Mini Pomegranate and Pistachio No-bake Cheesecakes

I've kind of been on a no-bake cheesecake spree these days. It all started innocently enough when I made mini peanut butter cheesecakes for my friends. Then, for my cousin's birthday, I made a nutella swirl no bake cheesecake. When the long weekend came around a few weeks ago, my parents were invited to a friend's house for dinner and asked to bring dessert. Even though I was scheduled to work the whole weekend, I had a few days off before it started and I asked my mom if I could make these mini cheesecakes for her to bring. She was more than enthused at the idea and agreed without any hesitation.

In my previous no-bake cheesecakes, I had used only whipping cream in the cake. However this recipe used gelatin instead and I was curious to see how it would turn out. Gelatin is great because it adds structure and shape to many desserts, but I am always cautious to use too much as it can also provide a bit of a slimy texture.

The original recipe called for cherry and pistachio flavors, but since I already had an open bottle of POM juice I decided to substitute it in. The cakes turned out quite cute and colorful, especially because I added a drop of gel-based food coloring. More importantly, they tasted great! My parents saved a few for me and my brother and I was impressed with how they turned out. Not only were the flavors of both the pomegranate and the pistachio pronounced, but my texture concerns were completely unfounded. These little cakes have a lot of potential to be featured again soon.

Mini Pomegranate and Pistachio No-bake Cheesecakes
Note: I used my mini cheesecake pan and was able to make 24 cheesecakes. I had a little extra and poured it into a few cupcake liners but unfortunately they didn't come well. If not making minis, the cheesecake could also be made in a larger, 9" size but would have to stay in the freezer longer to ensure that it sets properly.

For the crust:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/6 cup sugar

Combine all of the ingredients and distribute evenly amongst the wells of the muffin/cheesecake pan. Lightly pat down the bottoms and bake for five minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside to cool.

For the cheesecake:

• 2 lbs (4 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 envelopes gelatin
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup pistachios
• Optional: red and green food coloring (to make the color stand out more)

1. Finely grind the pistachios until they become almost like a paste. Set aside.
2. Mix one envelope of the gelatin with ½ cup of the sugar in a small bowl. Bring one cup of water to a boil and add to the sugar-gelatin mixture. Stir well for about five minutes or until the gelatine is completely dissolved.
3. Repeat the same process with the second envelope of gelatin and remaining ½ cup of sugar, this time using the pomegranate juice instead of water.
4. Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for a few minutes, until whipped and smooth.
5. Divide the cream cheese in half. With one half, beat in the pistachio paste and, if using, a drop of green food coloring. Continue to beat until it is smooth and all the color has been evenly incorporated. 
6. Slow down the speed and gradually beat in the plain sugar-gelatin mixture. Continue beating until the gelatin water has been completely mixed in. 
7. Divide the batter amongst the wells of the pan, filling them halfway to the top. Place the pans in the freezer while finishing the pomegranate batter.
8. With the remaining half of the cream cheese, beat in the drop of red food coloring, if using, and slowly mix in the pomegranate-gelatin mixture.
9. Once again, divide the batter evenly amongst the wells, this time filling each completely to the top. Use a spoon or spatula to even out the tops, making them smooth. Return the pans to the freezer for about two hours, or until firm. 
10. Once firm, carefully remove from the pans. The cakes can be stored in the fridge until ready to serve.

Nutella Swirl No-bake Cheesecake

Back in the beginning of the month it was my lovely cousin's twentieth birthday and we had, as per usual, a big family celebration. For most family occasions, I am given free reign over what kind of dessert to make and my cousin's only request was for something either with chocolate or nutella. I decided to include both, though mostly focusing on the nutella with this no-bake cheesecake.

Funny enough, even though I consider myself to be quite the cheesecake expert having baked dozens over the years, I have only recently started to foray into the world of no-bake cheesecakes. It all started with the mini peanut butter cheesecakes I made a few months ago when my friends came over. Since then, I have come to the realization that there are many flavor combinations I have yet to explore in the no-bake category which makes me quite excited because I now have a whole new world of cheesecake possibilities open to me.

