Tag: cheesecakes

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Pies · Uncategorized

Baked Apple Pie Cheesecake

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

Years ago when I lived in Corpus Christ, TX, one of my favorite dessert memories was from Luby’s Cafeteria. Sometimes, when we would go, they would have a cinnamon apple topped cheesecake. It was delicious and so different from other cheesecakes. Very creamy and the flavor combination of apple, cinnamon with the cream cheese was just awesome. On the back cover of Nov 2016 Taste of Home I found a recipe that resembled that wonderful memory.

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
2 teas cinnamon, divided
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup old fashioned oats or quick cooking oats
2 tables butter, melted
4 packages (8 oz ea so total 32 oz) softened cream cheese
1 teas vanilla
4 eggs

Cook apples with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teas cinnamon in saucepan until apple slices are tender. cool
Heat oven to 325. Combine graham cracker crumbs, oats, butter, remaining cinnamon and 2 tables of the sugar, press onto bottom of a 9″ springform pan.
Beat cream cheese, vanilla and remaining sugar in medium bowl with mixer until blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each, just until blended.
Spread half the apples over bottom crumb crust to within 1/2″ of edge. Cover the slices with the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate remaining apples until ready to serve.
Bake cheesecake 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 min, or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim. Place in fridge for 4 hours.
Drain remaining apples that you had placed in the refrigerator, just before serving. Arrange apples on top of cake as shown in photo.

Thank you Taste of Home for another trip down memory lane and a great recipe.

Cakes · Chocolate · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Holiday Fare · Uncategorized

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake Cake

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It was so much fun to make up a recipe today for our friends coming over tonight from church. I have always wanted to try this and I figured before my first heart attack or before all the butter and cream cheese went to my head and caused dementia, I needed to do this. Just finished putting the final touches on it and I can’t wait until we cut it tonight. Randy and I have set a new world record this week for us. Do not ask me why, but we have not had dessert in 4 nights. I do not count the Hershey with Almonds bar I ate last night as dessert. and..he doesn’t count scraping out the last of the Blue Bell Pumpkin Spice Ice cream out of the container as dessert. Those are just things that we eat to clean up the freezer and cabinets.
So tonight, we have real dessert. If we like it as much as i think we will, it will certainly go on our dessert buffet table for Christmas. Hum…after I just wrote that last sentence I started to remember all the desserts I have said that about over the years. It might be time to buy a larger buffet table. But here is the recipe for the cake which we will unveil tonight to our study group of 12…if there is any left over, Randy and I will finish it off tomorrow night until we make a real dessert….remember, leftovers do not count as real dessert….yes, I live in an fantasy world!

Duncan Hines Devils Food Chocolate cake mix, made according to directions on box for 2- 9″ round cake layers. (I added 1 teas almond extract to batter)
Bake as directed and cool.

For the cream cheese layer:
1 (9′) round cake pan sprayed with Pam

1 8 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream

Mix all ingredients until well combined. Pour cream cheese mixture into the prepared 9″ pan and bake at 350 until cheesecake is done…about 20-25 minutes or until knife comes out clean in the middle. Cool and then remove from pan onto a piece of waxed paper.

Frosting:

2 sticks (1 cup) softened unsalted butter
3/4 cup cocoa
2 teas vanilla
enough whipping cream or milk to make mixture spreadable (about 1/3 cup, but add by tablespoons until it is of right consistency after doing the 1/3 cup)
5 cups powdered sugar

Melt butter with cocoa. Stir to combine and add powdered sugar and beat until smooth with the milk or whipping cream. Add the vanilla and mix until all is smooth and fluffy.

Place one layer of the chocolate cake on serving platter. Using 2/3 cup of the frosting, frost the top of this layer. Place cream cheese layer on top and frost it with another 1/3 of the frosting. Place 2ned layer of the chocolate cake on top of cheesecake layer. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining frosting.

Decorate with Chocolate Covered Cherries and chocolate chips.

Cakes · Pies · Uncategorized

Pecan Pie Cheesecake

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I have deleted this recipe from the blog. Made if for company, following the instructions to a “T” and the pecan pie filling part was so hard that it was hard to cut or to eat. In the future, I feel it would work better if you made the cheesecake without the pecan pie part, (as not to bake the pecan pie filling) and after the cheesecake comes out of the oven, pour the pecan filling over the top of the baked cheesecake.

