GATHER JOURNAL

Photograph by Will Anderson Food Styling by Maggie Ruggiero Prop Styling by Theo Vamvounakis
    

Color-Dazed Cheesecake

Desserts from Issue 7 – Summer 2015 – Spectrum

Paint a rainbow in your heart. So beseeched Rainbow Brite, who lived in a magical kingdom at the end of the rainbow with colorful cohorts like Red Butler, Lala Orange, and her faithful equine companion, Starlite. Her quest was to bring color and happiness to people everywhere, and so too will our rainbow-swirled cheesecake; that it requires no oven time only adds to the contentment.

serves 10 to 12



  • 6 oz chocolate wafer cookies (about 30 Nabisco Famous Wafers, or about 1½ cups crushed)
  • 1 cup Fruity Pebbles or other colorful cereal
  • 1 stick (8 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
  • 2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
  • ⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp white chocolate chips
  • ½ cup heavy cream
  • 3 Tbsp corn syrup
  • food colors (candy or water based)

  • 1

    Process cookies in food processor until finely ground. Transfer to a bowl. Process Fruity Pebbles until almost finely ground and stir into cookie crumbs along with butter. Press into the bottom and 1½ inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Chill at least 30 minutes.
  • 2

    Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in condensed milk until evenly combined. Beat in juice and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust and chill at least 3 hours.
  • 3

    Place chocolate chips, cream, and corn syrup in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat about 30 seconds, then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds and stir again. As needed, microwave 10 seconds and repeat, stirring between each heating, just until chocolate is smooth. Do not over-microwave. Chocolate can look firm but should be creamy when stirred.
  • 4

    Take cheesecake out of refrigerator 30 minutes before decorating. Divide the chocolate into 6 microwave-safe cups, about 3 Tbsp each. Add a few drops of color to each; we used yellow, orange, red, green, blue, and purple. Before decorating, briefly microwave colored chocolates, 5 to 10 seconds each. They should be warm and creamy for swirling.
  • 5

    Spoon colors onto cheesecake and quickly swirl or feather with a knife point or toothpick as desired. Chill cheesecake until ready to serve.