The food blogonet (blogblossom?) has several running themes, as it were, organized groups of people baking in concert. Sometimes they’re all baking from the same recipe (Tuesdays with Dorie, or Daring Bakers), sometimes just using a common ingredient or theme. I’m planning to participate in a few of these, usually the ones that let me have the most rein for my creativity.
The first is Waiter, There’s Something In My…, whose theme this month is For the Love of Gourd.
(The roundup for all entries us up! Wow, there are some pretty tasty looking things.)
My gourd? The ubiquitous pumpkin. Remember those pumpkins? Well, I still had plenty of pumpkin left after making up the cute little pumpkin cakes, so I tried to think of something interesting to do with it. I was thinking cheesecake, but maybe a little different…. and then I had it.
Potiron à la crème
I’d recently acquired Roland Mesnier’s Basic to Beautiful Cakes, and was taken by the Coeur à la crème – an unbaked cheesecake, that you drain overnight in a special mould. The original recipe called for a combination of cream cheese, sugar, and creme fraiche. I thought, “wouldn’t a Pumpkin Coeur a la crème be neat?”, and started looking for a pumpkin-shaped mould that I could turn to my purposes.
I mean, it’s almost Halloween, right? How hard can it be to find a pumpkin-shaped plastic dish that I can poke holes into? Surely people have those plastic candy dishes?
Four stores later, I’d changed the plan somewhat. Instead of draining the cheesecake in a pumpkin shaped mould, I ended up using a 6″ ring lined with an extra layer of cheesecake, set on top of a cooling rack (to make the indentations).
I changed the ingredients up somewhat – I thought the creme fraîche and cream cheese alone might be too tart with the pumpkin, so I swapped out some of the cream cheese for marscapone, and cut back on the crème fraiche. I also added some ‘pumpkin pie spice’ (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger).
Here are the original proportions:
14 oz cream cheese
6 TB granulated sugar
pinch salt
1 1/3 cups crème fraîche.
———-
Now, I didn’t make exact measurements as I was going along, but it was something like:
1 part cream cheese
1 part pumpkin puree, drained (wrap in cheesecloth and squeeze moisture out)
1/2 part marscapone
1/2 part crème fraîche.
Some sugar to taste
pumpkin pie spices (about 2 tsp, total)
Few tablespoons bittersweet chocolate, melted, for decoration.
Directions:
1. Wet a 15 x 15-inch piece of cheesecloth with cold water and wring out so it is damp but not dripping. Place the cheesecloth inside a 9-inch coeur a la creme mould (I used a 6″ ring set on top of a cooling rack, with a piece of aluminum foil folded up to make an indentation for the ‘stem’), with the edges overhanging the rim of the mould. Place the mould on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Place the cheeses, sugar, salt, and pumpkin puree in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until fluffy. In another bowl, whip the crème fraîche with the whisk attachment until it just holds stiff peaks. Gently fold the crème fraîche into the cream cheese mixture.
3. Scrape the mixture into the cheesecloth-lined mould and smooth it with a spatula. Fold the overhanging cheesecloth on top of the mixture, smoothing out the wrinkles where possible, so that the surface is entirely covered. Gently pat it down. Refrigerate the mould, still on the baking sheet, overnight ot allow the excess moisture to drain. (moisture may well have evaporated out of mine, but there was nothing underneat the cooling rack in the morning. Then again, I used less crème fraîche, and squeezed my pumpkin puree to get rid of excess moisture, so there may not have been much to start with anyways).
4. Peel away the cheesecloth that covers the top, and invert the mould onto a serving platter. Lift off the mould and carefully peel away and discard the cheesecloth. Decorate as desired (I piped melted chocolate to make the stem and vines). Let stand for 30 minutes, and serve.
It turned out really, really well. The texture is incredibly silky and smooth, and the taste was pumpkiny with a hint of tartness. Very rich – a small piece does quite well. The chocolate garnish was a good touch, as well – just a hint of chocolately sweetness to mingle with the pumpkiny-tartness. I’m now thinking of ways to make small versions of this for the cafe…
Potiron à la crème
This was an incredible amount of fun! I’m looking forward to next month’s theme.
October 31, 2008 at 3:30 pm
oh that looks good! i should take part in this events more but i find it hard to stay committed, considering i have a dissertation and tonnes of other essays to churn out.
October 31, 2008 at 5:47 pm
At first glance, I thought this was a wheel of Brie with a dark jam making the leaves and stems. And, since I can’t make a cheesecake to save my life, I think that’s what I’m going to do. Very cute!
October 31, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Diva: Ohh, I know your pain! I was a full-time doctoral student the past two years, and only baked as stress relief (not often enough, either). I’m enjoying myself much more now that I’ve taken leave from my program
Cin: Oooh, that sounds good! The coeur a la creme was originally supposed to look like a wheel of cheese (the patterning from the cheesecloth helps this illusion), so no surprise at your first thoughts. I will recommend this one as pretty no-fuss, though – no baking! No water baths, etc. Just mix, scoop, and refrigerate. Doesn’t get much easier than that.
November 6, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Wow – that’s impressive! I also thought it was a round of Brie at first and was very excited to see what it really was. Thanks for an inspiring recipe! Glad you enjoyed your inaugural WTSIM so much and hope to see you next month
November 7, 2008 at 9:31 am
Very clever, indeed–and great decoration on the finished round! I’m certainly intrigued by this one–it would be beautiful on the Thanksgiving table!