Long time no see, friends! It has been a long time since I have written a post! In the past two months or so, I took a chocolate course which had classes two days a week, four hours each day. I would go on my days off, and by the last week (mind you, the eighth week) I was finally done. It is always nice to be back in the classroom absorbing all the new found knowledge. I am just glad that I am done with spending time in the kitchen seven days a week for the time being.
I have been wanting to bake a cheesecake at home ever since buying a rather disappointing slice at a shop near my workplace. They claimed that their cheesecake was the “best” in town. I am no cheesecake snob, but I thought I could make a better one at home. If you haven’t tried sesame and coffee together, don’t be afraid, the combination is very tasty. To make this Tahini Coffee Cheesecake even better, I made my own graham cracker crust, but of course it is not necessary. I also finished the cheesecake with sesame seed and coffee bean brittle for extra crunch and flavour. The brittle is very delicious on its own too – optional but recommended!
Ingredients
- 100 g / 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 24 g / 2 tbsp melted butter
- 900 g / 2 packages brick cream cheese
- 150 g / 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
- 2 eggs
- 115 g / 1/2 cup sour cream
- 15 g / 2 tbs all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 30 g / 2 tbsp very strong coffee
- 1 tsp coffee extract
- 1 tsp coffee liqueur
- 30 g / 2 tbsp tahini
- 135 g sugar
- 55 g water
- 95 g glucose
- 90 g raw white sesame seeds
- 30 g coffee beans
- 2 g salt
- 10 g butter
- 2 g baking soda
Method
- Grease and line a 6 inch square cake pan with parchment paper. In a small bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, press into the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Set aside until ready.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla seeds on medium speed until smooth, scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.
- Add eggs and sour cream, mix until smooth, scrape down the bowl and add the flour and salt to mix just until homogenized.
- Divide the batter in half, flavour half with the coffee, coffee extract and liqueur. Mix the other half with the tahini. Pour the batters alternatively in two or three additions, swirl with a knife or a spoon.
- Place the cake pan on a sheet pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes. The centre should still be very soft. Turn off oven and leave in for at least 5 hours to prevent cracking.
- Chill thoroughly before serving.
- Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring. Add the glucose and continue cooking to 115 C.
- Add the sesame seeds and coffee beans and cook to a light caramel colour over medium heat stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
- Remove from the heat and add salt and butter, stir well. Lastly, ad baking soda and mix well. Pour the mixture on a silicone pat and spread into a thin sheet with a spatula. Once cool enough stretch and separate into small pieces.
This recipe is nothing fancy, nonetheless I am very happy how it turned out. Dense and creamy, just how I like my cheesecake. Coffee and sesame happen to be some of my favourite ingredients, I have never thought they go so well together until I learned a recipe in a Paris cakes course! I love learning new things, even learning something as simple as a brittle makes me so happy. Brittle is one of many things I learned in my recent chocolate adventure. It feels great to have real weekends again, and to be able to enjoy blogging! What are the little things that you are excited about?
i’ve never had sesame with coffee before, but i feel like the creamy rich tahini and slightly bitter coffee would go so well together!
They are surprisingly delicious together!