Bon Appetit Desserts (56 page)

Quince Compote

Quinces are golden yellow fruits that look a bit like pears, but are rounder and harder. Cooking transforms them from astringent to mellow. Look for them at the market in the fall.
Makes about 3 cups

4 pounds quinces, peeled, quartered, cored, cut into ½-inch cubes

2 cups water

2 cups sugar

2 cups dry white wine

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

Bring quinces, water, sugar, and wine to boil in heavy large saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until fruit is soft, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fruit to bowl. Boil juices uncovered until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Pour syrup over fruit. Cover and chill overnight. Remove vanilla bean before serving.

Almond Cheesecake with Sour Cream and Blackberries

This cake gets intense almond flavor from almond paste, almond extract, and ground almonds—and that flavor pairs beautifully with the blackberry and sour cream topping. Almond paste can be found in the baking section of most supermarkets and at specialty foods stores and some online retailers.
8 to 10 servings

1 7-ounce tube almond paste

6 whole graham crackers, coarsely broken

½ cup whole almonds, toasted, cooled

¼ cup (½ stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

½ cup sugar

2 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces, room temperature

3 large eggs

½ cup heavy whipping cream

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 cup sour cream

3 tablespoons plus ½ cup sugar, divided

1 pound frozen blackberries, thawed, drained, juices reserved

1½ teaspoons unflavored gelatin

CRUST
: Preheat oven to 350°F. Set aside ½ cup (packed) almond paste for filling. Combine remaining almond paste, graham crackers, and almonds in processor and grind finely. Add butter; process until moist crumbs form. Press crumb mixture over bottom and 2 inches up sides of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2¾-inch-high sides. Bake until crust darkens in color, about 10 minutes. Cool crust. Maintain oven temperature.

FILLING
: Wipe out processor. Blend sugar and reserved ½ cup almond paste in processor until mixture resembles fine meal, about 1 minute. Add half of cream cheese and process until smooth, about 1 minute. Add remaining cream cheese and process until smooth. Add eggs, cream, and almond extract and blend until just combined, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Pour filling into crust.

Bake cake until just set in center and beginning to crack at edges, about 40 minutes. Cool 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

TOPPING
: Mix sour cream and 1 tablespoon sugar in small bowl; spoon over hot cake. Bake 3 minutes. Chill cake uncovered until cold, about 1½ hours.

Mix remaining 2 tablespoons plus ½ cup sugar and reserved berry juices in heavy small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over. Let stand until gelatin softens, about 15 minutes. Stir mixture over low heat until sugar and gelatin dissolve (do not boil). Pour into medium bowl; mix in berries. Chill berry topping until cold and beginning to set, stirring occasionally, about 1½ hours.

Spoon berry topping over chilled cake. Chill uncovered until berry topping is fully set, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.

Hazelnut Praline Cheesecake

Using cake flour for the crust is important: It is lower in protein than all purpose flour and results in a more tender crust. The praline gives nutty flavor and crunchy contrast to the rich cheesecake filling. Wrapping a triple layer of foil around the cake pan provides a seal that guards against leaking when the cake is in the water bath.
12 servings

1¼ cups cake flour

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons (1¼ sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes

¼ cup (packed) golden brown sugar

Hazelnut Praline (see recipe)

4 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 large eggs

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2¾-inch-high sides. Blend cake flour, butter, and brown sugar in processor until moist clumps form. Press crust mixture onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Cool. Wrap outside of pan with 3 layers of heavy-duty foil.

Reserve ½ cup Hazelnut Praline for garnish. Grind remaining praline to powder in processor. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and 1 cup sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in all purpose flour, then cream and vanilla. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Fold in praline powder. Pour filling over crust.

Place cake pan in roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan. Bake cake until center is just set, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Transfer cake to rack. Cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Cool completely. Remove foil from pan sides. Chill cake uncovered overnight.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.

Cut around pan sides again. Remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Mound reserved ½ cup coarsely crushed Hazelnut Praline in center of cake and serve.

Hazelnut Praline

This distinctive praline uses hazelnuts instead of the traditional almonds or pecans. Husked hazelnuts are often available at specialty foods stores, but it’s easy enough to toast and husk them yourself—see the guidelines on page 36.
Makes about 10 ounces

Vegetable oil

¾ cup sugar

¼ cup water

1 cup hazelnuts, toasted, husked

Lightly oil baking sheet. Combine sugar and ¼ cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Stir over low heat until sugar dissolves. Increase heat and boil without stirring until syrup is deep amber color, occasionally brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush and swirling pan, about 8 minutes. Add hazelnuts and stir until well coated, about 1 minute. Carefully pour hot praline onto prepared baking sheet. Cool until praline hardens. Break praline into pieces. Transfer to resealable plastic bag. Using rolling pin or mallet, coarsely crush praline.

DO AHEAD
:
Can be made 1 month ahead. Wrap airtight and freeze.

Pistachio Brittle Cheesecake

Stained-glass-like shards of amber-colored pistachio brittle stand on edge atop the cheesecake, creating a truly gorgeous dessert. The cake should be refrigerated overnight, but wait until you’re ready to serve it before arranging the pieces of brittle on top.
10 to 12 servings

1 5½-ounce package shortbread cookies

½ cup unsalted natural pistachios

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup (½ stick) chilled unsalted butter, diced

3 8-ounce packages Philadelphia-brand cream cheese, room temperature

1¼ cups sugar

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 large eggs, room temperature

2¼ cups sour cream, divided

½ cup pear nectar

2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 ounces high-quality white chocolate (such as Lindt or Perugina), finely chopped