Frozen Espresso Cheesecake

espresso-torrone-0504-mla100715.jpg
Servings:
10
Yield:
1 10-by-5-inch cake

This novelfrozen variation on cheesecakeuses mascarpone cheese. It'sflavored with coffee and chocolate cookies, and studdedwith nuggets of torrone, anItalian nougat candy made ofegg whites, nuts, and honey.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups finely ground chocolate wafer cookies (8 ounces; about 35 cookies)

  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

  • ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 4 large egg yolks, room temperature

  • 4 ½ teaspoons good-quality instant espresso powder (such as Medaglia d'Oro)

  • Pinch of salt

  • 1 ½ pounds mascarpone cheese, room temperature

  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

  • 12 ounces hard torrone (Italian nougat), cut into ¼-inch pieces

  • ½ cup heavy cream, chilled

Directions

  1. Stir together cookie crumbs, melted butter, and 3 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl; set aside.

  2. Put egg yolks, 1/4 cup sugar, the espresso, and salt in the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer. Set bowl over a pan of simmering water; whisk until thick, about 2 minutes. Transfer bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in mascarpone and vanilla by hand until smooth. Stir in torrone; set aside.

  3. Beat cream with remaining 3 tablespoons sugar in a clean mixing bowl until soft peaks form. Fold the whipped cream with a rubber spatula into mascarpone mixture. Refrigerate.

  4. Line a 10-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap and parchment paper, leaving an overhang on sides. Pour one-third of mascarpone mixture into lined pan; even layer with an offset spatula. Evenly top with half of the crumb mixture; press crumbs gently. Repeat to make a second layer of mascarpone mixture and crumbs. Top with remaining mascarpone mixture. Loosely fold over parchment and plastic wrap. Freeze 3 hours or overnight.

  5. To serve, let cake stand at room temperature 10 minutes. Set loaf pan in a larger pan; pour cold water into pan to reach three-quarters up sides of loaf pan. Let stand 10 seconds. Holding parchment, lift out cake. Invert onto a plate; peel off plastic and parchment. Let stand 10 minutes more before serving.

Cook's Notes

Store any leftover cake in the freezer; before serving, let soften slightly in the refrigerator for several minutes.

Related Articles