Wednesday, September 10, 2008

First Cheesecake

I know, i haven't "blogged" in quite some time!  Not for lack of subject matter, just lack of time.  I never stop baking.  Just ask my family, friends, and co-workers who curse me when I "force" them to eat my treats!

A few MONTHS ago I made my first cheesecake.  It was a co-worker's birthday and he said that cheesecake was his favorite...so...I made a Turtle Cheesecake!

It had a chocolate crust, topped witha layer of melted caramels and pecans and then chocolate cheesecake.  It didn't even crack!  I didn't think it was done because it just wouldn't set up in the oven.  I left it in for like 20 minutes extra!

After it was cooled I added the chocolate ganache and pecans.  It was quite tasty.  The caramel layer was so good because it became a little chewy.  It's a keeper!


The Recipe was found here!

Turtle Cheesecake

Crust:
24-26 Oreo (or store brand) cookies, crushed
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Filling:
30 vanilla caramels
1/4 - 1/3 c. whipping cream

pecans

Cheesecake:
2 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese
2 (8 oz) pkgs neufchatel cheese
1 1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1/2 c. whipping cream
3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted

Ganache:
1/3 - 1/2 c. whipping cream
8 oz chopped chocolate

chopped pecans
caramel sauce (ice cream topping)
whipped cream

Stir together crust ingredients. Press into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Cool.

Heat caramels and whipping cream until caramels are melted and smooth. Pour into cooled crust, making sure you don’t spread it completely to the edge of the pan. Leave 1/4-inch band around the edge. Sprinkle liberally with pecans.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cheeses until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides often; don’t leave any lumps. Add the sugar and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition, scraping the sides and being certain to incorporate any lumps from the bottom of the bowl. Add the whipping cream and melted chocolate and beat until smooth and evenly colored. Pour on top of pecans.

Bake at 325 F for 50 min with a pan of water on the rack below in the oven. Cool completely.

In a small saucepan, heat whipping cream until it simmers. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until completely melted. Spread over cheesecake.

Garnish with chopped pecans, caramel sauce, and whipped cream. Refrigerate overnight or until serving.



5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The turle cheesecake sounds good if you would like to try mine check out the 2nd recipe here http://www.cheesecake-recipes.org/others/turtle.php

Fruit tart said...

I'm glad it worked out for you. It looks great!
Melody ;-)

April said...

Welcome Back!! The cheesecake sounds fantastic!

Anonymous said...

This sounds yummy! I'll have to try it one day. My big question, though is how do you get the cheesecake out of the spring form pan? I can never get my cheesecakes off of the bottom, and every time I make one for someone, I have to ask for the pan back.

Sarah M said...

thanks everyone for commenting! oneshorething, after i let it chill i take off the spring form ring and slide a butter knife between the crust and the pan and it just popped off. the butter in the crust just pops it right off. another thing you can try is to put some parchment paper on the sping form base before you attach the ring. so you end up with parchment just on the base and some hanging out the sides. this way you can just peel off the paper and not worry about the pan.

hope this helps!