Christmas Calendar 2014 Day 3 - Christmas Cheese Cake

I am huge of cherries, and warm cherry sauce served together with Danish ris a la mande is one of my favourites. However, what to do with left-overs of this cherry sauce ? Well you could use this cherry sauce as topping on cream cheese cake !

Therefore I decided to twist this cheese cake with liquorice and lemon by removing the liquorice powder and add cherry sauce on top.

I was even considering to add some cinnamon into the biscuit layer, but I got away from that idea again. Let´s see, perhaps I will make a new Christmas version of a cheese cake in 2015 ?


Christmas Cheese Cake: - 6 BIG mini cheese cakes

Biscuit layer in the cake forms

• 150 g Digestive biscuits
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 60 g butter - melted
• 2 egg yolks (pasteurised = 1 cup egg yolk)
• 100 g sugar
• 200 g full-fat cream cheese
• ½ vanilla pod - the corns
• 200 g full-fat (10%) Greek yogurt
• 5 leaves of gelatine (Husblas in Danish)
• 3 egg whites (pasteurised = 2 cups of egg white)
• 250 g dairy whipping cream, 38% fat
• 1 lemon (organic) - the zest
• 12 tablespoon of cherry sauce
• 1 leave of gealtine 

1. Start by deciding, if you want to make one BIG cheese cake (spring form tin of 20 cm) or 6 smaller set moulds of 7 cm.
2. Also decide to use plastic pocket, which you have cut into a strap, as this will make it so much easier to get the cheese cake of the forms.
3. Crash the Digestive biscuits, first by hands and followed by using a blender, these biscuits should be turned into a fine powder.
4. Add the sugar and the melted butter into the biscuit flour, and stir well.
5. Place the set mould on a tray covered with baking paper.
6. Press the biscuit-butter mass into a firm bottom layer in the used form(s), I used a mortar stick for this part of the process. 
7. Place the forms with this bottom biscuit layer cold in the refrigerator.
8. Whip the egg yolks together with sugar, until the colour turns white.
9. Add the cream cheese and whip into a homogeneous mass. 
10. Add the vanilla corns, lemon zest and Greek yogurt.
11. Place the gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. 
12. Remove the gelatine leaves from the water, squeeze them slightly for water.
13. Melt the gelatine leave in a water bath over boiling water. 
14. Cool down the melted gelatine.
15. Start to whip cream cheese-yogurt mass, pouring in the gelatine liquid and whip very, very well, so you avoid the creation of gelatine strings in the final dessert. Do not be afraid of whipping to much, as the gelatine will gel the cheese cake mass.
16. Whip the egg white completely stiff - mix the whipped egg white gently into the cheese-yogurt mass.
17. Whip the dairy whipping cream and again mix the cream gently into the cheese-yogurt mass.
18. Pour the cheese-yogurt mass into the forms on top of the biscuit layer. 
19. Place some cling film on top of the cake mass to avoid formation of thick layer.
20. Place the forms again in the refrigerator for minimum 4 hours.
21. After 4 hours prepare the cherry sauce for topping of the cakes.
22. Place the gelatine leave in cold water for 5 minutes. Followed by melting the gelatine leave in a water bath over boiling water.
23. Heat up the cherry sauce to 40-50'C
24. Stir in the melted gelatine into the warm cherry sauce, mix very well.
25. Pour the cherry sauce on top of the cheese cake base. 
26. Place the cheese cake in the refrigerator for another 2 hours, so the cherry sauce will set.
27. Take the cheese cake out of the refrigerator, remove the cling film, get the cake out of the forms. 
28. Enjoy this luxury indulgent cheese cake with many, many calories !!!!