S’more Cheesecake

I’ve been meaning to make a S’more cheesecake for some time, but I haven’t been experimenting with them as much as I used to. So when I had a chance to make one as payment to some friends to renting their guestroom for a weekend, I thought I’d take my chance.

The plan was pretty simple.

• Graham cracker crust, unmodified, as I use in a lot of my recipes
• Marshmallow melted into the cake itself, using the candied mixture
• Milk Chocolate cover

Learning to melt marshmallows was the new aspect of this recipe, and it was pretty simple. Use a double boiler, with marshmallows and a few spoonfuls of water or cream. I used half the bag with water, boiled into goo and mixed in with the cake. Once the pans were full I decided to melt the other half, this time using cream, and create a layer of marshmallow, over which I would pour the chocolate.

I did all this in one night, and when I got to the chocolate part, I was tired and ready to go to bed, so I didn’t give the marshmallow enough time to set before I poured on the chocolate. The result:

Started S’more, came out Rocky Road.

The chocolate and the marshmallow toppings mixed, creating some sort of rocky road mixture. Luckily, it still tasted great. I brought in the three mini-cheesecakes to work for my co-workers / test subjects to try out. Some tasted more marshmallow than others, but they all enjoyed the final product. As did the family I made the large cake for. When I left after two nights, less than a quarter of the cake was left. By now, it may be all gone.

I was one of those who did not taste as much marshmallow as I’d have liked. Perhaps in the future I can mix more into the cake, or let the top set. I suppose I could even get some marshmallow flavoring, but honestly, where’s the fun in that.

If you want the actual recipe I used (not including the extra materials added to make three mini-cakes), let me know and I will post it.

Mini-Cheesecake

I’ve been meaning to try out my mini-cheesecake pans for a while.  It wasn’t until this weekend I took my chance.

I offered to make a cheesecake for an gathering at a friend’s house.  Since most of the ingredients come in enough quantities that I don’t use all of them for a single cheesecake, I only needed to get one extra brick of cream cheese to do this.

Given the size differences between the large and small pans, I estimated I would only need 1/3 of the ingredients for all three mini-cheesecake pans.  Or two, if I wanted a thick cake.  I went for three.

I made both the big and small sets side by side.  Except for running out of vanilla, I didn’t run into any issues.

Baking was where I was most worried.  I was pretty sure if I tossed everything in for the 50 minutes the big cake needs, the small ones would be crispy.  So I checked on them at 15 or 10 minutes intervals.  One of the small ones came out at thirty minutes, the other two at forty.  I stuck them in the fridge immediately.

The topping was blueberry, which I made the next night.  I had more than enough for all four cakes.

So how did it turn out?  I don’t want to say great, but it turned out.  Comparable to the big cheesecake.

This opens up a lot of options for me.  Since most of the ingredients are things I usually have around my kitchen, I can make three small cheesecakes for the cost of the cream cheese and any flavoring or toppings I might want.

Secondly, I can make the cheesecakes as a dessert option without the risk of throwing away a bunch of left overs.  I’ve discovered that I start to get bored with a meal after three or four meals in a row (not just dessert, any meal), and this opens up some options for late afternoon snacks.

Third, I can experiment with new cheesecake recipes without the risk of a whole cake being ruined.

Glad I finally got around to this one.  Lots of new possibilities to consider.

Red Velvet Cheesecake

True, this was a December goal, but I had all the ingredients, and who doesn’t like cheesecake regardless of month.

I chose a Red Velvet cheesecake after a coworker (who gets to enjoy all my experiments) asked me to make one.  She loves Red Velvet, so I agreed.  I did not, at the time, really know what Red Velvet was.  Some research indicated it was a light chocolate flavor with red food coloring.

The chocolate was easy enough, with two tablespoons of baking chocolate mixed into the batter.  I added in the red food coloring in an attempt to make it a rich red color: but as I have little experience with coloring food, it turned out looking like a multi-berry smoothie.

Taste?  Well, I like it, but I don’t find it to be distinct from other cheesecake.  I would add more baking chocolate next time, try to bring out that flavor.  That being said, the coworker who requested it did love it, so I’ll chock that one up as a win.

This was the last of the 2015 Cheesecake challenges.  I’ll do more cheesecakes in 2016, but expect more experimentation with other types of food.  For example, I got a tart pan for my birthday.  At some point, there will be tart.

Mmm…tart.

Birthday Cheesecake

Cheesecake, now with pretty, pretty sprinkles.