With this cake in particular, I tried to model it somewhat after the pecan pie cheesecake I made for my own birthday, except I made a chocolate ganache layer with chopped hazelnuts over the crust rather than a caramel layer with pecans. The result, however, did not turn out quite as I anticipated as the ganache froze and became difficult to cut into. Since the cake was set in the freezer and not baked like the previous cheesecake, I had not taken that into account.

Also, to make this cake I adapted the recipe from the mini peanut butter cheesecakes but substituted nutella in for the peanut butter. Unfortunately, I don't think my proportions translated well when I converted the recipe from "mini" form into one big ten inch cake. Since there was no gelatin in the cake and it relied purely on whipped cream to give it structure, the resulting cheesecake was very soft, almost like ice cream. Everyone in my actually loved this "soft serve" texture but I wish it had a little more shape to it. I tried to keep it in the freezer as long as possible, transferring it to the fridge mere hours before the party once I piped on the whipped cream topping. Still, even the six hours it spent in the fridge softened the cake and likely it would have had more structure had we eaten it straight from the freezer.

Overall, it was a good venture into the world of no-bake cheesecakes and I will continue to try out new recipes to create the perfect base cake, just as I have with my regular cheesecakes. After that, I'm confident I will truly be the cheesecake queen!

Nutella Swirl No-bake Cheesecake
Note: I think it best to omit the ganache/hazelnut layer from the crust since it clearly did not work for this type of cheesecake. Therefore, I have included the recipe for just a simple crust.

For the crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ⅓ cup butter, melted

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and then transfer to an 10" springform pan. Gently press down all along the bottom and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes.

For the cheesecake:

• 2 blocks (16 oz) cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup nutella
• 1½ cups powdered sugar

1. Whip the heavy cream on medium-high speed until light and fluffy with soft peaks. Set aside in the fridge.
2. Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for a few minutes, until whipped and smooth.
3. Turn down the speed to low and beat in the sugar. Increase the speed and continue mixing for a few minutes until well mixed.
4. Divide the batter in half. To one half, beat in the nutella until completely smooth and incorporated. 
5. Using a spatula, gently fold the half the whipped cream into the plain batter and the other half into the nutella batter. Make sure all of the whipped cream is incorporated but try not to overmix so that it keeps its airiness. 
6. Pour half the nutella batter into the pan over the crust. Carefully spoon half of the plain batter in small dollops over top. Use a thin spatula or knife to swirl the two mixtures. Repeat the process and swirl again.
7. Put the pan in the freezer for at least four hours, though preferably overnight. Touch the top of the cake to make sure it is solid before removing from the pan and transferring to the fridge.

For the whipped cream topping:
Note: The topping is completely optional. I made stabilized whipped cream and then piped it in a circular pattern across the top. However because the whipped cream cannot be frozen, the cake had to be returned to the fridge rather than the freezer. If you will be wanting to serve the cake much later, I suggest skipping the topping and simply serving the cake as is from the freezer.

• 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 4 tsp cold water

1. In a small pan, combine the gelatin and cold water and let it stand for a minute until thick.
2. Place the pan over low heat, stirring constantly, until the gelatin dissolves. 
3. Remove from the heat and set aside so that it cools to room temperature, but do not let it set.
4. Meanwhile, start whipping the cream on low speed. Once bubbles start to form, add the powdered sugar and vanilla and increase the speed slightly.
5. Slowly pour in the gelatin while continuing to whip the cream. If the gelatin has set, place it briefly over the heat to loosen it again, however make sure it is not hot when adding it to the cream as it will set upon contact with the cold cream and create chunks.
6. Once all the gelatin has been added, increase the speed to high and continue to whip until stiff peaks form.
7. Transfer the whipped cream to a piping bag fitted with a decorative nozzle and pipe in any design across the top of the cake. Once finished, return the cake to the fridge until ready to serve. 

Curried Cauliflower Soup

Over a month ago I made this delicious curried cauliflower soup, mostly because I had some leftover coconut milk I wanted to use up. The soup was very popular with my family but I never blogged about it because at the time I didn't think it was anything special so I never bothered to take a picture of it. However when my mom recently came back from her vacation she asked me to make it again and this time I decided it was worth writing about.

