Name: Red Wine Cheesecake
Cook time: 90 min
Yield: 1 8-inch cheesecake
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 140g Graham crackers; 60g Butter (room temperature); 452g Cream cheese; 100g Sugar; 2g Kosher salt; 5g Vanilla extract; 130g Heavy cream; 3 eggs; 100g Red wine reduction; 50g Sugar; 200g Red wine reduction; 7g Gelatin (250 bloom)

Description

A sophisticated cheesecake with a deep red wine reduction folded into the filling, topped with a red wine gel. The reduction concentrates the wine’s fruity, tannic flavors and gives the cheesecake a beautiful rosy hue and a complex, grown-up taste.

Special Instructions

Red Wine Reduction (for the filling)

Pour 400g of a fruity red wine (such as a Merlot or Pinot Noir) into a saucepan.
Simmer over medium-low heat until reduced to about 100g (roughly a quarter of its original volume).
Stir in 50g sugar while still warm.
Let the reduction cool completely before folding into the cheesecake filling.

Red Wine Gel Topping

Pour another 400g of red wine into a saucepan.
Simmer until reduced to about 200g.
Let the liquid cool before adding gelatin. Use 3-4% gelatin by weight of the final liquid (~7g for 200g). The first time this was made with less gelatin it was too loose, so err on the higher side.
Stir until dissolved, then pour over the fully set cheesecake.
Refrigerate for several hours (ideally overnight) before cutting and serving.

Recipe

Pan size:

Number of cakes:

1

Makes 1 × 8″ cheesecake

Topping

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Red wine reduction	200g	Reduce 400g red wine down to 200g for topping
Gelatin (250 bloom)	7g	3-4% by weight of final liquid

Filling

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Cream cheese	452g	2 × 8 oz bricks (Philadelphia)
Sugar	100g
Kosher salt	2g
Vanilla extract	5g
Heavy cream	130g
Eggs	3 eggs
Red wine reduction	100g	Reduce 400g red wine down to about 100g
Sugar	50g	Added to the filling reduction

Crust

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Graham crackers	140g	1 bag of Honeymoon graham crackers (~140g)
Butter (room temperature)	60g

Instructions

Make the filling: Let the cream cheese and eggs come to room temperature, then beat the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Mix in sugar, salt, vanilla extract. Add eggs last, mixing just until combined so you don't work extra air into the mixture that will get stuck in the sous vide bag.
Make the crust: Let the butter come to room temperature. Break up graham crackers a bit, then add them with the butter to a food processor and process until fully integrated. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of your pan — make sure it's well packed with no gaps, or the filling will leak through when you pour it.
Cook: Sous vide at 176°F for 90 minutes. Every 30ish minutes, massage the bag to stir the filling (or stir directly if using an open container). Pay attention to the edges and make sure stirring is complete.
Set: Pour into the mold, then add any solid toppings right away or let the cheesecake cool in the fridge for several hours before adding a gell topping. Ideally, make the cheesecake at least a day before serving so it can set properly.