I enjoy the birthday cake/ cake batter taste.  It’s a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine.  I’ve tried flavored cookies, ice cream, vodka, among others.  So, November being my birth month, I wanted to try to make a Birthday (or Cake Batter) flavored cheesecake.

The biggest issue was finding out what that flavor is.  A lot of recipes I looked at either used Cake Batter flavoring (which I couldn’t find in my grocery store) or used cake mix from a box.  I did not want to use the cake mix because I didn’t know how it would change the consistency or baking time of the case.

A number of recipes indicated the flavor was a mix of vanilla and almond extracts, so I went with that.  The issue then was one of ratio, as vanilla is already used in the cheesecake.  How much almond should I use in relation to vanilla?  I started with a one to one ratio, but after tasting I shifted to about 1.5 almond: 1 vanilla.  Also, I added sprinkles and reduced the amount of sugar by 1/3.  Hoping everything would balance out.

The result?

It doesn’t taste like Birthday Cake or Cake batter, which was disappointing, but it turned out to be an amazing cake anyway.  It has a strong almond taste, but not so overpowering the cake isn’t tasty.  And it looks pretty with the sprinkles.

I’ll have to experiment with the flavors to try and get that birthday balance before I try making the cheesecake again.  But if I can get it right, I expect I’ll be a happy camper.

If anyone reading this has any ideas on how to make that Birthday / Cake Batter taste, please let me know.  Thank you! 🙂

Recipes: Three Cakes in Three Days

It was a busy weekend, with lots of dishes and oven time, enough for three cakes: two new ones and one second attempt.

Salted Caramel Cheesecake (2nd Attempt)

The first attempt was not bad.  In fact, it was good enough that a co-worker bought the ingredients for me to make the cake again.  My only problem with the first attempt was that the caramel covering flowed freely, draining off the top of the cake to make a very messy looking lake on the plate (not to mention re-distributing the salt).

This second attempt, I used the cream cheese frosting from the Cinnabon cheesecake and mixed it with the caramel.  It took a bit of experimentation to get it right (caramel melts differently than chocolate), but the result was a must more solid caramel covering that did not drain off the cake.

At least not that I noticed.  I brought it in to work and it was gone by the end of lunch.

I’m going to remember this cream cheese frosting.  Very useful.

Pre-baked

Apple Coffee Cake

Using the Betty Crocker binder, I decided to try the Apple Coffee cake variation; remove the brown sugar and Cinnamon streusel and add apples sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.  I made a double batch, as shown.

It…doesn’t suck.  The apples turned out well enough, but without the sterusel the rest of the cake doesn’t benefit from much, and tastes just ‘okay.’  If it didn’t crumble so much I’d probably use jam on it.

Next time, I’ll add some flavoring.  Make it taste like something.

Candy Corn Cheesecake

This one wasn’t supposed to taste like candy corn because candy corn doesn’t actually taste like anything.  This was supposed to look like candy corn.  It really was just a chocolate cheesecake base with white chocolate and food coloring, and the chocolate shell replaced with the cream cheese frosting.

The yellow Oreo crust browned when baking, turning it into a rather ugly looking brown.  And the orange wasn’t quite as bright as I hoped.  But it tasted fine, went over well at a Halloween party, and now my coworkers at getting their second slice of cheesecake in a week.

Now if I can get to those sweet potatoes I’ve had on my counter for a week, I’d be able to knock that goal off my list.

Recipe: Cinnabon Cheese Cake

This could actually be a breakfast cheesecake.

That was what I was going for with this goal.  Not that I’m a huge fan of Cinnebon, but I did want to do some kind of breakfast roll type cheesecake.  Someone had recommended it as an possibility some time ago, and it stuck with me.

Again, I tried to meld lessons and ideas from a recipe I found online and the cheese cakes I’m used to making.  I used cinnamon graham crackers, the cinnamon swirl and the cream cheese/powdered sugar frosting.

The crust was easy enough.  I did luck out and make the cinnamon/brown sugar mix (without the butter) before I made the cake, because I discovered I was out of straight cinnamon and had to use my cinnamon-sugar mixture.  As such I reduced the amount of sugar in the rest of the cake to try and balance out.  That swirled in pretty well, though not as uniform as I might like.

The frosting turned out very well.  I will have to remember it for future endeavors. I may even give my Cadbury egg cheese cake another go using this for the yellow frosting.

The cake turned out delicious.  Seriously.  I’m not a huge Cinnebon fan, but this was a very enjoyable cheese cake.   I could see myself eating it for breakfast and for dessert, which is why I’m trying to get as many people as I can to enjoy it as well.

