The title of Maida Heatter’s new book sums up why I love my job, Happiness is Baking. When I am sad, I bake! When I am celebrating, I bake! No matter where my mood starts out, I’m always carried to a place of joy as I make my way through a recipe.
Maida Heatter has lead me on so many journeys in the kitchen that they are literally countless. I have nearly all of her books and was so thrilled to find out that at the happy age of 102, she has a new one for all of us bakers to enjoy.
I went to a classic recipe, the Maida Heatter Bull’s Eye Cheesecake, because it is so striking and delicious. I believe she developed this recipe for one of her first books in 1974. The recipe stands alone and needs nothing but a plate and fork, but sometimes I just can’t leave well enough alone and I draped the whole thing in a glossy ganache.
You can watch me make the Maida Heatter Bull’s Eye Cheesecake and pour the ganache over the top for a perfectly smooth finish in my instagram videos. Maida Heatter and her publisher have graciously allowed me to share the recipe, which is below.
You can also find my Show Stopping Cheesecake Class on Craftsy, where I show this technique and all kinds of other simple and fancy cheesecakes. Check out my essential cheesecake making equipment in my Amazon shop.
Thank you to Maida Heatter for graciously sharing her wisdom and this recipe. Thank you to her publisher Little, Brown and Company for sending the book!
Ingredients
Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust (Zoë's Recipe)
- 9 (140g) full sized graham crackers
- 4 tbsp (57g) unsalted butter melted
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
Cheesecake Batter (All Ingredients Should be at Room Temperature)
- 2 lbs (907g) cream cheese*
- 1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs
- 2/3 cup (150g) sugar for the white striped batter
- 2/3 cup (150g) brown sugar for the chocolate striped batter
- 1 tsp instant espresso or coffee powder
- 2 tsp dark cocoa powder I used 1 tablespoon for a more intense color and flavor
Zoë's Ganache (Optional)
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tbsp brewed espresso or 2 tsp espresso powder
- 1 lb (454g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate finely chopped
- ~1/4 cup (57g) solid coconut oil
Instructions
Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 x 3-Inch Cake Pan with butter and line the bottom with parchment. (This pan is NOT a springform, which may leak when baking in a water bath. I will show you how to get the cake out of the pan in my instagram video.)
Crust
- In a Food Processor, pulverize the graham crackers until they are powdered. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until the mixture is coated evenly with the butter. Firmly press the crust in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until it looks dry. Allow to cool as you prepare the batter.
Cheescake Batter
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth with the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, on medium-low speed. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla and almond extracts and salt. Scrape the bowl often and make sure the mixture is smooth before continuing. Add the eggs, one at a time.
- Divide the batter into two bowls. Add the granulated sugar to one bowl, mix well until sugar is dissolved. Add the brown sugar, espresso and cocoa powder to the second bowl and mix well until sugar is dissolved.
Layer the Batters
- Pour 3/4 cup of the cocoa batter onto the center of the cooled crust. Pour 3/4 cup of the white batter into the center of the cocoa batter in the pan. Pour 3/4 of the cocoa batter into the center of the white batter in the pan. Repeat this process until you've used all the batter, going back and forth with the two colors. The batter will spread and some of the stripes will be submerged, but you will end up with a bull's eye pattern on top and striped when it is cut. You can watch me make this in my Craftsy Cheesecake Class.
- Place the cheesecake in a water bath, tent and vent with foil. Bake for about 90 minutes or until the top is set and slightly puffed up. Remove from the oven, run a knife around the cake and allow to cool in the water bath, so it cools slowly. See this process in my Craftsy Cheesecake Class.
- Remove from pan by waving the pan over the open flame or hot coils of your stove, run the knife around the edge again and invert the cake on to a plastic covered flat disk (cardboard round or the false bottom of a tart pan work well). Invert the cake onto an 8-Inch Cardboard Cake Circle that fits the bottom exactly. If you are not covering in ganache, you can invert directly onto the serving plate. Refrigerate until ready to cover in ganache.
Ganache
- Heat the cream and espresso until simmering, turn off heat. Add the chopped chocolate and coconut oil, swirl until the chocolate is submerged in the hot cream, allow to sit for 3 minutes. Gently whisk until smooth. Allow to cool until thick and just about room temperature.
- Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack, over a parchment lined baking sheet and pour the ganache over the cake. See my instagram or Craftsy class for instructions on how to pour it into a perfectly smooth sheet.
- Allow to sit several minutes before moving, then refrigerate the cheesecake still on the rack. Run a knife or spatula under the cake and move to a serving plate. Keep refrigerated until ready to cut and serve.
Your anecdote in the beginning of this post was such a reminder to me about why I love to be creative in the kitchen!
Also harkened a scene from the movie Waitress to mind, when Keri Russell is baking a bunch of pies and they all flash by as she’s telling us why she bakes and her unique names for the creations, it’s a film that makes me cry. And that’s such a beautiful book, the cake is a looker too! How amazing to still be writing and baking, doing all the things that bring her joy at 103 years young??!! Incredible. Thank you for sharing your talents and passion with us (the sometimes faceless void that feels like the interwebs). And, it’s funny, my salty Gramma Iris ALWAYS says let’s eat dessert first!!!
Beautiful!
Wow! This looks incredible. I love the zebra stripe effect inside.
love the bullseye, and the ganache is inspired touch!
It’s a thing of beauty!
This is amazing! I hope to try more of her recipes!!
This cake looks like a dream!
wow!!! That is just art!!! That cheesecake is just one of a kind.
You always make it look so easy, Zoe! I’ve loved Maida Heatter and her recipes for decades. Those Gingerful Biscotti!
I don’t see a link to her new cookbook? Am I missing it? Are these all new recipes except the cheesecake you show from 1974? I have all her books, but I don’t want to buy a book of the same that I already have. It’s hard to believe, (I do love her), that she is still developing new recipes at over 102!
Showstopper!! Definitely making this cheesecake soon. Thank you for sharing.
So beautiful! I bet it tastes as good as it looks.
What a fun and delicious surprise when you cut into the glossy exterior!!
This looks so good! I can’t wait to make it!
Looks decadent! Great webpage ♥️
I love the ganache panache!
Love this! This may become my second MH fav (my first is her Irish Whiskey Chocolate Cake).
I mentioned her name to my mom this morning and lo and behold she conjured up three cookbooks that I could have! I can’t wait to get started on trying out some of her recipes.
This books beautiful!! And I love the changes you made with the graham cracker & ganache! Mmm
This looks delicious and so fun! I agree with the ganache since I’m a chocoholic 🙂
It looks soo good!! ❤️
I’d love a book to bake Maida Heatter’s recipes with my daughter. Appreciate your blog and IG!
Cheesecake is definitely my Achilles Heel!
I’ve never tried brown sugar in cheesecake but I can see how it would enhance the flavor of the chocolate swirl. I will have to try this recipe for sure.
Thanks for this chance.
This looks amazing and is definitely a showstopper dessert!
This cheesecake is so beautiful, you never cease to amaze me!