Baked Cheesecake and No-bake Cheesecake are both delicious cream cheese-based desserts, but they are totally different in form, taste and mouthfeel.
Baked Cheesecake, which makes use of eggs, is dense, rich and custard-like in texture, which is the result of it getting baked in the oven for a good amount of time. No-bake Cheesecake, on the other hand, is light, airy and mousse-like in consistency, as it owes its structure and form to gelatin and whipped cream and gets molded and set in the refrigerator.
Everyone’s favorite New York Cheesecake is a baked cheesecake, which is what pastry chefs usually sweat it out when doing some serious baking because it requires long hours not just of baking but of cooling down and chilling.
A No-bake Cheesecake, which most baking hobbyists indulge in, especially when still in the experimental stage, does not use eggs. It relies on gelatin, whipped cream and chilled cream cheese for its form and needs to be chilled in the refrigerator to set.
For his Caramel-Langka Cheesecake, Chef Eugene Raymundo, who is a food stylist and recipe developer for several food manufacturing companies and restaurants in the country, turns to the no-bake type of cheesecake, as he takes advantage of the season’s bountiful harvest of Langka (jackfruit).
He shares how he turns a simple no-bake cheesecake recipe (You can use your favorite chilled or no-bake cheesecake recipe), into a delightful Caramel Langka Cheesecake.
Caramel Langka Cheesecake
Procedure:
1. For the crust, use butter cookie crumbs instead of the usual Graham crackers. Pound it finely. Mix with melted butter until of coarse cornmeal consistency. Use to layer the bottom of round cake pan evenly. Tap down so it forms a solid crust.
2. Caramelize some sugar in a pan over low to medium heat. Allow the sugar to melt on its own and turn bubbly and golden. Then stir.
3. Add butter and cream. Toss in chopped langka. Cook for just a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to let cool.
4. Prepare your favorite chilled or no-bake cheesecake recipe. Fold into the caramelized langka mixture.
5. Pour cheesecake mixture over the crust in the round cake pan.
6. Chill in the refrigerator until fully set.
7. When ready to serve, top with more caramelized langka and chopped toasted cashew nuts if desired. Slice and serve. Enjoy!