I was born in Manila, and as a chef, I wish I could say that I cook amazing Filipino food, but I’ve mostly cooked Western food my entire life. One thing I could say is, I have tried to incorporate Filipino flavours especially in baking. Although sometimes, that feels a little bit like taking the easy way out. I am proud of my heritage, and maybe someday I would go back and learn more about native ingredients and incorporate them in my cooking as well.

Here, I’m sharing with you my ube cheesecake recipe La Viña style. What is it? You know how a crustless, burnt cheesecake have been trending for a few years? One that is more commonly know as Basque Cheesecake? Well, this is the ube version, with homemade ube jam as well. I call it La Viña cheesecake because that’s the name of the restaurant in San Sebastian where people flock to have a taste of the original version. It is a crustless cheesecake that is caramelised outside and soft in the middle.

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Joanne | Mrs.FancyPants (@mrs.fancypants.recipes)

If you want the original recipe as per the video above, I published my easy to follow recipe here. Just remember whichever version you are making, start with room temperature ingredients so the batter incorporates quickly and you will not get a lumps. The idea is to get a caramelised outside that serves as your crust, so this entails baking at a very high temperature. I preheat my oven to 220C and line a 23cm or 9in springform with baking paper and ensure there is an overhang. The overhang protects the cheesecake from getting too burnt too fast, and it also supports the cheesecake when it puffs up, which prevents overflowing.

Now with the ube version, it is also straightforward to make with the addition of making your own ube jam. Why would you want to make an ube version? Because my recipe of this is absolutely delicious and the natural purple colour of ube gives this (and basically most ube desserts) a really pretty purple hue. Ube jam is basically cooked ube, pureed and mixed with milk and sugar and cooked until its thick like peanut butter or Nutella. Let your ube jam cool to room temperature before using it for the cheesecake. I use all the ube jam yield in this recipe, but feel free to double the batch because it is really nice on warm bread rolls with a touch of butter.

To make the cheesecake, combine the ube jam, cream cheese, eggs, cream and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until smooth then sift over flour and fold in until incorporated. Pour the batter in your lined springform and bake for 1 hour. The cheesecake will still be jiggly in the centre. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. Serve at room temperature to retain that soft, custardy texture. If you have leftovers, you can eat it as is or reheat in the microwave for 10sec per slice to get that softness back.

The detailed recipe is below for you to try. I would love to see your finished products, so tag me on your social media posts @mrs.fancypants.recipes or use #mrsfancypantsrecipes. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below. ???? Happy baking!

You have not met a cheesecake as pretty as this! Lighter than your average cheesecake, this is set with chocolate ganache. There are many ways to make a no-bake cheesecake, but I have 2 trusted ways to make my version.

Version 1:

A few years ago Valrhona introduced a new line of products called Valrhona Inspiration. These are different chocolates flavoured with various fruits and nut, and I use this for my no-bake cheesecakes these days. I call this the Valrhona Inspiration Cheesecake.

Version 2:

This is the version I am sharing today. This is the original method of how I made my cheesecake before Valrhona Inspiration came along. This one uses white chocolate ganache, and you can use any kind of baking white chocolate. The flavour and colour come from pureed (blended) strawberries, and the good thing is, both frozen and fresh strawberries will work in this recipe, so use whichever one you prefer.

What is a ganache?

Ganache is a term used for a mixture of chocolate and cream. There are different ratios for ganache depending on it’s purpose, a higher ratio of chocolate to cream makes a firmer ganache that can be used for truffles and tart fillings while the opposite results to a runnier ganache that is great for dips, sauces and glaze.

What is the purpose of ganache in this recipe?

There are plenty of ways to make a no-bake cheesecake, and the main difference lies on what sets the cheesecake. Baked cheesecake have eggs in them that act as a binder, however, there are no eggs in this recipe. Some recipes use gelatine to set the cheesecake but I find that tricky, because there are different gelatine strengths. Other recipes use whipped cream but whipped cream gradually loses it’s stiffness resulting to your cheesecake softening. However, I found that using white chocolate ganache not only adds a nice flavour to the cream cheese, it also sets it beautifully and gives it a smooth texture and the cheesecake holds together better.

