Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake


Earlier, my apple-upside down cheesecake vanished without a trace. This time round, I made sure that the same thing would not happen again.

I baked a cookies and cream cheesecake meant for my friend's birthday. To me, cookies and cream cheesecakes are no different from Oreo cheesecakes. If it has to be a chocolate sandwich cookie, the choice would be none other than Oreo.

Unlike the previous attempt, I decided to tweak the filling a little and simply added some finely ground Oreo cookies to the filling, hoping to achieve a texture similiar to that of cookies and cream ice cream, cream coloured with tiny flecks of Oreo. I ended up being too generous with the addition and the cheesecake filling turned out to a greyish-brown hue.


When the cheesecake was cooling down on a wire rack, the filling appeared to have totally set. From my previous experiences,  baked cheesecakes were supposed to be softly set instead while cooling on the wire rack. It then ocurred to me that I have probably overestimated and overbaked the cheesecake. Pressing down on the surface of the cheesecake with my index finger, the surface was dry and would not give way under pressure. It seemed as though  the cheesecake needed no further chilling in the refrigerator for the final firming up. Even though I had the hunch that the cheesecake would turn out rock hard after chilling, I chucked the cheesecake into the refrigerator as usual.

Decorating the cake was easy. It only involved placing Oreo sandwich cookies near the edges round the cheesecake. Some finely ground oreo crumbs were sprinkled in the middle for a final touch. After everything was in place, all I had to do was wait for the results.

Before the cutting of cake, I warned and apologized to my friend that I might have overbaked the cake. It turned out that my worries were unfounded. Whew! The Oreo cheesecake was desirably dense and smooth in the mouth. Nope, not dry at all as I had thought. I had been duped. 



Cookies and Cream Cheesecake a.k.a Oreo Cheesecake: ( Recipe adapted from Cheesecake Seduction by Catherine Lau)
Serving size: 12 slices
Taste and texture: Dense and thick but not dry. Shorten baking time to get a less dense and creamier texture.
Equipment and materials:
1) Stand electric beater/ handheld electric beater
2) Food processor/ rolling pin
3) Measuring spoon set
4) Spatula
5) Mixing bowls
6) Wire rack
7) 9 inch springform tin
8) Baking tray larger than springform tin
9) Aluminium foil

Biscuit base:
200g Oreo cookies, finely ground (cream filling removed)
90g melted butter
1 tbs brown sugar

Cheesecake filling:
500g cream cheese, softened
120g castor sugar
200ml whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
10 g Oreo cookies, cream removed and finely ground (This is optional. I used 30g Oreo sandwich cookies with cream removed and the cheesecake filling turned out very dark as depicted in pictures)
9 oreo sandwich cookies with cream filling, coarsely chopped (use hands to break into coarse bits) or 90g coarsely chopped Oreo cookies with cream removed.

Toppings
9 Oreo sandwich cookies
1 Oreo sandwich cookie, cream removed and finely ground

Method:
Making the base: Prepare biscuit base as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Freeze prepared base for 10 minutes or until ready for use.

Preparing the oven: Preheat oven to 150 degrees C

Preparing cheesecake filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar untill creamy on medium speed. Add whipping cream and vanilla extract to cream cheese mixture on low speed. Beat until smooth and incorporated. Do not overbeat else the cream may separate (due to excessive beating), resulting in a grainy batter. Lastly, add the eggs and beat until combined on low speed.

Adding in cookies to cheesecake filling: Add in the finely ground cookie crumbs from 10g Oreo cookies (with cream removed) to the prepared cheesecake filling. Next, mix in the finely ground cookie crumbs a little at a time. Stop adding once you are satisfied with the colour. The objective is to obtain a texture similar to cookies and cream ice cream with tiny flecks of Oreo cookie. (This step is optional)

Lastly, fold in the coarsely chopped cookie bits, with or without cream filling as desired.

Baking the cheesecake: Pour filling onto biscuit base. Wrap top and sides of spring form tin with aluminium foil as mentioned in Preparing a Cheesecake Tin. Bake at 150 degrees C for 1 hour 15 minutes in a water bath. The filling should be set and will not jiggle much when pan is moved.

Cooling the cheesecake: When baked, allow cheesecake to cool in the oven with oven door ajar for 30 minutes. Remove the tin from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Place cooled cheesecake tin in the refrigerator and chill for 4-6 hours. Dislodge chilled cheesecake from cheesecake tin.

