Basic Cheesecake Filling
- 2 pounds cream cheese
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
- 3/4 cup liqueur strawberry flavor
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- The more cream cheese you use, the denser the cheesecake will be (but not dry!)
- The more eggs you use, the fluffier it will be.
- There's a delicate balance here - 1 lb cheese and 3 eggs will give you a fluffy cheesecake, but if you use 2 lbs cheese, 3 eggs is an absolute must if you don't want it to be flat.
- More eggs than 3, and you'll taste the eggs.
- 1 lb cheese and 2 eggs is a nice balance, too, but going any lower than that you'll just end up with something flat.
- The powdered sugar works best for two reasons - number one, powdered sugar contains corn starch, which acts as a thickener, and number two, you don't have to worry about the grittiness of undissolved sugar in your cake.
- The yogurt or sour cream adds moistness and a little bit of tang to the cake.
- It's not necessary, but it adds oomph to either a bland cake or a citrus-flavored cake.
- For liqueur, add no more than 1/2 cup if you're using the yogurt or sour cream, and make sure you're using the three eggs.
- If you eliminate the yogurt/sour cream, you can increase the liqueur to 3/4 cup, and 2 eggs will work (but three is still better - two works best only if you're not using the yogurt/sour cream andgt;andandlt; your liqueur is only 1/2 cup.
- ) A fruit or vegetable puree should be relatively dry - drain off the liquid in a sieve, or put it in a saucepan, mix in some cornstarch, and heat it until it's thick.
- You can use an entire cup of puree if you eliminate the yogurt/sour cream.
- Either mix in the puree with the batter, or reserve a cup or so of batter, mix it with the puree, then swirl it into the cheesecake.
- The vanilla is a must, in my opinion.
- Lots of times, I'll throw in an extra teaspoon for good measure.
- Other extracts can enhance the flavor - banana extract in a strawberry cheesecake, coconut extract or almond extract in an Amaretto cheesecake, etc.
- Another addition would be cocoa or chocolate.
- Cocoa mixes in nicely without making the cheesecake gooey - 4 to 6 tablespoon will do it.
- Melted chocolate or white chocolate chips shouldn't really exceed 6 oz, even 4 oz will usually do enough for the flavor.
- If you're doing the swirl thing, use only 2 to 3 oz melted chocolate for the batter that's being swirled in.
- Make sure the melted stuff is cooled before you mix it in.
cream cheese, powdered sugar, eggs, sour cream, liqueur strawberry flavor, vanilla
Taken from recipeland.com/recipe/v/basic-cheesecake-filling-35400 (may not work)