Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

It's been a busy summer and my cheesecake baking has been almost non existent. But at last I found time to make a cheesecake I have been wanting to try for quite some time.  I found this recipe online at http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/recipefinder/peanut-butter-cup-cheesecake-recipe-ghk0513?click=recipe_sr.  The description describes it as "Cheesecake + Peanut Butter Cups = the Most Decadent Dessert EVER".

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

Crust:

6 T melted butter
1 1/2 C graham cracker crumbs
1/4 C finely crushed chocolate sandwich-cookies crumbs
1/4 C sugar
3/4 C creamy peanut butter

Cheesecake:

3 packages (8 oz) cream cheese (warm to room temperature)
1 C Sugar
1 C Sour Cream
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
3 Large eggs lightly beaten
1 C hot fudge ice cream topping
Peanut butter cups cut in halves

Directions:

Take two pieces of aluminum foil  large enough to cover the bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan.
Set aside.

Crust:  Preheat over to 350 degrees F.  (The recipe calls for brushing a 9-inch springform pan with melted butter).  I chose to eliminate this step and lined the pan with parchment paper instead.  I found this works very well and allows you to easily slide the cheesecake onto a plate.  In a large mixing bowl mix the graham cracker crumbs, sandwich-cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter.  Press crumbs onto the bottom of the springform pan and 1" up the side of the pan.  Bake 10 minutes or until the crust is set.  Cool completely on a wire rack.  In a small bowl, microwave the peanut butter on high for 30 seconds or until melted.  Brush onto the bottom of the crust.  ( I just poured the peanut butter onto the crust and spread it evenly over the crus with a spoon.

Cheesecake:  In a large bowl, with a mixer,  beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl with  a rubber spatula as needed.    Beat in sour cream and vanilla.  Reduce speed to low, beat in eggs until just combined.  Remove 1 C batter, set aside.  Pour remaining batter into prepared crust.

In a small bowl, microwave 1/4 C hot fudge topping on high for 30 seconds or until pourable;  fold into reserved 1 C batter.  Carefully pour chocolate filling over batter in pan and swirl with knife.

Place springform pan inside a larger pan on the oven rack, fill the larger pan with water until the water reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan.  Bake until set around the edges but slightly wobbly in the center, about 55 min.  I was never happy with this method of testing the doneness of the cheesecake I use a digital thermometer.  Once source that I checked said to bake until the temperature reaches 165 degrees and that worked well with my old oven, but with my new oven the 165 degrees does not work and I still haven't figured that one out.  I bake the cheesecake now until the temperature reaches 175 to 180 degrees.  So you will need to experiment, also I have yet to have a cheesecake bake in 55 minutes, it usually takes about 75 minutes.  I start checking the temperature after the prescribed time and keep checking until it is done.  Turn off the oven, remove the cheesecake from the pan of water, place the cheesecake back in the oven  and let the cheesecake cool (prop the oven door open slightly) for about 2 hours, transfer to wire rack.

In a small bowl microwave the remaining 3/4 C hot fudge topping on hight for 30 seconds or until pourable.  Spread over the top of the cake with an angled or offset spatula, let cool.  Garnish with peanut butter cups.  Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours or until well-chilled.  Remove from pan and serve.  Enjoy!

I had a request from on of my friends for three cheeseakes who was hosting an event this weekend.  Previously I had made two cheesecakes for them for an other event, I made the Red Velvet Cheesecake and the Blueberries N Cream.  Knowing the Red Velvet Cheesecake was a favorite of her husband, it was an obvious choice that would be one of the flavors.  My friend really like the Berries N Cream so that was the second choice but what about the third....Since it was predicted to be a rather warm day I thought a Key Lime Cheesecake sounded about right.

I had full intentions of taking and posting pictures of the final products, however, I was running a little late so I didn't think about pictures until I was loading them in my car and at that point in time there was no way I was taking them back out of the car, unboxing them, taking pictures, re-boxing them, loading them back into my car so, sorry, no pictures.

I can tell you the Red Velvet Cheesecake for those who are chocolate fiends, this is a cheesecake to die for.  The recipe can be found at  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/red-velvet-cheesecake-10000001023804/ .  I was reading some of the reviews for this recipe and a couple of the reviews felt the food coloring make the cheesecake taste bitter.  I find that a little hard to believe as food coloring does not have any flavor.  Perhaps the problem lies not with the food coloring but with the type of cocoa powder they used.  As with any recipe the final product is only as good as the ingredients used.  The first time I made this cheesecake I used an off brand cocoa, the next time I used Saco Premium Cocoa, trust me, it made a huge difference.  

When I try a recipe for the first time I will follow the directions exactly, then depending on how it turns out I sometimes will tweak the recipe, this is one recipe I DO NOT tweak, it is absolutely perfect the way it is.

