Plated Dessert; Salted Caramel Cheesecake and Jack Bourdain

Bradley Cooper portrays Anthony Bourdain inspired character in Kitchen Confidential the series...friends, mamas, ladies. Yes I made it  my headline!!!!

At this particular time I'm reading Kitchen Confidential the book, I just can't stop laughing, when I watched Episode 1 and 2, Extra thanks to my day-day Mae mae who sent me the clips...all those scenes I imagined while reading word for word just came to my screen with three words.. Oh. My. God.

Bradley Cooper, Oh yeah. Hangover, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, this is decent Porn my friends. It is! If Bradley Cooper is a dessert, I'd like to think he is a Salted Caramel Cheesecake − Sleek, smooth and filling. ( and I sound like I tasted him)

Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Red Wine Poached Strawberries, Caramel Sauce, Creme Brulee Puff, Almond Pralines and Coffee Macaron Shards

 By the way, I think he made justice to the character of Anthony Bourdain, in the series his name is "Jack Bourdain"… It's as magnificent funny as reading the book, if you can't watch it, I wish you have a best friend who can send you episodes too, or you may read the book instead, but the series is a biopic, meaning it's inspired from the book which is a true to life, tell all of Anthony Bourdain.

Left: Oreo Crust        Right: Graham Crust

Marbled.

And so my recipe this week is a Bradley Cooper in a dessert. Forgive me. But we all have that celebrity crushes (I might have to clarify that I have a lot) for Salted Caramel Cheesecake, I tried 2 batches, one with Oreo crusts the other one in Graham crusts, I liked the latter more...

Left: Oreo Crust        Right: Graham Crust

Left: Oreo Crust        Right: Graham Crust

Let’s not complicate this one so much, don’t hesitate because it’s a plated dessert, I was just extra assertive lately. First we make a caramel sauce. Over low heat, caramelize sugar in a saute pan until amber brown in color, add in butter and gradually add heavy cream, stir with wooden spoon continuously, if there are lumps.. continue cooking until all the lumped sugar has melted. Season with salt, remember that you want it really salty because the Cheesecake batter is on the sweet side.

 SALTED CARAMEL SAUCE

225ml Heavy cream

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 tbsp Butter

1/2 Tbsp Iodized Salt or more

Then prepare the crust, this recipe yields for 6 servings of 3 inches x 2 inches round mini cakes, if you want to make a whole cake version simply quantify this recipe to 1 and 1/2 batch.

100g crashed Graham crackers

100g melted Unsalted butter

or

160g crashed Oreo

60g melted Unsalted butter 

Then spin the mixer for the Cheesecake batter...

SALTED CARAMEL CHEESECAKE

300g Creamcheese

90g Sugar

15g Sour cream

137g White Chocolate, melted

2pcs Eggs

 In the mixing bowl combine creamcheese and sugar. Whip until light and fluffy then add eggs at a time. Fold in melted white chocolate and yoghurt.

Continue whipping until the mixture is smooth and lump-free.

Upper: Oreo Crust        Lower: Graham Crust

Simply pour the Cheesecake batter on prepared crust, then pipe caramel sauce and marble the two components together with a stick, you may put more caramel, as much as you would like but not so much that it's more than the batter or it will puff and burn.

Bake over hot water or bain marie at 160/160 C for 25 minutes. Then freeze the baked cheesecake until set for at least 2 hours or  when it has cooled down and wont splat when you unmold. This turned into a cube because I trimmed it :)

Salted Caramel Cheesecake with Red Wine Poached Strawberries, Caramel Sauce, Creme Brulee Puff, Almond Pralines and Coffee Macaron Shards

Hi Jack Bourdain, the plated dessert!

Sleek.

Close up.

Top view.

And because I'm extra assertive nowadays, you may check my previous post about my Plated Desserts Perspective, here. If you get extra assertive, too. It's your turn to make desserts and I would love to see their photos :) Looking forward to hearing from you.. you may email me or Facebook message.

Happy Baking!