 |
| With cherry topping, left, and apricot jam, right. |
This was a fun one! I got a huge kick out of the Lifehacker post called Will It Sous Vide? Creamy Cheesecake Edition. I love cheesecake, and have sous vide capability. Also, cheesecake does not rely on sugar for its structure, and the fiber just disappears into the batter like it isn't even there. I found a good starting recipe, replaced 4/5'ths of the sugar with dextrose (to reduce the amount of fructose in it), and added enough fiber to make the fiber:carb ratio match that in blueberries. Turned out fabulous!
I also had sous vide adventures of my own. Tried putting the cheesecake mix into a vacuum bag to cook, then sprinkling it with toasted crumbled graham cracker crust.
Didn't work out. the weight of the water compacted the cheesecake, and it had a bad texture. But, it worked great in jars! Only, the jars floated, which made it really hard to deal with. Try balancing a dinner plate on a bunch of jars floating in a bath of hot water. They do not cooperate. They tip over, escape, and you get splashed with hot water.
That is when I decided to try making the jars neutral buoyant. The kids and I played with a room-temperature water bath and jars of water, trying to find that perfect weight at which the jars would sink just half-way, hovering in the middle of the bath. We were able to achieve skimming around just above the bottom, and floating just below the top. Also, they behave differently in hot water, sinking and floating as the jars heat up. Still, our efforts at neutral buoyancy were entertaining, and gave us jars that sink very slowly, feel nearly weightless until you start to lift them out of the bath, and are easy to sink.
Bonus: the creamy, delicious cheesecakes come out of the bath "canned", sealed shut. This keeps them fresh for quite some time, as we discovered after finding one that got lost in the fridge for a month. It probably would have lasted longer, but it was eaten instead.
I used 250 ml Bernardin jars, a large Tramontina pot, Presto racks, and a Paragon induction burner for this. Check here for links.
Neutral Buoyancy Cheesecake (Sous Vide) Dex#
Neutral Buoyancy: jar + cheesecake = 335 g*
Crust:
-->
Cheesecake Batter:
Directions:
1. Fill sous vide vessel to desired final level, then remove water according to quantity of jars. Record water level from rim of pot for future use:
5 jars: Remove 7 cups water.
10 jars: Remove 14 cups water. Water 4.25” from top for our large pot
15 jars: Remove 21 cups water.
2. Heat water to 176ºF. Gather the needed number of straight-sided, wide-mouth, 8 oz canning jars, lids, and rings.
3. Make crust: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°. Crush graham crackers in a gallon ziplock, using a rolling pin. Mix in sugar, dextrose, Benefiber, and cinnamon. Mix in melted butter.
4. Press crumbs into jars, about 22 g each, with a pastry/tart tamper. Arrange on a sheet pan, and bake 13 - 15 minutes until toasty, then remove and cool.
5. Make batter: Beat cream cheese, sugar, dextrose, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in large bowl until very smooth. Beat in flour and Benefiber.
6. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of the bowl.
7. Zero a scale, and place one jar and lid on the scale. Scoop in just enough batter to reach neutral buoyancy weight, including the lid, 335 g for Bernardin jars. Tighten the lid on the jar. Repeat for each jar.
8. Gently place jars into hot water. Jars will initially sink. Place racks between layers as stacking becomes necessary. Place a rack on top also, as the jars will gradually float. They need to be fully submerged to cook properly.
9. Cook 2 hours, until set. Remove jars from bath, and cool for 30 min. Refrigerate four hours to overnight.
10. Top with berries and glaze, cherry pie filling, or jam.
5 jars: Remove 7 cups water.
10 jars: Remove 14 cups water. Water 4.25” from top for our large pot
15 jars: Remove 21 cups water.
2. Heat water to 176ºF. Gather the needed number of straight-sided, wide-mouth, 8 oz canning jars, lids, and rings.
3. Make crust: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°. Crush graham crackers in a gallon ziplock, using a rolling pin. Mix in sugar, dextrose, Benefiber, and cinnamon. Mix in melted butter.
4. Press crumbs into jars, about 22 g each, with a pastry/tart tamper. Arrange on a sheet pan, and bake 13 - 15 minutes until toasty, then remove and cool.
5. Make batter: Beat cream cheese, sugar, dextrose, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in large bowl until very smooth. Beat in flour and Benefiber.
6. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of the bowl.
7. Zero a scale, and place one jar and lid on the scale. Scoop in just enough batter to reach neutral buoyancy weight, including the lid, 335 g for Bernardin jars. Tighten the lid on the jar. Repeat for each jar.
8. Gently place jars into hot water. Jars will initially sink. Place racks between layers as stacking becomes necessary. Place a rack on top also, as the jars will gradually float. They need to be fully submerged to cook properly.
9. Cook 2 hours, until set. Remove jars from bath, and cool for 30 min. Refrigerate four hours to overnight.
10. Top with berries and glaze, cherry pie filling, or jam.
*Neutral Buoyancy for: “Bernardin Mason Jars - 250 mL - Wide” was achieved at 335 g. If using a different jar, test first. Fill the jar with water to reach 335 g, then place into a room-temperature water bath. Adjust this weight if necessary until jar just hovers at the top of the bath, and record weight. In a hot bath, it should sink initially, hovering at the bottom, then bobbing up as the jar heats up.
No comments:
Post a Comment