By now you would have realised that all my recipes have a story, or rather, I like to tell a story with each one and this one is no different, so sit back and let’s take a little step back… to about 10 days ago…..
Picture this, hubby in on the lounge going through his fb. Kids and I watching a movie on the same couch. My phone beeps.. hubby has tagged me into a friends post of an Apple Butter Cheesecake with the comment “This is your challenge for next week”, I run my eye over it and quickly reply “Challenge accepted!”
For those of you that know, we in Sydney are currently in hard lockdown and while we are allowed out for groceries etc we have preferred to not go out if we can help it so add to cart on the Woolworths website saw everything I needed delivered about 5 days later.
Now… queue my over thinking (yes you knew this bit was coming)… I am reading over the recipe here and there and while I thought it seemed nice, my brain kept tweaking it to make it awesome and as usual… go next level…..
Firstly, let me say this, I am not really a cheesecake fan but hubby got my attention with the apples! I literally can’t say no to desserts with apples. However, after eating this, even if you changed the flavour profile and use the base cheesecake recipe, it is flipping awesome!
It is important to note that I have included many options below from making the basic recipe with a few tweaks, right through to the Moreish version, which is the cheesecake you see in the photos and the one, we as a family demolished.
Also, while I do advertise this as a no bake recipe and it is, I fully recommend the extra effort and baking the base, as it makes it tastier and crunchier - we baked ours but you can omit that step.
Recipe
Filling:
500 grams of cream cheese (not Lite)
1 cup of caster sugar
450 grams thickened cream (not Lite)
1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
Moreish upgrade:
1 table spoon of gelatin with 2 table spoon of water to bloom it
Swap out the sugar for 1/2 cup Dark Brown sugar and 1/2 cup caster sugar)
1 teaspoon of organic vanilla bean paste
Crust:
1 packet of Arnotts Granita Biscuits (if you are from the States, Graham crackers)
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
120 grams of melted butter
Moreish Upgrade:
1/3 cup of shredded dried coconut
1/3 cup of slivered almonds
1/4 teaspoon of salt
Apple Pie Jam (Optional):
400 grams of grated green apples
400 grams bag of jamsetter sugar
1 table spoon of ground cinnamon
1 table spoon of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
Apple Butter:
400 grams of any apple cored and peeled
1/4 cup of apple cider (not apple cider vinegar)
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Method for each component
Crust
Pound up the Granita biscuits in your fav method. A thermo mix, Kitchenaid cooker processor or any food processor does a great job at it but I prefer a zip lock bag and a mallet as I get to pound out some frustration at the same time - I recommend to keep it a little chunky, not a fine crumb.
In a bowl, combine all the ingredients, mi8x through until it’s all well coated with the melted butter. At this [point, if you didn’t go for the Moreish version, can I highly recommend it, it was to die for)
Using an 8 or 9” round springform tin (I think a 9” is better), place a sheet of baking paper on the bottom as it will make it easier for release later, press the mixture into the base and up the side of the pan, using your fist to press it firmly and evenly into place.
Pop into the fridge to set.
If you are want an even better base, once it’s chilled, turn your oven onto 175 degrees celcius and bake for for 15 minutes - this will bring out the flavour in the almonds and the coconut even more, you will thank me for this later. Leave to cool, and chill again.
Apple Butter
Place all ingredients into a saucepan and on a medium to low heat, ge3ntly cook for 1 hour, stiring once in a while.
Once it’s all soft, puree the entire mixture.
Place it all back on the stove for a further hour, then decant into jam jars and store in the fridge (keeps for a month in the fridge)
Apple Pie Jam
Highly recommend you make a big batch of this one!
Place all the ingredient into a saucepan and on a medium to low heat, stir every few minutes to make sure the bottom doesn’t stick.
Gently scoop out any scunge that froths on the top.
Once the apple pie jam as set, and you know when it’s thickened (take about 45 mins to an hour) place into a sterilised jam jar and seal - this will keep for up to a year, but if your house is like our, we chomp though a jar every month.
Filling
If you have chosen to use the gelatin, place it in a small bowl, pour over 2 table spoons of water and leave it to bloom. Can I highly recommend using the gelatin as it will keep your cheese cake super light and fluffy for longer.
Place the cream cheese and sugar(s) into your mixing bowl - whisk until it’s thick n creamy.
Add in the thickened cream (reserving 2 table spoons if you are using the gelatin), the vanilla bean paste and the lemon juice.
Whip the mixture up.
Meanwhile, heat the gelatin mixture in the microwave in short 10 second burst, do not allow it to boil.
Using the 2 reserved table spoons of cream, mix into the gelatin mixture to temper it, and stop it from seizing when you pour it into the filling mixture (if it goes hard at this point, pop back into the microwave for 5 to 8 seconds to loosen it, mix again) while the mixture is on, pour in your gelatin mix and whip for a further minute or 2.
Construction
Take your pan with the chilled crust from the fridge (leave the base in the pan for this process), apply a layer of the Apple pie jam to the base - I did a generous cm layer.
Top up now with your cream cheese filling - there might be extra and if you used the gelatin, leave some out to pipe decorations with at the end. Smooth out the top.
Apply a generous layer of the apple butter on top - careful not to go to close to the edge as it might drip over.
If you have used the gelatin and wish to pipe a border with it, now is a good time to do it, as it will help form a barrier for the apple butter, meaning you can put more of it on top! Nom!
Pop the completed cheese cake into the fridge to chill for at least 6 hours or better still, over night! It does taste way better the next day so I recommend making this the day before.
To serve, gently pry open the springform pan, you might need to run a knife around the outside. Use the baking paper to help you remove the base and slide onto a serving plate or cake stand.
I used these Gold Bling Sprinkles and More Golden Glow petal dust as a final flourish.
Enjoy!
Love, Monica