Cheesecake | Fake Ginger

S’mores Cheesecake Bars

August 22, 2012 in cake

When I’m not eating cheesecake, I am 100% convinced that I don’t like it. Which is ridiculous for a couple reasons. A) Cheesecake is DELICIOUS and B) I once admitted to eating an entire cheesecake with my BFF while myspace stalking our ex-boyfriends.

So when Nicole and I set out on this s’mores week project I decided to make a cheesecake because I, like just about every other wife of a deployed serviceman, am trying to lose a few pounds before my husband comes home and I knew without a doubt that the cheesecake would not sit in the fridge and call my name until I finally got out of bed at 5:30 am to have a piece. Because I don’t like cheesecake.

Duh.

But guess who was standing in front of the fridge yesterday morning with a cheesecake bar in her hand while she waited for the coffee to brew.

I don’t even need to tell you how good these bars are. I mean they’re portable cheesecake pieces with s’mores fixins on top! That can’t possibly be bad.

Nicole made S’mores Campfire Banana Splits – go check them out!

One year ago: Honey Sesame Pork Loin
Two years ago: Rather Rich Corn Muffins
Three years ago: Kiwi Sorbet

S’mores Cheesecake Bars

from Kraft

Ingredients

2 cups graham crackers

1/3 cup butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

4 bricks (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

3 tablespoons flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped Hershey's chocolate bar

1 cup mini marshmallows

4 graham crackers, coarsely chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a13x9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.
Mix with the graham cracker crumbs, butter and 3 tablespoons sugar together until all the crumbs are moistened; press onto bottom of prepared pan.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla in large bowl until smooth. Sift in flour; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each just until blended. Stir chocolate chips into cream cheese mixture with a rubber spatula. Pour over crust.
Bake 30 minutes; remove from oven and sprinkle with Hershey's chocolate bar, mini marshmallows, and chopped graham crackers. The top of the cheesecake will be almost set - don't be afraid to press the toppings down into it slightly. Bake for another 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely. Refrigerate at least 4 hours. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting into bars.

http://fakeginger.com/2012/08/22/smores-cheesecake-bars/

Tags: cake, cheesecake, chocolate, graham crackers, marshmallows, s'mores
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Project Pastry Queen – Cappuccino Cheesecake

August 21, 2011 in cake

I am obsessed with espresso. When our coffee maker pooped out on us recently I decided to invest in this guy because hello, $40 espresso machine? You can’t go to Starbucks 6 times for that! So I have a latte or a cappuccino every morning and it’s pretty much the best way to start the day. Needless to say, I was pretty excited with Sarah’s Project Pastry Queen choice of Cappuccino Cheesecake.

These cheesecakes start with a crust made of crushed Oreos (always a good way to start a cheesecake) and then the actual cheesecake itself has espresso and chocolate chips inside. It’s topped with a chocolate ganache after cooling. It’s a very simple cheesecake but it’s so rich and the little muffin-sized portions I made were the perfect sweet ending to dinner.

The changes I made: halved the recipe & got 8 tiny cheesecakes. Instead of covering the entire thing with the ganache, I made a dark chocolate drizzle with a tablespoon of butter and a handful of dark chips. You can get the original recipe over at 20 Something Cupcakes if you’re interested. And make sure you visit the Project Pastry Queen page to see how everyone else did.

Tags: cheesecake, chocolate, coffee
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Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

July 19, 2010 in frozen goodies

Yesterday was National Ice Cream Day. Better late than never, right?

Cheesecake ice cream is my favorite kind (after birthday cake, of course) and I hate how most store-bought ones contain strawberries but for some reason I couldn’t bear to leave out the strawberries that I had sitting in my fridge.

The ice cream turned out great! If you get a bite of the strawberry with a cream cheese piece it really does taste like a frozen cheesecake. You could definitely make it more cheesecake-y if you were willing to actually make a cheesecake and cut it up but I think that’s kind of unnecessary. The tanginess of the cream cheese provided a nice contrast which would be almost lost if you used an actual cheesecake.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

2 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup strawberries (diced)
2 ounces cream cheese (cut into small pieces)

Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a small saucepan, heat cream and sugar until sugar dissolves and cream is almost boiling. Pour a small amount of the mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly. Pour eggs into the cream while you continue to whisk the entire thing. Cook at low heat until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Chill in refrigerator.

