Browned Butter Pecan Cheesecake

Browned Butter Pecan Cheesecake

by | Mar 9, 2023 | Pecan Food Fantasy Contest | 0 comments

2nd Place in Adult Cheesecake by:

Marlene Castillo

BROWNED BUTTER PECAN CHEESECAKE 

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
  • Yields 12-14 slices

Ingredients

BUTTER PECANS

  • 1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans
  • 2 tbsp light brown sugar, loosely packed
  • 2 tbsp salted butter, melted

CHEESECAKE FILLING

  • 6 tbsp Challenge salted butter
  • 24 ounces cream cheese. room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup light brown sugar. loosely packed
  • 3 tbsp AP flour
  • 3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup toasted pecans (above)

CRUST

  • 2 ¼ cups  graham cracker crumbs
  • ½ cup salted butter, melted
  • 3 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

CINNAMON WHIPPED CREAM

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream, cold
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Instructions

TOAST THE PECANS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Combine the melted butter, pecans and brown sugar in a medium sized bowl and toss to coat.

3. Spread the pecans evenly onto the cookie sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes, or until toasted.

4. Set pecans aside to cool.

BROWN THE BUTTER

5. To make the browned butter for the cheesecake filling, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. It’s best to use a light colored pan so that you can see the butter browning. Whisk the butter occasionally so that it cooks evenly.

6. Cook the butter until it turns a nice toasty brown. It will foam up at first, but it will eventually subside and you’ll have browned butter. Some of the brown bits may separate, but that’s ok. Once the butter has browned, pour it into a bowl and set it aside to cool.

CRUST

7. Preheat oven to 325°F, Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.

8. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.

9. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.

10. Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in, set prepared pan aside

CHEESE CAKE FILLING

11. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

12. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugars and flour on low speed until well completely combined and smooth. Be sure to use low speed to reduce the amount of air added to the batter, which can cause cracks. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

13. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract and browned butter and mix on low speed until well combined.

14. Add the eggs one at a time,mixing slowly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.

15. Stir in 1 cup of the toasted pecans.

16. Pour the cheesecake batter evenly into the crust.

17. Place the springform pan inside another larger pan. Fill the outside pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.

18. Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes. The center should be set, but still jiggly.

19. Turn off the oven and leave the door closed for 30 minutes. The cheesecake will continue to cook, but slowly begin to cool as well.

20. Crack the door of the oven for 30 min

21. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and water bath wrapping and refrigerate until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight.

22. To finish off the cheesecake, make the whipped cream. Add the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon to a large mixer bowl. Whip on high speed until stiff peaks form.

23. Pipe swirls of whipped cream onto the cheesecake and finish off with the remaining toasted pecans. Refrigerate until ready to serve

 

Dutch Oven Jalapeno Cheddar Pecan Bread

Dutch Oven Jalapeno Cheddar Pecan Bread

by | Mar 14, 2022 | Pecan Food Fantasy Contest | 0 comments

Best of Show and 1st place in Youth Yeast Bread by Jenna Schoeppner

 

Dutch Oven Jalapeno Cheddar Pecan Bread

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours

Yield: 8-10 Ingredients

TO A MEDIUM MIXING BOWL

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

1 large jalapeno diced

½ cup chopped pecans

TO A LARGE MIXING BOWL

2 cups warm water

2 1/4 tsp instant yeast (1 standard .25oz packet)

SET ASIDE FOR TOPPING

1/3 – 1/2 cup shredded cheddar

10 round slices jalapeno (or more, to taste)

Instructions:

To a medium mixing bowl, add bread flour, salt, 2 cups cheddar cheese, and diced jalapenos. Stir and set aside. To a large mixing bowl, add the warm water and yeast. Water should be warm, but not hot. Add flour mixture to the yeast and water, using a rubber spatula to stir it all together until no flour streaks remain. Use a spatula to fold the dough from the outside of the bowl towards the center, turning the bowl a little each time, until you’ve folded the dough in on itself 8-10 times. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, use the rubber spatula to fold the dough in on itself again, 8-10 times. Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 more hour. Halfway through this second rise, add your Dutch oven, with the lid on, to your oven and preheat it to 450°F. Let it preheat for a full 30 minutes. Set out a piece of parchment paper large enough to go inside your dutch oven with a bit of overhang. Lightly dust a counter with flour, and flour your hands. Turn out the dough onto the floured surface. Flip the dough over and brush off any excess flour. Fold the corners of the dough in towards the center, about 6-8 times, until a rough ball is formed. Flip the dough over onto the piece of parchment paper.

Use a sharp knife to carefully score the dough. Give the dough a quick spray with some cooking spray, then sprinkle 1/3-1/2 cup of cheese and add sliced jalapenos. Use oven mitts to remove the hot dutch oven from your oven and remove the lid. Carefully use the parchment paper to transfer the dough to the dutch oven. Put the lid on, and return to the oven. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and continue baking another 20 minutes. After you’ve removed the dutch oven from the oven, tilt it slightly and use the parchment to softly pull the parts of the parchment paper striking out. It will come out easily. Remove parchment paper and let bread cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours before slicing. Texture is best when bread is completely cooled before slicing. Then enjoy it warm with some butter!

Triple Chocolate Cake

Triple Chocolate Cake

by | Nov 13, 2019 | Pecan Food Fantasy Contest | 0 comments

Triple Chocolate Cake

By: Demi Martinez in the 2017 Pecan Food Fantasy

Hotel Encanto Best of Show

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup cocoa

2 cups water

2 3/4 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and whisk together. Set aside. Boil some water. Pour 2 cups of hot water into the cocoa and whisk until the cocoa dissolves completely. Set aside to cool slightly. Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 8-10 minutes. Add eggs to the sugar mixture, two at a time and blend until incorporated. Scrape down the sides as needed. Add the dry ingredients alternatively with the warm cocoa mixture. Begin by adding dry, then alternate with wet. Pour the batter into parchment lined pans. Bake at 350 degrees F until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely in the pans.

Chocolate Caramel Pecan Frosting

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese

4 cups powdered sugar

4 Tbsp. milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup crushed pecans

In a bowl, beat together the cream cheese, 3 Tbsp milk, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla, cocoa and cinnamon to a spreadable consistency. Beat in additional milk if necessary. For a darker frosting add more cocoa or up to 4 ounces of melted chocolate. Add 1/2 cup pecans. Frost cake and decorate as desired.