Mexican Cheesecake

I never been a huge fan a cheesecake but this recipe may convert me. It sounds so delicious and with a Mexican hot chocolate it will be heaven.

Rice pudding Mexican cheesecake serves 12

For the crust

• 3 ounces Maria cookies or graham crackers, crushed (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup pecans toasted and coarsely ground
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground mexican cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the filling

•  four 6 inch mexican cinnamon sticks
• 2 vanilla beans
• 4 cups heavy cream
• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup basmati rice
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 envelop plus 1/ 1/8 tsp unflavored gelatin
• 2- 8ounce pkgs of cream cheese, cut into pieces, at room temp
• 2/3 cup sugar
• dulce de leche

Make the crust
With the rack in the center position, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Stir the crushed cookies,pecans,sugar,cinnamon, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the melted butter until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crust mixture into an even layer over the bottom of a 9inch springform pan. Bake until the crust is lightly browned and firm, about 15minutes. Let cool completely.

Make the filling
While the crust cooks, cut a 6 inch square from a double thickness of cheesecloth. crumble the cinnamon sticks onto the square, add the vanilla beans, and tie the cheesecloth into a neat bundle. Put the cream, milk, and rice in a large saucepan. drop in the spice bundle and heat, stirring to a simmer. Add the salt and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 15minutes.
While the rice is cooking, soften the gelatin; pour the water into a small bowl. sprinkle the gelatin over the surface, slowly and evenly to prevent lumps from forming. Whisk with a small fork until the gelatin is softened and the mixture is fluffy.
Stir the sugar into the cooked rice and remove from the heat. Stir in the cream cheese until the cheese is melted and the sugar dissolved. Pour half the rice mixture into a sieve set over a bowl and using a wooden spoon, mash the rice against the sieve to squeeze as much of the liquid from it as possible. Some rice will pass through the sieve too; that is fine. Scrape the mashed rice from the bottom of the sieve into the bowl with the liquid. Transfer  the rice in the sieve to another bowl, and repeat with the remaining rice mixture. Measure out 2 cups of the reserved rice and stir into the liquid; discard the remaining rice. Whisk about 1 cup of the rice mixture into the softened gelatin until the gelatin is dissolved then stir back into the rice mixture until thoroughly blended.
Pour the rice mixture over the cooled crust. Refrigerate the cake until completely chilled and set, at least 4hours, or up to 1 day.

To serve, release the sides of the springform pan-run a knife dipped in warm water between the cake and the sides of the pan to free the cake completely. Cut the cake into wedges, making sure to cut all the way through the crust, and serve, passing the warm dulce de leche to pour over.



 This recipe sounds equally delicious too! Mexican Turtle Cheesecake with Banana Rum Sauce. To die!!

image & recipe via: sweet life bake