Thursday, November 15, 2007

Cheeeeeeeeeeeesecake

Words cannot describe how much I love desert. I think it's why I ganied so much weight after we got married and I was baking a few times a week. I especially loved baking in the winter months. There was something about making something sweet when it was cold and dark outside...I'm not sure that I can explain it!

Well after moving to CA and experiencing the 80 degree winters, I only bake maybe once or twice a month as it's not really that cold, and when I do feel that it's cold, I just make a warm dinner dish instead of cookies, cakes, etc. A little healthier and my sweet tooth is staisfied by a satsuma or glass of juice.

Tonight, however, my sweet tooth is in for a treat! Tonight is gaming night, and as we are continuing our new tradition of a potluck, I volunteered to bring dessert. I mentioned how much I missed making cheesecake to which Cindy and Katy said "ooooooooo, yummmmmmmmmm" and Jeremy (Katy's hubby) said "You guys are just trying to fatten me up, huh?" I had a great cheesecake recipe from Better Homes and Gardens but wanted to find something new. Thanks to http://www.myrecipes.com/, I found a wonderful, seasonal cheesecake that is sure to please our group.

I did not make the crust as I have no idea where to find wheatmeal biscuit crumbs and I thought my food processor was broken (thankfully it's not). I used a store-bought crust instead and had enough of the mix left over that I can probably make a few mini-cheesecakes next week. If you do make the crust, please let me know how it turns out. I also left out the topping as I also don't know where to find Sugared Rose Petals.

I can't emphasize this enough: softened cream cheese really does make all the difference! It makes the start of making a cheesecake much easier.

Tipsy Eggnog Cheesecake

You can store Sugared Rose Petals in an airtight container several months.

Ingredients:

2 cups wheatmeal biscuit crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
5 large eggs
3/4 cup canned or homemade eggnog
1/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup brandy
Sugared Rose Petals (optional)

Directions:

Combine first 4 ingredients; stir well. Firmly press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 1/2" up sides of a lightly greased 9" springform pan. Bake at 325° for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack; let cool.

Beat cream cheese at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1 cup sugar and cornstarch, beating well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in eggnog, rum, and brandy. Pour batter into prepared crust.

Bake at 325° for 1 hour. (Center will be soft.) Remove from oven and gently run a knife around edge of pan to release cheesecake from sides; return to oven. Turn oven off; leave cheesecake in oven, with oven door partially opened, 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature in pan on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours.

Remove sides of pan and top cheesecake with Sugared Rose Petals, if desired.

Yield: one 9" cheesecake

Oxmoor House, JANUARY 1995

4 comments:

Cindy said...

I can't wait to try this tonight! I still love that it has "tipsy" in the title!

Cindy said...

I think one of the reasons I also don't like to bake very much is that it's hard to bake for just two people and I for one do not need to eat half of an entire pie or batch of cinnamon rolls. Yay for gaming group! Now we can bake and not be stuck with tons of high calorie leftovers.

Cindy said...

Holy cow, this was amazing! The first bite is kind of like, wow, this is tasty cheese cake. But by the second bite you can really taste the alcohol! In a good way though. Nice going Camille! Anytime you want to experiment with Cheesecakes I will happily be your taste tester :)

CV said...

Thanks! It's always fun when you make something specifically for someone and they really love it. I will definitely make this again! And as soon as I can get my hands on a spring foam pan, I plan on trying to make my own crust as well.

Can I request the goat cheese stuffed chicken breasts for our next main dish? :)