Cheesecake Ice Cream with Gluten Free Graham Crackers.

A few years ago, after I graduated from culinary school, one of my gifts was an ice cream maker.  I can't say I use it very often, maybe a few times per summer, but after making this ice cream I was reminded how amazingly easy and delicious homemade ice cream is.

I made a cheesecake ice cream for my sister's birthday a couple of years back.  She requested it again this year, but I decided to try a new recipe this time around.  There wasn't anything wrong with the first recipe, but this one just seemed like it could be cheesecakier, I'm not sure why.  Good news?  It was!

Graham crackers are cheesecake's perfect partner, so I made a gluten free version since we were expecting celiac guests.  They came out beautifully tender and crisp, but not very sweet.  If you're using them for something like crumbling over ice cream or crushing them for a crust, I would say use the recipe as-is, otherwise add some brown or granulated sugar to the dry ingredients.

Cheesecake Ice Cream
Adapted from A Chica Bakes
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
Pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large bowl, cream together the softened cream cheese sugar, and lemon zest.  In another bowl, whisk the sour cream, half-and-half, salt and vanilla together until smooth, then gradually add this to the cream cheese mixture.  (Alternatively, you can just whizz everything together in a food processor.  I didn't want to get it dirty @_@)  Chill the ice cream base until very cold, at least 4 hours or overnight, then churn in an ice cream maker until thick and creamy.

Gluten Free Graham Crackers
Adapted from Gluten Free Girl and The Chef
2.5 ounces sorghum flour
2.5 ounces millet flour
2.5 ounces tapioca flour
2.5 ounces rice flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
3.5 ounces cold butter, cut into pieces
3 ounces honey
3 to 6 tablespoons cold water

In a large bowl, weigh out all of the dry ingredients and whisk well to combine.  Cut in the butter with 2 knives, a pastry cutter, or a fork until the mixture resembles sand.  Stir together the honey and water, then add it to the dry ingredients, stirring until the dough just starts to come together.  Knead it a few times, then wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Roll the dough out to about 1/4" thick, then score diamonds or other shapes with a knife and use the tines of a fork to poke holes in the shapes, if desired.  Refrigerate the dough until cold, then transfer the shapes to the baking sheet and bake until light golden brown on the outside, 12 to 20 minutes, depending on how thick or thin you cut the dough.

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Cheesecake.

I made this sucker for the 4th of July and it was gooood.  (That weekend was quite a whirlwind due to a family reunion and a birthday as well as the holiday so I did a lot of baking and quite frankly don't remember how many things I baked, but there was at least a sweet potato pound cake, tiramisu and cupcakes in the mix...) I also made a chocolate mayonnaise cake with Duke's Mayonnaise (a present from my North Carolina buds) but I must say, it was gone before I could get any pictures.  For anyone skeptical about mayonnaise in cake, it's just oil and eggs!  People at the party I took it to made faces when I told them what it was, but then when they put a forkful in their mouths, everyone said it was the best chocolate cake they'd tasted. I hope to make the cake again soon, that way it can have its own post like it deserves.

Moving on to the main star here, though - this cheesecake is gluten free, it's easy and it's delicious.  The crust is made out of gluten free brownies, the filling made out of rich cream cheese and melted bittersweet chocolate.  I added the whipped cream and raspberries on top, but they were just for show.  This cheesecake would do just fine on its own, no matter what the situation, for people who have to eat gluten free or not.

(This recipe is adapted from a book I go to more than any other when I need to bake gluten free, I highly recommend it to any Celiac or anyone who bakes or cooks for people with Celiac's.  The recipe is originally accompanied by a raspberry coulis, hence my inspiration with fresh raspberries on top here.)

Gluten Free Double Chocolate Cheesecake
Recipe adapted from 125 Best Gluten Free Recipes by Donna Washburn and Heather Butt

Fudgy Brownies for the crust:
1/3 cup chickpea flour (original recipe calls for yellow pea flour, never seen it)
2 tablespoons potato starch
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and grease an 8x8 square pan.

Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl, whisking to make sure all the flours aren't clumpy. 

In a large microwavable safe bowl, melt the butter and chocolate together until smooth and shiny.  Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs one at a time until thoroughly combined.  Dump in the dry ingredients and stir well to eliminate any lumps.

