Chocolate Pomegranate Cheesecake Food

CHOCOLATE-POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE MINIS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Combine cookie crumbs, butter and 2 Tbsp. sugar; press onto bottoms of 24 paper-lined muffin pan cups.
• Beat cream cheese, vanilla and 1 cup of the remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Spoon over crust.
• Bake 20 to 22 min. or until centers are almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, bring pomegranate juice and remaining sugar to boil in saucepan; simmer on medium-low heat 14 to 16 min. or until thickened, stirring frequently. Cool completely, then refrigerate until ready to use.
• Spoon pomegranate sauce over cheesecakes just before serving; sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

CHOCOLATE-POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F.
• Combine cookie crumbs, butter and 2 Tbsp. sugar; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 10 min.
• Beat cream cheese, vanilla and 1 cup of the remaining sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Pour over crust.
• Bake 55 min. to 1 hour or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Refrigerate cheesecake 4 hours.
• Meanwhile, bring pomegranate juice and remaining sugar to boil in saucepan; simmer on medium-low heat 14 to 16 min. or until thickened, stirring frequently. Cool completely, then refrigerate until ready to use.
• Pour pomegranate sauce over cheesecake just before serving; sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE CANDIES

Steps:

• Line an 8-in. square pan with foil; grease foil with butter. In a microwave, melt white chocolate; stir until smooth. Stir in coconut and pomegranate seeds., Spread into prepared pan. In a microwave, melt dark chocolate. Drizzle over white chocolate mixture. Refrigerate until chocolate is firm, about 1 hour. Using foil, lift chocolate mixture out of pan. Remove foil; break candy into pieces. Store in an airtight container.

POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Prep: 50 minutes.
• Bake: 1 hour, 25 minutes.
• Cool: 2 hours.
• Chill: 4 hours.
• Prepare Pomegranate Sauce.
• Preheat oven to 350°F In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar. Beat until combined. Add 1 egg; beat well. Beat in 1 1/4 cups flour until combined. Divide dough in half. Cover and refrigerate one portion.
• Spread unrefrigerated dough half on bottom of ungreased 10-inch springform pan with sides removed, spreading dough to edges. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely. When cool, attach sides of pan. Press chilled dough onto sides to a height of 1 3/4 inches, using a thin metal spatula to spread dough.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F For filling, in an extra large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar until fluffy. Beat in the remaining flour on low speed until smooth. Add remaining 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon vanilla all at once, beating on low speed just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream, the lemon peel, and 3/4 cup of the pomegranate seeds.
• Pour filling into crust-lined pan. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 65 minutes or until edges are puffed and center jiggles slightly when gently shaken. Remove from oven.
• Stir together remaining sour cream, sugar, and vanilla. Spread sour cream mixture over top of baked cheesecake. Return to oven; bake for 10 minutes more. Remove from oven. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes. Loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool for 30 minutes more. Remove sides of pan; cool completely. Cover; chill 4 hours or overnight.
• Remove cheesecake and Pomegranate Sauce from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving. Spoon some sauce over top of cheesecake; pile remaining 3/4 cup pomegranate seeds in center of cheesecake. To serve, slice cheesecake. Pass remaining sauce.
• *TIP* Spoon sour cream mixture on the puffed edges, then carefully spread toward the center.
• EACH SERVING WITH SAUCE: 490 cal, 33 g fat (20 g sat. fat), 143 mg chol, 246 mg sodium, 42 g carbo, 8 g pro. Daily Values: 24% vit. A, 6% vit. C, 9% calcium. 10% iron.
• Pomegranate Sauce (start to finish: 18 min).
• In a saucepan bring pomegranate juice to boiling. Reduce heat, boil gently, uncovered, until reduced to 1 cup (10-12 minutes. Stir together brown sugar and cornstarch; add to juice. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more. Transfer to bowl; cover surface with clear plastic wrap. Cool to room temperature. Store, covered, in refrigerator until serving. Use to top Pomegranate Cheesecake.
• EACH SERVING: 33 cal, 3 mg sodium, 8 g carbo. Daill values: 5% vit. C, 1% iron.

