Foodie Friday -- Three Layer Cheesecake

I don't know about y'all, but I'm pretty darn excited to have this blog written and ready the DAY BEFORE it's scheduled to go up!

Yay, ME!

So I finally revised and rewrote this recipe that I've been promising you since before Thanksgiving--late November, for those of you who aren't American. I've made it twice, and both times it turned out awesome! And when you cut into it, it's very pretty with three distinct layers.

So without further ado . . .

Three-layer Cheesecake

Crust:

1 pkg (9 oz.) chocolate wafer cookies

¼ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted

Layer One:

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar
1 egg
¼ tsp. vanilla
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels, melted
1/3 cup sour cream

Layer Two:

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 Tbls. flour
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ cup chopped pecans

Layer Three:

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
¼ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. almond extract

Glaze:

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

2 Tbls. butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbls. water
½ tsp. vanilla

Chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place and ungreased 9-in springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18-in square). Wrap foil around pan.

Crust:

Place cookies in food processer, process until fine crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter, process until combined. Press onto the bottom and 2-in. up the sides of prepared pan. Set aside.

Layer One:

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, blend well. Stir in chocolate and sour cream. Spoon over crust.

Layer Two:

In same bowl (wiped out), beat cream cheese, brown sugar and flour until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, blend well. Stir in pecans. Spoon carefully over chocolate layer.

Layer Three:

In same bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Stir in sour cream and almond extract. Spoon carefully over pecan layer.

Bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside for 30 minutes. Crack open oven door and leave cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Glaze:

Melt chocolate and butter. Stir in the powdered sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Remove cheesecake from pan and spread warm glaze over top.

Garnish with pecans, if desired.

Tips & Tricks:

·         I set this recipe up differently than the original one because the original one clumped all the ingredients into one list. I found it confusing to have to keep referring back and forth between the instructions and the list.

·         I also totally changed layer three from the original version. I made this recipe twice with the changes and it works quite well.

·         For some reason, it’s difficult to find chocolate wafer cookies in your basic Target or Walmart. I had to go to a local fancy-schmancy grocery store to find them. I was almost to the point of taking Oreos, eating the insides and weighing the cookie parts until I got 9 oz. …come to think of it, it might have been cheaper than buying the wafers at the richy-rich store.

·         When I press the cookie crust into the pan, I use a tall glass to evenly pack and smooth it. It helps that I have straight-sided glassware.

·         The double layer of foil takes the place of the traditional water bath. This helps prevent the cheesecake from overcooking around the edges while the middle remains uncooked.

·         I hate having to wash numerous bowls. The first time I made this recipe, I did use three separate bowls according to the original recipe—what a complete waste of time and utensils! And that doesn’t even count the time spent WASHING three bowls. Use the same darn bowl! Just use a rubber scraper to clean it out before going to the next layer. It’s not like you’re sitting around for hours in-between making the layers.

·         When placing each layer of the cheesecake in the pan, I dolloped small amounts of batter over the surface before I spread them together and leveled it out. Be careful around the crust edge since it is crumbly.

·         Do follow the cooling instructions. It will keep your cheesecake from cracking. But if it does crack, don’t worry about it since you have a nice chocolate ganache to cover it up!

·         I pulled the cheesecake out of the refrigerator when we started serving dinner. This allowed it to warm up for about an hour. If it is too ‘sticky’ on your knife, warm the knife under hot water before cutting . . . er, wipe off the water first, right?

Foodie Friday -- Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

I would first like to tell you that I have NEVER MADE THIS RECIPE.

Earlier this week my nephew asked if I had a chocolate cheesecake recipe. Yes, I do . . . many of them. Just because I've been clipping recipes for almost 40 years doesn't mean that I have had a chance to make all of them. But I could guess that this recipe is a Bon Appetit recipe simply by the style and paper. Sorry, but I never bothered to cut the important stuff like who published it or when it was published. I have never been disappointed by Bon Appetit recipes, sometimes I might call their ads into question, but never their quality control over their recipes.

