Location: California Grill – Disney’s Contemporary Resort – Walt Disney World Resort

Source: Kitchen Magic with Mickey Cookbook

Hi happy bakers,

So how was your mother’s day? I hope it was fantastic and filled with pixie dust… I had to say it. It’s a Disney blog.

My family had planned to meet up and have brunch. My father, who has a serious heart condition, ended up in the hospital with an infection. This would not be the first holiday our family spent in a hospital room so we just adjusted our plans. That’s something you get used to when a family member has a medical condition. Our family jokes that if we make some sort of plan someone will end up in the emergency room. It’s not funny but we laugh about it to lighten the situation.

Things actually worked out better this time. My father was given a brief “hall pass” between medication doses. He was allowed to leave the hospital for three hours. Since his hospital stays range from 3 weeks to 4 months on average, we jumped at the opportunity. We quickly made brunch reservations at the local Hilton hotel. Our Hilton happens to be connected to a Casino so he was extra excited. That man plays the minimum bet and can sit there for hours playing his quarters. I’m more of a max bet and lose my money instantly kind of lady.

Brunch went fantastic and he was so happy to leave the hospital for a few hours. I’m sure some people must have thought he escaped because of all the IVs and cords attached to him. We had requested a table outside of the normal ballroom where everyone was, and the hotel was very accommodating to his special situation. I love that man. With that being said, this is about my mother.

My mother has been baking for as long as I can remember. It’s probably where I fell in love with it. I wanted to make her something super special. I knew she would be sad when she got home and I wanted to try and cheer her up a little bit. I couldn’t decide what to make that would achieve that goal.

I opened up our webpage like I normally do and headed to the cake section. Sometimes people think we just want others to make our recipes but we use them all the time. These are things that we love to make. It’s impossible to make everything before putting it up. That why we like using official recipes. So we know even if we haven’t made it yet, at least the Disney Chefs have tried it.

I wanted to make something fancy. Not just a standard cake, but something that makes people say WOW. When my eyes landed on Lemon Meringue Cheesecake I knew that was what I was looking for. When I opened up the recipe I saw a million steps, I hesitate for a bit but I knew it has everything she loved so I had to make it.

I’m not going to lie. This thing took a long time to make; about 8 hours. That’s really just because the parts need to sit in the freezer for hours. The lemon mascarpone cheesecake alone needs to freeze for at least 6 hours. Sometimes you have to make the long desserts because there is such a sense of accomplishment after you make it. It’s like running a long race. Is the training always fun? No. But, when you finish the race or recipe, you are left with an awesome feeling.

The cake is really three separate recipes and assembly at the end. Also, I should note this only makes 6 servings. It’s not a great dessert for a huge party. Not unless you want to triple the recipe. Even then you will only have enough for 18 servings.

Let’s make some cake!

Ingredients Lemon Mascarpone Cheesecake:

• ¼ cup plus 3 tbsps granulated sugar substitute, divided

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• 4 large egg yolks (reserve whites)

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter

• 2 ½ tsp powdered gelatin

• 2 tbsp cold water

• ½ cup mascarpone cheese

• ½ cup sour cream

• ¾ cup heavy whipping cream

Ingredients Citrus Shortbread Crust:

• ½ cup unsalted butter softened

• 2 tbsp granulated sugar substitute

• 1 large egg yolk (reserve white)

• 2 tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 ¼ cups gluten-free flour

• Zest of ½ lemon

• Zest of ½ orange

Ingredients Meringue Clouds:

• 5 eggs whites (use reserved whites)

• ¼ cup granulated sugar substitute

• 1 tsp cream of tartar

(Cathead for scale)

Instructions lemon mascarpone cheesecake:

1. While stirring constantly In a double boiler, combine ¼ cup sugar substitute, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Cook over medium heat. The mixture will become thick. It should take about 5-7 minutes. Remove it from the heat. Whisk in the butter. Cover the bowl, and place in the refrigerator.

2. Grease a 9 x 50inch loaf pan. Line with plastic wrap. Let plastic wrap hang over the edges too. Try to smooth out as many wrinkles you can.

3. In a small bowl, combine the gelatin and water. Set the bowl aside.

4. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the mascarpone, sour cream, and the remaining of 3 tbsps of sugar substitute. Mix until smooth. Make sure to scrape down the bowl every few minutes.

5. Add the cooled lemon curd to the mixer. Mix well.

6. In a large bowl, whip the heavy cream into soft picks.

7. Place the gelatin-water mixture in the microwave for 15- 30 seconds. Cook until dissolved. I did not do this long enough. I thought it had melted but in the end, I found small chewy chunks. Make sure it’s all melted. Stir in a tbsp. of whipped cream. Stir the mixture into the mascarpone mixture.

8. Fold the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture.

9. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan. Tightly cover the loaf pan with the plastic wrap making sure the plastic wrap touches the top of the mixture

10. Freeze for a minimum of 6 hours.

 

Ingredients Citrus shortbread cookie:

1. In a stand mixer, combine the sugar substitute and butter. Beat until it becomes smooth.

2. Add in the egg yolk. Mix until well combined. Scrap down the bowl and mix for another 30 seconds.

3. Into to the mixer, add baking powder, salt, flour and lemon, and orange zest. Mix until the dough come together.

4. Make a ½-inch-thick rectangle and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

5. Preheat your oven to 350F.

6. Place parchment on a baking sheet.

7. Cut the citrus shortbread dough into 6 rectangles. The rectangles should be 1 ½ – x 5 –inch.

8. Place them on the baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. They will become light golden brown. Set aside.

Instructions for Meringue Clouds:

1. Preheat the oven to 200F.

2. Place a parchment paper on a baking sheet.

3. In a stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whisk together the egg whites, sugar substitute and cream of tartar. Beat until stiff but not dry.

4. Drop teaspoon size drops of meringue onto the baking sheet.

5. Bake for 1 hour. Bake until set and firm.

6. Using a small kitchen torch, run the flame over the meringues to lightly brown the edges.

How to serve:

1. Remove the cheesecake pan from the freezer. To get the cheesecake out of the pan, lightly dip the pan in hot water. You want to do it quickly. Pull on the plastic wrap to remove the cheesecake. Throw out the plastic wrap.

2. Cut the cheesecake into 6 (1 ½-x 5inch) rectangles. It’s easier if you dip your knife in hot water before cutting.

3. Place a shortbread cookie on a plate, place a piece of cheesecake on top of the cookie and top with 3 meringue clouds.

Let us know how they turned out. We would love to see the photos and/or hear how it went. It looks so fancy at the end. I promise you will love it.

Plus it tastes great!

Happy baking friends!