In the Kitchen: Cannoli Cheesecake
I went back and forth about ever covering this on my blog, but ultimately I decided I'm incredibly proud of how it turned out so I really have no reason not to share. Why am I so proud you may ask? This is the very first cheesecake I have ever made on my own. That might be hard to believe for someone who bakes constantly, but it's true. It just always seemed like an overwhelming task to take on. But, this cheesecake was written in the stars. My dad loves cannolis. Every Christmas we nearly end up with the local Italian deli's whole inventory. So last year on Father's Day I put it in my mind this was what I was going to make my dad. He loves cannolis. He loves cheesecake. There would be no better union. And then I started looking at spring form pans only to begin feeling the intimidation. I never went through with it. Cut to this year, one year later, on my birthday where I was given what else? A spring form pan! At that moment I knew this had to be the first thing I baked with it.
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I couldn't find the original recipe I had saved, so I went to my old trusty friend, Google. I ended up stumbling upon this one by Life, Love and Sugar. I ultimately chose this one because it used quality ingredients (Galbani cheese) and she shared valuable steps for a newbie like myself. Of course, I have never ever used a water bath, and had no clue where to start. Thankfully, there was help provided on this too. It made the experience a little less daunting. After some hefty convincing and pep talks to myself, I headed out to get the ingredients and there was just no going back.
How Did It Go?
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As far as baking is concerned, it took me an entire day to make the cheesecake. I think this was due to my caution in following steps rather than my instincts in order to not screw it up. Another reason was the much older oven in my apartment. It took much longer to bake than the recipe implies. It was incredibly hard not to keep checking on it once it was baked. I really wanted to see how it turned out. I also changed the "type" of mascarpone cheese because my local grocery store only had one kind. This was also the very first time I made whipped cream from scratch. I know, checking off a lot of boxes here.
This was a really ambitious undertaking for someone who had never made a cheesecake before. Like, why not just start out with a regular New York cheesecake?Why double down? Psh. If I'm gonna do something I'm gonna do it. Overall the recipe was really easy to follow and not overwhelming. I did believe I was going to screw it up about once every half hour during this process. I was absolutely terrified to undo the spring on my spring form pan up to the very second.
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It got rave reviews from everyone including my dad. I think it may be his favorite dessert I have ever made! I surely will make this again but with a couple of alterations just for personal taste.
The recipe is a bit overwhelming to put on a recipe card, so please visit Life, Love & Sugar to get the recipe.
ITKS