Let me know if it works for you.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
24 chocolate wafer cookies (from one 9-ounce package)
1 Tbls. sugar
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

Filling:
1 9.7-ounce bar Sharffen Berger 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbls. sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Sharffen Berger
4 large eggs

Topping:
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 ounces Sharffen Berger 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbls sugar

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Blend cookies in processor until finely ground, blend in sugar. Add melted butter and process until well blended. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until just set about 5 minutes. Cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For Filling:
Stir chopped chocolate in metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water; cool chocolate until lukewarm, but still pourable. Blend cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder in processor until smooth. Blend in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lukewarm chocolate. Pour filling over crust; smooth top. Bake until center is just set and appears dry, about 1 hour. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife around sides of cake to loosen. Chill overnight.

For Topping:
Stir cream, 6 ounces of chocolate and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over center of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/2-inch of edge and filling in any cracks. Chill until topping is set, about an hour.
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with foil and keep refrigerated.
Release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Top with chocolate curls. Let stand 2 hours at room temperature before serving.

Hints and suggestions:

• When pressing the crumb crust into the bottom of the springform pan, I use a flat-bottomed drinking glass
• If you can't find the chocolate wafer cookies, you can use Oreos . . . but you have to remove the filling (darn!). Leaving the filling would make for a sweeter crust, but it would be more oily.
• bring eggs for filling to room temperature along with the cream cheese--I've set them out the night before if I plan to make the cheesecake in the morning or before you go to work in the morning if you plan to make it after work.
• I've used unsweetened, or 70% cocoa bittersweet, Hershey's chocolate in these instances before and it works fine, plus it's cheaper. If using unsweetened, you might need to adjust the sugar a little, so taste before you bake.
• Instead of melting chocolate over water, you can microwave it. Do this in SMALL time increments or the chocolate will seize and you'll have a glumpy mess that will have to be thrown away! I would start with 30 seconds and then stir it every 10 seconds afterward. DO NOT WALK AWAY.
• Use high quality cream cheese--Philadelphia brand regular, not low fat or no fat. The other stuff and less fat will make it grainy.

There is nothing healthy about cheesecake and trying to make it 'healthy' just ruins the joy of eating cheesecake. Do Not Make This Mistake.

Later, Peeps!

Lindy's New York Cheesecake

I was trying to find a ‘healthy’ recipe to post, but then I thought, “Pffft!” and decided to go with my strength—desserts. Yes, my friends, I will post my famous New York cheesecake. Okay, I didn’t come up with this recipe, but I’ve made it numerous times over the years.In fact, my old night-shift boss, Richard, PAID me to make this cheesecake for him--and yes, I saw him wolf down 1/3 of this calorie rich dessert. As much of a sweet tooth that I have, I couldn’t have done it myself.

Okay, many people think cheesecakes are hard to make. They aren’t. Simply have everything at room temperature. And FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. This recipe calls for a high baking temperature for a short time, but then the temperature is turned very low to finish the baking process.Other cheesecake recipes call for a water bath, while other recipes require many layers of foil around the outside of the pan. Follow the recipe directions.

Lindy’s Famous NY Cheesecake

CRUST:

1 cup flour

¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. freshly grated lemon peel

½ tsp. vanilla
1 egg yolk
¼ cup soft butter

FILLING:

5 (8 oz.) pkgs cream cheese, room temperature, Philadelphia brand
1 ¾ cups sugar
3 Tbls flour
1 ½ tsp. freshly grated lemon peel
1 ½ tsp. freshly grated orange peel
½ tsp. vanilla
5 eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature
¼ cup heavy cream, room temperature

CRUST: In a small bowl, combine flour, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla. Make a well in the center. Add yolk and butter. Mix with fingertips until dough leaves the side of the bowl. Form into ball. Wrap in waxed paper. Refrigerate 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan. Remove sides. Remove 1/3 of dough from fridge. Roll out directly on bottom of springform pan. Trim dough even with edge. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden, cool. Divide remaining dough into 3 parts on lightly floured surface. Roll each part into strip 2 ½ inch wide. Press strips to side of pan, joining ends of strips to line inside completely. Trim dough so it only comes up ¾ of side. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

Preheat oven to 500 F degrees.

FILLING:In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cheese with sugar, flour, lemon and orange zest, and vanilla. Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat only until mixture is well combined. Add cream, beating until combined. Assemble springform pan. Pour in filling. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven heat to 250 F degrees. Bake 1 hour. Cool in pan on wire rack, then refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

Enjoy!