Monday, April 27, 2009

Daring Bakers Challenge April 2009 - Cheesecake Centerpiece

The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge.
Coffee Caramel Cheesecake

Oh wait, that's me. That's right! For the past month, I have been willing hostess to the bunch of bakers known as The Daring Bakers, consisting of over 1,000 bakers all over the world who unite once a month to make the same recipe. I know we all made Cheesecake Pops last April, but I wanted to pick a recipe that people could take and really make their own, letting the creativity flow. And wow, have they ever. If you want to see for yourself, head over to The Daring Kitchen and click on the blog roll. I've seen everything from people making their own cream cheese to vegemite cheesecake. And what did the vegans do? You need to check it out.

The recipe I pick comes from my friend Abbey T. who loves to bake. I called it "Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake," and the grammar police think it should be "Abbey's Famous Cheesecake," or "Infamous Abbey's Cheesecake." Whatever you want to call it, the basic recipe alone is to die for - I have never had a creamier cheesecake! But the instructions to the group were to do whatever they wanted with it, as long as the basic recipe was followed. And if they felt secure in their cheesecake making, to focus on really making their dessert look beautiful, like a centerpiece.

Of course, by needing to taste the recipe ahead of time, I've been making cheesecake for two months. Some were more successful than others, and my co-workers don't seem sick of cheesecake yet, but I'm ready to move onto something else for a while. Ha!

Key Lime Cheesecakelet
Here is the recipe. I would say that it can be made without a water bath, but if you take the trouble, it is even creamier, and completely worth the effort.

Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake:

crust:
2 cups / 180 g graham cracker crumbs
1 stick / 4 oz butter, melted
2 tbsp. / 24 g sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup / 210 g sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup / 8 oz heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. vanilla extract (or the innards of a vanilla bean)
1 tbsp liqueur, optional, but choose what will work well with your cheesecake

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (Gas Mark 4 = 180C = Moderate heat). Begin to boil a large pot of water for the water bath.

2. Mix together the crust ingredients and press into your preferred pan. You can press the crust just into the bottom, or up the sides of the pan too - baker's choice. Set crust aside.

3. Combine cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand-mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer) 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, vanilla, lemon juice, and alcohol and blend until smooth and creamy.

4. Pour batter into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water into the larger pan until halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. If cheesecake pan is not airtight, cover bottom securely with foil before adding water.

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. 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 oven and lift carefully out of water bath. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and put in the fridge to chill. Once fully chilled, it is ready to serve.

Pan note: The creator of this recipe used to use a springform pan, but no matter how well she wrapped the thing in tin foil, water would always seep in and make the crust soggy. Now she uses one of those 1-use foil "casserole" shaped pans from the grocery store. They're 8 or 9 inches wide and really deep, and best of all, water-tight. When it comes time to serve, just cut the foil away.

Prep notes: While the actual making of this cheesecake is a minimal time commitment, it does need to bake for almost an hour, cool in the oven for an hour, and chill overnight before it is served. Please plan accordingly!

Some variations from the recipe creator ("Infamous" Abbey):

** Lavender-scented cheesecake w/ blueberries - heat the cup of heavy cream in the microwave or a saucepan until hot but not boiling. Add 2 tbsp of lavender flowers and stir. Let lavender steep in the cream for about 10-15 minutes, then strain the flowers out. Add strained cream to cheesecake batter as normal. Top with fresh blueberries, or make a quick stovetop blueberry sauce (splash of orange juice, blueberries, a little bit of sugar, and a dash of cinnamon - cook until berries burst, then cool)

** Cafe au lait cheesecake with caramel - take 1/4 cup of the heavy cream and heat it in the microwave for a short amount of time until very hot. Add 1-2 tbsp. instant espresso or instant coffee; stir to dissolve. Add this to the remainder of cream and use as normal. Top cheesecake with homemade caramel sauce (I usually find one on the food network website - just make sure it has heavy cream in it. You can use store-bought in a pinch, but the flavor is just not the same since its usually just sugar and corn syrup with no dairy).

** Tropical – add about a half cup of chopped macadamias to the crust, then top the cake with a mango-raspberry-mandarin orange puree.

** Mexican Turtle - add a bar of melted dark chocolate (between 3 and 5 oz., to taste) to the batter, along with a teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne pepper (about 1/8 tsp.). Top it with pecan halves and a homemade caramel sauce.

** Honey-cinnamon with port-pomegranate poached pears – replace 1/2 cup of the sugar with 1/2 cup of honey, add about a teaspoon or more (to taste) of cinnamon. Take 2 pears (any variety you like or whatever is in season), peeled and cored, and poach them in a boiling poaching liquid of port wine, pomegranate juice/seeds, a couple of "coins" of fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, and about a 1/4 cup of sugar. Poach them until tender, then let cool. Strain the poaching liquid and simmer until reduced to a syrupy-glaze consistency, then cool. Thinly slice the cooled pears and fan them out atop the cooled cheesecake. Pour the cooled poaching syrup over the pears, then sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts and fresh pomegranate seeds.

