the thick brownie crust is the first thing you notice about this distinctive cheesecake:
The meat/chicken pounder works great here.
Then you have to bake it in a water bath, which we improvised with a used aluminum pan and aluminum foil around the springform pan:
It bakes up really nice with a beautiful golden surface which is then lost when you cover it with the cocoa, leading to the final result:
A single slice serving is more appetizing, almost as good as the shot by the cooking professionals in the original magazine cover shoot:
This is a keeper.
Our titanium chef's knife comes in handy for clean cuts. This one isn't so perfect but by dipping the blade in a tall glass of hot water and wiping it on a paper towel between cuts, one can achieve very nice results.
we decide to keep the cake untopped until serving time, revealing the cappuccino coloring in the meantime.
for serving, a dusting with high quality cocoa
the cutaway view
again the excuse for this cake, a special request by Paul for his birthday cake:
he was not the only one who enjoyed this, again.
a nice pair for another Paul birthday and a dinner with friends.
unblemished top closeup
and dressed up
and cut out
and served
This has a touch of tiramisu taste to it. Not a bad thing to have a touch of. Did we say we were making tiramisu in its early days in Italy before anyone stateside had ever heard of it?
Serendipity made this the one bake cheesecake (no crust prebaking) with a half height crust and a half height batter layer. First the crust gets pressed into the pan in little blobs until they all join together in a smooth layer.
Then the Kitchen-Aid batter mixing.
And the final trimmed slice.
Can you tell how much we love this cake?