The Mailbox: Casa Garden’s cheesecake
Thank you for a great food section on Wednesdays. It’s the first part of the paper I read.
I am looking for two recipes. One is for a good lamb shank recipe and the other is for a good short rib recipe. Thanks.
George Halaway, Sacramento
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If you have recipes in reply to Mailbox reader requests, or questions or comments, write to: Mailbox, c/o Taste, The Sacramento Bee, P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852. You also can email twatson@sacbee.com or fax (916) 321-1109. Please include your full name, your city and phone number.
Red velvet cheesecake
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Serves 8 to 12
Stand/chill time: 9+ hours
Valerie Reynosa Piotrowski of El Dorado Hills enjoyed lunch last summer at the Casa Garden Restaurant at the Sacramento Children’s Home on Sutterville Road in Sacramento. She had a delicious red velvet cheesecake for dessert and was hoping for the recipe.
We heard from the Casa Garden Restaurant who graciously shared their recipe. The Casa Garden Restaurant operates solely to benefit the Sacramento Children’s Home.
Note: You can buy chocolate wafers for the crust in the cookie aisle of your supermarket.
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups Oreo crumbs without filling (see note above)
1/2 cup butter, melted
For the filling:
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
Red food coloring
For the topping:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the garnish:
Pink crystal sugar and mint sprig
For the crust: Mix crumbs and butter by hand. Firmly press mixture into a springform pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then cool completely.
For the filling: With an electric mixer, beat 24 ounces cream cheese and 1 ½ cups sugar for one minute. Add eggs, cocoa powder, sour cream, ricotta cheese, heavy cream, vanilla and white vinegar. Mix until combined. Add food coloring, one drop at a time, until color is to your liking. Pour batter into cooled crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and continue baking for 1 hour and 15 minutes (up to an additional 15 minutes) until center of cake is set (firm). Remove from oven. Run knife along edge of cheesecake. Turn oven off. Return cake to oven and leave for 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake and let cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
For the topping: Before serving and cutting prepare topping. With electric mixer at medium speed beat 3 ounces cream cheese and butter until smooth, gradually adding powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake.
To serve: Remove spring form, cut and garnish with pink crystal sugar and mint sprig.
This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "The Mailbox: Casa Garden’s cheesecake."