Brielle's Avalon

Once upon a time I decided to try making cheesecake. I loved cheesecake but it was expensive and not sold everywhere. I looked up several recipes in my cookbooks, found one that was obviously beyond my abilities, a large chocolate marble cheesecake, and bought the ingredients. Why try making one obviously more complicated than a rank beginner would normally try? Well, if I make a simple one and blow it, I’ll know it’s too complicated and never make one again. If I challenge myself and blow it I’ll figure out what I did wrong and try again with a simpler version. I didn’t blow it. I even made cheesecakes for barter and gifts over the years.

Last night one of my roommates mentioned he had a hankerin’ for cheesecake and did I know how to make it? Of course I did and proceeded to plan to make it the next day. On my errands I picked up the cream cheese and another graham cracker (OK, chocolate cookie) crust and at home left them on the counter to soften while I did other things. My roomie came home, put his things away in the fridge and laughed, informing me that we now had 8 packages of cream cheese! Oh darn! Now friends have given me all sorts of ideas for using extra cream cheese and we’ll probably need more! But on to our recipe…

NOTE: For a plain cheesecake in a springform plan using 1/2 this recipe, skip to the bottom.

First, make the crust (if you haven’t bought 2 already). Yes, if you buy the pre-made ones in regular aluminum pie tins you’ll need 2. In a frying pan combine:

6 Tbsp melted butter

1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c sugar

Mix and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Don’t have one? Quick! You still have time to grab one at a big-box store (houseware kitchen stuff department) or a kitchen supply store in a mall, whatever’s open when you need it). Now that you have it, wash it, dry it and get back to cooking. Once the crust is pressed evenly into the bottom of the pan and just a titch up the side, set it aside and get to the filling. Next time I make one I’ll add photos.

In a large bowl mix up the filling with a hand-mixer or a stand mixer if you have one. If you don’t do a lot of baking you might just want to get an inexpensive handmixer at a big-box store. They come in handy more than you expect.

2 lb ( 4 8-oz packages) cream cheese, softened

1 tsp Vanilla

Beat until soft and creamy. Then add:

1 1/2 cup sugar The picture looks a bit odd because I used 1/2 c brown sugar.

Beat until fluffy.

6 lg eggs

Beat in 1 at a time until well blended, scraping sides often.

Put about 1/3 of the filling in another bowl and put the rest in the crust. If you’re using 2 store bought crusts, fill each about 2/3 full and divide the rest between 2 bowls. This way you can use 2 different flavours for swirling.

In a small pan (preferably a double boiler, but if you want to live dangerously put the small pan on the stove, turn it on for a moment, just long enough to start melting the butter and turn it off) melt:

1 tbsp butter or shortening

3 squares baking chocolate or chocolate chips

Alternately use fruit puree, syrup (home-made or store bought, I used leftover home-made) or jam, warming slightly if needed for mixing.

Stir until smooth and add to the filling in the small bowl. Then add this to the filling, putting it on top in spots or stripes. Without dipping deep enough to mess up the crust, swirl gently.

Put the cheesecake on a rimmed baking tray in case of accidents.

If you’re using store-bought graham cracker crusts be careful, the aluminum is flimsy! Support them from the bottom! if they buckle as you carry them across the room, bad things can happen! I probably should have put the tray next to the pie tin on the table and carried the whole tray to the oven. *sigh* Learn from my mistakes!

Pre-heat the oven and bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 300 and bake for another hour, checking occasionally to make sure it doesn’t get more than golden-brown around the edges.

Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in there for 30 minutes or so then cool at room temperature before putting in the fridge. Yes, I baked the disaster, but took it out way before the other one since it was smaller now. At least Andrew will have a couple servings even if they don’t look great. No I didn’t drop it, it just collapsed and spilled. I managed to save this much.

Once cool you can take the labels off the plastic forms the crusts came with (you DID take those OUT before you filled them, didn’t you!?), invert them and use them to cover the cheesecakes. Fold the aluminum side-flare-things that held them on and fold them back down in a few places to hold them on. If you do this while they’re still warm they’ll accumulate condensation and make the tops of the cheesecakes yucky.

Serve with or without fruit, but fruit (especially berries) make it extra festive. Adults can have sparkling wine on the side, maybe with a berry in that, too. Milk, tea or coffee are also good.

Variation: Plain. Why dress up something that’s wonderful? OK, anything worth doing is worth over-doing, so you can also mint chocolate, white chocolate in a chocolate cheesecake and use chocolate cookie crumbs for the crust. Maybe add nuts and spice to a crust that you fill with pumpkin cheesecake? Have fun creating masterpiece deserts! Another option is using cupcake tins with cupcake liners, dividing the crust between them, pressing into the bottom, of course, and making individual cupcheesecakes/cheesecupcakes/cheesefairycakes…whatever. Adjust the baking time accordingly (or just keep checking more often until they’re done).

If you just want to make a plain cheesecake, here’s what you do:

Oops, when editing months apart things happen, so go back up to the part just under the pictures of the store-bought crusts for how to make a graham cracker crust, then put the graham cracker, butter and sugar mixture into the bottom of a springform pan and press it evenly into the bottom, from the center out to the edges, making it seal the joint between the sides and the bottom of the pan.

2 4-oz blocks of cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c sugar (granulated or brown, your choice).

3 eggs

Pre-heat the oven while you mix things up. With a hand mixer mix the cream cheese and vanilla until creamy. Add the sugar and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well then pour into it into the pan.

Bake in the center of the oven at 450 for 15 minuted then reduce the temperature ti 300 and bake for another hour.

Optional sour cream topping (yummy, but also handy for hiding cracks):

1 c Sour Cream

1 tsp Vanilla

2 Tbsp sugar

Mix well, spread on warm cake and bake at 450 for 5 to 7 minutes. My friend isn’t too keen on sour cream so I just made enough to cover 1.2 the cheesecake. I like it, if you don’t then leave it off. It’s normal for a cheesecake to crack a bit so this can hide the minor cracks. Mix it up and spread it on for the last 5 minutes or so of baking then turn off the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the oven for 30 minutes before taking it out and letting it cool compleatly.

Refrigerate until time to serve. Since it’s plain it can be served as is (wonderful) or dressed up with sauces like caramel, chocolate, strawberry or other fruits. Mint makes a nice garnish and Champaign, Prosecco and other sparkling wines go well with it as does sparkling apple cider as the non-alcoholic versions are fine for kids and bubbles and stemware make everything special.