- Hey, I'm John Canal and today on Preppy Kitchen.
We're making an amazing brulee blood orange cheesecake.
So let's get started.
First off, set your oven at 350 so it's nice and hot.
And now in the bowl of your food processor
add eight ounces of your favorite cookie.
Today I'm using ginger snaps because the warm spices
and crunchy nature go super well with the orange cheesecake.
Pop the top on
and then we're gonna pulse until finally ground.
By the way, you could totally make this
by hand just crushing the cookies
in a bag and then mixing them in a big bowl.
You don't need a food processor.
(processor whirring)
I'm adding two tablespoons
of granulated sugar right into my processor.
And by the way, today's recipe just so happens to be
from the winter chapter of my cookbook.
So if you have a copy, grab it
and open to page 145 as you bake along with me,
pulse just to incorporate the sugar.
And now I'm gonna stream one quarter
of a cup of melted butter.
Right in.
(processor whirring)
Perfect, carefully remove the blade.
And I just wanna show you that what you're left
with looks crumbly and sandy, but you should be able to
give it a good press and it'll stick together, mostly.
You don't wanna add too much butter to your crust
because then it's like kind of just soggy and you're not
getting the full flavor and crunch, time to grab
a nine inch spring form pan and get this crust in place.
Now it's time to add our cookie crust right
into our spring form pan.
I haven't even told you about the cheesecake yet.
This is so good.
I feel like I should have a preppy kitchen
cheesecake channel
(bouncy music)
At least maybe like a cheesecake week or something.
That'd be fun.
Okay, anyhow, we're gonna spread these crumbs around
just brushing them along, singing a song side by side.
I'm here all day, anyways.
We're gonna press down.
You can use a measuring cup or a glass.
Actually a glass would be better.
So the cheesecake has this amazing
like crunchy ginger crust
but then the inside is just a creamy orange dream cake.
And we're gonna have slices of oranges.
Today I'm using blood oranges
because they're extra dramatic, not really for the flavor
because they don't taste that different, secret
with any cookie crust is to really just take your time
and press firmly, but give it a good packing
down all the way around.
And then come back for a final like press in.
You're really pressing together 'cause you only
used just enough butter to hold things together.
You didn't use too much.
Okay, that looks really nice and perfectly compacted.
We're gonna pop this into the oven.
350 for 10 to 15 minutes
or until it's fragrant, it's like toasting nuts.
It's done when you can smell it.
It'll also be a little bit more golden in color.
And you go, while our crust is baking
we're gonna make the filling of course.
So in the bowl of your stand mixer or a big bowl
if you're using a hand fixer
I want three eight ounce packages of cream cheese
but it has to be room temperature.
So if you took it outta the fridge and you let it sit
for an hour or two, that's not good enough.
It's either sitting around for a while or you unwrap him
put him on a plate
and microwave 50% power and like 30 second bursts.
Just like if you were softening butter in the microwave
it should be so nice and soft.
See this, it's like falling apart almost.
When you use cream cheese, that's too cold.
To make a cheesecake is just a recipe for lumps and bumps.
It does not mix in properly.
And one like I love cream cheese.
I actually wood eat it by the spoonful
but if I'm having a cheesecake, I want it to be creamy
and like the exact same consistency and flavor throughout.
So we don't want a lump of cream cheese.
And also it can give you cracks.
So if you have different consistencies, like something hard
something soft and it's baking together
that's a moment where cheesecake can kinda like come apart
just look a little bit less appetizing.
We're gonna mix this up until it's nice and creamy.
So now we're gonna work the cream cheese, cream it up.
I'm gonna mix this on medium
for about a minute until it's smooth and fluffier.
Just let it mix.
This recipe calls for two eggs and two egg yolks.
So let's crack the eggs into a bowl.
I'm doing that so I don't have any shells
'cause that's a horrible texture to have in a cheesecake.
Scrape your bowl down
and then we're all still gonna use two egg yolks
in the recipe and the egg yolks do something very special.
Two egg yolks now,
the egg whites so you can like add to your omelet tomorrow.
Or you know, make a tiny meringue.
My eggs are separated.
This is nice and creamy.
So I'm moving it back to medium and I'm gonna slowly add
in one cup or 200 grams of granulated sugar.
Add that in along with a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt.
(mixer whirring)
The other thing you're gonna do when you
make a cheesecake is scrape the bowl down occasionally
because chances are you have some unmixed nonsense
at the bottom and you just need it to be so nice and smooth.
That's the pleasure of a cheesecake.
It's just like a cloud
of creamy deliciousness that melts on your tongue.
Double check this recipe.
So we're gonna scrape the bowl down.
Sour cream, orange zest, and vanilla.
So I need third of a cup
of sour cream and two teaspoons of orange zest.
Thanks book.
Now time for a third of a cup of sour cream.
And now two teaspoons of the orange zest.
So this is one of my blood oranges.
It's a mystery.
It could be totally red
on the inside or like a normal orange.
You never know.
I will always add a little bit more
because I love it so much
Huh?
So my crust just came out
of the oven and it was looking a little saggy.
So I'm dunno what will happen.
It might be the brand of cookie I used
but the nice thing is
while it's soft you can just prop it right back up.
That has never happened before.
I took this out of the oven, we cut
I took it outta the oven and it just fell down.
