ee163hp (02/23/83)
Cissy Brotman's Marble Cheesecake
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-- This recipe originally appeared in the May 1976 issue of "Chicago"
-- magazine, page 125. I have made some improvements and made the
-- instructions more foolproof. This is better than any cheesecake
-- I've ever had (in the chocolate genre). It's a fair amount of
-- effort, a lot of waiting, and probably only worth making for special
-- occasions, but oooooohhhhh is it worth it. Enjoy.
-- Larry West, UC San Diego, La Jolla.
-- p.s.: if you have a good recipe or an improvement on this one, I'd
-- like to hear it.
Time-Table: 1 - 2 hours preparation
1.5 hours baking (you'll need to watch it)
2 hours (minimum) cooling to room temp
0.25 hours post-paration
6 hours chilling in refrigerator
Equipment: Several mixing bowls, one at least 4 quarts, one 2.5 quarts;
An electric mixer or a hand mixer and strong arm ... blender
may suffice in a pinch;
You'll need two pans, where one of the pans fits inside the
other with some free space on all sides, about 1/4 inch;
the inner pan will hold the cheesecake, the outer pan
will be surrounding the inner pan with water; the best
configuration (requiring least intervention) is where the
inside pan is glass and its lips just hold it off the
bottom of the outside pan; this is a major convenience.
Approximate dimensions for inner pan:
round: 9-inch diameter, 3-inch deep
rectangle: 8-inch by 12-inch by 2.5-inch deep
Ingredients:
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2 pounds cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese (or 2.5 lbs)
>> near room temp ! <<.
1.5 teaspoon vanilla extract (get Mexican or other import,
if possible -- much better).
1 teaspoon almond extract.
1.5 cups white death (table sugar).
4 - 5 large eggs.
2.5 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled, but
still a little warm.
1/3rd cup graham cracker crumbs (add nutmeg, cinnamon).
1 - 2 Tablespoons Butter -- for pan.
optimal:
2 teaspoons lemon extract [for white batter only].
2 Tablespoons good Brandy {e.g., Korbel} ["good" so you may
drink the rest without regret].
2 dozen assorted marbles.
Directions: [[[ preheat oven to 350 degrees F ]]]
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1) In a large (4 qt or more) bowl: Beat cream cheese until smooooooth,
then beat in vanilla, almond, and sugar. Beat in eggs, one by one.
Make sure batter is uniformly smooth -- the consistency will be
almost soupy.
2) Place approximately one-third of the batter in a somewhat smaller
mixing bowl with the chocolate (add a little of the batter to the
chocolate first, and get them well-mixed). Mix until smoooooth,
and uniformly colored. Add brandy, mix again. {Beware of adding
too little or too much batter to the melted chocolate -- it should
taste strongly of chocolate, perhaps less sweet than you'd expect,
but not bitter. Consistency will be thicker than white batter}
3) Add lemon extract to the white batter, mix well.
4) Butter: a (9-inch round, 3-inch deep [non-springform!])
or a (8-inch by 12-inch by 2.5-inch) pan. Thick layer is best.
5) Put a checkerboard pattern of dark batter on the bottom of the pan,
probably with a teaspoon. Over this, put large spoonsful of
the white batter, to cover the chocolate batter. Repeat this
until you run out of batter (keep an eye on how much of each
is left), making sure you end up with chocolate showing on the
top layer. No need to be exact, you just want small packets
of chocolate spread throughout the white (lemon) batter.
6) Place the cheesecake pan into a pan partially filled with hot tap-water,
and place both of these in your preheated, 350-degree oven. For
the remainder of the baking, you'll want to keep the water level
oh, above the half-way mark -- you'll probably need to add water
every 20-30 minutes. Avoid spilling onto the cheesecake.
7) Bake until golden brown crust develops on top, about 90 minutes. It
doesn't hurt to cook it two hours to get that crust. While baking,
be on the lookout for hot-spots, where the cake suddenly begins to
rise -- this means your pans are conducting heat too quickly: may
need to readjust pans or add more water. This is where a glass
pan can save you a whole lot of messing around in a hot oven. This
may also be a good time to acquaint yourself with the brandy.
8) When done baking, remove cheesecake pan from pan of water and cool on
a rack until AT ROOM TEMPERATURE. This may take three hours.
It doesn't hurt to set the pan (with rack) in a breeze, but don't
refrigerate [and beware of animals....].
9) Invert pan onto a flat plate or serving tray. Wait for it to drop,
or tap the pan to speed it along. When it drops, you have the
bottom of the cheesecake facing up. Pat down the graham cracker
crumbs on it, until you have a fine layer of them embedded.
10) Invert again, onto final serving surface (flat) {centrifugal "force"
may be of use here}. Refrigerate at least 5 hours. If there
are strong-smelling foods in the refrigerator, cover the
cheesecake with plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Get some sleep.
11) Wake up the next morning, go out to the kitchen, taste cheesecake,
experience Nirvana/Heaven, realize that it was easily worth all the
trouble you went to, and that you have to find someone else to feed
it to, or you're going to be ill.
12) Go jogging to atone for your scarfing of 12000 Calories.
13) Put marbles back where you found them.
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Should always be stored in refrigerator. I haven't had it last long enough
to care whether it could be frozen.
I estimated once that one cubic inch of this cheesecake had about 100 Calories
(with 20 percent). That's not all that much for a dessert, but it tastes
richer than it is....
end recipe for Cissy Brotman's Marble Cheesecake.
Larry West, Wed 23 Feb 83, La Jolla, California.
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