A Rich and Decadent Cheesecake

This was my first Daring Bakers' Challenge, so I was excited to see how it would turn out. When I saw that the challenge was cheesecake, I was pretty sure this was going to be a fun experience. This was made more true by the fact that Jenny, the host, of Jenny Bakes gave us a basic recipe and then gave us the freedom to add any flavor and crust we wanted to as long as we used the recipe as a base. The recipe was Abbey’s, who is a friend of Jenny’s, and as far as cheesecake recipes go, it is very basic and simple. From other cheesecakes I have made, this batter is runnier, but the flavor of the finished product is so rich because of the extra cream.

One of the things I enjoy most is baking things for other people to enjoy, and this challenge gave me that opportunity. I am not a fan of cheesecake, but in college, I have quite a few friends who love cheesecake. So, lucky for me (or them, depending on how you look at it), I had someone to give my finished product to. Since I wasn’t going to be eating the cheesecake, I chose my recipe based on something I knew my friends liked: chocolate.

After it was all said and done, I chose to make a chocolate-raspberry cheesecake. Instead of using a cup of sugar, I split the cup between sugar and honey. When I can, I like to use honey instead of or substitute some in because I like the texture and flavor that it provides. Anyway, these are the flavors that I wanted, so the next step was to find something that would give me a good raspberry flavor. I didn’t want the raspberry flavoring to be overpowered by the cream cheese, so finding something strong enough was key. Eventually, I settled on raspberry schnapps because of the strong flavoring and aroma. I also wanted to change the crust a little bit, so instead of graham crackers, I used vanilla cookies which are akin the vanilla wafers.

When I brought the finished product to my friends, they were all impressed, not only with the looks, but also with the taste. According to them, the texture was wonderful and it tasted amazing. They were also fans of all the different flavors. All in all, I think that this was a very successful first Daring Bakers' Challenge, and I can't wait for the next one

Chocolate-Raspberry Cheesecake

(makes one 9-inch cheesecake)

Crust Ingredients:

2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs

1 stick butter, melted

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. raspberry schnapps

Cheesecake Ingredients:

3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz. each, softened

½ cup sugar

½ cup honey

3 large eggs

1 cup heavy cream

3 tbsp. raspberry schnapps

4 oz. semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

Ganache Ingredients:

¾ cup heavy cream

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 oz. white chocolate, finely chopped

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp raspberry schnapps

Fresh raspberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place a pan of water into the oven for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients. Press the crust into the bottom of a 9-in cake pan, making sure the bottom is coated evenly.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand and cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between each egg. Add heavy cream and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Take two cups of the batter and place it into a small mixing bowl. Melt the semisweet chocolate, either using a double boiler or a microwave. Mix the melted chocolate into the 2 cups of batter, stirring until the chocolate is evenly distributed throughout.

5. Add the raspberry schnapps to the batter in the mixing bowl, being sure to stir thoroughly so that the raspberry flavor is evenly incorporated.

6. Pour ½ of the raspberry batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Next, slowly pour the chocolate batter on top, making sure to make an even layer on top of the raspberry layer. Tap the pan again. Lastly, top with the remaining raspberry batter, taking care not to pour too fast, thus causing the layers to become uneven. Again, tap the pan.

7. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Since we are using a cake pan, there is not worries about the water leaking into the pan.

5. Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done - this can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Remove the pan from the water bath, close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. After one hour, remove cheesecake from the oven.

7. Let it finish cooling on the counter. Meanwhile, to make the ganache, heat the cream until it starts to boil. Separate the cream into two small containers, one with ¼ cup of cream and the other with ½ cup of cream. Stir the bittersweet chocolate into the ½ cup of cream until mixed. Stir the white chocolate into the ¼ cup of cream until well mixed. Combine the honey and schnapps in another bowl.

8. Remove the cheesecake from the pan by running a knife around the edge and then inverting it over a plate. Flip the cheesecake over. Spread the bittersweet chocolate ganache over the top of the cheesecake, making an even layer. After it has set for a couple of minutes, drizzle the honey-raspberry mixture over the ganache. Finally, drizzle the white chocolate ganache and then run a fork through it to create a swirling effect. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

9. Place in the refrigerator overnight. Enjoy!

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. Please visit Jenny Bakes to see the original recipe for Abbey's infamous cheesecake.