Guava Cheesecake With Cashew Ginger Crust Food

PHILADELPHIA 3-STEP GUAVA CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Beat cream cheese, guava paste, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended.
• Pour into crust.
• Bake 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

GUAVA CHEESECAKE WITH CASHEW-GINGER CRUST

Steps:

• CRUST:.
• Pulse the cashews and brown sugar in the food processor until finely ground. Add the flour and salt; pulse to blend. Pulse in the butter until the largest pieces are large pea sized, then pulse in the egg and ginger. Transfer the dough into a bowl, and work the egg into the mixture until a moist, crumbly dough is formed. If the dough seems too dry, add in some ice water, up to 2 teaspoons. To prevent the dough from being tough, don't overwork it, just rub ingredients together with your fingers until everything is well-blended. Press the dough into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9" springform pan (keep the crust about 1/4" thick all around). Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill the crust for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
• Once the crust is properly chilled, preheat the oven to 350 deg F. Unwrap the crust and prick it all over with a fork. Bake it until partly dried and partly firm, 15 to 25 minutes. Don't overbake at this point, because then your crust will be very overbaked once the cheesecake cooks. Set the partially cooked crust aside to cool completely before adding the filling.
• CHEESECAKE:.
• Preheat oven to 300 deg F.
• Peel the guavas with a veggie peeler, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Roughly chop the seeded fruit, then puree in the food processor. Another way to do this is to puree the peeled fruit in the blender, then strain the seeds out with a coarse mesh strainer. Measure out 1 cup of guava puree (set aside the remainder of the puree for another use, such as topping ice cream or mixing into a smoothie). Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and vanilla seeds (if using), and continue beating until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl down often. If using vanilla extract instead of the seeds, stir it in at this point. Stir in the mascarpone and guava puree.
• Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Set the pan on the middle oven rack in the center of the oven. Place a shallow pan of water on the bottom oven rack, right below the cheesecake pan (this step will help to prevent cracking). Bake for 1 3/4 to 2 hours, or until edges are set but center is slightly wobbly. The edges should be lightly colored, and may have a bit of cracking. As soon as the cheesecake is out of the oven, run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it from the edge of the pan (this also helps to prevent or minimize cracking as the cheesecake cools). Cool the cheesecake for 1 hour on a wire rack, then thoroughly chill the cheesecake in the fridge (preferably overnight, but no less than 4 hours). Once the cheesecake is no longer warm, you can cover it. If you cover it as soon as you put it in the fridge, the cheesecake will sweat and leave little puddles of condensation on the surface.
• GLAZING:.
• Once the cheesecake is completely chilled, run a thin-bladed knife around the edge one more time, then release the edge of the springform pan. Melt the guava jelly and water in a small saucepan, then bring to a boil. Simmer glaze for about 1 minute, then pour it over the top of the chilled cheesecake. Spread to distribute the glaze, then chill glazed cheesecake for about 1 hour before serving. This keeps very well if stored in the fridge, covered with foil.

GUAVA SWIRLED CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat ovem to 400°F.
• Combine 1/3 cup sugar, crumbs, and butter. Press mixture into bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.
• Bake for 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
• Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
• Combine 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, juice, and guava paste in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool slightly.
• Pour mixture into a blender, and process until smooth.
• Cool completely.
• Stir in 1 egg white.
• Combine remaining 1 cup sugar, sour cream, and cheese in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until smooth.
• Beat in vanilla and salt.
• Gradually add remaining 4 egg whites, beating well after each addition.
• Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan.
• Drizzle guava mixture over cheese mixture; swirl mixtures using the tip of a knife.
• Bake at 325°F for 45 minutes or until cheesecake center barely moves when touched.
• Turn oven off; cool cheesecake in closed oven 30 minutes.
• Remove cheesecake from oven, run a knife around outside edge.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Cover and chill at least 8 hours before serving.

MASCARPONE CHEESECAKE WITH ROASTED CASHEW CRUST AND PASSION FRUIT CARAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For crust:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. Wrap outside of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Finely grind cashews and brown sugar in processor. Add flour, salt, and spices; blend 5 seconds. Add butter and blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add egg yolk; using on/off turns, blend until moist clumps form. Press dough over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of prepared pan. Pierce crust all over with fork. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool crust. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Combine first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean. Using electric mixer, beat cheese mixture until smooth and fluffy. Add mascarpone cheese and sour cream; beat at low speed just until blended, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Add eggs 2 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Transfer filling to prepared crust.
• Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Fill roasting pan with enough hot water to come halfway up sides of springform pan. Place roasting pan with cheesecake in oven; cover roasting pan with foil. Bake cheesecake 30 minutes. Lift edge of foil to allow steam to escape; cover again. Bake cake 30 minutes. Lift foil again; cover again. Bake until cake is loosely set but filling jiggles all over when pan is shaken gently, lifting foil every 10 minutes, about 30 minutes longer. Remove cheesecake from water. Place on rack; cool 1 hour. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, at least 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; keep refrigerated.)
• Cut around pan sides to release cheesecake. Cut into wedges. Drizzle each wedge with warm caramel sauce. Spoon some fruit alongside and serve.
• *Italian cream cheese, available at Italian markets and many supermarkets.