I've been getting some exercise for the baking muscle over the past month. I recently volunteered to bake a cake for a co-worker's birthday - a chocolate raspberry cake. It turned out pretty good, and since I have become the Birthday Cake Baker for the office. No pressure. Two of my co-workers did not get birthday cakes for their special day this past spring, and there became a joke in the office that they were the only people who did not have a cake. So, as a surprise, I made them each a belated birthday cake! My co-conspirator in the office discretely asked them what kind of cake they like to give me some suggestions. One likes cherry cheesecake and the other likes "anything but cheesecake."
With a little creative liberty, I decided to make a chocolate cherry cheesecake for our office manager and a white cake with strawberry whipped cream filling for our surgical scheduler. The cherry cheesecake recipe comes from Betty Crocker. I can count the number of cheesecakes I have made in the past on one hand. The last time I made one was for Thanksgiving, and it turned out fairly good. I've always found cheesecakes to be a little frustrating to make, let alone perfect (I wouldn't know though, none of mine have been perfect). The issues I run into are (1) the crust and (2) knowing when it's done. I ran into the same issues this time, not surprisingly, but it turned out delicious none the less.
What you need:
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs - I used chocolate teddy graham crackers that were processed in my mini food processor.
3 Tbl butter, melted
4 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup whipping cream, divided in half
1 can cherry pie filling (20 oz)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Okay, to start off you make the crust. I used the food processor to turn my teddy grahams into crumbs first. Combine the crumbs and butter well and then press into the bottom and up the sides of your springform pan. The recipe called for a 10" pan, but I only had a 9" so that's what I used. I baked my crust in the over at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes, but the recipe did not require that.
Next is the filling. Beat softened cream cheese using an electric mixer first, then add the eggs one at a time beating the mixture after each addition. Then beat in the sugar and almond extract, and finally add in 1/2 cup of whipping cream.
Time to fill the crust with the filling. Spoon 3 1/2 cups of the cream cheese filling into the crust-lined pan. Evenly spoon 1 cup of cherry pie filling over the cream cheese layer.
Looking good! Now spoon the rest of the cream cheese filling over top. Time to bake! I baked the cheesecake at 325degrees for 1hr and 20 minutes, and then allowed the cake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for an hour.
Once the cake was cooled, it was time for the chocolate glaze. In a saucepan, bring 1/2 cup whipping cream to a gentle boil over medium head. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips.
Place the cheesecake on a sheet of waxed paper and remove the sides of the pan. Spread the chocolate glaze over the cooled cake. Wow!
I refrigerated the cake overnight uncovered, then it was ready to take to work. Served with a little whipped cream and a spoonful of the left over cherry pie filling, it was quite delicious!
Here is the second cake, which was a boxed white cake mix baked in two 6" round pans. I make whipped cream frosting with whipping cream (2cups) and confectioners sugar (1/2cup). The filling between the layers was whipped cream and diced strawberries combined with granulated sugar.
