Layered Vegetable Cheesecake Food

GHIRARDELLI LAYERED CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE WITH GANACHE GLAZE

Steps:

• Prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together cookie crumbs, butter, and sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.
• Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Cool crust completely in pan on a wire rack, about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
• Prepare the Cheesecake: Beat cream cheese with a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and flour, beating until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed just until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
• Divide batter into 2 equal portions in separate medium bowls. Pour 1 portion into prepared crust; spread evenly.
• Place Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on medium (50% power) until melted and smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds.
• Stir together coffee liqueur and espresso granules in a small bowl until espresso dissolves; stir mixture into remaining bowl of cheesecake batter. Stir melted bittersweet chocolate into coffee batter until blended.
• Gently pour over plain cheesecake batter in prepared crust, and spread evenly. Pan will be very full. Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
• Bake at 325 degrees F until center is almost set but center still jiggles slightly when pan is prodded, 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely, about 2 hours.
• Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil and chill 8 to 12 hours. Gently run a knife or offset spatula around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. Remove sides of pan.
• Prepare the Topping: About 1 hour before serving, bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium. Place Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips in a small heatproof bowl; pour cream-syrup mixture over chocolate chips. Let stand 1 minute. Whisk gently until smooth. Cool slightly, about 15 minutes.
• Pour chocolate mixture over top of cheesecake, and gently spread to edge of crust. Chill until set, about 30 minutes. Garnish if desired.

SAVORY VEGETABLE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
• Butter a 10" springform pan and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, set aside.
• Put the grated zucchini into a colander.
• Salt lightly, and let is sit about 15 minutes, then squeeze out any excess moisture.
• Saute the onions in butter with 1/2 t salt.
• When they start to turn translucent, add the carrots, garlic, zucchini, flour, basil and oregano.
• Keep stirring and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in the parsley and lemon.
• Beat the cheeses and eggs together until well blended.
• (Hello, Kitchenaid mixer!) When the cheese and egg mixture is nice and fluffy, fold in the veggies.
• Season to taste with black pepper.
• Pour the mixture into the springform pan.
• Bake uncovered for 30 minutes-- then pull it out for a minute.
• Remember those tomatoes?
• Dredge them in the breadcrumbs and decorate the top of the cheesecake with them in a pretty spiral pattern.
• Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees, and bake another 30 minutes.
• Turn off the oven and just let the cheesecake sit in there for another 15 minutes.
• Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool about 10 more minutes before cutting and serving.

4 LAYER CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For the chocolate cake "crust": Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease the bottom only of a 9-inch springform pan that has been lined with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add the extract and eggs, beating well after each addition. Add the flour and cocoa and mix well to combine. The batter will be stiff. Spread in the pan. Set aside.
• For the baked chocolate cheesecake: In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese and ricotta with the sugar until smooth. Add a small amount of the cheese mixture to the melted chocolate and combine well. Once the little bit of cheese mixture and chocolate is mixed well, add it back to the rest of the cheese mixture and beat until well combined. Add the eggs and flour and beat well. Smooth over the top of the cake batter in the pan. Bake until the cheesecake is set in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Cover with foil during last 10 minutes to prevent over browning. Remove from the oven and cool.
• A cheesecake is not like a regular cake. It is considered set when the center is still wobbly. After you chill the cheesecake, it will set without wobbling. At this point let the cake cool. Once it is cool, you need to chill the cake for an hour or two.
• For the vanilla cream cheese mousse: Once your chocolate and cheesecake base has been chilled, you can start making the third layer.
• Beat the heavy whipping cream until stiff and set aside. In separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with a mixer in large bowl until well blended. Fold the whipped cream into cheese mixture until just combined. Spread the mixture over the baked cheesecake layer and chill well (freezing the cake at this point works well and makes spreading the final layer easier). Make sure you chill for several hours to make sure all the layers are set.
• For the dark chocolate/white chocolate ganache: Place the chopped dark chocolate in a large bowl. Heat the cream and butter over low heat until just boiling. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the cream mixture. Pour the rest of the cream mixture over the chocolate and let set about 2 minutes, or until it begins to melt. Stir to combine. Repeat for the white chips using the reserved cream mixture. Let cool slightly until spreading consistency.
• Using a sharp knife, gently run the blade around the edge of the cake to loosen. Remove the cake sides from the pan and place the bottom with cake on a serving plate or stand. Spread the frosting over the top and sides.
• Drizzle the white chocolate lightly over the top. Using a knife or toothpick, run it lightly over the top to swirl to create desired effect. At this point, I would place the white chocolate ganache in a pastry bag and use a small round tip to decorate the top of the cake instead of trying to just drizzle it on top. You have more control.
• Press the mini chips (regular size works too) into the frosting on sides until completely coated to create a "crust." Place the cake in the fridge to chill while preparing the final frosting.

LAYERED VEGETABLE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F & lightly butter a deep cake pan 8 inches in diameter, then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs & garlic, then season to taste with salt & pepper, before sprinkling half of this crumb mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan.
• Slice all vegetables as thinly as possible, which is best done with a mandoline or in a food processor with a thin cutting disc.
• The vegetables are to be layered in the prepared pan ~ lightly seasoning with the crumb mixture every couple of layers ~ starting with half of the potatoes, then half of the parsnips, then half of the turnip, then half of the sweet potato & finally half of the rutabaga.
• At this point sprinkle a little more than half of the remaining breadcrumb mixture over everything, then start the entire process again, finally topping the last layer with the remaining crumb mixture.
• Whisk together the eggs, vegetable stock & cream then season lightly.
• Pour this mixture evenly over the layered vegetables & cover with aluminum foil, pinching around the edges to seal.
• Bake for 1 hour, then remove the foil & bake another 30 minutes.
• Preheat the broiler to high, then turn the cake onto a heatproof plate. Remove & discard the parchment paper lining before placing the cake under the broiler for 4 or 5 minutes or until it is crisp & golden.
• Let it cool just slightly, then cut into wedges & serve.

LAYERED MINI CARAMEL CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
• Place 1 vanilla wafer cookie in the bottom of each muffin cup. Place the remaining cookies in a container and crush to crumbs.
• Place caramels in a medium saucepan; add milk. Heat on low, stirring occasionally until melted, about 10 minutes.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a bowl using an electric mixer until cheesecake filling is smooth. Distribute 2 tablespoons of the filling into each muffin cup.
• Stir two-thirds of the melted caramel mixture into the remaining cheesecake filling; mix well. Distribute 2 tablespoons of caramel-cheesecake mixture into the muffin cups.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheesecake is set, about 1 hour. Let cool to room temperature, at least 25 minutes.
• Reheat the remaining caramel sauce until warm, about 2 minutes. Drizzle onto the cheesecakes. Sprinkle the cookie crumbs on top. Remove cheesecakes from the muffins tins; place on a serving platter. Cover and refrigerate until cool, about 4 hours.