Some variations from Jenny (from JennyBakes):

**Key lime - add zest from one lime to sugar before mixing with cream cheese. Substitute lemon juice, alcohol, and vanilla with key lime juice.

**Cheesecakelets - put in muffin tins, ramekins, or custard cups. Try baking 20-35 minutes, or until still a little jiggly, and cool as before.

Cheesecake baked
During my two months of cheesecake baking, my favorite version was the coffee cheesecake with caramel sauce (the first one in this post). A close second were the key lime cheesecakelets baked in ramekins (so creamy!). The Mexican chocolate cheesecake that I made just wasn't chocolatey enough for me, and then I had two moments of cheesecake fail. The first happened when I replaced the graham cracker crumbs with Oreos (which have a lot more fat in them) and it spewed all over the bottom of my oven and smoked up my house. The second was this idea that was brilliant in conception but not so great in practice - the Smores Spectacular Cheesecake. I actually ended up throwing it away. But I'm definitely going to file away what worked well for everyone else and pull this recipe out the next time I need something to bring to a party!

A huge thanks to Abbey T., and a heartfelt applause to the many Daring Bakers out there, whether this was your first cheesecake or one thousandth. You all made hosting this challenge a blast!

ETA: P.S. For those of you who tweet, I added a second Twitter account just for my baking. Now I can tweet about my thoughts on recipes or ideas, and not just blog once a week!

Categories: Caramel, Cheesecake, Chocolate, Coffee, Daring Bakers, Lime, Raspberry

126 comments:

Barbara Bakes said...

Jenny I love cheesecake and was so pleased with this month's challenge! This cheesecake is definitely a keeper. Your key lime cheesecakelets sound divine. I hope to get my post up in the morning.

Di said...

Thanks for a great challenge this month. I really enjoyed it! Sure, I've made cheesecake before, but it's always fun to try a new recipe. And I appreciate that you let everyone be so creative.

Wolf said...

It was a great recipe and a definate keeper.

Thanks for being the hostess! }:P

Deeba PAB said...

Thank you for hosting such a creative & fun challenge Jenny!Daring Bakers are flooding the web with 'Abbey's Cheesecake' which is now quite famous!Cheers

Lis said...

Best cheesecake recipe, EVER!

Thank you so much Jenny.. you were a fantabulous hostess! And please thank Abbey for all of us.. this really is a to-die-for recipe.

Hugs!
xoxoxoxxo

Elle said...

Not only was Abbey's recipe spectacular, but this was a fantastic challenge Jenny! The creativity it unleashed is amazing! Thanks for being the hostess with the mostess, for giving so many variations, and choosing such a great April challenge. Love the first photo. Truly drool worthy.

Audax Artifex said...

Wow thanks Jenny for one of the best cheesecake recipes I have ever made. It is so forgiving and so easy to make sweet or savoury. Just love your photos. Yes the DBers really went to town on this one. Thanks you for the advice that you gave on this challenge. Bravo Bravo Bravo.

Mme said...

Thanks for a great challenge! I had fun and it turned out great. I feel wonderfully successful :).

Jude said...

Looks perfect. Thanks for the great challenge! I made a strawberry cheesecake flavored ice cream -- I hope it's acceptable.

Sara said...

Such an fantastic challenge! Thank you so much for hosting; you did an amazing job and I loved the recipe. :) Your cheesecakes look really yummy!

Lisa is Bossy said...

Thank you so much for such a fantastic challenge Jenny!!

Liz said...

In general cheesecake isn't my favorite dessert, but I thought this was a really delicious recipe. Thanks for the choice, and for allowing us so much creative freedom!

pixie said...

thank you for a great challenge Jenny! i agree, water baths really make the cheesecake so creamy!

Alpineberry Mary said...

I had a great time this month. Thanks to Abbey for the recipe and a big hug to you for sharing the recipe with us. :)

Alpineberry Mary said...

I had a great time this month. Thanks to Abbey for the recipe and a big hug to you for sharing the recipe with us. :)

Julie said...

This is the best cheesecake recipe I've ever made! Thank you for choosing it!

kellypea said...

This turned out to be a very nice recipe so thanks very much for the opportunity. I had fun making my variations! I'll have to hang on to this one to try a few more ideas.

Angela @ A Spoonful of Sugar said...

Jenny, thank-you so much for such a fun challenge! I had a great time making and decorating my cheesecake!

Love the first picture of the cafe au lait cheesecake. Very decadent!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Your cheesecake looks beautiful and so tempting! Thanks for having chosen that great recipe!

Cheers,

Rosa

Lisa said...

Thank you for a wonderful and inspiring challenge, and the best cheesecake recipe ever!!

louis luzzo said...

Just learned about your 'event' through Nofearentertain's post. What a great idea your challenges are. I'm now a fan and can't wait to give your next one a try.

Cakelaw said...

Thanks for being a wonderful host this month - I was awed by the sheer variety of cheesecakes that emerged from people's imaginations. Your cheesecake looks just devine. Enjoy your well earned escape from cheesecake!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for hosting Jenny. I had lots of fun with this challenge.

Cristine said...

