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Posts Tagged ‘cheesecake’

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , on May 17, 2014| 5 Comments »

One of my co-workers had a birthday back in February when it was absolutely frigid.  We usually get ice cream cakes for office birthdays, but the weather just would not allow it.  Knowing we all loved cheesecake, I volunteered to make one for her birthday and I knew just the one I wanted to try. 

The sweet tartness of the berries along with the sweet tart of the cream cheese really put this cake over the top flavor wise.  We loved it!! I found the recipe at recipetips.com. 

Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 pkgs. frozen strawberries, 10 oz. each (I still had frozen homegrown berries.)

1 tbsp. cornstarch

24 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 eggs, room temperature

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Combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Press this mixture in the bottom of a spring form pan and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

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Blend the strawberries and cornstarch together until smooth.  Pour this into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Boil and stir for 2 minutes.  Allow the sauce to cool.

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Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy with an electric mixer.  Gradually beat in the sweetened condensed milk.  Add the lemon juice and mix well.  Add eggs and beat on low until just combined.

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Pour half of the cream cheese mixture over the cooled crust and drop half of the strawberry sauce over the cream cheese.

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Carefully spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over the top of the strawberries and drop the remaining strawberry sauce on top of the second layer of cream cheese.  Use a knife to swirl the strawberry sauce through the cream cheese to make a pretty design on top.

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Bake at 300 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is almost set.  Cool for 10 minutes then run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake.  Cool for an additional hour then refrigerate over night.

Remove the side of the pan.  Slice and eat up!  This cake keeps well in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days.

Strawberry Swirled Cheesecake

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Praline Cheesecake

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , , , on February 22, 2014| 15 Comments »

I wanted to make something different for one of our Christmas dinners and I knew that several people there were cheesecake fans.  This was my first cheesecake so off to the internet I went in search for a recipe to try and found this one on Pinterest (of course) from Kraft. 

It ended up being a simple recipe and oh, so tasty.  C’s cousin’s little boy who is one and a half years old kept sneaking a bite while the adults were playing a game.  Needless to say, there wasn’t much left at the end of the night and that’s exactly how I like it.

Praline Cheesecake

66 Nilla wafers, divided

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

3 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tsp. vanilla

3 eggs

25 Kraft caramels

3 tbsp. milk

1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted

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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Completely crush 50 of the Nilla wafers.  Mix the crushed cookies with 1/4 cup sugar and butter.  Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan.  Stand the remaining wafers around the edge of the pan, pressing gently into the crust.

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Beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add the sour cream and vanilla.  Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed after each until just blended.  Pour the batter over the crust.

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Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the center is almost set.(I baked mine for 55 because my oven cooks a little slow and I was scared the center wasn’t done.)  Run a small knife around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake.  Cool before removing the outer ring of the pan.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.

When you are ready to serve the cake, microwave the caramels and milk on high for 1 minute or until caramels are completely melted.  It took about 1 1/2 minutes for mine.  Cool slightly then pour over the cheesecake and sprinkle with the toasted pecans.

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Praline Cheesecake

This finishes up my Sweet Treat month here at Picture Perfect Cooking, but I am sure there will be plenty more to come in the future.

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Cranberry Eggnog Cheesecake Bars

Posted in Cooking, tagged , , , , , on December 14, 2013| 8 Comments »

I have been participating in a monthly dessert challenge hosted by The Lady Behind The Curtain and have really enjoyed stepping out of my comfort zone to try new ingredient combinations.  Unfortunately, due to the hostess’ travel plans, the December challenge has been cancelled.  I had already made my choice and it is a great pairing of two classic holiday flavors: cranberry and eggnog.

I really like cranberries, but eggnog is not really my thing so off to Google I went in search of a recipe using both ingredients that looked appealing to me.  I found this cheesecake bar recipe at Baked By Rachel and it fit the bill.  The eggnog really goes well into the cheesecake part and the cranberry swirl is delicious.  In fact, if I make this again, I may double the cranberry amount.

cranberry eggnog cheesecake bars

Cranberry puree:

1 cup whole cranberries

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

2 tbsp. water

Crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp. apple pie spice**

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

20 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup eggnog

3/4 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. apple pie spice

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tbsp. all purpose flour

2 eggs

**The original recipe used ground nutmeg and I didn’t have any so I used apple pie spice instead.

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In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the cranberries, water and sugar.  Stir occasionally, cooking until all of the berries have burst.  Press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.  Discard the berry solids.  Cover and chill the strained mixture.

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Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9×13” baking dish with parchment or wax paper and spray the paper with non-stick spray.  Set aside.  Add all of the crust ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine.  Press the dough firmly into the bottom of the prepared dish.  Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

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Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth.  With the mixer on low, add the eggnog, vanilla, salt, spice and flour.  Gradually increase the mixer speed while adding the eggs.  Beat until combined and no lumps remain.  Pour the filling into the prepared crust, spreading evenly.

Dollop the cranberry puree over the cream cheese layer.  Using a toothpick or knife, swirl the puree to create a pretty design.

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Bake for 40 minutes or until the filling is set.  Cool in the pan until the cheesecake is room temperature then chill in the refrigerator.  After the cheesecake is chilled, carefully lift it out of the pan by the paper and slice into even squares.  Serve immediately or store chilled.

cranberry eggnog cheesecake bars

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