Earlier in the week, DD#1 and I had a friendly challenge: to beat one another's scores on a practice test of the verbal section of the GRE. As it happens, I lost the challenge. My score was respectable enough, but she squeaked past me, and so I was tasked with the penalty, and a sore one it was, to make
this cheesecake from the
NY Times. I even had to eat a piece of it!
First, because the recipe is crust-less, I made a graham cracker/walnut crust, which was improvised from another internet recipe, but which is essentially 1 pkg. of graham crackers (one sealed plastic pkg, not the entire box), crushed; 1/4 c. walnuts, finely chopped; 1 T. sugar; and 1/3 c. melted butter. Mix all together and press into bottom of springform pan. Bake 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely before putting batter in to bake per the rest of the recipe.
The
NYT recipe calls for sour cherries, pitted and cooked, but my friendly Trader Joe's carries jarred Morello cherries, so I used a jar of these, and the cooked down syrup sufficed for the sauce in the recipe.
The batter requires one quite surprising ingredient, aside from the novelty of making a cheesecake with goat cheese:
The strange thing is that, at 1/4 t., we really didn't notice any peppery flavor. If this grabs you, consider upping the amount to 1/2 t.
Also found at TJs was the creme fraiche, and my, was it rich. Added to the goat cheese and a block of cream cheese, it was divine, and I believe, contributed to the great texture of this cake.
The recipe is a cake walk (yuk yuk), and later, with cherries spooned on top, a slice of this was an outstanding consolation prize.
DD#1 took the real deal today (did great!)
