Happy Pi Day to all.
Every March, I like to celebrate March 14, 3-14, or Pi Day, with a pie, and this year is no exception. I want a pie that’s easy as pie, so for Pi Day, I’m going with a Cheesecake Pie. Easier than a regular cheesecake, my Cheesecake Pie uses a pre-made pie crust instead of a graham cracker crust. It’s baked in a shallow pie dish rather than a deeper spring-form pan and it doesn’t require a water bath. It has fewer ingredients, it bakes quicker, and nothing is lost flavor-wise. This cheesecake turns out silky smooth, decadently rich, and deliciously tangy from the addition of lemon zest. For toppings, I have whipped cream that I piped on and both chocolate ganache and caramel sauce that I drizzled over top.
Rosie’s Cheesecake Pie
1 pie crust, partially baked
Rosie Note: You can certainly make your own pie crust if you have a favorite recipe, but in the interest of time, I used a refrigerated crust. I don’t recommend the frozen crusts as they tend to crack in the freezer. I use the rolled-up, refrigerated crusts that come two to a box in the dairy section.
Prepare the crust: I’m going to bake the crust before filling to give it time to firm up and get lightly browned, since the filling doesn’t need to bake that long. Heat the oven to 350°. Let the crust come to room temperature, then unroll it and place in a 9-inch pie dish. Crimp the edges decoratively and fork the bottom so it doesn’t puff up when you bake it. I use strips of foil around the crimped edges to keep it from over-browning, or you could use an adjustable pie crust shield if you have one. Place crust in a 350° oven. Bake for 10 minutes, then brush beaten egg white on the crust, rotate the crust, and bake another 8 minutes or so, until bottom is golden brown. The egg wash helps seal the dough so when the filling bakes you don’t have a soggy bottom.
Prepare the filling:
Beat cream cheese and sour cream at medium speed, scraping down sides to ensure you don’t have a lumpy batter. When well-combined, gradually beat in sugars. Add in vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Reduce speed to low and drop in eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined, still scraping down sides. Don’t overbeat the eggs or you’ll get too much air in the batter, resulting in the cheesecake deflating and cracking when it comes out of the oven.
I always like to decorate my cheesecakes a bit so I’m making whipped cream to pipe around the edges and chocolate ganache and caramel to drizzle on individual slices.
Whenever you’re whipping cream, have the cream, bowl, and beaters cold. I always set a glass bowl with the beaters in the freezer for about an hour before using. The fat in the cream traps the air bubbles that make your whipped cream light and fluffy. When the cream, bowl, and beaters are cold, the fat remains more solid, firm, and stable which helps trap and stabilize the air bubbles as they’re whipped. If the fat globules get warm, they start to melt, releasing air, yielding lower volume and a runny and slightly oily texture. Having a chilled bowl and beaters for whipping cold cream significantly improves volume, texture, and stability.
Start whipping cream at medium speed until soft peaks form. Gradually whip in sugar until you have stiff peaks, then add in the vanilla. Stop at the firm peak stage. Over-whipping cream will give you butter.
For piping, I use a zip-lock bag with a corner tip cut off. I have a set of decorative tips that I push into the clipped corner, but it’s not necessary. Spoon the whipped cream into the bag and pipe onto your cheesecake.
Chocolate Ganache
Chocolate ganache is a uniquely versatile mixture of equal amounts, by weight, of chocolate and cream.
Heat the cream until just simmering around the edges. Remove from heat and pour the hot cream over the chocolate. I always use a glass bowl for ganache. A plastic bowl could melt or leave you with a dull or grainy ganache. Also, be sure the bowl is absolutely dry. When chocolate comes into contact with even a drop of water, it will seize up, becoming gritty and grainy. Always use a good quality chocolate like Ghirardelli. (Generic brands are NOT acceptable.) Let sit for a few minutes, then slowly stir with a spoon or small rubber spatula until smooth. The ganache is ready now for drizzling on top of your cheesecake slices.
Serving suggestions: If you like, you can take strawberries and dip into the chocolate and refrigerate until set. Delicious! Whenever I make brownies, I always frost them with a chocolate ganache. Simply pour it over the brownies while both ganache and brownies are still warm. Spread with an offset spatula. The ganache will thicken up as it cools.
In addition to the chocolate ganache, I don’t think one can go wrong with caramel sauce drizzled over the cheesecake. Like they say, go big or go home. With a good caramel sauce recipe tucked under one’s belt, you can elevate any dessert, whether it be cake or ice cream, with a rich, complex, nutty, buttery, and sweet flavor.
Serving suggestion: You will have caramel left over and I recommend dipping apple slices in the caramel for a delightful snack.
Pour sugar and water into a heavy bottomed pot so it’s combined and sits in an even, flat layer. Avoid it going up the sides of the pot. Turn heat to medium-low and cook, not stirring, until sugar dissolves and turns from cloudy to clear. Allow the mixture to bubble and cook until it begins to thicken and turns a deep gold honey-like color. This took me about 10 minutes.
One caveat here: Keep a watchful eye on the pot so the mixture does not burn. Depending on the heat, the weather, and the pot you’re using, the sauce can take anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes to thicken and turn that beautiful amber color. This is not something you can walk away from, so watch it carefully.
Also note if the sugar forms clumps around the sides of the pot. If so, use a spatula to gently push down the sides to prevent crystallization.
When the melted sugar reaches that lovely, golden color, carefully drop in the butter pats and whisk until completely melted. Be careful as caramel will bubble up here.
Remove from heat and slowly pour in the cream, whisking until it’s all incorporated.
Whisk in the vanilla and salt.
Let cool in pot for about 10 minutes and it’s ready to use. Drizzle over top of cheesecake slices.
Pour the remaining caramel into a glass jar and store in refrigerator. It will thicken up, but to reuse, simply reheat.
Happy Pi Day.
Enjoy.
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