Even though I have made a similar roasted cauliflower soup in the past, this one turned out better. I think that one of the reasons why my family enjoyed this soup was because it was smooth but still had chunks in it. That is because after roasting the cauliflower, I set aside a quarter of it to add to the soup later. When I finished making the soup, I pureed it using my hand immersion blender, then added back the pieces. Personally I prefer chunky soups over completely creamy ones because I like to have something to bite into and chew. This met my expectations while still delivering an overall creamy texture thanks to the coconut milk.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

• 1 head cauliflower, florets cut into bite size pieces
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp red curry paste
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

1. Toss the cauliflower pieces with some olive oil, salt and pepper, and the cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Arrange in a flat layer on a baking tray and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Stir about halfway through to ensure even baking and keep in the oven until the cauliflower starts to soften and becomes golden. 
2. While the cauliflower is roasting, saute the chopped onion in a large pot over medium heat with some olive oil until the pieces start to become translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and continue to saute for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
3. Mix in the tablespoon of red curry paste then add ¾ of the roasted cauliflower pieces. 
4. Pour the stock into the pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer the soup, covered, for 30 minutes or until the cauliflower starts to easily break down. Stir occasionally.
5. Add the coconut milk and stir through. Puree the soup using a hand blender or transfer in batches to a blender and return to the pot. 
6. Add the remaining cauliflower pieces to the soup and season to taste with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper. 

Bolognese Pasta Bake

A few weeks ago my parents went on a transatlantic cruise which left my brother and me alone while they were on vacation. As is the usual case, I was in charge of all the meals while they were away. For the most part, I tend not to try anything new while my parents are away because a) my brother is sometimes a picky eater and may not like it b) there are less mouths to feed and if my brother doesn't like it I have to eat it all myself which gets tiring.

However when I came across this recipe online I was pretty certain my brother would enjoy it and my instincts served me well. He downright gobbled almost the entire casserole dish on his own, leaving me with just two portions, one immediately after I cooked it and one the next day for lunch. By the time I came home from work the following day, it was all eaten up and I had to come up with something last minute for dinner.

One of the reasons why I suspect my brother liked it so much was because it was simple and had two ingredients he loves: noodles and meat. In fact he said it was practically like lasagna except it didn't require the extra effort of layering everything. Although making the meat sauce was a long process (over two hours for it to simmer and develop a strong flavor) it wasn't actually difficult because it just required occasional stirring. Also I didn't mind because it smelled great and filled the kitchen with a wonderful aroma. When my parents returned from their trip I told them how much my brother enjoyed the dish and my mom requested I make it again so that she may try it too.

Bolognese Pasta Bake

For the Bolognese sauce:
Note: This sauce can be made on its own ahead of time and then combined with the noodles and baked in a casserole dish. Alternatively, the sauce can just be made for regular pasta.

• 1 lb ground beef
• 2 796 ml cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 cup beef stock
• ¼ cup red wine
• 5-6 fresh basil leaves, torn
• Handful fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil

1. Heat some olive oil over high heat in a large skillet and add the ground beef. Cook until no pink is visible then drain the beef and set aside.
2. Using the same pan, heat some new olive oil and sauté the chopped onions over medium heat until translucent, about 3-5 minutes. 
3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
4. Turn the heat up to high and add the red wine. Deglaze the pan by scraping any bits off the bottom.
5. Once the wine has cooked out, reduce the heat to medium and add the tomatoes. Divide the beef stock evenly between the two empty cans and swish it around to release any chunks left behind then add the stock to the pot.
6. Add half of the fresh basil and parsley and bring the sauce up to a boil. Once boiling, drop the heat to low and allow it to simmer for about two hours, stirring occasionally.
7. Once the sauce has thickened considerably, season with salt and pepper and add the remaining basil and parsley.

To assemble:

Note: Any type of pasta can be used for this though I used egg noodles.

• 1 package egg noodles (about 340 g)
• 100 g light part skim mozzarella cheese, grated
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

1. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions but for half the time recommended for "al dente".
2. Drain the pasta then add to the pot containing the meat sauce. If the sauce is very thick you may want to add a little of the water from the pasta to thin it out, though I found this unnecessary.
3. Mix everything well to evenly coat the noodles with sauce then transfer to a large greased casserole dish.
4. Sprinkle the pasta with the grated cheeses and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit then remove the foil and place under the broiler for about five minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.