Hollywood Cheesecake

I love this cheesecake recipe.  The hint of lemon makes it taste so fresh and the thin top sour cream layer is so creamy.  I topped mine with whipped cream and drizzled some of the homemade hot fudge I made for a previous recipe and it was amazing.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 Cup Graham Cracker Crumbs
3 Tbsp Sugar
3 Tbsp butter (melted)

Cheesecake:
2 8 oz packages Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Lemon Peel (grated)
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs Separated

Top Layer:
1 Cup Sour Cream
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Almond

Directions:
Crust:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine crumbs, sugar and butter.  Press onto the bottom of 9" springform pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Cheesecake:
Combine cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla.  Mix at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended.  Add eggs yolks, one at a time mixing well after each addition.  Beat egg whites until stiff and then add to the cream cheese mixture.  Mix well and pour over the crust.  Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes.

Top Layer:
Combine sour cream, sugar and almond.  Carefully spread over cheesecake.  Continue baking for another 10 minutes.   Let cool for at least 20 minutes and loosen cake from the rim of the pan.  Chill.  Garnish with whipped topping or fruit of choice. 

Combine crust ingredients

Press into the bottom of springform pan

Add cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla to blender

Mix together and add egg yolks

Mix one at a time

Add in egg whites

Finish mixing

Remove crust from the oven

Pour cheesecake over the crust

Remove from the oven

Combine top layer ingredients

Mix thoroughly

Gently spread over the cheesecake

Cook 10 minutes and remove from oven

Serve & Enjoy!

In case you are interested in my homemade hot fudge recipe you can find it here:

Mint Fudge Brownie Parfait 

Fudge Mint Brownies: St Patrick's Day Recipe # 3

When I first came across this recipe it sounded delicious!  However, the recipe was geared for parfaits in jars.  Once I started looking at the recipe it wanted me to make 24 jars of the stuff.  I was able to come up with about 10 people I could hand it out to (mostly coworkers) which still left me with 14 jars.  I can eat but that is a little overzealous, even for me.  So I decided to just make it in the pan as one big brownie parfait, and it turned out splendidly.  I did have some extra hot fudge and some extra mint filling, but we just pile it on the brownies and have also used it as some delicious ice cream topping, so no complaints here.  Enjoy and may your journey always lead you forward in happiness and good health!

Ingredients:

Brownie Batter
1 Box Brownie Mix (I used Duncan Hines Double Fudge Brownie Mix but use what you like)
2 Eggs (for the cake style)
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil

Hot Fudge Sauce:
1 Cup Butter
1/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 Cups White Sugar
1 (12 Oz) Can Evaporated Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
*If all else fails you can just use a jar of hot fudge sauce 

Mint Filling:
1 pkg (8 oz) Cream Cheese (softened)
1/2 Can (14 oz) Sweetened Condensed Milk
8 oz container Cool Whip (thawed)
1 tsp Mint Extract
green food coloring

a dozen or so Oreos (crushed) for the topping

Directions:

Brownie Batter:
Following the directions on the back of the Brownie Mix box, mix all of the ingredients together.  Pour it into a greased 9x9 pan.  Cook according to the box's instructions.   Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Hot Fudge Sauce
Combine butter, cocoa, sugar and evaporated milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Carefully pour hot mixture into a blender and blend for 2 to 4 minutes. Pour a generous amount over the cooled brownies.  Place the dessert into the fridge to cool completely before adding the mint topping.  Store any remaining hot fudge in the fridge for later use.

Mint Filling
Mix together the cream cheese and condensed milk until smooth.  Gently fold in the Cool Whip.  Mix int he mint extract and the green food coloring until the desired shade of green is achieved.  Carefully spoon the mint topping over the top of the hot fudge sauce and just to the top of the pan.  

Topping:
Crush the oreos and sprinkle on top of the mint filling.  Serve & Enjoy!
 

Mix the ingredients together for the brownie batter

My sous chef helped me out with this step :)

Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake in the oven

Remove from the oven and allow to cool

Place the hot fudge ingredients into a sauce pan and bring to a boil

Boil for 7 minutes

Pour into a blender and bled for 3-4 minutes

Ready to be used immediately after blending

Pour the hot fudge sauce on top of the brownie batter and chill

Add the cream cheese and the condensed milk to a mixing bowl

Mix together

Gently fold in the cool whip

Mix in the mint extract and the food coloring

Carefully add the mint filling on top of the hot fudge layer

Should be right to the top of the pan

Generously sprinkle the oreo crumbs on top of the mint filling, Serve & Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes!

I know that this deviates from the norm of me cooking from scratch and that we just made these from a box, but it was still fun for Liam and I and very delicious and worth the photos!  Just wanted to share the fun that we had following someone else's directions for once!  I definitely recommend it though very delicious and lots of fun and a wee bit messy!  It is really hard to get out, so I recommend an apron or not wearing a white shirt like I was haha. 

Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

A delicious way to celebrate the holidays :)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 Tbsp Sugar

5 Tbsp Butter (Melted)

1/2 tsp Almond Extract

Filling:

3 packages cream cheese

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs

3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

pinch ground nutmeg

Directions:

Crust:

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine. Press onto bottom of springform pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:

Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 2 cups of batter and spread onto bottom of crust.  Cook for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.  Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon and cloves to the remaining batter and mix until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.  Enjoy!

Spread crust into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes

Add cream cheese and sugar and mix thoroughly

Add eggs one at a time and the vanilla

Pour 2 cups of batter into the pan and cook for 10 minutes

Add remaining ingredients and blend with remaining batter

Pour remaining batter into the pan and cook

Remove from oven and let cool for 3 hours or overnight

Black Forest Cheesecake Recipe

Here is my Thanksgiving Black Forest Cheesecake Recipe and pics of baking with Liam :)  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 Cup Chocolate Wafer Crumbs

5 Tbsp Butter (softneed)

1 tsp Vanilla extract

2 Tbsp Sugar

Filling:

2 8-oz packages Cream Cheese (softened)

2/3 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

6 oz Semi-sweet Chocolate Pieces (melted)

1 tsp almond extract

To Top:

21 oz Can Cherry Pie Filling

Whipped Topping

Directions:

Crust:

Combine all ingredients and mix, press into the bottom of 9-inch springform pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven.

Filling:

Combine Cream Cheese and sugar, mixing at medium speed until well blended.  Add eggs one at a time mixing well after each egg.  Blend in the chocolate and almond extract.  Pour filling over the crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  Loosen cake from rib of pan, cool and chill.  

Top:

Top cheesecake with pie filling and whipped topping just before serving. 

 

Crumbling the wafers

Combine all ingredients and mix

Press into pan

My sous chef helping

Combine cream cheese & sugar

Mixing ingredients

Remove the crust from the oven

Add the chocolate and almond extract

Tasting the mix

Pour the filling over the crust

Yummy

Remove from oven and chill

Add the cherry pie filling

Serve with whipped topping