Yummy Tiramisu Cheesecake for Hanukkah

Welcome to our first ever Hanukkah Blog Party, hosted by Leah of Cook Kosher and Miriam of Overtime Cook. It’s traditional on Hanukkah to eat fried treats, most notably donuts and latkes, and we’ve got a fabulous array of Hanukkah themed recipes, treats and crafts from Jewish bloggers all over the world! Scroll down for links to all of the delicious treats and leave me a comment about your all-time favorite Hanukkah food for a chance to win some great prizes.

For years I’ve wanted to make all sorts of recipes that called for Mascarpone, an ingredient that seemed very elusive to me, one because I have no idea what it actually is and two because I have not been able to find Kosher Mascarpone in the Dallas area … that is until the wonderful Trader Joe’s opened in our area. I was so excited to see Kosher Mascarpone that I even talked my MIL into buying one even though she had no plans to use it. One such recipe that I’d been dying to make is the Tiramisu Cheesecake featured in Susie Fishbein’s Kosher By Design for holidays. So I bought the mascarpone, and the Hanukkah blog party gave me the perfect opportunity to test this recipe on my family during a little holiday gathering.

Finding all of the other ingredients was also a bit of a tricky process so it took me a couple of weeks to gather up everything. The trickiest ingredients included: mascarpone, instant expresso and the lady-finger cookies. I had to go to several stores to find these items in Dallas and ended up finding the lady-fingers just this past weekend in the baked goods section at my local Tom Thumb.

I found a copy of the recipe online via this blog post: New York – Shavuos 2012: Thoughts and Recipes on Cheesecake from Kosher Food Stars and here is my version with my tweaks in italics:

Susie Fishbein’s Tiramisu Cheesecake recipe

A light fluffy change from the traditional cheesecake. You will love the slight espresso flavor mixed with the creamy cheese. The preferred ladyfingers are the soft sponge-cake kind. I have seen them in many supermarkets near the fruit section. If you can’t find them, don’t panic, you can use the hard ladyfinger cookies, cut in half to line the outside. Don’t forget the grated chocolate for the top; it looks very pretty. You can freeze this cake in an airtight container or well wrapped in foil. To thaw, loosen the covering and leave in the refrigerator for at least a day.

Ingredients:

14 chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Oreos)
2 tablespoons butter, melted
12-14 soft sponge ladyfingers (3-ounce package) (I used Safeway Kitchesn Lady Fingers brand found in the bakery section at Tom Thumb grocery store)
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder or instant coffee (I used Medaglia D’oro brand. I also used the recommended amount but would recommend a bit more if you actually want the coffee flavor. My cake did not taste like coffee at all)
2 tablespoons whole milk
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (8-ounce) package Mascarpone cheese, softened (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs
1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
milk chocolate bar, for grating

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, process the cookies until they are finely crushed into crumbs. Add the butter and mix to moisten.

Use crushed Oreos to make bottom of crust and ladyfingers to line the sides.

Press the crumbs into the bottom of an ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Cut the ladyfingers in half, crosswise. Line the ladyfingers around the sides of the pan, rounded side out and cut side down.

In a small cup or bowl mix the espresso powder in the milk, stirring to dissolve. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and Mascarpone until combined and fluffy. Gradually add sugar. Beat on medium-high until smooth. Turn the speed to low and beat in the cornstarch, vanilla, and eggs until just combined. Stir espresso mixture into the batter.

Pour the batter into the ladyfinger-lined pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Center will appear nearly set when gently shaken. Remove from oven. Immediately spread the sour cream on top, starting at the center and going almost to the edges. (I had a bit of trouble spreading the sour cream. It sort of sunk in the middle of the cake. I’d actually recommend stirring up the sour cream first and then start by spreading from the outside and work your way in).

Stir sour cream and spread it on top of cheesecake starting from the outter edges and moving inward.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Use a small knife or spatula to make sure the ladyfingers are not sticking to the sides of the pan. Cool at least one hour. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 5 hours. Sprinkle grated chocolate over the top of the cheesecake.

Yield: 12 servings

THE CONTEST HAS ENDED. THANKS SO MUCH TO ALL OF YOU WHO PARTICPATED. WINNERS WILL BE NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL SOON!

To help get everyone into party mode, we have a bunch of fabulous new cookbooks to giveaway! Leave a comment on this post for your chance to win one of:

2 copies of Susie Fishbein’s new Kosher By Design Cooking Coach (sponsored by Artscroll)
2 copies of Leah Schapira’s Fresh and Easy Kosher Cooking (sponsored by Artscroll)
2 copies of Esther Deutch’s CHIC Made Simple (sponsored by the author)

Giveaway ends at 11:59 PM on Sunday, December 16th. Limit one entry per person per blog, so visit the other blogs for extra chances to win!

Prizes can only be shipped within the US. Entries must be accompanied by a valid email address in order to qualify.

How to enter: Leave a comment on this post about your favorite Hanukkah food.

This is the second of many fabulous Holiday Blog Parties. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to participate in future parties, please email holidayblogparties@gmail.com

Stop by the other blogs and check out these Chanukah Themed Recipes: