CHEESECAKE

 

Once again we are singing the praises of Hateno Cheese. Thanks to Koyin bringing her family’s cheese making back to Hateno, the kingdom has been able to enjoy such delicious treats as pizza, cheesy bread, and cheese topped meat dishes. Hateno cheese has also expanded the dessert repertoire of the kingdom as well.

By slightly altering her Hateno Cheese recipe, Koyin can make a softer version of Hateno Cheese that is more suitable for baking. This version of Hateno Cheese can be used to make cheesecake!

“A rich, moist, flavorful dessert with a Hateno Cheese base.”

So to bring this one to life, we are going to use cream cheese… because using Swiss or Gruyere would make for a really interesting, and perhaps off putting, dessert. Also, we will use graham cracker crumbs for the crust. This will be our Tabantha Wheat for this recipe. We will build a crust with these crumbs, along with some butter and sugar. The cake will be pretty traditional in terms of cheesecake, using the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon, sour cream, and eggs. It will be baked and cooled in a water bath to help with maintaining heat and structure. At the end we will match the in-game picture by topping it with a simple ‘wildberry sauce’ of strawberries, sugar, and vanilla.

In the end, this is a pretty basic and straightforward cheesecake recipe, which seems appropriate for a Hyrulean cheesecake. It takes a bit of time to reach the finished product, but it’s definitely worth the time as it’s quite a delicious dessert. The wildberry sauce adds so much flavor to it as well. A slice of this cheesecake for dessert would definitely encourage me to make a weekend trip out to Hateno Village!

Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
6 tbsp confectioners sugar
½ cup butter, melted
Vegetable oil

Cheesecake
32 ounces brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature and cut into cubes
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
3 large eggs
½ tbsp vanilla extract
½ tbsp lemon juice 

Wildberry Sauce
16 oz strawberries, hulled and halved
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mint leaves (optional, for garnish)

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Let’s begin by making the graham cracker crust for the cheesecake. Add the graham cracker crumbs to a bowl and then add in the sugar and the melted butter. Stir together well so that the sugar is incorporated through the crumbs and all of the crumbs are well coated with butter. If you have any large clumps, break them apart with your spatula or spoon. You want the crumb mixture to be as fine as possible.

Line the bottom of your springform pan with a sheet of parchment paper. You can brush a little vegetable oil on the bottom of the pan to help it stick and stay in place. Once the sheet is in place, attach the side rims of the springform pan and lock it into place. This will help secure the parchment. I recommend cutting a roughly 9 inch circle of parchment to better fit the surface, but you can also use a large enough square sheet, lock it into place, and then trimming as needed. 

Brush a little vegetable oil around the inside rim of the springform pan.

Pour the crumb mixture into the center of the 9 inch springform baking pan that you lined with parchment. Use the bottom of a small cylindrical drinking glass to gently press the crumb mixture down to form an even crust along the bottom. As you gently press, make circular motions to move the crumbs toward the sides of the baking pan. Use the sides of the glass to press the crumbs up along the sides of the baking pan and press them in. Work the glass around the pan to evenly press the crumbs against the sides to create an even layer along the bottom. The crust should reach about 2 inches up the sides of the pan all around. Smooth and even out the crust along the sides and bottom as best as you can, and ensure there are no gaps in the seam where the sides and bottom meet. Take your time with this part to ensure you have a nice graham cracker crumb crust.

Place the pan in the oven and allow the crust to bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and allow the pan and crust to cool.

Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a standing mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar to the bowl and beat the cream cheese and sugar together at medium-high speed until they are smooth. This should take about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn the mixer off, add the sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice, and beat for an additional minute, until these ingredients are incorporated into the cream cheese. Lastly, add the eggs one at a time to the cream cheese mixture. Allow each egg to be fully incorporated before adding the next. When all eggs are mixed into the cream cheese, turn off the mixer. Through each step of the mixing process you want to fully incorporate each ingredient while also attempting not to over mix. This will help to create a lighter cheesecake.

We will place the cheesecake in a water bath in order to bake it. This will allow the cheesecake to bake evenly and help prevent cracking as it bakes. Boil enough water to fill a roasting pan with one inch of water. Once the water comes to a boil, remove it from the heat. Wrap your baking pan with aluminum foil to ensure water does not get into the seams of the pan. Place the foil wrapped baking pan into a larger roasting pan. Pour the cream cheese filling into the baking pan and use a spatula to smooth the top evenly, as needed. Carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan so that you have one inch of water bath in the roasting pan.

Place the roasting pan into the preheated oven and allow the cheesecake to bake for 60-70 minutes, until the center of the cheesecake is nearly set.

While the cheesecake is baking, let’s make the wildberry sauce topping. Combine the sliced strawberries, sugar, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium heat, and stir to blend the ingredients together well. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Allow the strawberry mixture to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The strawberries will break down and release their juices. As it simmers and reduces, the mixture will slightly thicken into a syrup.

After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool to room temperature. The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cooled, the sauce can be stored in the refrigerator until use. If you want a less chunky sauce, use a fork to break up some of the larger strawberry chunks after it has chilled.

Once the cheesecake has finished baking, turn the oven off, open the door of the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven in the water bath. Allow it to cool in the water bath for one hour, and then remove the cake pan from the oven and from the water bath. Allow the cheesecake to cool on the counter until it comes to room temperature. Once it has cooled enough, cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil and allow the cheesecake to cool in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 4 hours).

After the cheesecake has chilled, the crust should have fully loosened from the sides of the pan. If it has not, use a knife to gently loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan, and then carefully unlock and remove the ring from the springform pan. The cheesecake is ready to serve! To serve the cheesecake, use a knife to slice it into wedges. Serve a wedge of the cake on a plate and add a little of the wildberry sauce over the top. You can also optionally garnish with mint leaves to match the in-game picture. Enjoy!

Learn more about the Cheesecake dish from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom at Zelda Dungeon.