The second cheesecake Blueberries 'N Cream Cheesecake I found at http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,166,151182-237202,00.html.  The recipe calls for fresh blueberries, but depending on the price of fresh blueberries I will substitute frozen berries, the substitution does not seem to effect the taste or the quality of the cheesecake.  I will get cracking on the top of the cheesecake where I swirl in the blueberry puree, to date I have not found a cure for that, but since the cheesecake is topped with a blueberry glaze it really is not a deal breaker.

The first time I made this recipe I was going along my merry way mixing the ingredients, got everything put together and was at the point to where I would pour the batter into the pan when I realized, this recipe did not give instructions on what kind of crust to use or how to make a crust.  So I just used a graham cracker crust and it turns our fine.  So just beware, you need to prepare a crust.

The third cheesecake I chose was the Key Lime 
Cheesecake I found at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Key-Lime-Cheesecake-I/Detail.aspx

After reading the reviews and being this was the first time I was making this recipe...and...I would not be able to taste test it first and several of the reviews made the comment the cheesecake was too tart.I decided to follow the advice of one of the reviews.  So by the time I made the changes, 32 oz of cream cheese,  1 1/4 C sugar, 1 T cornstarch, 4 eggs, 1 T Lime Zest, 1/3 C Lime Juice, 1/3 C Lemon Juice, it was a different recipe, but the reviews were great.  I had meant to add coconut flakes to the crust as suggested by one of the reviewers, but forgot, so I layered the coconut flakes on the crust before I poured in the batter.  I will make this one again for my family so we can taste test it.

I have found that if I line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper it is much easier to transfer the cheesecake to a 10" cardboard cake round.  I remove the side of the springform pan, slide my hand under the cheesecake and lift the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan, I then grab a part of the parchment paper and start to peel it back from the cheesecake.  I peel about a third of the parchment paper back, set the unpeeled portion of the cheesecake on the cake round, then I continue to peel the parchment paper off as I place the cheesecake on the cake round.

The other discover that I made this week was, if I am going to make three cheesecakes at one time again, I will have more springform pans at my disposal, instead of two, this would have made the entire process go a lot faster.

I forgot to post about my neighbor's sour cream lemon cheesecake.  It was absolutely delicious, it is a simple yet very tasty recipe.

My sweet neighbor Jill brought me a piece of Lemon Sour Cream Cheesecake along with the recipe that she had made this weekend.  I haven't had time to taste it yet, but this will be the next one I try.  The recipe is her grandmother's so I know it will be absolutely delicious.  (It looks absolutely mouth watering)

White Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

Last week I made a white chocolate cheesecake with orange zest and orange juice.  The original recipe, Lemony White Chocolate Cheesecake, is from the tasteofhome 2012 Collector's Edition magazine, the website is tastofhome.com , called for lemon zest and lemon juice.  I made it the first time using the lemon and it was very delicious, which made me wonder how it would be if I used lime or orange, or maybe a combination of lemon and lime. 

Those who taste tested it for me liked it, and I liked it but I was expecting a little more zing but orange just doesn't have the zing that lemon does.  If I make this again I might try adding some orange extract to it.

Usually when I make a cheesecake I do not use the 9" springform pan, instead I use four or five 4" or 4 1/2" individual springform pans.  This way I can take the cheesecakes to several different people without having to cut the cheesecake, it's just easier to transport it that way.  This is what I did when I made the white chocolate and orange cheesecake.  I prepared the four - 4 1/2" springform pans, but knew from the last time I made this that four pans would not be enough so I also prepared three 4" springform pans.  The downside was I did not have enough crust for all the pans, the original recipe crust calls for a flour, butter, and zest crust, so I made a graham cracker crust for the last 4" pan.  As I mentioned the cheesecake was good, but to our surprise the cake with the graham cracker crust was so much better.  If I make the cheesecake again, which I probably will, I will use a graham cracker crust and add some orange extract.

The inspiration for this adventure started with the website http://www.101cheesecakerecipes.com/  The first recipe I tried was Chocolate Raspberry.  I followed the directions which calls for 24 oz of cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla to be blended and poured into the crust.  Then the remaining 8 oz of cream cheese is mixed with melted chocolate, red raspberry preserves and dropped by rounded tablespoons over the plain cheese mixture.  The instructions specifically state "Do not swirl".  The picture on the website shows a red colored cheesecake, it does have a rounded  mound of chocolate on the top surrounded by whipped cream.  My cheesecake was white with dollops of raspberry flavored chocolate on top.  While it did not look like the picture the cheesecake was very tasty.  Looking at the picture I wonder if they stirred some raspberry preserves into the 24 ounces of cream cheese.