You’ve heard the saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Well, it was definitely the impetus for this Thanksgiving dessert, as I was torn between pleasing my stepdad, Mike, who loves White Chocolate Cheesecake and my daughter’s boyfriend, Chris, who expressed a desire for Peanut Butter Cheesecake (which I considered but then swapped for pumpkin in honor of the holiday.)

The combination of the two flavors was even better than I expected, with the white chocolate lending the pumpkin a good measure of sophistication.

The only aspect of this dessert that gave me pause was marbling the two cheesecake batters. I have had mixed results with various marbling techniques I’ve tried in the past.

This time, I poured large dollops of alternating batters, side-by-side, in one layer and again in a second layer. Then, I used an offset spatula to pull through the layers, first in one direction, then in the other, across the top. And, voila, it worked.

Pumpkin Spice & White Chocolate Cheesecake

Pumpkin and white chocolate are an unexpected and completely harmonious flavor pairing. Make this dreamy pie the day before you need it to ensure it sets up fully in the frig.

Base
¼ cup fine, dry, chocolate cookie crumbs  

White Chocolate Cheesecake
two 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
6 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
6 ounces white chocolate, chopped or disks

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
two 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
6 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
½ cup canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 large eggs

Topping
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish
2 ounce premium white chocolate in a thick bar (Whole Foods carries it)

1. To make the Base, sprinkle the cookie crumbs on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan or removable-bottom cake pan.
2. To make the White Chocolate Cheesecake, utilizing a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, or in a microwave, carefully melt the white chocolate, stirring periodically with a clean, dry utensil to evenly distribute the heat. Reserve momentarily. (Note: White chocolate cannot tolerate the same degree of heat that dark chocolate can. If it is overheated, it will turn granular.
3. Using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese with the sugar until completely smooth. Add the eggs and melted white chocolate. Incorporate thoroughly. Reserve.
4. To make the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese and brown sugar until totally smooth.  (If in doubt, keep processing.)
5. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and eggs. Incorporate thoroughly.
6. Pour the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake batter into the cheesecake pan.
7. Pour the White Chocolate Cheesecake batter over the top and swirl the two together with a flexible spatula. Alternately, spoon large dollops of each batter, side by side, into the pan and then swirl.
8. Bake in the upper third of a preheated 350° oven for about 35 minutes. The cheesecake will not appear set at this point. There should be no cracking or rising of the outer edges. Remove from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
9. While the cheesecake is baking, whisk the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla and let set until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.
10. After the baked cheesecake has set up for at least 5 minutes, slowly pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
11. Return cheesecake to the oven for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Do not overbake or the cheesecake will be grainy. When totally cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
12. Just before serving, grate the remaining white chocolate and sprinkle evenly over the top. (An easy way to obtain large chocolate curls is to warm the top of the chocolate bar slightly with just the heat of your hand and then draw a cheese knife across the top. Repeat the warming for each pass with the cheese knife.)
13. Cut into slim wedges with a long thin knife, wiping the blade clean on a paper towel between slices.

Serves 8-12.

Variations

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake

I create a different pumpkin pie, tart, or cheesecake every autumn, and as good as they each are, this spicy cheesecake remains an all-time fave.

Base
¼ cup fine, dry, chocolate cookie crumbs  

Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake
three 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
¾ cup canned pumpkin puree
1½ teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
3 large eggs

Topping
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. To make the Base, sprinkle the cookie crumbs on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan or removable-bottom cake pan.
2. To make the Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake, using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese and brown sugar until totally smooth.  (If in doubt, keep processing.)
3. Add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and eggs. Incorporate thoroughly.
4. Pour the Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake batter into the cheesecake pan.
5.  Bake in the upper third of a preheated 350° oven for about 30 minutes. The cheesecake will not appear set at this point. There should be no cracking or rising of the outer edges. Remove from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
6. While the cheesecake is baking, whisk the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla and let set until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.
7. After the baked cheesecake has set up for at least 5 minutes, slowly pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
8. Return cheesecake to the oven for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Do not overbake or the cheesecake will be grainy. When totally cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
9. Cut into slim wedges with a long thin knife, wiping the blade clean on a paper towel between slices.

