Anaia's Guava Tamarind Cheesecake

In the Drawn Hungry Dinner Party video, Player Annihilates the Competition, Anaia Castaneda, the founder of Chio absolutely slayed the game by winning the whole thing in just two rounds. In the first round, Anaia presented a Guava-Tamarind Cheesecake that sounded absolutely divine. So, I decided to make that delicious dish a reality for my upcoming "Pitch to Plate Challenge" series on YouTube. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to see exactly how I brought this recipe to life.

This recipe is a twist on the Joy of Cooking's Creamy Water-Bath Cheesecake

Cheesecake:

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 Lb softened cream cheese

1 1/3 cup sugar

4 Large eggs

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla

Finely grated zest 1 lemon

approx 2 Tbsp tamarind paste

Preheat oven to 325*

Cut a piece of parchment paper so it fits the bottom of a 9" springform pan. Place the parchment along the bottom of the pan and coat both the parchment and 1/2" of the sides of the pan with the butter.

Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs on top of the butter to coat it evenly.

Lay out a piece of foil, set your pan on top and cut a piece of foil so you can fold it up along the sides without tearing it.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, pausing to scrape the bowl and ensure an even smoothness.

Add in the sugar and beat for another 1-2 minutes.

Add in the eggs one at a time until just incorporated, and scraping the bowl before adding the next egg.

With your mixer on low, add in the heavy cream, sour cream, vanilla, and lemon zest.

Pour the cream cheese mixture into the springform pan and smooth it so it's level.

Take a toothpick or skewer to dip into your tamarind paste and swirl it into the cheesecake. Make sure the clean the skewer in between each swirl.

Set the pan into a larger baking dish on a pulled out oven rack. In the larger baking dish, pour in enough boiling water to reach half-way up the springform pan.

Bake until the edges of the cheesecake look set but the center jiggles when tapped. About 1 hour.

Turn off the oven and leave the door slightly cracked to let the cake cool gently for 1 hour.

Guava Gelee:

6 ripe pink guavas (washed and sliced into quarters, keep the skin on)

4 cups water

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 cup sugar

2 Tbsp honey

1 pinch saffron

3 packets unflavored gelatin

Boil the guavas in the water for 45 minutes. Once mushy, pour the contents of the pot through a fine sieve into a metal bowl. Use a wooden spoon to push the pulp through the sieve. This will take about 10 minutes. Toss the remaining pulp and seeds in the sieve when done.

Add lemon juice, sugar, honey and saffron to the guava juice in the bowl. Mix until combined. Let cool for 10 minutes.

Once guava mixture is warm, but no longer hot, add in gelatin and mix. This will take 5-10 minutes for gelatin to fully dissolve.

Take your cheesecake that has sat cooling in the oven for an hour out onto a work-surface.

Pour your guava gelee onto the cheesecake.

Wrap the cheesecake with cling-wrap and place into the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight to firm up.

When ready to serve, take your cheesecake out of the fridge and run a butterknife along the edge of the cake to release the gelee from the sides.

Release the sides of the pan and you can either serve directly from the bottom of the pan or slide the cake off onto a serving plate of your choice. Slice and enjoy!