Are you ready for the most incredible homemade mascarpone cheesecake?? Yes, you can make mascarpone at home and YES, it is super easy! Chef Albert Bijou (formerly from The Coffee Bar) makes his own mascarpone and he had this great idea to share his recipe exclusively on my blog so we can all learn his tricks. Sure, he’s a restaurant chef and NO, he doesn’t have to share any of his recipes but once in awhile, you get a chef that’s feeling generous. And today is that day for Chef Albert. Not only is he sharing his recipe for mascarpone cheesecake but he’s also sharing some incredible flavors that take this dessert over the top. My favorite is definitely the halva cheesecake topped with shredded halva, lavender honey and candied pistachios. And clearly my second favorite is the “Chocomel” cheesecake topped with with homemade chocolate ganache, caramel and toasted pecans.
I mean, do we even need to talk about all that lavender infused honey???
Halva Mascarpone Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 9 oz honey graham crackers, ground
- 10 Tbsp butter, melted
Mascarpone Filling
- 20 oz cream cheese
- 10 oz mascarpone cheese (*homemade mascarpone recipe below)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Toppings
- kataifi (shredded phyllo dough)
- shredded halva
- lavender infused honey
- candied pistachios
*Homemade Mascarpone Cheese
- 1 qt heavy cream
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Mascarpone Cheese
- Heat on medium flame until it just reaches a boil, simmer and add fresh lemon juice. Stir well and simmer for a few minutes.
- Take off let it cool down. Once cool, place a fine cheese cloth over a colander and over a bowl to allow the whey to drip – pour mixture into lined colander and leave over night in refrigerator uncovered.
Crust
- Mix together to form a clumpy dough and press into bottom of 9″ springform pan
- Bake at 325 for 10 min. Remove and cool completely.
Mascarpone Filling
- Raise the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time until combined then add the lemon juice and salt and beat on medium speed for 10 seconds to make sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into the cooled crust.
- Place the pan inside of a larger baking pan then fill the larger pan 1/4 way up with boiling water. This is called a water bath.
- Bake the cheesecake for 45-60 minutes, until the edges of the cheesecake are done and center is still a bit soft. Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours before decorating and serving.
- Top each slice with shredded halva or kataifi, lavender infused honey and candied pistachios.
So much homemade caramel and chocolate ganache in every bite of this cheesecake. Layers and layers!
Honestly, all I really need is a spoon and that caramel.
Chef Albert is the man, right?!?!
Chocomel Mascarpone Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 9 oz honey graham crackers, ground
- 10 Tbsp butter, melted
Mascarpone Filling
- 20 oz cream cheese
- 10 oz mascarpone cheese (*homemade mascarpone recipe below)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp salt
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 pint heavy cream
- 16 oz semi sweet chocolate
Caramel
- 16 oz sugar
- 4 oz butter
- 12 oz heavy cream
Additional Toppings
- whipped cream
- toasted pecans
Instructions
Chocolate Ganache
- Bring heavy cream to a boil. Pour the heavy cream over the chocolate in a mixing bowl, whisk until thick and allow to set.
Caramel
- Lay sugar evently in a sauté pan and place over low heat to melt. Don’t mix untill the sugar starts to melt. Mix the sugar to the desired caramel color (light golden brown) and add in the butter and heavy cream. Watch out because the caramel will bubble. Remove the caramel from the stove and allow to set.
Crust
- Mix together to form a clumpy dough and press into bottom of 9″ springform pan.
- Bake at 325 for 10 min. Remove and cool completely.
Mascarpone Filling
- Raise the temperature of the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time until combined then add the lemon juice and salt and beat on medium speed for 10 seconds to make sure all ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Pour a third of the batter into the cooled crust and pipe some of the chocolate ganache and caramel on top. Add more batter on top then pipe more chocolate ganache and caramel then top with the remaining batter.
- Place the pan inside of a larger baking pan then fill the larger pan 1/4 way up with boiling water. This is called a water bath.
- Bake the cheesecake for 45-60 minutes, until the edges of the cheesecake are done and center is still a bit soft. Turn off the oven, prop open the oven door and leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and place in the fridge for at least 3 hours before decorating and serving.
- Pipe chocolate ganache and caramel around the edges of the cooled cheesecake then sprinkle with pecans and serve with whipped cream.