Will definitely make this one again.

Recipe: Salted Caramel Cheesecake

After two months of puzzling out how to do a Goat cheese cheesecake, this recipe was almost ridiculously easy to pull off.  I used my New York Vanilla recipe and replaced the sour cream topping with melted caramel candies (which you can buy specifically for melting) with some sea salt shaken over the top.

If making it was easy, storing it was not.  The caramel did not harden the way chocolate did, so by the time I got to the party where I was to share the cheesecake, the caramel had shifted all over to one side.  Now, adjusting the caramel was not difficult, but the salt did end up unevenly distributed on the cake.  Once pieces were cut, the remaining caramel would flow, leaving the pan with a small lake of salty deliciousness.  As I’ve been cutting bits for other people, I’ve added several spoonfuls from the lake.

I’ve been enjoying the cheesecake challenges so far this year (and so have my friends), but I am going to step up my game for the last months.  The goat cheese one was the only real challenging cake; the rest were simply changing the toppings and/or adding a new ingredient.  Maybe I’ll try a cinnamon swirl, or layers?  I’ll have to look up cheesecake challenges.  Who knows what

If you have an idea or recommendation for a challenging cheesecake, please let me know.  I’d love to know what other people might enjoy.

Recipe: Goat Cheese Jalapeno Cheesecake

Yeah, that’s a thing.

This one did take me two months to complete for two reasons.

One, goat cheese is EXPENSIVE!  A normal cheesecake will cost me about $5 in cream cheese (less if it is on sale).  The same amount of comparable cream cheese was $18.  Since I’m trying to live on a budget, I ran out of money in May, so I put it off a month. [Note: I have been informed that I may have inadvertently found the most expensive place in the Twin Cities to get goat cheese.  Oops.]

Second, trying to find out a recipe on how to do it.  It turns out, most recipes that are goat cheese substitute a third to a half of normal cream cheese for goat cheese.  That’s okay most times, but I was making this cheesecake with a friend of mine who can’t have cow’s milk or cheese.

I spent a lot of time looking at recipes, trying to figure out how this might work.  In the end I just used my normal New York vanilla cheesecake recipe, augmenting for taste (and removing the sour cream topping, which in a jalapeno cheesecake is normally flavored with sriracha or tobacco).

So how did it turn out?

First, it is edible, which is the basic requirement of anything from the kitchen.

The overall taste is not as sweet as a regular cheesecake.  The texture is different, more granular and maybe a little tart.  I did taste tests before I stuck it in the oven, but I guess I’m just that unused to goat cheese.

In addition, I am not a huge fan of the jalapeno cheesecake; as I said, I was making this with a specific friend in mind, and I hope he likes it.  For me, I avoided the jalapeno and tried to stick with the regular sections of the cake.

On the plus side, a friend of mine (not the one I had in mind) did demolish a decent chunk of the cake.   She did like it, and agreed it did taste different.

If I can find a cheaper source of goat cheese, I will definitely experiment more often.  But at least I can continue my streak: I have yet to make an inedible cheesecake.

Recipe: Cadbury Cream Egg Cheesecake

In honor of Easter, my cheesecake goal for April was the Cadbury Cream Egg Cheesecake.

The basic recipe was simple: an Oreo cookie crust, a white chocolate cake filling, a yellow creamy topping, and a chocolate shell covering.  And for fun, I added in some mini-eggs.

The big question for this recipe was how to create the yellow topping.  I wanted to go for something similar to the egg’s filling, but I wasn’t sure how to do that.  A couple of recipes I looked at used colored white chocolate, but that wasn’t what I wanted.  Instead, I went with a frosting of powdered sugar, mixed to be very thick.

The result is a very rich cheesecake.  Larger pieces will be too rich for most people.  It was tasty, but the fact is, it didn’t come out tasting like a Cadbury Cream Egg.  I will have to take some notes about other frosting options for future attempts.  That being said, it was still a good cheesecake.The Cabury

 

Samoa Cheesecake

In the spirit of the Girl Scout cookies that we are all now purchasing and promising not to eat all at once, I decided to make a Samoa cheesecake.

The crust is crush Oreo cookies.  The cake is a standard New York Cheesecake, and the topping is several layers: shaved coconut, melted caramel, and then some chocolate.

The result: While tasty, I think the next time I make it I will do a full sized chocolate shell instead of the stripes.  Or come up with a better way of layering the chocolate.