Making Artisan Cheesecake: Expert Techniques for Classic and Creative Recipes

by Melanie Underwood

Make it a classic or make it your own- with this book, you can create virtually any cheesecake you can imagine.

Cheesecake is a classic, hugely popular dessert consisting of a mixture of soft cheese, egg, and sugar on a crust. There are many, many variations, from fruit-flavored cakes to cheesecake pops to versions with ricotta, quark, or goat cheese. And there are a variety of techniques for making a cheesecake successfully, including baking in a water bath and not baking at all, that can intimidate home cooks. Try your hand at mouthwatering recipes like:

- Maple Macadamia Cheesecake

- Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Honey & Lavender

- Coffee-Toffee Cheesecake

- Hot Chocolate Cheesecake

- Mascarpone & Raspberry Cheesecake

- Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

- Even savory flavors like Roasted Tomato with Parmesan Cheesecake

Making Artisan Cheesecake presents the classic and well-loved cheesecake in a new, adventurous, and modern way, and answers any questions about it that home cooks and bakers- foodies who love delicious classic desserts- might ask. In addition to sharing many variations, author Melanie Underwood teaches all the techniques behind building a range of different styles, and encourages readers to develop their own unique recipes. She also covers options for crusts, cheeses, and batters; baking techniques; how to keep the top from cracking; and the differences among various styles, including New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Italian, Brazilian, and Japanese.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food and Drink

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 15, 2015

About the author

Chef Melanie Underwood developed her enthusiasm for fresh and organic food as a child on her family's farm in Loudoun County, Virginia, where she began cooking at age four. She apprenticed with noted pastry chef Jill Light at a hotel in Washington, D.C., before moving to New York, where she demonstrated her talent for baking and desserts at the Four Seasons Hotel, the Plaza Hotel, Torre di Pisa, and other celebrated New York City restaurants. Since 1996 Underwood has been sharing her expertise as a cooking and baking instructor for professional and recreational programs at the Institute for Culinary Education (ice.edu), has taught private cooking classes at Home Cooking New York in Manhattan's SoHo neighborhood (homecookingny.com), and is frequently invited to teach throughout the country. Underwood also tests and develops recipes for many corporate clients, including Dairy Management, Diageo, Folgers Coffee, Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, Splenda, Ziploc, and other high-profile brands. She has demonstrated her skills on several TV networks, including NBC ("The Today Show"), ABC ("Live with Regis and Kelly"), CNN, Food Network, and Oxygen, and has been featured in the New York Times, the New York Daily News, New York magazine, Fine Cooking magazine, and other publications. Underwood is also a co-author of the self-published book Art and Cook, a unique blend of recipes, art, and politics. Her recent work, Making Artisan Cheesecake, is available for preorder now at http://www.qbookshop.com/products/215...

Reviews

[Kiersten Daniel Baca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having taken many classes with Chef Mel, I was very excited to dig into her cheesecake cookbook and my excitement was rewarded. This cookbook is just AWESOME.

Reading chef Mel's book reads just like it feels to take one of her classes. (fyi, if you live in New York, you owe it to yourself to take a class with Mel at ICE.) Mel gives you the tools and techniques necessary to be confident to make the perfect cheesecake and the versatility to switch things up with variations. The variations really are fabulous and make it easy to change things up. My friends love the vegan, gluten-free and nut free recipes and options.

The second I saw the roasted tomato with parmesan cheesecake, I knew I was going to finally actually cook from one of the many cookbooks lying around the house as opposed to googling for ideas. Some of my personal favorites include;
Roasted tomato with parmesan cheesecake
Roasted red pepper and Sriracha cheesecake
Pistachio cheesecake
Ricotta and honey cheesecake
Hot chocolate cheesecake

These are some of my fave but there are just tons of amazing recipes! traditional and totally unique. Love love love this.

[Stephanie (Reading is Better With Cupcakes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This cookbook is all about cheesecakes! I know, I know...kind of obvious with the title and everything...

What is spectacular about this particular book though is the variety of cheesecake recipes. It has your basic dessert cheesecake recipes, but then it also has vegan, gluten free, and nut free recipes also!

On top of all that deliciousness, I was very pleased to find out that there are also recipes for savory cheesecakes. Who even knew that there was such a thing? Not me!

Each recipe is very clear and easy to follow and each recipe has its own picture.

I am very pleased with this one!

Find more of my reviews here:
http://readingwithcupcakes.blogspot.com/

[Alice Taylor Gripkey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Artisan cheesecake

Great versatile cheesecake recipes ranging from the traditional to surprising yet appealing new combinations. Covers the simple no bake cheesecake tweaked to take them to the next level, to gourmet cheesecake savory from savory to sweet to everything in between. The only problem is deciding which one to make first.

[Kathleen Valentine · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting and some amazing ideas--brown sugar and peach cheesecake, strawberry, passion fruit--they all sound wonderful. Plus great ideas for crusts and glazes. I had never thought about cheese alternatives but there are lots of options in this book!

[Randi Tietz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book. Several recipes I want to make.