What would a holiday week-end be without dessert?
Now you don't want anyone arguing over who got the largest serving.
In Take 5 Ingredients (Kyle Books, Spring 2011), British chef James Tanner saves everyone trouble with his Gingersnap and Marscapone Cheesecake recipe which calls for 4 individual cakes.
Gingersnap & Mascarpone Cheesecake
Gingersnaps are not just for dunking in a cup of tea!
Serves 4
2oz gingersnap cookies (about 7 cookies)
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out, pod discarded
3/4lb mascarpone
2/3 cup superfine sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Place the gingersnaps in a food processor and process to the consistency of
fine breadcrumbs. Set aside. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap.
Put the vanilla seeds, mascarpone, superfine sugar, and cream into a bowl
and whisk until smooth.
Place four 3 x 11/2-inch deep metal chef’s rings onto the lined baking sheet.
Pipe or spoon the mixture into the rings and smooth off with an offset spatula.
Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 4 hours until set.
Remove the plastic wrap from the top of the cheesecakes. Spread the cookie
crumbs onto a plate and dip the top and bottom of the cheesecakes into the
gingersnap crumbs. Heat the sides of the metal rings with a blowtorch or hot
cloth and slide the rings off. Transfer the cheesecakes to serving plates.
(*Recipe from Take 5 Ingredients by James Tanner, reproduced by permission of publisher Kyle Books, all rights reserved, Photo by Anders Schonnemann)