Spread in the prepared pan and let sit for 15-30 minutes.  Bake the brownies for 20 to 25 minutes or until when a toothpick is inserted in the middle, a bit of crumb is sticking to it.  Let cool completely, then crumble and set aside.

Cheesecake:
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons sorghum flour
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
1 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
8 ounces melted bittersweet chocolate, cooled

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and lightly spray a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray.  Press the brownie crumbs in the bottom and up the sides of the pan and bake for 10 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.  In a large bowl using an electric mixer or handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese until very smooth.  Slowly and the sugar and sorghum flour and beat until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg.  Add the vanilla, salt and yogurt or sour cream, and finally, fold in the chocolate.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cooled brownie crust.  Bake the cheesecake for 10 minutes in the hot oven and then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees F. and continue to bake for another 35 to 40 minutes or until the center is just set.  Let cool at least 30 minutes before refrigerating at least 3 hours or up to 3 days.

Garnish as you'd like, and serve in thin slices with strong coffee.  Yum :)

The magic of streusel AKA crumb toppings.

I don't really plan to make things that have similar attributes at the same time, it just happens. For instance this past week I received the book Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter from Amazon so that I would never run out of ideas for brunch on Sundays. I decided early Saturday to make one of the first recipes in the book, Butter Crumb Coffee Cake. Looked easy, sounded delicious, and the streusel recipe was intense. I mean, there was a TON of it. And I LOVE streusel, any crumb topping.

Then I remembered about these apples that have been sitting on my counter for a week and a half. I promised myself I'd use them for Easter and never got around to it, so I knew they were almost past their prime, and I'd better use them sooner rather than later. Looked in the fridge, saw a couple packages of cream cheese and then thought "apple cheesecake!" A bit of Googling and I found myself a nice recipe for apple cheesecake bars - that just happened to include a nice recipe for streusel on top. I followed the recipe to a T, except I substituted Tom Sawyer's Gluten-Free Flour for the all-purpose flour called for in the recipe and omitted the oats in the topping (my brother's fiance is a Celiac, her mother wanted me to try this flour. IT IS GREAT! For anyone with wheat intolerance. Try it out for sure.)

Anyhoo, blah blah. Here are the recipes!

Butter Crumb Coffee Cake adapted from Carole Walter's Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More



Streusel:
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Put the butter in a heavy saucepan and heat until almost melted. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, and add this to the butter and stir until the mixture forms large crumbs. At this point I put the whole pot in the fridge until the batter was ready.

Batter:
2 cups AP flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes and softened
1 large egg
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and spray a 10-inch springform pan with baking spray or line the bottom with parchment paper and generously butter the sides and bottom.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and cut it in until the mixture has a very fine crumb texture. In a small bowl combine the egg, milk and vanilla and then add this to the butter/flour mixture, and stir until it is thick and well combined, about 1 minute.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top out. Then take your streusel out of the fridge and make big clumps of it in your hand, then crumble it on top of the batter, scattering it evenly over the entire thing.

Bake in the preheated oven until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely, then take the ring off the springform pan and serve! I like to keep this under a cake dome, seems to stay fresher that way.



Apple Cheesecake Bars found on this blog and modified slightly.

Crust:
2 cups AP (or gluten-free) flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used dark brown mm)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Combine the flour and sugar until there are no more lumps of sugar left. Add the butter and mix until the butter is nicely distributed throughout. Press this into the bottom of the pan. Bake until it is golden, about 15 minutes.

Streusel:
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar (again I used dark brown)
1 cup AP (or gluten-free) flour
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Combine the sugar and flour, and then cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Set aside.

Apples:
4 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger (I added this)

Stir the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger together, then pour over the apples and stir well to combine.

Cheesecake Batter:
2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons Amaretto (or 1 teaspoon vanilla)

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until lump-free. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the Amaretto or extract and beat on low speed until everything is incorporated.

When the crust is out of the oven, pour the cheesecake batter on top, smoothing to the edges. Then top with the apples, and then finally, the streusel. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cheesecake batter looks set. Chill thoroughly, cut into bars, and enjoy!