Now that you know how the recipe works, it’s time to get the bowls and whisks ready and try my recipe! I wrote it as easy to follow as possible, but if you still have questions, please feel free to ask in the comments section below. This takes longer to set than a cheesecake made with gelatine but the taste develops and it is actually better the next day. One last thing, if you want a brighter pink hue, a drop or 2 of food gel colour is all it takes.

Happy baking!

You might have heard and seen photos of a burnt cheesecake in your social media in the last couple years. This was made famous by a small bar in San Sebastian, Spain called La Viña. I mentioned before how my friends and I love cheesecakes. I remember going to New York and heading straight to Junior’s cheesecake in Manhattan, but this cheesecake is not like the NY Baked cheesecake. This one is crustless, light, soft in the centre and for me, tastes a bit like a Portuguese egg tart because it contains plenty of eggs. I refer to New York because I’ve never been to San Sebastian, but I know exactly what my first stop would be when I finally visit.

Since I’ve never been to the birthplace of the burnt cheesecake, I did plenty of research and found a video by Santiago Rivera who is the chef behind the La Viña Cheesecake. I kindly asked a friend to translate the video and from there the only thing that’s left was for me to trial which springform size to use because it wasn’t specified. The original recipe is as follows:

Original La Viña Cheesecake Recipe

• 1 kilogram cream cheese (I used Philadelphia because that’s what was available, it’s rumoured that the original uses San Millan cream cheese)
• 400 grams sugar
• 7 eggs (I used large eggs because that’s the standard)
• 1/2 liter cream (I used pure cream which has minimum 35% fat)
• 1 1/2 spoon plain flour

In the video, Santiago Rivera used a spoon to mix the cream cheese and sugar, then added eggs one at a time. He then added the flour and finally the cream. He pours the mix into a springform pan and bakes at 210C for 40 minutes. You can watch the video I’m talking about below, I found it on a European online radio and TV channel EITB.eus.

I made the cheesecake as instructed above and settled on a 26cm springform. It’s creamy, and custard-like, and I find a lot of people find it too eggy for a cheesecake. I personally love it. It reminds me of a Portuguese egg tart and a Japanese cheese tart, but without the shell. If you haven’t tried the original, I suggest you make it at least once, because really, what’s the point of jumping on the burnt cheesecake bandwagon when you are clueless on what the original actually is like.

The goal is for the cheesecake to be dark brown outside while preserving the soft and creamy centre. To do this, you need to bake the cheesecake at a high temperature. This cheesecake is beautifully rustic, and very photogenic, as you can see from my photos above.

My version is a tad smaller than the original and baked in a 23cm springform instead of 26cm. Because of this, I adjusted the the temperature for the same baking time. I also added vanilla and lemon for flavour. You can find my recipe below. Try making both and let me know which one you prefer. Don’t forget to tag me on social media when you post your beautiful cheesecakes and use #mrsfancypantsrecipes. Happy baking!

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Joanne | Mrs.FancyPants (@mrs.fancypants.recipes)

This recipe is perfect for summer because it doesn’t require an oven, it is also quite easy to make, but it’s essential to use good quality chocolate. I didn’t use any gelatine in this recipe, so the ganache helps set your cheesecake. The recipe is basically mix and chill. Chilling is at least 4 hours to give it ample time to set. This is definitely not gluten-free or dairy-free but since there are no eggs, this is safe for pregnant women.

I love this with seasonal fruit, but you can have it by itself. I you make this, let me know what you think via the comments section below. This is a crowd-pleaser without being too challenging to make, all you need to do is to make sure your ingredients are room temperature! Aside from that, you can keep your ovens off and smile at the fact that there is no chance that this cheesecake would crack. Good luck!