as the pastry shell bakes. Any excess can be trimmed off when the shell is still hot out of the oven.

To blind bake a crust, simply place a piece of parchment paper or aluminum foil over the dough and cover the bottom of the pie plate with baking weights. (Marbles, dry beans, peas, rice or barley work just as well as anything else.)

For the chocolate filling:

7 ounces (by weight) dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
7 ounces whipping cream
3 ounces milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 large beaten egg

Bring the cream and milk just to boiling and pour the hot liquid over the chopped chocolate. Let stand for 5 minutes and whisk together until smooth. Cool for about 10 minutes before whisking in the beaten egg and vanilla.

Pour into the blind baked shell and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. The center can still be a little wobbly at this point. The surface should still be shiny. Cool thoroughly before topping with fresh strawberries. Garnish with a drizzle of melted chocolate if desired.