Chocolate Mascarpone Cheesecake Bacco Restaurant New Orleans Food

CHOCOLATE MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE - BACCO RESTAURANT, NEW ORLEANS

Steps:

• Crust:.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar in processor to blend. Add butter; process until moist clumbs form.
• Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of 9-inch diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch high sides.
• Bake 12 minutes. Remove from oven but maintain oven temperature. Cool crust in pan on rack.
• Wrap outside of pan with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. The foil will keep the water bath from leaking into the cheesecake.
• Filling:.
• Stir chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until melted and smooth. Cool to lukewarm.
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until smooth and fluffy, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally.
• Gradually add flour, beating until well blended.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended.
• Mix in mascarpone cheese, then melted chocolate.
• Pour filling into crust. Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with enough water to come halfway up around exterior of springform pan.
• Bake cake until filling is just set in center but still moves slightly, about 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Remove cake from water bath; transfer to rack and cool completely, about 4 hours. Cover and chill overnight.
• Run knife around top edge of cheesecake to loosen. Release pan sides. Transfer cake to platter.

MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Tightly wrap the outside of a 9-inch diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil.
• Finely grind the almonds, cracker crumbs, and sugar in a food processor.
• Add the butter and process until moist crumbs form.
• Press the almond mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan (not on the sides of the pan).
• Bake the crust until it is set and beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Cool.
• Decrease the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• For the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone cheese, and sugar in a large bowl until smooth, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
• Beat in the lemon juice and vanilla.
• Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
• Pour the cheese mixture over the crust in the pan.
• Place the springform pan in a large roasting pan.
• Pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
• Bake until the center of the cheesecake moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour 5 minutes (the cake will become firm when it is cold).
• Transfer the cake to a rack; cool for 1 hour.
• Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least 8 hours and up to 2 days.
• For the topping: Combine the chocolate-hazelnut spread and cream in a small bowl.
• Heat in the microwave until warm, stirring every 20 seconds to blend, about 1 minute.
• Cut the cake into wedges.
• Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the wedges and serve.

LEMON APRICOT MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• CRUST:.
• Line base of 9 1/2 inch springform pan with parchment papaer.
• Brush 1 tbsp of the melted butter over parchment and up sides of pan.
• Stir together biscotti crumbs and remaining butter in a bowl.
• Pat mixture lightly into bottom and up sides of prepared pan.
• Chill crust in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
• FILLING:.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until softened, add sugar and beat for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating very well after each addition.
• Beat in mascarpone until smooth.
• Now beat in flour, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice and mix until smooth.
• Spoon the filling into chilled base and smooth the top.
• Place cake on a baking sheet and bake in center of the oven for 1 1/4 hours or until firm on the sides and a little softer in the center.
• The cake rises like a souffle but falls back as it cools.
• Leave oven door ajar and turn off heat, let cake sit for about 1 hour to help prevent cracking.
• TOPPING:.
• While cake is cooling in oven, place apricots, sugar, wine (or juice) and water in a pot.
• Let soak for 30 minutes.
• Bring mixture to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 30 minutes or until apricots are very soft.
• Sit in marmalade and let cool.
• Spread apricot mixture over cooled cheesecake.
• Melt white chocolate in a heavy pot over low heat, stirring until just liquid.
• Drizzle over top of cheesecake. Enjoy!