 

 

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

German Chocolate Cheesecake

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This is a one-pan dessert that takes one of the best known desserts…cheesecakes, and makes in a simple, quick & great tasting dessert that you can add to any dessert table for the holidays!

Great made the night before for best flavor!

1 box (18 1/2 oz) Duncan Hines German Chocolate cake mix

2/3 cup shredded coconut

2/3 cup butter, softened

3 eggs, divided use

2 packages ( 8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 teas vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

Sour Cream Frosting

2 cups sour cream

1 tables vanilla

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Mix all 3 ingredients together before spreading over the cheesecake

Cheesecake:

Blend the cake mix, coconut, butter and 1 egg. Spread into bottom of an ungreased 9×13 baking pan. (I did lightly spray mine with Pam, just in case).

Beat softened cream cheese with remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth. Spread over the cake mixture in pan and bake at 350 for about 30-35 min, or until middle is almost done, with a slight jiggle. Let cool for about 30 minutes and spread Sour Cream frosting over top of cake. Allow cake to cool further and place in refrigerator at least 8 hours before serving.

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts · Fruit

Neapolitan Cheesecake

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Leave it to Taste of Home to publish a great and different cheesecake. I had never seen a recipe for this and it sounds quite good. Will be the next cheesecake I make. The recipe has won several first place ribbons at fairs and is from a lady who lives in Canada.

1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs

5 tables butter, melted and divided

3 packages ( 8 oz ea) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teas vanilla

5 squares (1 oz ea) semisweet chocolate, divided

2-1/2 (which will be equal to 2 1/2 oz) white baking chocolate, divided

1/3 cup mashed sweetened strawberries

2 teas shortening, divided

Combine crumbs, 3 tables melted butter; press onto the bottom of an ungreased 9″ spring form pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degree  preheated oven for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Add vanilla. Divide into 3 portions, about 1 2/3 cup each.

Melt 2 squares semisweet chocolate; stir into one portion of batter. Melt 2 squares of white chocolate; stir into second portion. Stir strawberries into the 3rd portion. Spread semisweet mixture evenly over crust. Carefully spread with white chocolate batter, then the strawberry mixture on top of that. Place on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated 425 oven for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300. Bake about 50 minutes or until center is nearly set. You want it to jiggle slightly. Remove from the oven; immediately run a knife around the edge. Cool then remove from pan.

Melt remaining semisweet chocolate, remaining butter and 1 teas shortening; cool for 2 minutes. Pour over cake. Melt remaining white chocolate and rest of shortening; drizzle over the chocolate glaze. Cool in fridge at least 4-6 hours.

Serves: 12-14

Cakes · Desserts

Praline Cheesecake

Chocolate Castles1 Comment

Saturday, some dear friends came to visit us from California. I wanted to show them how great Southern Food is, I decided to try to cook and bake things that make the south famous. The past few days, we have had Sister Schubert rolls, SS Sausage Wraps, Swiss Steak, Breakfast Taquitos, Triple Chocolate Cake, Fresh Strawberry Pie and the best yet, the Praline Cheesecake. I thought pralines would show them a side of Texas that they had not had the chance to taste yet. Instead of just making pralines, I decided to go a step further and combine them with cheesecake. The result is just great and set the stage for taking them to our favorite Tex-Mex Restaurant. We ended up inviting several couples over to share the evening with us and so we wouldn’t be tempted to have so much cheesecake left over that would have ended up in another 5 lb weight gain for me. Everyone raved about it and two of the hubbies ended up having 2 pieces and one ask if he could take a piece home. It is so creamy and flavorful and made me realize that when I have a craving for a great cheesecake, I don’t have to go to Cheesecake Factory. I just have to go buy 5 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese and lots of whipping cream. Hum…ok, I admit, that now I understand why cheesecake cost a fortune to buy, but…in my defense, it was just so much fun to make and we did end up with a whole cheesecake, not just one piece.

2 cups crushed shortbread cookies

3 tables butter, melted

4 Pralines, crumbled

5 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 tables flour

2 teas vanilla

4 large eggs, room temp

2 egg yolks, room temp

2/3 cup whipping cream

1 cup sour cream

1 teas lemon juice or grated lemon rind

1 ( 8 oz) container sour cream (this is in addition to the 1 cup, which will be used for topping)

1/4 cup sugar

Garnish: pralines

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto bottom and up sides of a greased 10″ springform pan. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle coarsely crumbled pralines over cooled crust.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with electric mixer until creamy. Ad the 1 3/4 cup sugar, flour, 1 cup of sour cream, vanilla and beat until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Stir in whipping cream and lemon rind or juice. Pour into crust. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Bake at 350 on lower oven rack 10 min. Reduce oven temp to 325 and bake 1 hour and 20 min or until almost set. Cool on a wire rack 1 hour.

