Independence Day Cheesecake

What is more perfect for the Fourth of July than a red, white and blue dessert? Nothing, I say. Especially when it's a creamy New York Cheesecake topped with fresh berries and homemade whipped cream.

What you need:
4 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 3/4 cup white sugar
1/8 cup cornstarch
1 fluid oz amaretto liqueur
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
Blueberries
Raspberries

For the whipped cream:
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar

Set all your ingredients out ahead of time and let them come to room temperature. Place your oven rack in the center and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap the outside of a ten inch springform pan with foil and generously butter the inside of the pan.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Mix in sugar and cornstarch. Blend in sour cream and whipping cream. Add amaretto and vanilla.

Stir in eggs and egg yolk one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Pour into prepared pan.

Place pan in another pan at least one inch wider than cake pan and add warm water to the outer pan to create a warm water path. This will prevent the top of the cake from cracking. Bake on the center rack for 70 minutes or until only the center of the cake jiggles slightly.

Turn oven off and let cake cool inside the oven with the oven door open for an hour. Remove from water bath and let cool completely. Chill at least 3 hours before decorating. Rinse your berries and prepare whipped cream.
In a medium bowl, whip 1/2 cup whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and a 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla. Beat until stiff peaks form.

To make the pattern, start with a dot of whipped cream in the center. Make a ring of blueberries around the dot. The next ring should have a pattern of one blueberry, one dot of whipped cream, one blueberry etc. The next ring should be two blueberries to each dot of whipped cream and the next is three blueberries to each dot of whipped cream. You see the pattern.
Now make a ring of raspberry halves, followed by a stripe of whipped cream. Keep with this pattern until you have covered the cake.

Voila! Now you have a patriotic cheesecake for your Fourth of July celebration! Just don't let the whipped cream get to warm or it will melt.

Here's a tip for cutting pretty slices of cheesecake: Use string. I used a piece of thick thread and stretched it across. It slices the cake cleanly in half and you just pull it out after you reach the bottom. Just make sure you don't try to cut through the blueberries! They're too tough for the string.

Good luck and happy baking!
Rosie

Source: All Recipes

Cinco de Mayo Sopapilla Cheesecake

Happy Cinco de Mayo! I don't know about you guys, but I'm looking forward to tacos tonight. I have to tell you a secret though... I may have cheated and started on dessert last night. What can I say? I made this sopapilla cheesecake last night, expecting to eat it tomorrow, and I just couldn't resist!

What you need:
2 cans (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls, butter flavor
2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Take one can of crescent rolls and gently roll out until they cover the bottom of the pan.

In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Spread over the crescent roll layer.

Roll out the second can of crescent rolls and lay on top of the cream cheese layer.

In a small bowl, stir together the butter, 3/4 cup sugar and cinnamon. Place dollops of butter mixture over the top crescent roll "crust". Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the crescent roll layer is golden brown and flaky. Drizzle with honey and let cool completely. Makes 12 bars.

Now tell me, if you saw this coming out of the oven, would you be able to resist? Not only does it look good, it SMELLS like heaven!

This recipe is super easy to make and requires very little time. This cheesecake is delicious as a dessert, but also makes a tasty brunch treat!

Good luck and happy baking!
Rosie

Source: allrecipes.com

In Which I Discuss Zelda and Grandma Rose's Sad Pumpkin Cheesecake

I did it guys. I was able to put down the wii remote and leave the room long enough to make a new post. Actually, I haven't had the opportunity to play the game as much as I wish. It turns out that I actually have responsibilities while home. Gross.

I'm about to wax poetic about Zelda. Feel free to skip to actual the baking if you're not interested. I won't be offended.

Anyway, if there's one thing I can say about the game, it's absolutely beautiful. When I hear people criticize the Zelda games for not utilizing the hyper realistic graphics found in most games today I get so angry. There is just something so fantastical and over the top about the Zelda games that realistic graphics would simply can't capture it. I love the dark stylization of Twilight Princess but Skyward Sword really found something beautiful for itself. For the first time, the characters seem real and tangible. Players really get a sense of the proportional difference between characters when they're looking up at Groose and his friends for the first time. There's great humor in the dialogue and game play is invigorating. Like I said, I haven't gotten as far as I would have liked, but so far this game has really blown me away.

But now to the actual point of the blog. Cheesecake. PUMPKIN cheesecake.

What you need:

For the crust
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons melted sweet butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar

For the filling:
2 lbs cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
5 whole eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1 lb can of pumpkin puree
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2 tablespoons rum
1 cup heavy cream, whipped

Preheat oven to 350. Thoroughly grease a 9 inch springform pan. Combine all crust ingredients and line the bottom and sides of the pan.

Cream the cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar and the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Gradually add flour, mixed with spice, and pumpkin. Add rum.

Pour into the crust. Now this is where things need to be modified. The recipe calls for the cheesecake to be baked for 1 hour and 45 minutes. However, I checked the cake 20 minutes before it was time and it was already overcooked. I would suggest checking this at an hour and judging the remaining baking time from there. You'll know it's done when the center is firm to the touch.

My sad burnt cheesecake. I had to trim off the really heinous parts.

 When the cheesecake is completely cool, you can make the whipped topping. Whip the cream, sweetening with 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon rum if you would like. Pipe with a star-tipped pastry bag. Sprinkle with toasted chopped almonds or pecans.

Despite being overbaked, this cheesecake was still pretty tasty. I'm sure that if it had been baked for the right amount of time, it would have been heavenly.

As it was, the filling was not quite as creamy as I would have preferred. However, the taste was good and the cheesecake as a whole was wonderfully rich.

Good luck and have a happy Thanksgiving!
Rosie

Source: Grandma Rose's...