3-Day Cheesecake
Yep, here we are again, another recipe that takes an insane amount of time to make, but this one won’t be inspired by anyone on YouTube. It is, in fact, something that I came up with on my own.
Today, I will be giving myself the task of making a cheesecake that spans across 3 days to make. This cheesecake will feature a crust made with homemade Graham crackers, a creamy filling made with goat’s cheese and homemade cream cheese, and topped with a homemade bourbon-strawberry compote.
100-hour Cheesecake
Serves 8-10
For the Homemade Cream Cheese:
2 quarts (8 cups) of whole milk, not low fat or skim
4-6 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
For the Homemade Graham Cracker:
1 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup of packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons of milk
3 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
For the Crust:
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup of sugar
A pinch of salt
For the Cheesecake Batter:
1 (12 ounce) log of goat’s cheese
12 ounces of sour cream
4 eggs
1 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
For the Bourbon-Strawberry Compote:
1/2 cup of sugar
3/4 cups of water
1/2 cup of bourbon
2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 cups of husked and quartered strawberries
Step 1: Make the Homemade Cream Cheese
(If you saw my 100-hour tiramisu article, then you should be in luck because the process of making cream cheese is almost identical to mascarpone. The main difference is that we’re using milk instead of cream.)
Pour all of the milk into a saucepan then bring to a rolling simmer (185-190 degrees F. A candy/fry thermometer helps, but is not necessary). Do not let the milk come to a boil, otherwise it’ll spill all over your stove and you’ll have to start over.
Add the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons at a time at 1-minute intervals, stirring constantly.
Pretty soon, the milk should start to separate into curds and a yellowish liquid, or whey, if this doesn’t happen after a few minutes then add more lemon juice. Stir in the salt once curdled.
Place a few layers of cheese cloth or a clean kitchen towel into a large strainer over a large bowl, then pour in the hot curdled milk.
(If you squeeze out all of the whey at this point, then you’ll have ricotta, just fyi.)
Cover directly with plastic wrap, then let it sit in the fridge for at least 2 days to strain out as much whey as possible.
(Edit: I definitely should’ve used a bigger pot for this…oh well. The majority of the milk stayed in the pot, so that’s what matters.)
Step 2: Make the Homemade Graham Cracker Dough
(Actually, the recipe I used ended up making double the amount of Graham cracker that I needed, so for your sake, I just split it in half.)
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt until combined.
In the bowl of an electric beater, beat the soft butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for at least 5 minutes, or until the butter is very soft and pale. Add the milk, honey, and vanilla, then beat again to combine evenly. Add the flour mixture, then slowly beat until fully combined.
Dump the dough into a sheet of plastic wrap, shape into a disc, wrap tightly, then chill the dough for at least 1 hour or until the dough is firm. .
Step 3: Bake the Graham Cracker
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Roll the dough into a 1/4 inch thickness, then lay onto the prepared sheet pans. (I know it looks a little rough around the edges, but don’t worry about that. These crackers will be blitzed up into a crust anyway.)
Use a wooden skewer or a fork to prick the dough sheet all over. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the Graham cracker is very firm in the center and the bottom is golden. Let it sit on the counter overnight, doing so will stale the crackers and make them more ideal for a cheesecake crust.
Step 4: Make the Crust
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and take out your homemade cream cheese to let it come up to room temperature 15 minutes.
Break up and dump the Graham cracker into a food processor, then blitz into crumbs, it does not have to be finely ground. You’ll need 2 cups of Graham cracker crumbs for this recipe, any crackers leftover can become your snack.
Combine the crumbs with the melted butter, sugar, and salt, then press the crumb mixture into an even layer along the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform cake pan. Set aside while you make the filling.
Step 5: Make the Filling
Wash the food processor, then dump in the curds from the other day, discarding the whey. Pulse until you get a smooth, silky texture, it’ll take about 5 minutes. You could spread that on a bagel as it is, but we got cheesecake to make.
Dump your newly forged cream cheese and the goat’s cheese into the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat together for about 2 minutes, or until combined. Add the sour cream, then beat until the mixture looks smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula now and then.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating until smooth between addition, then add the sugar and vanilla and beat to combine. Once combined, use a spatula to scrape up the sides of the bowl to ensure everything is combined evenly.
Pour your batter into the prepared crust, place that onto a sheet pan, then pop your cheesecake into the oven for 55-60 minutes, or until set on the edges but still jiggly in the center.
Step 6: Make the Bourbon-Strawberry compote
Pour the sugar, water, bourbon, and vanilla into a saucepan. Add the lemon juice, stir to combine, then bring to a simmer, stirring to ensure the sugar dissolves. Add the strawberries, then cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the strawberries are very soft and the liquid has reduced down to a syrupy texture.
Allow both your cheesecake and compote to chill in the fridge overnight.
Then, finally, slice your cheesecake into wedges and serve with the strawberry compote.
Ok, time for the verdict on whether or not this 72-hour cheesecake was worth making.
First off, the cheesecake itself is phenomenal! It has a incredibly creamy consistency with a bit of a sweet, tangy flavor from the goat’s cheese and the sour cream, the homemade graham cracker crust was nice and sturdy and had a bit of spice to help balance out the richness of the cheesecake, and then that sweet and fruity strawberry compote comes in to tie everything together.
I would certainly make this cheesecake batter recipe again, although I think I might just use store-bought cream cheese as, while it was fun making that from scratch, it doesn’t seem like something I’d be doing again anytime soon. I do think I’ll make my own Graham crackers for the crust again, because that was both fun and delicious.
If you end up making this cheesecake yourself then let me know what you think!
