Makes 12 Pieces of Cheesecake/1 Cheesecake
I love cheesecake. I love everything about cheesecake. The buttery crust. The creamy center. It's the perfect cake. I don’t think God created anyone who has ever hated cheesecake.
A few weeks ago, we had an auction for a non profit that our church supports. Every year, people bring out their best desserts, full meals, handmade furniture, and everything else you can think of to be auctioned off to support our orphanage in Haiti. We love our kids down there and love having fun while we support them.
Now, let's think. Is it a good idea for me to make a cheesecake for the first time the night before the auction? Definitely not. But, what's life if not a little risky? Here's what I learned:
Ingredients:
Crust:
-2 Tbsp. Cinnamon
-1 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar
-1 1/2 Cups Ground Graham Cracker Crumbs
-1/3 Cup Melted Butter
Filling:
-4 Packages of Softened Cream Cheese (8 oz. each)
-1 1/2 Cup Granulated Sugar
-1/2 Cup Sour Cream
-3 Tbsp. Vanilla
-5 Large Eggs
Topping:
-1/2 Cup Sour Cream
-2 Tbsp. Sugar
-1 Tbsp. Vanilla
Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350.
-Take the ingredients for the crust together in a mixing bowl.
-Press into the bottom and the sides of the springform pan. Freeze the crust until the filling is prepared.
What I learned: The crust is so, so important. If you have any doubts about it, add a little extra of whatever it needs. Sugar, cinnamon, butter, or graham crackers.
- Combine the fillings ingredients except for the eggs. Once well combined, add in the eggs one by one. Beat together using a hand mixer until well combined.
-Put a pan in the oven filled with about an inch of water.
What I learned: By doing this, you are ensuring that your cheesecake cooks thoroughly and properly.
-Take some tinfoil and wrap the base of the springform pan in tinfoil.
Tip: Don't let the tinfoil cover any portion of the top of the springform pan. On the first cheesecake we baked, the tinfoil covered a tiny bit of the top (you know, just to kinda keep it in place) and there was an indentation in the cheesecake in the shape of that foil. Face palm!
-Pour the filling mixture into the frozen crust. Once poured, carefully place the tinfoil-wrapped cheesecake pan in the water-filled pan in the oven. Careful, it splashes!
-Bake for 60 minutes at 350. The top will not be very browned but it will still be cooked through.
What I learned: We made two cheesecakes for this fundraiser; one for the auction and one for us to enjoy. The first cheesecake we made, we cooked it for WAY too long. Over 90 minutes. The top was browned and cracked but I was still not confident that the cake was done. I was looking at it almost as if I was cooking a regular cake. We kept that one because I was afraid that it wouldn't taste good. Well, it tasted amazing and, really, it was fine it just wasn't the prettiest cake on the top. Like I said, this is what I learned from my first cheesecake-making experience so learn from my face palms!
-After removing from the oven, let cool about 30 minutes on a wire rack. Place into the refrigerator once cooled. I left it in there for 8 hours but it wouldn't hurt if you left it in longer. I would not try to work on it for at least 6 hours.
-Whenever you take it out of the refrigerator, make the topping. This topping will hide any cracks or imperfections in the top of the cheesecake and add an extra sweetness to the cheesecake.
-Let it sit in the refrigerator until serving.
-Top with whatever you want (or serve as is) and enjoy!
-Here's my gallery of decorating the cheesecake below! Take a picture of your cheesecake and post it below! I want to know how it turns out!!!
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