Homemade Cream Cheese Food

HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring milk and salt very slowly to the boil.
• Remove from heat and stir in white vinegar.
• Leave to cool.
• When cool pour mixture into a muslin bag and allow to drip.

DEVIL'S FOOD CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
• Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Bring the milk and 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• Beat the butter in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat at medium speed for 1 minute. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition.
• Reduce the mixer to low and beat in the flour mixture in four additions. Carefully pour the hot milk mixture into the batter. Stir using a rubber spatula until smooth. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans and lightly tap the pans on the counter.
• Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from sides of the pans and the centers spring back when pressed gently, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto the rack and cool completely. Peel the parchment from the bottoms.
• Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt. Gradually increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat until the frosting is fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. With the mixer running on medium-high speed, slowly pour in the heavy cream until it is fully incorporated. Continue beating until the frosting is slightly lighter in color and creamy, about 1 minute more.
• Put one cake round on a serving plate; spread about one-third of the frosting over the top, going to the edge of the cake. Place the second cake round on top. Frost the top and sides with the remaining frosting.
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HERBED CREAM CHEESE DIP

Steps:

• Blend or process all ingredients until smooth.
• Store covered in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight before using to allow flavours to develop.

SIMPLE CREAMY HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Begin by pouring the milk in a saucepan. Heat the milk and bring it to boil over medium-high heat.
• As soon as it boils, add the lemon juice and then turn off the heat.
• Set aside for a few minutes while the milk curdles. You'll notice curds forming and a yellow-ish liquid being left behind.
• Within a few minutes, all of your curds should have formed. Pour the curdled milk through a cheesecloth and a sieve to strain all the liquid whey. Alternatively, you can use a slotted spoon to scoop out all the curdles, while leaving the liquid whey* in the pot.
• Rinse the curds with cold water. This will help to get rid of any extra whey, clinging to the curds.
• Squeeze the curdled milk as much as possible to drain any last drop of the liquid whey.
• Put the strained milk into a food processor/blender and add the salt. Within 1-2 minutes ( this may vary depending on how powerful your machine is) you'll have a light and fluffy cream cheese.
• If you want to add any additional herbs/flavourings then do that now too. Be warned though as certain additional ingredients will affect the shelf-life of the cheese. I like dried herbs and garlic powder as natural flavourings that don't affect the shelf life too much. Store the cream cheese in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 7 days. You can freeze cream cheese, but the texture upon thawing is more crumbly and is best used where you're cooking it into something like a dip or sauce.

HOW TO MAKE CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Line a colander with 6 thin layers of cheesecloth set over a bowl, letting the edges of the cheesecloth hang over the sides. Pour in the yogurt and gather the cheesecloth at the top. Tie the bundle together at the top with kitchen twine and hang the yogurt partially inside a large bowl or large measuring cup set in the refrigerator to drain for 24 hours. Check liquid level in container and pour off if it gets too high.
• Unwrap the cheesecloth and place cream cheese into a mixing bowl, sprinkle with salt, and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
• Line a 4 1/2-ounce ramekin or a small bowl with 4 thin layers of clean cheesecloth. Spoon the salted cream cheese into the ramekin, avoiding creating air pockets. Smooth top of the cream cheese and place a small circle of plastic on top, cut out of a plastic bag. The plastic should just fit inside the ramekin. Fold the cheesecloth over the top and cut off excess cheesecloth. Place another piece of plastic wrap over the ramekin.
• Cut out a small cardboard circle, just barely smaller than the inside of the ramekin, and place the cardboard circle on top of the plastic wrap. Place a small heavy object (such as a can of food) onto the cardboard. Refrigerate to press and age the cream cheese for 2 days.
• Carefully unwrap all the layers of plastic and cheesecloth to reveal the pressed cheese. Transfer to a serving plate with the flat side down to show the cheesecloth marks. Refrigerate leftovers.

CREAM CHEESE ICING

Steps:

• Soften cheese and butter.
• Beat well.
• Add sugar and vanilla.
• Beat again.
• Spread on cooled cake.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat softened butter and cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed 2 to 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally, until smooth and creamy.
• Stir in vanilla, then stir in powdered sugar. Add more powdered sugar as needed until frosting is a thick spreadable consistency.
• Spread or pipe frosting on cooled cake or cupcakes.

WHIPPED CREAM CHEESE (HOMEMADE)

Steps:

• NOTE: you can try softening the cream cheese in your microwave, or leave it out on your kitchen top for a while (about an hour or two).
• Using your mixer, beat the cream cheese until whipped.
• At this point, you can gradually add in the milk until you get your desired "whipped" consistency.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.

VEGAN CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Place the cashews in a large bowl and cover with water. Cover the bowl with wrap and leave to soak overnight or for at least 4 hrs.
• Drain and rinse the cashews then add them to a food processor with the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp water. Whizz until very smooth, about 5 mins. You may need to stop and scrape the sides down with a spatula.
• Transfer the cashew cheese to a dish or bowl and stir through the chives, if using. Cover and place in the fridge for 1 hr to firm up a little. The cheese will keep in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Beat the softened butter to a soft and even consistency. Add the orange juice, if using, then the icing sugar. Cream until you have a smooth, soft buttercream consistency.
• Add the cream cheese and work it in - don't beat it in, just slowly mix with a wooden spoon. Depending on how soft the mixture is, you may want to put it in the fridge for 10 mins at this point. If it's runny, it will firm up again. It should be spreadable and not run off the cake.

HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE (MAKE YOUR OWN)

Steps:

• Pour milk and buttermilk into a large pan and suspend the thermometer in the milk.
• Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the termperature reads 170 degrees.
• Keep the mixture on the heat and the temp of the milk between 170 and 175 degrees. After 30 minutes, the mixture should start to separate into curds (the lumps) and whey (the liquid).
• Line a strainer with several lavers of moistened cheesecloth and set it inside a large bowl to lift the curds from themilkmixture and lay them in the cheesecloth. Pour the remainder of the whey through the cheesecloth and save the whey for other recipes.
• Let curds drain at room temp for 2 to 4 hours. Remove the cheese from the cheescloth and place in blender with the salt. Blend until creamy.
• Store the cheese in small containers with tight fitting lids and refrigerate.
• Cheese can also be frozen thawed and then beaten again in blender until creamy.

CREAM CHEESE CRUST

Steps:

• Pulse the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse until it is the size of peas. Add the cream cheese and pulse until it is the size of peas. Add the vinegar and 2 tablespoons ice water and pulse a few times, until the dough holds together when squeezed. Gather into a ball on a sheet of plastic wrap. Pat into a disk, wrap and chill at least 4 hours.

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together until combined.

HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE

Steps:

• Set up your grill for low, even heat. If using a charcoal grill, distribute the coals evenly. If using a gas grill, heat both sides.
• Slowly heat the milk/cream over low heat to 86 degrees F. Remove from the heat. Mix in the starter packet, mixing for no more than 15 seconds. Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
• The next day: Ladle the solids into a cheesecloth-lined strainer set over a mixing bowl. Gather up the cheesecloth to cover the surface and refrigerate overnight, allowing the cheese to drain and firm up.
• The next day, pick up the cheesecloth and pour the cream cheese into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and stir to combine. (If you'd like a firmer cheese, continue to press.)