Stir together the 8 oz container of sour cream and sugar; spread over cheesecake. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack again. Cover and chill 8 hours. Remove sides of pan. Garnish cheesecake with pralines and whipping cream.

Pralines: *It is best to make these on a less humid day as with any homemade candy, humid days do not give you the results you want.

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup half and half

3 tables butter

1 1/4 cups coarsely chopped pecans

1 teas vanlla

In a non-stick 3 qt saucepan, cook brown sugar and next 3 ingredients over low heat. Stir constantly, until sugars dissolve; stir in pecans. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally 6 to 8 min or until a candy thermometer registers 238 (soft ball stage). Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla; let stand 3 min. Beat with a wooden spoon 3 min or until mixture begins to thicken. Working rapidly, drop by tablespoons onto wax paper. Let stand until firm. Makes about 1 dozen. You can make the pralines a few days ahead and keep them in an air tight container until you need them. If it is a hot day, keep them in fridge. I tended up keeping some of the praline mixture and heated it in the microwave for about 30 sec and poured it over the cheesecake, then as I served each piece, I topped it with whipped cream and placed a praline in the top of the whipped cream.

. 2015-03-08 18.11.41

Cakes · Chocolate · Desserts

Chocolate Fudge Cheesecake

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A Perfect Valentines Day Dessert
A Perfect Valentines Day Dessert

2 (1 oz) squares of unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs (room temp)
1/2 cup flour
1 teas vanilla
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 (8 oz) packages of softened cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1 teas vanilla
Chocolate Glaze
Microwave chocolate sq in glass bowl on high for 1 min and 15 sec, stirring once after about 45 sec. Stir until melted and smooth.
Beat butter and 1 cup of sugar at medium speed with mixer until light and fluffy. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. Add melted chocolate, beating just until blended.
Add flour, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in the 1 teas vanilla and chocolate morsels.
Sprinkle toasted pecans evenly over bottom of a greased and floured 9″ greased and floured spring form pan. Spoon batter over pecans. (You can skip the pecans if you desire and just pour the batter into the pan.)
Beat cream cheese at medium with mixer until smooth, add 3/4 cup sugar, beating just until blended. Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in 1 teas vanilla. Pour cream cheese over brownie batter.
Bake at 325 1 hour or until set. Remove from oven immediately running a knife around edge of pan, releasing sides. Let cool on wire rack. Spread warm Chocolate Glaze over top of cooled cheesecake; cover and chill at least 8 hours. Remove sides of pan before serving.
Garnish with Fresh Strawberries, mint springs or chocolate curls.
(*Taken from Southern Living Desserts)

Desserts

Cranberry Cheesecake With Cranberry Orange Sauce

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What a great time of year, when there is nothing better than sitting inside, watching the cold fronts come in all the while, looking through magazines to find new recipes that just seem like you have to jump up and make them right then. This cheesecake will be sitting on our dessert buffet table this season.

Crust:

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teas salt

1/4 teas baking powder

10 tables cold butter, cut into small pieces

1 large egg yolk

Pam Vegetable Spray

Filling:

1 lb fresh cranberries

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

2 tables cornstarch

3 table orange liqueur (or orange juice concentrate)

2 1/2 table coarsely chopped lemon zest

1/4 teas kosher salt

Cheesecake:

3 ( 8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened to room temp

2 (8 oz) containers mascarpone cheese or sour cream

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teas kosher salt

5 large eggs

2 tables vanilla extract

Parchment paper

Sauce:

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup fresh orange juice

2 teas lemon juice

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350. Pulse first 4 ingredients in a food processor until blended. Gradually add cold butter and pulse after each addition to combine. With processor running, add egg yolk through food chute and process until combined. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9″ spring form pan. Chill 10 minutes. Bake 10-12 min or until golden brown; cool In pan on a wire rack 30 min.

Prepare filling:

Bring cranberries and next 7 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring often 2 min or until cranberry skins begin to split and mixture thickens. Let mixture stand 30 min. Reserve 1/2 cup cranberry mixture for sauce. Spread remaining mixture on to prepared crust. Set aside.