Once chilled, freeze in ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. About 10 minutes it, add strawberries and cream cheese. Store in airtight container.

Tags: cheesecake, frozen, strawberry
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Mini Turtle Cheesecake

May 9, 2010 in cake

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there!

I took my own mother these bad boys this morning. I have been brainstorming ideas for awhile and kept going back to the chocolate turtle candies that I know she likes and since I needed to redeem myself after my cracked cheesecake so turtle cheesecake was the plan. My mom doesn’t have a huge sweet tooth though so showing up with a whole cheesecake didn’t sound like a great idea.

I was so excited about these guys. It’s a chocolate cookie (I crushed whole oreos – with a rolling pin, thankyouverymuch – because I couldn’t get the cream off in one swipe) and pecan meal crust, a regular cheesecake, and a pecan covered in caramel and chocolate sauces. They turned out just as I had imagined them and taste amazing! A lot of times I think a whole slice of cheesecake is just too much but these muffin-sized cakes are perfect.

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Mini Turtle Cheesecake

Ingredients

For the crust:

¾ cup ground chocolate cookie crumbs
⅓ cup pecan meal
2 tablespoons brown sugar
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

1½ packages (12 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
½ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
½ cup plain yogurt

For the caramel drizzle:

¼ cup butter
½ cup brown sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

For the chocolate drizzle:

½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons butter
pecans, for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325. Line a 12-muffin pan with aluminum liners and spray lightly with oil.
To make crust: Combine chocolate cookie crumbs, pecan meal, brown sugar, and melted butter. Spoon a tablespoon into bottom of each muffin liner and press lightly with your fingers. Bake for 5 minutes; remove from oven.
To make filling: Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until creamy. With mixer running, gradually add sugar, salt, and vanilla; beat well. Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended. Stir in yogurt.
Spoon about ¼ cup of filling into each muffin liner. It should come almost to the top of the liner. Bake for 15 minutes or until tops of cheesecakes are puffed and only slightly jiggly in the very center. Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate for at least a couple hours, preferably overnight.
To make caramel drizzle, combine ¼ cup of butter, brown sugar, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in cream. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool.
To make chocolate drizzle, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in saucepan over low heat. Add chocolate chips, remove from heat and stir until melted.
To assemble, carefully remove liners from cooled cheesecakes and put cheesecakes on wax paper. Place a pecan in the center of each cheesecake. Drizzle chocolate and caramel over tops. Keep refrigerated until serving.

adapted from Blue Ribbon Recipes

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Tags: cheesecake
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Chocolate Malt Cheesecake

May 3, 2010 in cake, chocolate

Have you ever had a mocha frappuccino with malt powder from Starbucks? If you haven’t, I suggest you get one. Immediately. It will change your life. This cheesecake is like that delicious drink only in cake form.

I’ve made one cheesecake previously and that one turned out so pretty that I was feeling pretty cocky about this one. I thought about using a water bath even though the original recipe didn’t call for it but decided not to worry about it. And what happened? HUGE crack down the middle that a water bath would have prevented. So please, always use a water bath so you have pretty cheesecakes.

The cheesecake was pretty amazing despite the crack. The malt flavor became more apparent as the cheesecake sat in the fridge and was super malt-y after a couple days. Yum!

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Chocolate Malt Cheesecake

Ingredients

⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
¾ cp chocolate malt powder
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
whipped cream and malted milk balls, to decorate

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300F.
Wrap the bottom a 9 x 3 inch springform pan with aluminum foil.
Combine butter, sugar, and graham cracker crumbs in a bowl. Press mixture firmly into bottom of springform pan.
Beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl until fluffy. Add condensed milk and beat until well blended. Add malt powder, eggs, and vanilla and beat thoroughly. Pour filling into crust. Put springform into a larger pan and fill the larger pan with water – about halfway up the springform.
Bake for 65 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool to room temperature and then chill in refrigerator. Decorate with fresh whipped cream and malted milk balls.

adapted from Blue Ribbon Recipes

One year ago: Strawberry Shortcakes

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Tags: cake, cheesecake, chocolate
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