Dessert is an experience. Each bite, as it smoothly coats your tongue, should take you somewhere special. However, a dessert that isn’t made properly is almost like a slap in the face. You feel insulted, when you take that bite of something you expected to be delish, that would take you on a journey to somewhere special, and it comes to a rude halt with, “What the…..?!” A dessert is as important as a well thought out plot in a book or movie – it either makes it or breaks it.
You can tell a lot about a person by the kind of dessert they like. Quite frankly, for me the world is split in two; cheesecake lovers and chocolate fanatics. There’s a large number of people who like to visit both worlds, and a small number of people that are so extreme in their love of either, that they wouldn’t dare enter the opposite realm. For marital harmony, it might be a good idea to ask your future mate, if he/she is a cheesecaker or chocolater (you read correctly, I just made up those words). The reason I mention choosing a significant other while being loyal to one’s fave dessert, is because I obviously had to marry the one person who liked to get his chocolate on and didn’t understand the beauty of cheesecake. In his words, cheesecake made no sense. In his words cheesecake might as well be accompanied with tomato sauce on top of pizza dough,(honestly, some people are just so unrefined.)
My beloved’s dessert school of thought mattered because as I explained earlier, the right dessert is an experience. An experience, I wanted to share with someone I loved. But he destroyed my dreams of that moment, of sharing that life altering bite of creamy, rich, goodness, with someone you love. We eventually found something else to share (get your mind out of the gutter please), but obviously it wasn’t as memorable as cheesecake, cause while I write about cheesecake, I dare not think of any other, lower dessert.
I refuse to give up on my beloved’s taste buds, I am convinced, as the Capulets and the Montigues, were brought together by Romeo and Juliet, my hubby and I, one day, will share that bond over cheesecake (ummm….. minus the Romeo and Juliet drama).
Here is my recipe for cheesecake, and it’s a big cheat, ’cause its no bake!
Crust
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter
Cheese Filling
2 packs of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups whipped cream
Mocha Ganache
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup 35% cream
1 heaping tbsp of instant coffee
Crust
Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and press into a 9×13 inch pan, or a large pie pan.
Filling
In a large bowl, mix room temperature cream cheese and sugar till it’s well blended with an electric mixer. Add the lemon juice and mix, followed by the vanilla. When the batter is combined and smooth, fold in the 2 cups of whipped cream. Pour the mixture over the crust and refrigerate.
Ganache
in a small sauce pan add 35% cream and bring to a gentle simmer on low heat. Stir in the coffee grains not more than a minute. Have the chocolate ready in a bowl and pour the the warm cream over the chocolate. Stir gently, till the cream and chocolate become smooth and velvety. Cool the ganache and pour over the cheesecake. Refrigerate the dessert for 2 hours or overnight.
Finally…enjoy it with a loved one, and think of others less fortunate who can’t ever enjoy it with their loved ones… sigh…like me, who married a chocoholic.
In the tradition of sharing – you’re always welcome in my kitchen!
Amber