OktoBEERfest Returns to Ferndale

It's a Bavarian themed festival with a Metro Detroit twist. OktoBEERfest returns to Ferndale this weekend, meaning the area from East 9 Mile (located between Woodward Avenue & Leland St.) will be transformed into a weekend long festival celebrating fall BBQ, local and fall inspired food, and live music local business sponsors and beer for the third consecutive year. 

Event Producer Matt Flynn and specialty pastry chef Jessica Gourieux, of Simply Gourmand, stopped by the Fox2 Kitchen to provide a taste of what to expect. Gourieux perpared her German chocolate stout cheesecake. Watch the video above and follow the recipe here. 

German Chocolate Stout Cheesecake

Ingredients

For crust:

  •        8 full sheets graham crackers
  •        3 tablespoons sugar
  •        1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

For cheesecake filling:

  •        8oz bittersweet chocolate
  •        24oz cream cheese, softened
  •        14oz sweetened condensed milk
  •        3 large eggs, at room temperature

For coconut-pecan topping:

  •        ½ cup chopped pecans
  •        ¼ cup sweetened coconut flakes
  •         2 tablespoon brown sugar
  •         2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
  •         1 cup heavy cream
  •         1 cup stout
  •         ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1.     To make the crust, in a food processor, pulse the graham crackers until fine crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter and pulse until combined. Press the mixture evenly onto the bottom and slightly up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch spring form pan. Refrigerate while preparing the filling.

2.     Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

3.     To make the filling, break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a medium heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, heat stout and heavy creamover medium until steaming. Slowly pour over chocolate to melt the chocolate, whisk. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. If desired, reserve a small amount (about 3 tablespoons) of melted chocolate for drizzling.

4.     In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until fluffy on medium speed, about a minute. (Or you can also use electric hand mixer.) Add condensed milk, and continue to beat for about 2 minutes, or until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl once. Stir in melted chocolate, vanilla extract and salt. Beat in the eggs one at a time and mix just until combined on low speed. (Don’t beat the mixture too long and too fast after you add the eggs. Otherwise too much air will incorporate to the batter, which might cause a crack in the cooked cheesecake.) Pour the batter into the prepared crust.

5.     Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake is set, but the center is slightly wobbly. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of the pan to loosen; cool for another hour. Then refrigerate for at least an hour to cool completely.

6.     To make the topping - place the pecans and coconut flakes in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter then whisk in heavy cream, stout and vanilla extract and cook over medium high heat for 5-7 minutes, whisking occasionally. The mixture will be thickened, but still runny. Pour it over the pecans and coconut flakes and mix until well combined. The mixture will be slightly runny. Cool to room temperature, then place it in a fridge to cool completely, until ready to use. At this point, the topping will be thick and spreadable. Spread the evenly on the cooled cheesecake. If reserved, re-melt the reserved chocolate and drizzle over the cheesecake. Store in the fridge, covered, for up to 3 days.