Wednesday, February 25, 2009

ribena marble cheesecake

Saw this beautiful cake by HHB and told myself i HAD to try it. My friend had lotsa cream cheese left over and she suggested that i could get them from her since she wouldn't be using them.

Got her to take a look at HHB's cake and she wanted me to make one for her. HHB omitted the jelly topping step since she thought it's gonna cover up the beautiful marble swirls and indeed it does! I actually tried making those swirls (which is now hidden below the jelly layer) and obviously it not visible anymore.

Pardon the really lousy photos. My house's lighting is terrible and it was "too bright" the swirls can't be seen properly and the jelly keeps reflecting the light big time. *roar*

After an attempt on Rei's strawberry cheesecake with the gorgeous design, i decided to do something similar, that is, to play around with the jelly topping and cheesecake using various shapes. After experimenting the other time, things went on more smoothly this time and yep! Ready for more desgins!

Sorry, no pics of innards as this was, as promised, a request for my friend, SJ. I hope you like it!



Ribena Marble Cheesecake

Ingredients

crust:
150g digestive biscuits, finely crushed
60g butter, melted
[I found the base too thick, so i'm gonna reduce it to 120g digestive biscuits with 40g melted butter]


filling:
100ml water
20g (2 tablespoons) gelatin granules/powder
250g cream cheese, soften at room temperature
75g caster sugar
250ml (1 cup) natural plain yogurt
75ml Ribena blackcurrant juice cordial


topping:
100ml water
2 teaspoons gelatin granules/powder
80ml Ribena blackcurrant juice cordial


Method:
Line the sides of a 18-20cm round pan (with a removable base) with parchment paper or clear plastic sheet (I cut out a strip of plastic sheet from a cookie bag), set aside. [i just used a 7" cake ring with a 8" cake base as i intended to give it away. if not, a 7" cake ring on a flat plate would work perfect too. that is if you don't have a springform or cake pan with a removable base]

To make the crust, combine crushed digestive biscuits and melted butter together in a mixing bowl. With the back of a spoon, press the biscuit crumbs onto the base of the prepared pan. Chill in the freezer compartment for at least 1 hour. (To ensure the crust is even, I used the base of a flat-bottom glass to press down the crumbs.) [i let it chill about 30min in the fridge. still worked]


Filling:
Measure water into a bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin (without stirring with a spoon). Set aside to allow the gelatin grains to swell (10 mins) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, remove the bowl from the pot and set aside to cool to room temperature. [its important to allow the granules to swell and they indeed melt much easier and faster after "swelling"]

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Add in the gelatin solution and yogurt, beat till the mixture turns smooth.

Divide mixture evenly into two bowls (about 1 cup each). Add 75ml of Ribena into one of the bowls and mix well with a spatula.

Spoon the two mixtures in alternate blobs into the chilled crust. Level top and swirl with a knife through the mixture to create a marble effect. Refrigerate until set. [i didn't have to level the top, it just somehow came together] see here!


Topping:
Measure water into a bowl and sprinkle in the gelatin. Set aside to allow the gelatin grains to swell (10 mins) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, remove bowl from the pot and stir in 80ml of Ribena. Set aside to cool.

When completely cooled, pour mixture over the cheesecake and chill for several hours or overnight until set.

*it is important to allow the cheesecake to set before pouring the jelly topping. Also, when pouring the jelly topping, do be gently. If possible, spoon the jelly mixture. This it to prevent the pressure of the jelly mixture from "eroding" your cheescake. In which, you might end up with floating bits of cheese

adapted from happyhomebaking

12 comments:

Heah the AlMighty said...

Nice cake! looks good. Keep up the good bake!

youfei said...

thanks! don't expect much for 1st mar though =p heh

Happy Homebaker said...

Very pretty cake you have made!! I love the smooth jelly layer!

So did you make the 'heart-shape' cheese cake after the jelly layer has set? If yes, how did you keep it from setting?

As for the biscuit base, I will freeze it before using...this way, it will not break into crumbs when sliced. I always find the 'timing' to add the jelly layer a challenge...too early, it will cause bits of melted cheese and make the jelly very 'cloudy' (despite using a spoon to spoon the mixture), too late, I am worried that the jelly layer and the cheese layer will be separated once you slice it!

youfei said...

Hi HHB,

Thanks for your compliments and for dropping by!

Hmm..I made the jelly layer last. i.e. bottom layer cheesecake and the heart shape first. What I do is a little mafan haha. I will pour the bottom layer first, freeze it just so it quickly sets, den pour the heart shape layer. and leave it to set completely. after which, i'll pour in the jelly layer.

Actually, i dont have a specific timing that i allow to cheesecake to set before pouring in the jelly layer. For this ribena cheesecake, i only allow it to set about 2 hours in the fridge (after both the bottom and heart shape set)before spooning the jelly in.

For the strawberry cheesecake post, (not sure if you've seen it) i even let it set overnight. both turned out fine. =)

give it a try!

maybe you can email me if you're still not sure about the heart shape part, it's a pretty troublesome process =p

Regards,
youfei

Olivia said...

Hi Youfei

Great cake. BTW may I know how does it tastes?

My sis has lots of ribena at home and I believe she doesn't mind if I use some of it to make this cake.

Let me know.

Cheers
Olivia

youfei said...

Hi Olivia,

thanks for the compliment! honestly, i really don't know how it tastes like as i gave this cake to a friend, so i actually never got to taste it myself.

Well, according to her, it tastes good! with both flavours coming through but not overpowering each other.

sorry! couldn't be of much help. =X

Do let me know how it tastes if you ever do give it a shot! =D thanks!

regards,
youfei

Happy Homebaker said...

Hi Youfei, thanks for the info and thanks for offering to share how you go about making it. It already sounds very complicated to me...nah, I won't attempt to make it...it's way beyond me ;)

youfei said...

Hi HHB,

no problem at all! Well, it isn't too difficult, it is just a little troublesome..

Well, easier than beating egg whites in my opinion =p

I might consider putting step by step photos if more people ask =p

i'm sure you know better than anyone else how difficult it is to take photos and bake/mix at the same time hehe

but it is also thanks to your willingless to put in so much effort that i've learnt so much from you! esp bread making =DD

regards,
youfei

Anonymous said...

I saw HHB's marble cheesecake which was pretty. But yours is also nicely designed. I like jelly topping, shiny shiny under lighting. The heart on top lighted up the cake a lot, good work !

youfei said...

Hi chumpman,

I've to agree with you that HHB's cheesecake was really really pretty! That's what enticed me to make this.

Too bad, I didn't have much luck with the camera that day and the pictures really didn't do much justice to the cake. But i'm really glad that you could still see the pattern =)

and of course, thanks for the compliments.

regards,
youfei

jjcht said...

I found this recipe and it tasted yummy! Thanks very much. But my cake got the white dots on top. Is it becoz i didn't mix the yogurt well?

youfei said...

Hi jjcht,

Thanks! that's a really useful and thoughful comment/review haha..As you might have noticed, I made this for a friend and therefore, didn't get to try it. =p

Hmm did you do the jelly topping? The white dots that you mentioned, were they on the jelly layer? If so, it might be due you adding the jelly too early (i.e. the cheese hasn't set) or that you poured the jelly layer in too quickly. The "pressure" from pouring actually caused bits of the cheese layer to float up.

I hope I answered your query! If not, you can always email me =)

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