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.
I love your site.
What a beautiful cheesecake! My family loves cheesecakes and this appears a winner.
The ganache does add a lot of elegance to the cheesecake. Can’t wait to try it. I have your cheesecake class but haven’t had time to watch it yet. I am hoping to watch and try before my daughter comes home for a visit from Hawaii since she loves cheesecake!
Looks amazing. I am new to your newsletter and am glad I found you. I took your kitchen Instagram tour. I love your kitchen! Good luck to everyone.
Oh my, such a wonderful cheesecake. The way Maida gets the bullseye is reminiscent of doing acrylic pouring techniques in painting. Only here you can eat your “yummy creation”. The ganache just makes it more decadent and delightful!
I’m already planning on making this for Mother’s Day. My family will love this.
Cheesecake is actually a pie !
Can’t wait to make this recipe. Thank you for a great give-away
(My second post – after 1/2 hour first one didn’t appear)
Looks fabulous! I love all your beautiful creations.
I have always loved Maida Heatter’s books – I have never made this cheesecake, but that is about to change! So excited to hear of her new book. And inspired! The ganache topping is exquisite!
I can’t wait to make this! Looks amazing!
I have several of her cookbooks and love them. Her instructions are very clear and specific, insuring success.
YUM! Can’t wait to make this cheesecake!
I really need to up my ganache skills. I can make a perfect Sacher cake for my husband’s birthday, but I just cannot nail the ganache. This looks like a good way to practice without dirtying quite as many bowls as a Sachertorte!
Beautiful ! Live your books and videos on bread making and baking. Thank you. Ellen
Cheesecake is one of my favorites, and this recipe is definitely on my to-make list. Thank you for this terrific give-away.
This cheesecake looks great
I agree with your first statement that the cake is delicious without any adornments but there is no such thing as too much chocolate!
What a Gorgeous cake! I would adore this cookbook – thank you for the opportunity and for sharing the recipe.
Lovely!
This looks yummy! I’ve made a chocolate marble cheesecake for years, and this looks just as good.
SO Beautiful. Plus you can’t beat the book title.
Cheesecake! ganache! Maida! Zoë!
All my favs.
Looks great! Where do I enter to win the cookbook? 🙂
Hi Amy,
You are all set and entered!
Thanks, Zoë
Thank you!
Kudos to Ms Heatter for being the ‘Queen of Cakes’ and gracing our dessert lives for so long! I am a decades-long fan of hers and also have been following you Zoe for years! What better accoutrement for the fabulous Cheesecake than a robe of chocolate!! Thank you Thank you!!