Serves 8-12.

Daddy Mike’s White Chocolate Cheesecake

I developed this cheesecake for my cookbook, Pacific Northwest Palate: Four Seasons of Great Cooking, after my stepdad, Mike, began raving about a version he had experienced in a Northwest restaurant. After playing around with the quantities of white chocolate a bit, I perfected it to his satisfaction. He now says this is the best cheesecake in the entire universe.

Note   This cheesecake is really rich. Mike can eat the entire thing, but most people prefer a slender slice.

Base
¼ cup fine, dry, chocolate cookie crumbs  

White Chocolate Cheesecake
three 8-ounce packages best-quality cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped or disks

Topping
2 cups sour cream
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Garnish
2 ounces premium white chocolate in a thick bar (Whole Foods carries it)

1. To make the Base, sprinkle the cookie crumbs on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan or removable-bottom cake pan.
2. To make the White Chocolate Cheesecake, utilizing a double boiler set over hot, not simmering, water, or in a microwave, carefully melt the white chocolate, stirring periodically with a clean, dry utensil to evenly distribute the heat. Reserve momentarily. (Note: White chocolate cannot tolerate the same degree of heat that dark chocolate can. If it is overheated, it will turn granular. )
3. Using a processor fitted with the steel knife, process the cream cheese with the sugar until completely smooth. Add the eggs and melted white chocolate. Incorporate thoroughly. Reserve.
4. Pour the White Chocolate Cheesecake batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake in the upper third of a preheated 350° oven for about 35 minutes. The cheesecake will not appear set at this point. There should be no cracking or rising of the outer edges. Remove from the oven, let sit for 5 minutes.
6. While the cheesecake is baking, whisk the sour cream with the sugar and vanilla and let set until the sugar is completely dissolved. Reserve.
7. After the baked cheesecake has set up for at least 5 minutes, slowly pour the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake.
8. Return cheesecake to the oven for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Do not overbake or the cheesecake will be grainy. When totally cool, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or preferably overnight.
9. Just before serving, grate the remaining white chocolate and sprinkle evenly over the top. (An easy way to obtain large chocolate curls is to warm the top of the chocolate bar slightly with just the heat of your hand and then draw a cheese knife across the top. Repeat the warming for each pass with the cheese knife.)
10. Cut into slim wedges with a long thin knife, wiping the blade clean on a paper towel between slices.

Serves 8-12.

Copyright 2010 Susan S. Bradley. All rights reserved.

Whether you call them beignet, zeppoli, bunuelos, crullers, Indian frybread, elephant ears, fritters, funnel cakes, churros, or simply donuts, there is something absolutely magical about freshly fried sweet dough, whether plain, encasing a bit of fruit or chocolate, topped with sugar, or dipped into a creamy, dreamy sauce.

To keep things straight in my own mind, I divide these fried sweet doughs into five general categories:

• Yeast leavened dough
  • Elephant ears (North America)
  • Some Indian frybread (Native American)
  • Bunuelos (Spanish, Mexican)
  • Some beignet (French)
• Yeast leavened batter
  • Some beignet (French)
• Chemically leavened dough
  • Some crullers (German)
• Chemically leavened batter
  • Some Indian frybread (Native American)
  • Zeppoli (Italian)
  • Fritters (World)
  • Some beignet (French)
•  Egg leavened paste or batter
  • Churros (Spanish, Mexican)
  • Funnel cakes (Pennsylvania Dutch)
  • Choux paste beignet (French)
  • Some crullers (French)

I don’t care what they are called or from what tradition they hail. I am an unabashed lover of ALL fried sweet dough morsels. If there is an elephant ear food cart within two miles of me, I’m there in a flash. MauiJim claims we moved to downtown Portland, Oregon, within easy walking distance of the nearly year-round Saturday market, BECAUSE they serve freshly fried and sugared elephant ears AND funnel cakes every weekend. There are better reasons?

For a couple of years after we moved to Portland, there was also a tropical café downtown that served the most delectable yeast leavened beignets. I couldn’t stay away from that place. And I always ordered the six beignet bag rather than the more modest bag of three and then watched attentively as they rolled out the dough and deep fried it just for me. I mean, seriously, they were irresistible.

