Waffled Cheesecake
They say necessity is the mother of invention, but in this case it was impatience and laziness. I wanted cheesecake but didn't want to wait an hour for it to bake in a water bath. And I certainly didn't want to wait another 2 hours for it to chill. There were a few no-bake options that I'd considered for a quick result, but even that wasn't fast enough. There were simply too many barriers between me and delicious cheesecake.
I'm not sure how I arrived at this decision, but I found myself pouring cheesecake batter onto the hot irons of my Belgian waffle maker. It didn't work at first. The recipe was all wrong. The cheesecake stuck to the irons and in the end it was heaped into a delicious mess onto a plate (we ate it of course, because warm cheesecake is irresistible). The formula needed some adjustments to "waffle" correctly. I searched online for help - because surely someone else had tried this - but no! By now the idea for waffled cheesecake had turned into an all-out obsession.
With just a few tweaks - success! I've eaten a lot of waffles in my day, but nothing beats warm waffled cheesecake hot off the press. Nothing. I even made you a little video to show you how easy it is.
(Email subscribers click here for the video.)
The recipe I developed makes exactly four Belgian waffles (in the video I'm only making a half-batch). This will generously serve four people. When the waffle is warm, the cheesecake is puffy and light, but after it is chilled it becomes more dense - just like regular cheesecake!
Stack a few waffle quarters together and you've basically got yourself a slice of cheesecake. All cheesecake accoutrement are welcome to this waffle party: salted caramel sauce and powdered sugar (pictured), strawberries, whipped cream, lemon curd, chocolate syrup - you name it!
My waffle maker is not fancy. This recipe was tested in a standard household Belgian-style waffle maker (this cheapo version,
to be precise). I haven't tried this recipe in a regular waffle iron, but I feel sure it would work. Belgian waffle makers require more batter per waffle, so using a regular waffle maker would require less batter and yield a greater number of waffles.
Two important notes before you commence the waffling:
Waffled Cheesecake
(click for printable version)
Serves 4
Source: Recipe by Heather Baird
This recipe is written for use with a Belgian waffle maker. If you use a regular waffle maker, use the amount of batter recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Adjust to more or less batter as needed.
16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
4 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cake flour (or soft winter wheat flour such as White Lily)
Pinch of salt
Cooking spray
Powdered sugar
Place the cream cheese and eggs in a large bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract; mix again briefly to combine.
Add the sugar, flour and salt. Beat again until combined, about 2 minutes. Let the cheesecake batter rest while your Belgian waffle iron preheats.
Coat the hot waffle irons with cooking spray (I used olive oil spray because it's what I had on hand, but a neutral-tasting oil like canola is an even better choice). Pour 1 cup of batter onto the irons and close the waffle maker lid. Let cook until the mixture stops steaming and the indicator light (or timer) indicates the waffle is done. Open the lid and remove the waffle with a fork. The cheesecake will be tender, so you may have to remove the waffle a quarter at a time.
Top warm waffled cheesecake with powdered sugar and your choice of toppings. I suggest any of these: salted caramel sauce, lemon curd, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fresh strawberries.
Enjoy!
Two important notes before you commence the waffling:
- First, the small addition of flour to the batter was soft winter wheat all-purpose flour (I like White Lily). This addition held the cheesecake together well enough without compromising the cheesecake texture. If you can't find soft winter wheat flour, then use cake flour in its place.
- Second, some waffle irons are prone to over heat the longer they're in use. My last waffle over-browned a bit, so if yours is prone to do this check it a minute or two before the indicator light goes off (or the buzzer times, or whatever your particular model does to indicate your waffle is done).
Waffled Cheesecake
(click for printable version)
Serves 4
Source: Recipe by Heather Baird
This recipe is written for use with a Belgian waffle maker. If you use a regular waffle maker, use the amount of batter recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Adjust to more or less batter as needed.
16 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
4 eggs at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cake flour (or soft winter wheat flour such as White Lily)
Pinch of salt
Cooking spray
Powdered sugar
Place the cream cheese and eggs in a large bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer at medium speed until well combined. Add the lemon juice and vanilla extract; mix again briefly to combine.
Add the sugar, flour and salt. Beat again until combined, about 2 minutes. Let the cheesecake batter rest while your Belgian waffle iron preheats.
Coat the hot waffle irons with cooking spray (I used olive oil spray because it's what I had on hand, but a neutral-tasting oil like canola is an even better choice). Pour 1 cup of batter onto the irons and close the waffle maker lid. Let cook until the mixture stops steaming and the indicator light (or timer) indicates the waffle is done. Open the lid and remove the waffle with a fork. The cheesecake will be tender, so you may have to remove the waffle a quarter at a time.
Top warm waffled cheesecake with powdered sugar and your choice of toppings. I suggest any of these: salted caramel sauce, lemon curd, chocolate syrup, whipped cream, fresh strawberries.
Enjoy!
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