Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

This was my favorite of the baked custards we did. And yes cheesecake is technically a baked custard.

I didn't get a picture of it whole and then we did a terrible job cutting it so it's not the most beautiful but it sure tasted fantastic.

The crust is crushed Oreo and it was decided last minute to do the filling orange flavor. To make the basic cheesecake batter orange we added: zest of about half an orange, about a tsp of orange oil, and Grand Marnier. I'm not sure how much Grand Marnier because the Chef just poured some in. He doesn't typically let us do the liqueur ourselves. =) But I think it was about a Tbsp, maybe a little less.

We were going to candy some very thin orange slices and arrange on top but ran out of time but that sure would have looked cool.

I'm posting just the plain cheesecake recipe and then you can be creative. One team tinted 1/3 of their batter with raspberry puree, put it in a pastry bag and with a very small tip piped it all through the batter. It looked really neat.

Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients	%	Test in oz	Test in grams
graham cracker crumbs	100	6	170.10
Granulated sugar	33	2	56.70
Butter	48.4	3	85.05
Total	181.4	12	340.19

Process:

1. Mix the cracker crumbs and sugar together
2. Stir in the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are well coated
3. Press the mixture into the bottom of the cake pans

Cheesecake Batter

Ingredients	%	Test in oz	Test in grams
Cream cheese	100	18.25	517.38
Sugar	30	5.5	155.92
Butter, softened	4.8	0.875	24.81
Lemon juice	1.9	0.375	10.63
Vanilla Extract	0.90	0.125	3.54
Eggs	26.2	1.75	49.61
Heavy cream	8.7	1.625	46.07
Sour cream	8.7	1.625	46.07
Total	181.2	33	935.53

Process:

1. Prepare an 8 inch pans with pan spray and the graham cracker crust and reserve. The crust should be 1/4 inch thick on bottom of pan
2. Using the paddle, cream the cream cheese until smooth. Then add the butter and sugar on medium speed, and mix until smooth. Scrape down the bowl
3. Add the lemon juice and vanilla and mix on low speed until smooth
4. Add the eggs in three stages, scraping the bowl between each addition
5. When the batter is smooth, blend in the heavy cream and sour cream
6. Place the batter in the pans
7. Place the pan on a sheet pan filled with water
8. Bake at 325 F in a deck oven for 1 hour 15 min or until just barely set in the middle. Or, bake at 285 F in a convec oven for about 50 minutes
9. Allow to cool thoroughly before removing from the pan

Finishing:

1. To remove the cake from the pan, place in a bain-marie or warm with a torch
2. Place the cake on a 9 inch gold board
3. Apply a thin layer of sour cream to the top (optional) and decorate with fresh fruit