I was like, oh my gosh, what?
Never, I think it was this brand of ginger snaps I used.
Maybe it had a bit more, maybe a bit too much sugar in them
but it's still super soft right outta the oven just
like a cookie would be.
So use that glass and just re prop it up
and as you can see, looks basically fine now.
Problem solved, back into the filling two teaspoons
of orange zest is all we need.
So pop that in.
Oh my gosh, it gives you so much flavor.
All of my oranges and lemons
in the house are usually just like this.
They're just naked because they've been used
for various desserts or savory things.
I'm gonna mix this up again.
I also want two teaspoons of vanilla extract.
So one and two.
(mixer whirring)
All right.
Just mix that until it's combined.
Bowl is looking a little unruly
but on the inside things are looking pretty smooth.
I don't see a lot of lumps continue on medium low.
I'm gonna add the eggs in one at a time now.
Let the first egg incorporate
before adding the second one in.
You don't wanna overwhelm this kind
of thick mixture with too much of a thin mixture.
And you might notice that I'm not mixing on high.
I don't want to beat a lot of air into the batter
because that will give you a chance for cracking.
All those air bubbles will dry the cake out in the oven.
They'll expand, they might cause it to crack
and it won't be as silky as it could be otherwise.
Right, we're gonna stop this.
Take a look inside the bowl.
Look at that nice mixture that is really like just loose
and silky and gorgeous.
One more scrape.
And now we have these two yolks.
These are gonna do something basically magical.
You know that egg yolks are great for creating an emulsion
and mixing things.
Well gonna add those to a small bowl and mix them
with two tablespoons of grand marnet or quantro.
So if you just added the alcohol right into your batter, mm
it could curdle things, it might not mix properly.
If you don't want to use this, think of as optional
your cheesecake will still be delicious.
You have all that orange flavor from the orange zest.
If you want a substitution, I might add in one teaspoon
of orange blossom water.
Let's give that a mix.
Okay, see that?
I have a wonderful mixture.
There's no curdling.
This gets mixed
in while mixing on low, just drizzle that in.
(upbeat music)
This cheesecake is beautiful.
But we need just a little bit of structure.
So we're gonna add three tablespoons
of flour and just sift it in.
Okay, that's all my flour.
Just continue folding it in
and you can do a little scrape down
while you're at it, nice and smooth.
It's ready to pop into the oven as soon
as we transfer it to our slightly cooled crust.
So this cake bakes without a water bath, it doesn't need it.
It should be nice and perfect with no cracks.
If you have a cursed oven though, fill and eight inch
like an eight or nine inch cake pan with hot boiling water.
Basically put that at the bottom rack of your oven
bake your cheesecake in the middle rack
and you'll have like a nice steamy bath.
But honestly like if your oven's not cursed
you shouldn't need it, 350 for 15 minutes.
Then reduce the temperature to 300
and bake for 30 to 35 minutes
or until it has a bit of a wobble, but is basically set.
In you go.
When your cheesecake's done baking and has that little bit
of a wobble, go ahead and turn the oven off.
Leave the door closed for about an hour, then take it out.
Let it come to room temperature
and chill overnight to eight hours.
Once your cheesecake is chilled, it's time to brulee
some oranges, you'll want two to three blood oranges
or whatever orange you like to use.
It really depends on how you want to serve the cheesecake.
So start off by cutting the skin, huh?
Oh my god, look at this.
That is a blood orange.
I'm so excited.
So we wanna get rid of all that pith.
Nobody likes that bitter pith.
But if you do, let me know in the comments, I'm all ears.
Nicely done.
Now we're gonna slice it up.
These get arranged onto a baking sheet.
I lined it with paper towels
because I wanna like just remove any excess moisture
for the brulee-ing, you're brulee-ing an orange,
the only issue is oranges are full
of liquid and you want that sugar to not be really wet.
So I'm just gonna pat them a little bit
with the paper towel.
I pulled a regular orange out
of the fridge and I'm just giving that a cut too.
I wanna have a couple
like orangey moments so that it's not all like reds.
Ooh, look at that.
I love the difference in colors.
Once they're a little bit more dry
we're gonna sprinkle the tops generously with sugar.
That feels generous to me.
Let's get to torching.
So you're gonna brulee it until the sugar dissolves.
So you'll see a wonderful like flash
of bubbles as the caramel just kind of sets, nice.
Then just keep moving along.
The regular oranges actually look cool too
because you can really see the caramel and the charring.
Listen to how cool this is.
That is brulee-ed top.
All right, grab a sharp knife and we're gonna run it
along the edge of your chilled cheesecake.
You just wanna make sure
that nothing pulls the cheesecake apart
and it's really stuck.
Remove the collar and it's the moment of truth.
Yes, and my cheesecake did not crack
but it did have a bubble in the middle, which was like this
and then when it deflated there was like a little blemish.
But that's exactly what these oranges are gonna cover.
Arrange your brulee-ed oranges on top of the cheesecake.
You can serve with additional oranges
and then it's time to enjoy.
I am so glad that recipe is in the book.
Oh my gosh.
Creamy kissed with orange throughout
with the ginger snap crust that has all that warmth
to it and the crunchy brulee oranges.
It is a must make recipe.
I hope you get a chance to make this recipe from my book.
And if you like this video
check out my cheesecake playlist.