Now, I know I'd already settled on the Irish Apple Cake thing for our St Patricks Day fiesta, except my momma didn't raise me to say no thank you when I see the words cheesecake and whiskey in the same sentence. Even though I am not much for sweet drinks, when I saw online the idea for a Baileys cheesecake, I was intrigued (to put it mildly). Now, I wish I could tell you which recipe I used, except the truth is I just browsed a few while at the store, got what I needed, then just sorta free-styled.
It's a very easy recipe, especially since I've told you how I make cheesecake several times before. And if you haven't been paying attention, well, who do you think you are? You think you're above cheesecake? Because let me tell you, you're not.
So anyway.
What you'll need
I personally happen to think Bailey's is needlessly fucking expensive. and since I figured there was no one around into that sort of sweet liquor taste, I figured I'd spare myself the expense and go for the knock-off brand they sell at Lidl. Did the cake come out as good as if I'd used the real thing? No idea. I'm not familiar with the taste of Baileys, and while I did notice a difference between the Baileys bonbons and the knock-off, it worked superbly. So, you know, spend the money you save on a proper drink, like scotch. :P
- 250g Biscuits (you can use plain, digestives, I've even seen Oreos used and it makes sense since it does give the cake a nice black base, but normals will do you fine);
- 200g butter;
- Bottle of Irish whiskey cream or liquor or whatever the fuck it's called;
- 1250g cheese (again, mix and match to personal taste. you can use cream cheese, mascarpone, ricotta, double cream or a blend. I personally used one kilo of mascarpone and 250g ricotta to lighten the stuff);
- 100g powdered sugar.
The base is hella easy to make - you just mix the crushed biscuits with the melted butter. You don't need to bake this, though I do for about 10-12 mins or so, just until it's nice and crisp in color. It's what I'm used to, but you can totally just leave in the fridge to harden for a couple of hours.
The cheese itself isn't rocket science either. Just mix the cheese, sugar and Irish cream to taste. I mixed in a fair bit, since it gave the cream a lighter, fluffier sort of texture. And since one issue with mascarpone is it's heavy as Sissyphus's boulder, well, they work naturally well together.
Caution. Watch yourself around the damned liquor. Now I consider myself something more than an inexperienced drinker, but these unbearably sweet things have a way of sneaking up on you. Make sure you've turned off the oven before you sample the goods.
Mix. Dump over biscuit base, then put in fridge to harden. One thing I like about mascarpone is that it hardens quickly, so you don't have to fret for 6 hours whether it'll all just turn mushy when you unlatch the cake form. None of that with mascarpone.
Also, yes, you can bake it and use eggs in it and all that jazz, but why work when you can play. This is easy. Go with easy. Enough hardship in life as is.
Finally, while the cake is resting, have a rest too, you've earned it. Then come back and let's do the ganache.
- 200ml heavy whipping cream;
- 200 g dark chocolate.
Melt together slowly over fire. Also, add more liquor to taste. You're not technically supposed to, but what else are you gonna do with it. Besides, it gives it a flavor like you wouldn't believe. Trust me on that. Allow to cool a little, then pour over the cheesecake. Make sure it's an even spread, and let sit, but not too long, as the ganache will also solidify quickly in the fridge.
Get creative. One of my favorite parts about cakes is you can do anything you want to make them nice. I used Baileys bonbons, each sliced in half to get nice little domes of liquor, and dark chocolate syrup.
Was it divine? Oh yes. Do I miss it now it's gone? Very, very much.