CHEESECAKE WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE

Steps:

• For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap 3 layers of foil around the outside of a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Butter the pan.
• Combine the graham crackers, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Add the butter and pulse until moistened. Press the crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake just until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• For the filling: In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until fluffy. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream and mix until smooth, about 35 seconds. Pour the filling into the cooled crust.
• Set the cheesecake in a large baking pan. Add enough hot water to the baking pan to come 1 inch up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake until almost set (the center will move slightly when the pan is gently shaken) but not puffed, about 1 hour. Let cool at room temperature for 2 hours. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until completely cooled, preferably overnight or for at least 6 hours.
• For the pomegranate sauce: Combine the pomegranate juice and sugar in a saucepan and cook over high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 15 minutes. Let cool. Add the pomegranate seeds and mix to combine.
• Pour the pomegranate sauce on top of the cooled cheesecake and serve.

ORANGE & POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Crush the biscuits roughly - either put them in a plastic food bag and crush with a rolling pin, or whizz them in a food processor to chunky crumbs. Transfer to a bowl, mix in the melted butter and tip into a 23cm springform tin. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the biscuit mixture evenly to form the base. Chill until set, about 30 mins.
• Put the soft cheese, zest, milk and icing sugar into a bowl and blend using an electric mixer until smooth. Add the cream and whisk until the mixture is the consistency of thick custard. Pour the filling over the biscuit base and spread evenly. Return to the fridge and chill until set, at least 4 hrs or overnight.
• To serve, top with the orange segments and scatter over the pomegranate seeds.

WHITE CHOCOLATE & RICOTTA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Melt the butter in a pan or microwave. Very finely crush the biscuits together, stir with the butter, then press very firmly into the base of a 20cm round loosebottomed cake tin. Bake for 6 mins. Cool, then wipe around the inside of the tin with a little oil on kitchen paper.
• Soak the gelatine in water while you make the filling. Tip the chocolate into a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then add the milk. Gently heat until melted, then stir together. Squeeze the gelatine dry, add to the chocolate mixture and stir to dissolve.
• Beat the ricotta, cream, sugar and egg yolks together. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites.
• Stir the chocolate and ricotta mixtures together, then gently fold in the egg whites. Carefully pour onto the cooled biscuit base. Cover the tin with cling film, then chill until firm, preferably overnight.
• To decorate, very generously top the cheesecake with the white chocolate curls, then remove from the tin, scatter with the pomegranate seeds and dust all over with icing sugar, if you like.

CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• To make the biscuit base, crush the digestive biscuits with a rolling pin or blitz in a food processor, then tip into a bowl with the sugar and butter and stir to combine. Butter and line an 18cm springform tin and tip in the biscuit mixture, pushing it down with the back of a spoon. Chill in the fridge for 30 mins.
• To make the cheesecake, melt the chocolate in short bursts in the microwave, then leave to cool slightly. Whip the cream in a large bowl using an electric whisk until soft peaks form, then fold in the cocoa powder. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together, then fold in the cream mixture and the cooled chocolate.
• Spoon the cheesecake mixture over the biscuit base, levelling it out with the back of a spoon. Transfer to the freezer and freeze for 2 hrs, or until set. Remove from the tin and leave at room temperature to soften for about 20 mins before serving.