Now though, when I want an immediate fried dough fix and have had my fill of elephant ears and funnel cakes, I stop by Ten01 for their Lemon Scented Beignets with Olive Oil Crème Anglaise, Wildwood for their Honey-Hazelnut Sourdough Donuts with Hot Frothed Chocolate with Stumptown Coffee Liquor, or Toro Bravo for their Churros & Thick Hot Chocolate. This plethora of inspired, world-class, fried dough is the real reason I live in downtown Portland, Oregon.

But I don’t restrict fried dough consumption to Portland. When we were in Boston this past fall, I scoured every menu for any dessert even remotely resembling a donut. You can see a few of the results on the Boston Sweet page. One of my favorites, because of its incredibly light texture is the Sweet Ricotta Fritters with Chocolate Sauce & Housemade Preserves at Eastern Standard Kitchen. But I also love the Cider Donuts with Vanilla Crèma at Sorellina, the Special Brunch Donut at Craigie on Main and the simple Beignet a little further north at Duckfat in Portland, Maine.

I guess I’m not the only one in love with fried dough though, as even CHOW has noted the trend in their article, Beignets are In!.

Lucky for us home cooks that many of these sweet morsels are easy to make, especially those in the chemically leavened batter category. The only thing difficult about the following recipe, for instance, is maintaining an even 350° temperature on the oil for frying. If the oil dips below 350°, the beignet will be fat soaked and heavy. If the temperature rises above 375°,   the beignet will cook too fast on the surface and need to be pulled from the fat before the interior is cooked through. It always takes me a few tests to get the oil and my technique just right. A deep fry thermometer is essential for this recipe.

White Chocolate, Cardamom & Coconut Beignet 

The addition of ricotta creates beignets that are ethereally light and delicately flavored. I am of two minds on the addition of toasted coconut here. The flavor is divine but the coconut does steal center stage from the white chocolate. Sometimes I make these with coconut, sometimes without. Either way is wonderful.
20 cardamom pods (or 1½ teaspoons cardamom seeds or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom)
1 cup canned coconut milk (I used Chaokoh brand)
4 ounces E. Guittard 31% white chocolate disks or 3.5-ounce Lindt White Coconut bar, chopped

2 large eggs
¼ cup sugar
2 cups whole milk ricotta
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract

1½ cups King Arthur unbleached, all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 cup medium unsweetened coconut, lightly toasted, optional

vegetable oil, for frying (I used 3 cups for a 6-inch diameter saucepan; the oil was 1½-inches deep)

Garnishes
powdered sugar in a shaker
Caramel Sauce (homemade or store bought)
Cream Cheese & Lemon Crèma (recipe below)

1. Using a mallet, lightly crush the cardamom pods and retrieve the seeds, discarding the papery pods. Using a mortar and pestle, coarsely crush the cardamom seeds.

NOTE   If you are using ground cardamom, skip Steps 1, 2, and 3 and add the ground cardamom at Step 4.

1. In a small saucepan or in a large glass measuring cup in a microwave oven, heat the coconut milk to simmering, remove from the heat or microwave oven, and add the crushed cardamom seeds.
2. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, steep for 30 minutes, and then strain into either a small clean saucepan or large glass measuring cup. Discard the cardamom seeds.
3. Again, heat the milk to simmering using your chosen method, remove from the heat source and stir in the white chocolate until smooth and creamy. (Add the ground cardamom here if you are using it.)  Reserve.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar, and then whisk in the ricotta and vanilla until smooth.
5. Add the cooled (slightly warm is fine) coconut milk-white chocolate mixture to the batter and whisk to combine.
6. Put the flour, baking powder, and salt into a sifter or coarse strainer and sift over the egg mixture. Using a flexible silicon or rubber spatula, fold gently to combine.
7. Cover the batter tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or as long as 24 hours. Bring the batter to room temperature before frying.
8. In the meanwhile, put a few layers of paper toweling on top of an edged baking sheet and set this next to the stovetop. Locate a deep-fry thermometer that will grasp the edge of the pan, a small skimmer for removing overbrowned bits of batter, and a 2-tablespoon capacity, release-style ice cream scoop. (If you don’t have the ice cream scoop, 2 tablespoons will work.)
9. In 6-inch diameter, heavy saucepan, attach a deep-fry thermometer to the side of the pan and add 1½- to 2-inches of vegetable oil to the pan. Then heat to 350°. This is the trickiest aspect of this dessert. You need to maintain a frying temperature between 350° and 375°, no lower and no higher.
10. Carefully drop three to four 2-tablespoon size scoops of beignet batter into the hot oil at one time. Do not crowd the pan. Begin GENTLY swirling and flipping the beignet after 15-20 seconds in the hot oil, and keep flipping them periodically until they are nicely browned on all sides and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes. If in doubt, remove one beignet and cut it in half to check the interior.
11. Remove the beignets, one-by-one, from the hot oil with tongs or a skimmer, drain briefly over the hot oil and then tumble onto the paper toweling. Continue until you have used all of the batter.
12. As the beignet hit the paper toweling, dust with powdered sugar in a shaker.
13. Server plain or alongside small bowls of Cream Cheese & Lemon Crèma and Caramel Sauce. Eat warm.