Reduce oven temp to 325. Beat cream cheese and next 3 ingredients at medium-low speed with mixer in a large bowl, just until well blended. Do not over mix. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating at low speed just until yolk disappears after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Pour cream cheese mixture over cranberry mixture in crust. Smooth top of batter to level. Place cheesecake on a parchment -paper lined baking sheet.

Bake at 325 for 1 hr and 10 min or until center of cheesecake jiggles. Turn oven off. Do not open oven door. Let cheesecake sit in closed oven for 30 min.

While sitting in oven for the 30 min, prepare sauce:

Process 1/4 granulated sugar and next 2 ingredients, reserved 1/2 cup cranberry mixture and 1/4 cup water in a blender until smooth. Pour mixture through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl. Discard solids. Cover sauce and chill until ready to use (up to 1 week).

Remove cheesecake from oven and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. Do not remove side of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack about 2 hours. Cover and chill 8 to 12 hours before serving. Serve with chilled sauce over each piece.

Taken from November 2014 Southern Living magazine.

Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

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The pumpkins are out and am excited to find new delish ways to make use of them. I do remember the first year that Peter Pumpkin and I were married, I ask him to take me to the pumpkin patch down at Farmer’s market to pick out the perfect pumpkin that would adorn our porch. When we found it, I was so excited. There in the car seat beside us would be the first pumpkin that we had picked out and bought together. When “she” became (yes, it became a she as I named her Penny pumpkin), should we say a little decayed, ok, rotten, I ask him to bury her in our yard so we would always have  her with us. I do seem to get attached to things. He knew that if he buried her in our yard,  we would have a yard full of pumpkin ivy the next year, so he had just thrown her over the fence, and came in and told me he had taken care of her.  I didn’t bake any pumpkin dishes for a few days, just out of memory of Penny.  He didn’t tell me that until years later when we were in the heat of an argument how he had really “taken care of Penny” when he blurted out the words, “oh, and remember the year you told me to go bury Penny in our yard, well, I didn’t, I just threw her over the fence!” How cruel can a husband be??? So from that point on, I knew that this was not a man I could trust….I don’t let him pack away all my snowmen at Christmas now either, I just can’t take the chance. So, in honor of Penny,  here is a recipe that I found in a 2010 Taste of Home that I am making this weekend.

2 cups finely crushed pecan shortbread cookies (I will use Lorna Dune)

1 tables flour

3 tables butter, melted (as if the cookies don’t have enough in them already)

Filling:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz) solid-packed pumpkin

3 tables flour

1 tables milk

1 teas ground cinnamon

1/4 teas each: ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves

3 eggs, lightly beaten

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, flour and 3 tables melted butter; press into an ungreased 9″ deep-dish pie pan. Bake at 350 for 9-11 min or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, flour, milk and spices. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 40-50 min or until center is almost set. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 min to prevent overbrowning if necessary* (see below).  Refrigerate for at last 4 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream

*an easy way to cover edges is to place the pie plate on a piece of foil that is large enough to lap over the edges when it is brought up around them. I go ahead and do this at the beginning of the baking as it is so much easier to do this before dish is hot, then just remove the foil from the edges, leaving it under the pie, to finish baking about 25-30 min before pie is done.

 

Uncategorized

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

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2014-09-11 15.14.41

Enough healthy foods for the week, let’s get back to basics of life, desserts! This recipe comes from Southern Lady 2013 and since Peter Pumpkin loves crème brulee, this will certainly get him in the mood to go pumpkin shopping. Makes 1 (9″ cheesecake
Crust:
2 cups firmly packed vanilla wafer crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
6 tables butter, melted
1 large egg white, lightly beaten

Filling:
4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups, plus 3/4 cup sugar, divided
6 large egg yolks
2 tables flour
1 cup sour cream
Garnish: sugared fresh raspberries
Preheat oven to 300. In a small bowl, combine wafer crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar, melted butter and egg white.
Stir to combine well. Press firmly on bottom and up sides of a 9″ spring form pan. Bake for 8 min; set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups sugar with mixer at medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, beating just until combined. Stir in sour cream. Spoon batter into prepared crust.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 min. Turn oven off and leave cake in oven with door closed for 4 hours.
Remove cheesecake from oven after 4 hours. Gently run a knife around edge of pan to release sides.
Let cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours. (or overnight).
Evenly sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar on top of cheesecake. Caramelize sugar with kitchen torch until sugar is melted and lightly browned.
Remove sides of pan to serve. Garnish with sugared fresh raspberries.