CHOCOLATE POMEGRANATE SEEDS

Steps:

• Refrigerate the pomegranates (not required, but it helps).
• Remove all the seeds and place them in a colander.
• Gently rinse the seeds, then lay them out on paper towels to let them dry.
• Lay out a large sheet of wax paper on a a cookie sheet which will fit inside your refrigerator.
• Melting the chocolate the easy way: put the chocolate chips in a glass container (I'd use my big 4-cup Pyrex measuring thingy) and microwave them until they're melted, stirring occasionally; don't overdo it, though- you don't want the chocolate to burn or get tough.
• Melting the chocolate another way: in a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips (if you don't have a double boiler a metal or oven-safe glass dish over boiling water works too); stir constantly while melting so you don't scorch the chocolate.
• Add the pomegranate seeds to the melted chocolate (making sure the seeds are not wet on the surface, or else the chocolate can seize) and fold gently with rubber spatula until the seeds are thoroughly covered, then spoon out globs of the mixture, whatever size you like, on to the wax paper.
• Place the wax papered cookie sheet in the refrigerator and let the chocolate-covered seeds cool overnight (or for as long as you can stand before tasting them).
• Keep refrigerated- they should keep for 3-4 days, at least, although I doubt they'll last that long once you taste them.
• Enjoy!

POMEGRANATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Using a food processor, grind up the shortbread, almonds and ground cardamom into fine crumbs.
• Pour into a bowl, drizzle with melted butter and toss together with a fork until they are evenly blended.
• Press this mixture firmly into the bottom and partly up the sides of a ten inch springform pan, and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for fifteen minutes. (Bake for ten minutes if you have a convection oven.).
• Remove from oven and cool completely.
• Turn oven down to 300 degrees, and place a roasting pan or baking pan full of water into the bottom rack. (This creates a moist environment in the oven and helps keep the top of the cheesecake from drying out and cracking or becoming rubbery.).
• Beat together the cheese, sugar and vanilla until well blended and light and fluffy on high speed. Beat for two minutes. Scrape down bowl and beat for another thirty seconds.
• Whisk together eggs and egg yolks and add to mixture with the pomegranate juice concentrate or pomegranate molasses. Beat on medium speed for about one minute to combine thoroughly. Scrape down bowl and beat for thirty more seconds.
• Pour filling into pan, and place on the center oven rack. Bake for one hour and fifteen minutes (50 minutes if you have a convection oven) until the cake appears golden and set. A tester inserted into the center should come out looking dry.
• Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for eight hours.
• To serve, remove from refrigerator and wipe down the outside of the springform pan with a towel dampened with very hot water. Dip a table knife or icing spatula in hot water, wipe it dry and run it around the interior edge of the pan, loosening the sides of the cake. Unlock the spring, and remove the side of the pan.
• Blend together the juice concentrate and pomegranate spread with a whisk. Pour over the top of the cake, making certain to drizzle some of it artfully over the sides in decorative rivulets.
• Sprinkle the top of the cake thickly with pomegranate seeds, until it resembles a geode encrusted with garnet crystals.
• Serve on plates upon which pools of the pomegranate syrup have been poured, if desired.

POMEGRANATE-WHITE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Please note Pampered Chef products are highlighted. You can use any food processor and other equipment to accomplish the same results.
• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°F). For crust, lightly spray sides of 9" Spring form Pan with nonstick cooking spray. Break cookies in half and place in Manual Food Processor; cover and pump handle to form very fine crumbs. Press cookie crumbs evenly over bottom and slightly up sides of pan. Bake 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven to Stackable Cooling Rack.
• For filling, place chocolate in Large Micro-Cooker®. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 1-1 1/2 minutes or until mostly melted, stirring every 30 seconds with Mix 'N Scraper®. Place cream cheese, sugar and vanilla into Stainless (4-qt./4-L) Mixing Bowl; beat on medium speed of electric mixer just until incorporated. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Add chocolate; mix just until blended. Pour over crust.
• Bake 55-65 minutes (see Cook's Tip) or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken (center will firm as it cools). Turn off oven; open oven door slightly. Let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour. Remove pan from oven to cooling rack; remove collar from pan. Cover cheesecake; refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
• For sauce, combine juice and cornstarch in (1.5-qt./1.4-L) Saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1-2 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat; pour into (2-cup/500-mL) Prep Bowl. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• For each serving, drizzle with syrup and garnish with whipped cream, pomegranate seeds and chocolate curls, if desired.