Decorating the cheesecake: To decorate the cheesecake, place the 9 Oreo sandwich cookies near the edge and around the cake. Sprinkle with oreo cookie crumbs in the centre. Serve cheesecakes chilled.

Notes:
1) To slice cheesecake nicely, wipe the knife after each slice with kitchen towel/s.
2) To smooth the sides of the cheesecake, dip a knife in hot water. Wipe the knife dry and run it around the perimeter of the cheesecake. Repeat the step if necessary.
3) This recipe uses 3 to 4 tubular packs (150g per tube) of Oreo cookies.
4) I baked the cheesecake for 1 hour 45 minutes resulting in a very dense texture. Any longer and the cheesecake would dry out.

Instagram link: http://instagram.com/bakertanbakes

11 comments:

  1. the cheesecake looks pretty and must b yummy, you can never go wrong with oreo. oreo cheesecake is my all time favourite, I ve made numerous times of non bake version, is time for me to try baked version.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yumz!!! And we get to see pics this time :) hehe.
    Oreos + Cheesecake = cannot go wrong!
    What's next on your list?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mmm...another mouth sinking cheesecake. I love it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wouw, Oreo baked cheesecake. Nice decoration and delicious. I know Catherine Lau's book from library and I really love all her recipe.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Jess,

    thanks =] Ever since I tried baked cheesecakes, I have stopped making non-baked cheesecakes. Non bake cheesecakes are a bit gelatinous for me.

    -----------------------------------------------

    Hi NEL,

    I have simply too many things on my list. There is the apple-upside down cheesecakes, more cheesecakes, layered cream cakes and possibly using my new toy to embark on a baking proj =]

    -----------------------------------------------

    Hi Anncoo,

    Thanks! I think most people should like Oreo cheesecakes.

    -----------------------------------------------

    Hi DG,

    Thanks for the kind words =] I started out borrowing the book from the library and reading it. Found the recipes too tempting hence bought the book from popular at 20% discount. So far I have made about 4 or 5 different cheesecakes from the book. More to come in future.

    ReplyDelete
  6. All your fears about the cake came to nought. It turned out very well and if I had a chance to sink my teeth into it, I would say it tasted gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Got a little teary-eyed after seeing this beautiful looking piece of chocolaty, cookie heaven (seriously, it looks amazing).
    I'm definitely going to check out your other cheesecakes. Good work!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Haha! I guess this time you were the one who warned your peeps first of not to wipe out the cheesecake before photos had been taken! You were baking for a friend's big day! LOL!

    Hadn't you told me that this is baked, I would have thought it was a non-baked one. I've not tried baked Oreo/cookie-and-creme cheesecake. Texture wise, must be very different from non-baked type, eh? Maybe I should try ... when the right time comes ... I'm psyched about something else now. Haha!

    Great job, as usual! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mouth-watering oreo cheese cake! Looks rich with lotsa oreo.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Busygran,

    When it comes to baking for special occasions like birthdays, I feel that I cant afford to make major mistakes. Guess I was over worried. thanks for being so supportive!

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hi Swee San,

    Thanks for dropping by. Oreo cheesecakes are simply irresistible!

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hi curious cookie,

    Thanks for dropping by and the kind words of encouragement =]

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hey Pei-Lin,

    I took the picture before meeting my friends, so I was not worried there would be no pictures. Just hoped that there will be some slices remaining so that I can take pictures of the texture, haha

    So far I have only blogged about baked cheesecakes. There is still the japanese cotton cheesecake which I would like to bake again and blog about if I had the chance. Maybe I should start blogging about non-baked cheesecakes soon, some of which are layered cheesecakes.

    yup texture wise this is creamy, not gelatinous. very different indeed. Well I guess everyone has different things on their mind. Hope to see the thing/s that got you fired up soon..

    thanks for being so supportive as usual =]

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Hi Jessie,

    This cake is indeed a rich Oreo chocolatey one. It is suitable for Oreo lovers and non-lovers alike.

    ReplyDelete

Dear readers, thanks for visiting my humble little blog. Feel free to leave a message so that I can learn and be a better baker. Its a great feeling to share our culinary experience and adventures in the kitchen.

Thank you and have a nice day! Cheers =]

Related Posts with Thumbnails