The Saffron Challenge #1

I've been around saffron quite a bit these days and realized that not a lot of people use it in desserts or maybe i just haven't came across them. So I am giving myself a little challenge until the end of this month - come up with 6 desserts using saffron. (Though I just realized while typing this that I only have until next Monday as I will be going on a short trip until April 1st). emmmm ...

Saffron is the world's most highly priced spice. Totally in a league of its own, saffron has a very unique aroma and taste. Just a couple of these thin golden strands will give any dish a deep and vibrant orangey-yellow colour. Is an amazing spice and I love it.

Okay, so back to desserts ... guess there isn't any rule in this challenge. As long as I use saffron in my dessert recipes, it counts. :) I am sure there are plenty of good flavour combos out there.

Creamy, velvety, smooth and heavenly ... some words that you usually associate with cheesecakes. My first saffron dessert is going to be ....



Saffron & Almond Cheesecake

Why, you ask, cheesecake? Well, because I have a pack of cream cheese in the fridge and I need to use it up. Not rocket science.

And why almonds? Is it a great combination with saffron? I am not too sure ... again, I am using almonds because I have 2 packets of grounded almonds in my pantry. Though I am sure it will taste pretty ok since quite a few savory Spanish dishes use almonds and saffron together (I think) ...

Since this is an experiment, I am scaling my recipe to make a small cheesecake.  You can bake them in muffin tins and make individual ones.

Recipe

The Crust:
100g grounded almonds
100g digestive biscuits, bashed in plastic bags into crumbs
20g sugar
40ml melted unsalted butter
pinch of salt

The Filling:
2 eggs at room temperature
1/3C / 80g sugar
a pinch of saffron threads
250g /1 pack cream cheese, softened
2ml almond extract
2ml vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325F.
2. Mix together ingredients for the crust and press into the bottom of springform pan or lined muffin tins.

3. With electric mixer, beat eggs until pale yellow. Beat in sugar, cream cheese, saffron and extracts until smooth.

4. Pour over crumb mixture and bake for 45mins to an hour.
5. Let cool for 15mins before unmolding from springform pan.

6. Chill in fridge for an hour before cutting*

*I could never wait that long. So I usually just cut and eat right away. Though obviously a chilled cheesecake is much better.

Verdict: The saffron gives the cheesecake a je ne sais quoi ... just like how nutmeg does to other dessert. There is something familiar about the taste, but if I didn't tell you, you probably wouldn't have guessed what the ingredient was. The flavour combo was not bad. The saffron and almond complemented each other well. 

Improvement: I would try using powdered saffron next time so it dissolves into the cream cheese mixture and will hopefully give it a bit more 'umph'. Or I can soak the strands in some sort of liquid to fully get the aroma and taste. And I love how these tiny strands leach out their orangey colour into any dish. So I believe soaking the strands will totally help. I think another option is to use a mortar and pestle and grind the strands with the sugar before beating into the eggs. 

Overall a creamy and luscious success. Though I was hoping that the saffron would shine through a little more. But I am not complaining, I get to have cheesecake for dinner tonight.

Would love comments and suggestions on how to make this a better cheesecake and also for my next saffron dessert.