Hello Cheesecake!

There are two types of cheesecakes in the world: store bought blah and super delish homemade incredibleness.  This one is of the latter.

I borrowed The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook from my best friend before Ramadan started so that I can whip up something special for dessert to enjoy after iftar, or the breaking of the fast.  There are quite a few recipes that sound tasty in there, but of course everything sounds better on  paper.  Since I’ve bought a spring form pan months ago without having any urgent reason to do so been dying to try making a cheesecake, I decided to go with the chocolate swirl cheesecake.  Honestly it’s the only recipe I had all the ingredients for so it didn’t take a lot of thought.  The Heath Bar Almond Crunch cheesecake was the whole reason I borrowed the book but I didn’t have any Heath Bars or almonds.  Next time.

The first time I made the cheesecake I didn’t follow directions exactly as I hardly ever do.  I took bits and pieces from other recipes in an attempt to make the recipe amazing. In the end I just made a mess and the worlds ugliest cheesecake.  I had poured caramel on the crust which turned out to be too hard and completely separated from the cheesecake itself during serving.  I put caramel, pecans, and chocolate on the top trying to make a turtle version, but instead I ended up burning the chocolate.  Oops.

This time I decided to  (almost) follow the recipe so that I can have something nice to take to my brother-in-law and new sister-in-law’s place.  It would be our first time having dinner there since they got married in May.

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake – adapted from The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

Crust
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (graham cracker crumbs also work)

Filling
2 pounds (4 eight once packages) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream  (I used evaporated milk the second time and it worked just fine)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Topping
3 tablespoons heavy cream
4 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

The topping shown:
6 tablespoons heavy cream (or evaporated milk)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 ounces melting caramels
1/2 – 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

  To make the crust: In a small bowl, combine the butter with the chocolate wafer crumbs.  Press into the bottom of a buttered 10-inch spring form pan.  Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

  To make the filling:  In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time.  To ensure that the batter has no lumps and that no ingredients are stuck t o the bottom of the bowl, stop the mixer several times, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract.

  Pour the batter into the prepared pan and set the pan on a baking sheet. 

  To prepare the topping:  In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer.  Add the chocolate, turning heat down to low and stirring constantly until chocolate is completely melted.  Remove from heat and cool slightly.  Drop this mixture by the teaspoonful onto the top of the batter.  Using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl chocolate mixture into batter, forming a decorative pattern.  (I skipped this step completely the second time around.)

  Bake until edges are set and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour. At the end of baking time, turn off the heat, and using a wooden spoon to keep oven door slightly ajar, cool cake in oven for 1 hour before removing. (Ummmm, not with two kids in the house. I only did this for half an hour because I got sick of guarding the oven.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. (The long time to chill the cheesecake is essential! Do not skip or try to speed this up.  I chilled mine for only 6 hours and it was very soft. It smashed under the weight of the knife.)

My topping version:

Melt chocolate as directed. Drizzle on top of cheesecake half way through chill time.  Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Melt caramel in the same method as the chocolate (3 tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated milk with 1/2 cup caramel).  Drizzle above nuts.  Return to fridge to chill until completely set. 

 Remove cake from the refrigerator at least 15-30 minutes before cutting and serving.

After fasting all day, I think we definitely have space on our calorie counters for a slice of this bad boy.  Enjoy!