Christmas Cake Recipe
Author:
Thomas Sixt is a chef, food photographer and cookbook author.
Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.
In my kitchen today I will show you my special Christmas Cake Recipe.
Based on cheesecake this is an elegant Christmas cake in a modern way.
Today I have one wish free and… through trial and error and long consideration I have come to this fantastic result:
The fulfillment of three wishes instead of just one.
First: A Christmas cake thanks to speculoos and a Christmas cherry with cinnamon.
Secondly, a reminder of my favourite dessert, crème brûlée.
Three, my absolute favorite, cheesecake.
So I can enjoy Christmas, because what has been baked with love and inspiration not only delights my palate, but also opens my heart ♥
I wish you much joy in baking and good luck!
Table of Contents
1. The Preparation for the Christmas Cake
We coat our closed springform pan well and lushly at the bottom edge with aluminum foil. No water must be allowed to penetrate! As a clever baking fox, I crimp about a forearm length of foil and put it in the deep oven tray as a cake tray base. On a cake foot bath I have namely no desire.
I adjust my filled springform pan on the aluminum foil in the oven tray by eye. I don’t need a spirit level for that 🙂
Then I preheat my oven already times at 180 ° C. I don’t want to put the water into the deep oven tray until my springform pan is completely filled. Therefore, we immediately undertake the next steps…
Our Christmas cake is baked as a cheesecake in a water bath. It’s the only way to make it perfect!
Baking Tip from Chef Thomas Sixt
So we enter the race with a 28cm springform pan, a deep oven tray, aluminium foil and 1/2 l water.
2. Recipe Christmas Cake
For your Christmas bakery I will now show you the recipe with all steps and pictures. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me using the comment function at the bottom of the page.
Christmas Cake
Baked, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt.
Simple instructions for Christmas cake baking.
Preparation Time
30 Min.
Cook Time
90 Min.
Ingredients
|
Kuchen-Boden |
||
| 220 | g | speculoos (finely crushed) |
| 1 | pinch | Salt (I use primal salt or Himalayan salt) |
| 75 | g | butter (melted) |
|
Kuchen-Füllung |
||
| 900 | g | cream cheese (I take original Philadelphia) |
| 300 | g | Sugar (fine brown sugar) |
| 30 | g | starch |
| 2 | tsp | vanilla extract (I recommend the liquid vanilla extract) |
| 2 | pc | eggs |
| 175 | ml | Cream (fresh whipped cream) |
| 1/2 | pc | lemon, peel and juice (I use an organic lemon) |
|
Für das Karamellisieren |
||
| 4 | tbs | brown sugar |
|
Kirschen |
||
| 100 | g | pickled morello cherries and juice (out of glass) |
| 6 | tbs | Sugar |
| 1-2 | pinches | cinnamon |
Instruction
Preparation water bath
Preparations
Preheat the oven to 180° C
Grease a 28 cm diameter springform pan well with butter.
Wrap the springform pan well with aluminium foil and prepare it waterproof for a water bath in the deep oven tray.
Cake base
Crush cookies
Crush the speculoos with a mortar and crush it finely.
Prepare butter
Melt the butter.
Prepare cake base
Mix the speckulatius crumbs, butter and a pinch of salt together.
Cake base ready
Pour the resulting short pastry into the mould and press it firmly flat against the base.
Pan aside
Put the filled springform pan aside for the next steps.
Filling
Prepare filling
Put cream cheese, cream, eggs, sugar in a bowl.
Add ingredients
Add starch, liquid vanilla extract, lemon juice and lemon rubbing and mix.
Filling
Pour the filling compound into the springform pan.
Smooth
Spread the mixture on the cookie dough.
Cake baking
Reduce the oven temperature (top and bottom heat) to 120-140° C
Place the springform pan in the deep oven tray. Pour 1/2 l water on it. The cake should be well protected by the aluminium foil in the tin.
Bake the cake in a water bath for a good 90 minutes or let it set.
Let the cake cool down after baking and put it in the refrigerator for about 6 hours.
Caramelize cake
Caramelise
Sprinkle the well-cooled cake with 3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar and caramelise with the Crème Brulee burner until a light brown, crisp thin crust is formed.
Prepare cherries
Prepare cherries
Place the pickled cherries in a sieve. Collect the juice.
Place the drained cherries separately.
Finish cherries
Put the cherry juice with cinnamon and sugar in a saucepan or casserole on the stove and let it simmer at low temperature for about 20 minutes. – Optionally you can also add 1-2 tablespoons of rum.
Then pour the boiled and thickened juice back over the cherries.
Arrange
Serve
Arrange the freshly caramelized cake pieces with the cherries decoratively and serve.
Bon appetit!
Video
Cousine
Keyword
3. Nutritional Values
4. Cake Base Tips for Christmas Cake
Here’s some great news for you: Preparing the cake base is a breeze!
All you need is speculoos, some butter and salt.
The speculoos are best finely chopped. This works well with a mortar or a food processor that can do this. Add the butter in liquid form and add a pinch of salt.
Pour everything into the greased springform pan and press it flat on the bottom. You are already through 🙂
5. Prepare Filling for Christmas Cake
Now comes the next step in our baking pleasure: The delicious cheesecake filling. So here…
What do we need:
- Cream cheese (please, I do not want to advertise… but only Philadelphia will do)
- Then you need sugar, starch, a good portion of vanilla extract (liquid extract – no powder!), eggs, lemon rub and juice and cream.
- If you like, add a little extra cinnamon to the filling to make the angels sing!
Mix everything finely with a hand mixer. Then it can be poured into the mould to form the base.
6. Baking and Waiting Time
Now we need heavenly patience: Baking in a water bath only works at a low temperature in the oven (approx. 120-140° ‘C’ top/bottom heat). That is why it takes a good 90 minutes.
Afterwards the kitchen cools down and has to be put in the fridge for about 6 hours.
7. Caramelize Christmas Cake
All the time I am looking forward to this part of our baking story: the caramelisation of the cheesecake after baking and cooling down.
Now, once again in order of repetition:
- the Christmas cheesecake is baked
- the Christmas cake cools down
- put the Christmas cake in the fridge for at least 6 hours
- the cake is lightly sprinkled with brown sugar
- the cake is caramelised with a Crème Brûlée burner
8. Tips for Christmas Cherry Garnish
I love this combination of a sweet, creamy cake and a fruity side dish. I find cherries with cinnamon to it fine and Christmassy. Of course my cherries come across a little thickened like a sauce with lots of cherries in it. This is simply rounder and more beautiful in taste.
So beautifully arranged our great Christmas cake becomes an eye-catcher…
9. More Recipe Ideas…
Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers
Below you can write to me directly.
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