Makes about thirty 1¾-inch diameter beignet.

Cream Cheese & Lemon Crèma 

I use this versatile  crema as an accompaniment for many desserts and brunch dishes, such as fruit tarts, French toast and bread pudding. But is is especially delicious with freshly fried beignets and donuts.

8 ounces best-quality cream cheese, very cold
1 cup heavy cream, very cold
¼ cup powdered sugar
finely grated zest of 1 large lemon
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese until smooth.
2. On slow speed, slowly add the cream and beat until the cream whips and the mixture is the thickness of whipped cream.
3. Quickly beat in the powdered sugar and then incorporate the lemon zest and 1-2 teaspoons lemon juice to taste.
4. Remove to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use.

Makes about 2 cups.

On the first day of  Christmas … my true love gave to me … Rosalyn’s Midwinter Night’s Dream Cookies.

My dearest friend, Rosalyn, and I have danced with a good many wondrous topics over the years, but almost every conversation of ours gets to food at some point. Don’t ask me how the subject of the Lindt Excellence White Coconut bar came up.

I think it started with me saying something about trying to create the world’s best Coconut Cream Pie. As I recall, Rosalyn said I had to get white chocolate into that somehow. Then she told me about the Lindt White Coconut bar and insisted that I get some. And finally there were those 3-4 e-mails asking me if I had tried it yet. I didn’t have a chance.

Now, thanks to Rosalyn, my chocolate stash always includes a couple of these creamy, dreamy bars. Coconut and white chocolate are indeed a magical combination.

Thus, it is only fitting to name this divine, toasted coconut shortbread with its elegant drizzle of white chocolate for the muse who inspired it. I think Shakespeare would approve.

Rosalyn’s Midwinter Night’s Dream Cookies

This elegant cookie is befitting the moonlit fairy dreamland of one of Shakespeare’s most endearing plays. It’s a delicate, crisp, all butter, rolled shortbread aromatic with lightly toasted dried coconut. The white chocolate drizzle is not absolutely essential, but it adds a touch of drama that’s perfect for the holiday season.

2½ cups King Arthur’s unbleached all-purpose flour  
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup fine shredded, unsweetened, dried coconut, lightly toasted

1½ cups fresh unsalted butter, at cool room temperature (3 cubes)
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract

Finishing
6 ounces Lindt white chocolate, chopped (about 1 cup)
pearl luster powder

1. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Whisk to thoroughly distribute the salt Stir in the coconut and distribute evenly. Reserve.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until pale but not curdled.
3. Add the vanilla and coconut extract, and incorporate.
4. Add the flour-coconut mixture and mix very briefly on very slow speed, just until a dough forms.
5. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions and flatten each portion to a ½-inch thick disk on a sheet of plastic wrap. Seal the plastic wrap around each portion of the dough and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. (The sealed dough can be refrigerated for 2-3 days if necessary.)
6. On a lightly floured pastry cloth, using a covered rolling pin, roll out the dough to 1/8-inch thick rectangle. Use a little flour to keep the dough from sticking if necessary, but try not to work too much additional flour into the dough.
7. Using a fluted edged 2¼-inch square cookie cutter (or cutter of your choice), cut out the cookies.
8. Arrange slightly apart on cookie sheets that have been lightly coated with vegetable spray.
9. Bake at 375° for 10-12 minutes, rotating sheets at the halfway point to ensure even browning.
10. Remove from the oven, loosen each cookie with a thin spatula and let cool for 3-4 minutes on the sheet.
11. Remove cookies from the cookie sheet and place on a wire rack and cool completely.
12. Store airtight, in layers separated by wax paper rounds, in a cookie tin in a cool, dry place. These cookies improve with age. They keep for 3-4 weeks. Cookies may also be frozen.
13. Shortly before serving, melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over but not touching a saucepan of simmering water, making sure not to overheat it. Using a demitasse spoon or a pastry bag fitted with a small tip, drizzle or pipe the white chocolate over each cookie.
14. Immediately sprinkle with a tiny pinch of luster powder.
15. Put the cookies on a wire rack and let the white chocolate harden for about an hour before arranging on a serving tray.

Makes about 3½ dozen, 2¼-inch square cookies.

There must be a hundred posts on the web on the topic of Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spice Latte. Amazing! Would you believe I have NEVER had a Pumpkin Spice Latte? I’m not quite sure how that happened. However, in perusing all of the copycat recipes, it appears that there is little if any actual pumpkin in this wildly popular autumnal concoction; just a teaspoon or so of Pumpkin Spice Syrup. Hmmm…

By the time I had read a dozen or so recipes for this drink, it was starting to sound less than wonderful. I won’t know for sure until I get on over to Starbucks and actually order one, but in the meanwhile I started thinking about how wonderful pumpkin and white chocolate are together. This rich, indulgent drink is the result.

The difficulty in working with white chocolate, however, is that it is essentially all sweetness with no acidic counterbalance. Thus, it can be exceedingly rich with nothing to relieve that richness. Partnerships with bitter or acidic elements, such as alcohol or espresso, can make all the difference. So, although I present you with the foundation recipe to begin with (and it is delicious), I prefer the variations. I will be sipping one of them on Halloween night, nestled by the fire, awaiting the onslaught of trick-or-treaters.

Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate

This Hot White Chocolate is in the style of European drinking chocolate, which is made with whole milk (and sometimes part cream) and melted high-quality bar chocolate. The amount of white chocolate is variable. Use the lesser amount if you do not plan to add rum or espresso to your drink. Otherwise, you may find the drink a tad too sweet.

This drink is a perfect after dinner or late night finale.

3 cups whole milk
1 cup canned pumpkin puree
2 cinnamon sticks, broken
12 whole cloves, crushed slightly
12 whole allspice berries, crushed slightly
2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger
2 tablespoons chopped orange peel (all pith removed)
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

4-6 ounces, high quality white chocolate, roughly chopped (Lindt or Guittard recommended)
pinch sea salt (don’t even think about leaving this out)

Garnish
1 cup heavy cream, whipped and lightly sweetened
shaved white chocolate, from a bar of white chocolate
ground cinnamon in a shaker

1. In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, bring the milk to a bare simmer.
   
2. Lower the heat to keep the milk below the boiling point and add the pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, candied ginger and vanilla bean.
   
3. Remove from the heat and let mellow as long as you can wait (refrigerate if you need to hold longer than an hour).
   
4. When ready to serve, pour the milk mixture through a triple mesh strainer into a clean saucepan. Heat to just below a simmer and remove from the heat.
   
5. Add the white chocolate and stir until the chocolate is melted.
   
6. Remove from the heat, and add sea salt.
   
7. To serve immediately, pour into five, eight-ounce capacity, Irish coffee or other stemmed glasses.
   
8. To store, let cool, decant, cover, and refrigerate. Reheat to serve.
   
9. Just before serving, top each glass of hot chocolate with a generous mound of whipped cream, a few shavings of white chocolate, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve immediately.
   

Makes five, 6-ounce servings.

Jumpin’ Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate

To each serving, add 1 shot espresso, stir, and top with whipped cream.

Spirited Pumpkin Spice Hot White Chocolate

To each serving, add 1 ounce Meyer’s dark rum, stir, and top with whipped cream.