Casino Name: Potawatomi Casino Hotel
Recipe Name: Cheese Head
Chef Name: Chef Alana St. Louis
About the Chef:
Chef Alana, a native of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, transformed her career from mechanical drafting to culinary arts by following her passion for baking and pastry. A graduate of The Culinary Academy in San Francisco, she has served as Executive Pastry Chef at prestigious destinations including Walt Disney World’s Epcot, Hilton Waikoloa Hawaii, Turning Stone Casino, and Caneel Bay Resort. Inspired by creativity, travel, and global cuisine, Chef Alana brings decades of experience and artistry to every dish she creates. Now she brings her amazing creativity, taste and experience to Potawatomi Casino Hotel Milwaukee.
Recipe Inspiration:
Cheese Head. It is exactly what you think of when you think of Wisconsin. The Green Bay Packers, one of the best and historic teams in all of sports. Wisconsin and cheese heads, it doesn’t get better than that!
Yield: 1- 9-inch Spring Form Pan – Yields 10 servings
Equipment needed: Mixing bowls
Preheat oven to 240F
- Prepare 9-inch springform pan:
Graham Crust
- 170g graham cracker crumbs
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 7 Tablespoons melted
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and brown sugar into a bowl and stir well.
- Add the melted butter and combine ingredients.
- Transfer mixture into the 9-inch springform pan and press firmly and evenly to the bottom of the pan, and up the sides of pan, set aside.
Cheesecake Filling
- 18 oz Cream cheese
- 33 oz Granulated sugar
- 4 Whole eggs
- 34 oz Sour cream
- 16 oz Heavy cream
- 1 oz Mascarpone cheese
- .31 oz Vanilla extract
- 1 each Lemon zest
- 1 Tbs Cornstarch
- .31 oz Lemon juice
- ½ tsp Salt
Salted Caramel Bourbon Sauce
- 43 oz Granulated sugar
- 6 Unsalted butter
- 43 Heavy whipping cream
- .17 Maldon sea salt
- 2 tbs Bourbon
Cherry Compote
- 3 oz IQF sweet Cherries
- 87 oz Cherry Juice
- 26 oz Water
- .95 oz Light Brown Sugar
- 76 oz Grand Mariner
- .53 oz Vanilla paste
Recipe Instructions:
Cheesecake Filling
- In bowl for stand mixer or large bowl (using hand mixer) add cream and stir until smooth and creamy. (note do not over mix)
- Add sugar, cornstarch and stir until creamy
- Add sour, mascarpone, eggs and heavy cream, vanilla, lemon zest, and juice stir until combined (no lumps)
- Pour the batter (into the spring form pan, to insure against leaks put a piece of foil 14×14 inches under the spring form pan and bring the foil up to the side of the pan.
- Place the pan on to a cookie sheet and place in center of oven Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until edges will likely to have slightly puffed and may have just begun to turn a light golden brown and the center should spring back to the touch but slightly jiggly (if over baked cheesecake will crack)
- Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes on top of oven.
- After 10minutes, use a small paring knife to gently loosen the crust from the inside of the springform pan (this will help prevent cracks as the cheesecake further cools. Allow it to cool for another 1-2 hours at room temperature and then transfer to refrigerator to cool overnight or another 6 hours.
Salted Caramel Bourbon Sauce
- Heat the heavy cream and set aside
- Caramelize the sugar to a dark amber
- Whisk in the butter and salt completely using a hand whisk
- Add the heated cream slowly as you whisk in, remove from heat and lastly add the bourbon
- Strain through a mesh sieve, set aside to cool
Cherry Compote
- Combine all ingredients together in small saucepan and cook low medium heat and reduce by 50% (should be thick by end of cooking, stir occasionally
To plate: Cut cheesecake into 10-piece, place 1 piece onto a dessert plate, add a little compote to the side of cheesecake, drizzle with Bourbon caramel sauce. You can play with plating cheesecake to which configuration you desire. Enjoy!
