rich acorn squash layered souffle-cheesecake

rich acorn squash layered souffle-cheesecake, originally uploaded by aarn! +15th November, 2010+.

came up with this one over the summer. it's a cream and cheese based batter, gently folded into stiff-peaked egg whites...so a combination of a cheesecake and a souffle. avoided using cream cheese also, because really, who knows what that is? the version of this from over the summer had fresh blueberries instead of the squash filling. fall provisions called for a more seasonal iteration, and it turned out really great.

cut the yolk from one egg, the seed from 1/4 of a vanilla bean, 2T. heavy cream, 1t. salt, 8T. butter (probably would have been fine with 4T., 8T. was overkill) and 3/4c. granulated sugar into 1c. of all-purpose flour, until the fat/liquid were broken up pretty small (a food processor would have worked also, pulsed a few times). lightly mixed the ingredients, then poured into a 9-in springform pan and packed by hand into the bottom. threw the springform with the dough into a 350-degree oven until lightly browned on top, about 15-minutes.

roasted an acorn squash by cutting it in half, removing the seeds, and placing it cut side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. pulled and let cool when a cake tester could easily pass through the flesh of the squash. scooped the insides of the squash into a mixing bowl. added 1/8c. granulated sugar, 1T. heavy cream, 1 egg, and 1/2t. salt to the squash and mixed until smooth. poured this filling into the still-hot springform pan, lined with the already cooked crust, and returned to the oven for about 7-minutes, until the thin layer of squash had set. pulled the springform, let cool and then placed into the freezer until ready to put in the oven again.

mixed together 7-oz of heavy cream, the seed from 1/2 of a stick of vanilla, 1/4c. sugar, a pinch of salt, 7-oz whole milk ricotta cheese, 4-oz creme fraiche, and 1/4c. all-purpose flour. whipped the whites from four eggs with 1/8t. of cream of tartar until stiff peaks. lightly folded the whites into the cheese batter mixture, making sure to not destroy the bubbles. gently transferred the souffle mixture to the chilled springform pan and immediately placed into the 350-degree oven. baked for about 45-minutes, moving from the top rack down to a rack closer to the bottom based on the browning of the souffle top. the cake is done when there is no longer a jiggle of liquid under the souffle crust. it should have about one and a half times the height and be cooked throughout.