Thank you for hosting this month! It was a great challenge and I really had fun with it!

Rachel said...

Thanks for a lovely challenge with which we could play around with.

Jeanine - The Baking Beauties said...

That first picture of the cheesecake looks AMAZING!!! Thanks so much for hosting. I did a fruity version, but will definitely try something sweeter next time. ;)

Anonymous said...

Great challenge, and thanks for being such an awesome host!

It was nice to have so much freedom with the challenge.

Your cheesecakes look great!

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Oh Jenny it was grand. Only problem now is I really would love a slice of your coffee cheesecake with caramel sauce!!! Coffee and caramel, that is so classic for fabulous flavor!
Great job hosting and thanks a cheese cake.

breadchick said...

Jenny,

Thanks for such a fun challenge. I really enjoyed trying to think of a new way to do cheesecake and I liked how creamy this recipe was.

Nichole said...

This might be the best cheesecake I've ever had. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe!!

tonic said...

Absolutely delicious! Thank you for hosting, the recipe is definitely a keeper!

Andrea Meyers said...

What a delicious challenge you chose for us! Thanks for hosting this month and sharing Abbey's recipe.

Care said...

I have been excited to see what you would make. It looks wonderful. Thanks for a great challenge.

vibi said...

Thank you Jenny for such a great challenge... and such creative freedom!

Yours looks simply amazing! ...and I'm sure it was as tasty as it is beautiful!

HeatherJ said...

Now this would have been a challenge I could get behind! Looks fantastic Jenny.

Erin said...

I am so glad you chose this! It allowed me to make my favorite cheesecake EVER! I noticed that you're from Greenville! My husband and I live in Clemson now but are moving to Greenville at the beginning of June- we are very excited!

Helene said...

Thank you Jenny for such a fun challenge! Caramel and cheesecake are always perfect together!

Connie said...

Oh my gosh Jenny! Coffee Cheesecake with Carmel sauce? Those are my two favorite things!

This was my first Daring Baker's Challenge and I was thrilled that it was cheesecake. Since I was a DB virgin...I thought I was going wild and crazy by using something different for my crust!

Thanks for the great recipe!

Emma said...

Thank you for the wonderful challenge this month! I had great fun making it, and my work mates had great fun devouring them!

Mer said...

Thanks for the challenge! This was my first time making cheesecake. It didn't go very smoothly, so I can't wait to try again. The recipe was delicious though!! Yours looks amazing!

Lori said...

This was a great challenge Jenny. I would not have tried this recipe because I already feel like I have the best cheesecake recipe. Wrong. This was the best, truly.

George said...

Oh drool! That cheesecake looks gorgeous. Thanks for such a wonderful challenge.

art and lemons said...

Drips of caramel over coffee cheesecake, it sounds and looks so good.

Jess said...

Jenny, I love this recipe! I've never made a whole cheeecake, just cheesecake cupcakes. It was SOO good! I made the Key Lime one, super good. It will definitely be in my go to Cheesecake recipe, it was amazing! Your cheesecakes look amazing, and I'm sure your coworkers love that you just "had" to bring in cheesecake all the time! Thanks for the great recipe!

JMom said...

Jenny, thanks for hosting this month's Daring Baker. This was a fabulous recipe! Great choice.

Nico said...

very nice recipe for the cheesecake, it was the best I ever had. Thanks

Katie said...

Wow this was one heavenly cheesecake. Thanks so much for such a delicious challange. Your cheesecakes look divine!

Dewi said...

Thank you for hosting and choosing this month challenge Jenny. I had fun of making this cheesecake. It was delicious!

Yours look absolutely gorgeous!
Cheers,
elra

Aparna Balasubramanian said...

Jenny, thank you very much for choosing a cheesecake for us to make and being a great host.
I have never made a baked cheesecake before and I made two entirely different eggless versions.
Your recipe produced a very creamy and delicious cheesecake which I'm going to keep using from now onwards. My thanks to your friend Abbey too.

kk said...

Hi Jenny..thanks for a great challenge! I really enjoyed your cheesecake recipe! Your cheesecakes look amazing, I wish I was one of your testers. =P

Shaheen said...

Thank you Jenny, for hosting such a wonderful challenge! I absolutely loved, loved, loved it! :D

Meredith said...

Thanks for the great recipe! This was the most delicious challenge ever!!! And except for the crust it was even gluten free- Thank you, thank you!

Lisa said...

Jenny, thanks so much for a great challenge and recipe! Naturally, your cheesecake looks divine! Great job!

Basht said...

it was an awesome first challenge for me. Thanks so much for that.

Meeta K. Wolff said...

jenny a lovely challenge thanks so much for sharing your friends creamy cheesecake! it really was the best i have ever had!

BC said...

This cheesecake was fantastic - thank you for being such a lovley hostess!

linda said...

Yum, caramel!
Thanks for the challenge Jenny!

Anzj said...

Wonderfully creamy smooth cheese cake. It is now my absolute favourite of all cheesecake recipes I made so far. Mine was a wonderful white chocolate cheesecake on a crust of 5spice cookies (speculaas). Very VERY good!

PheMom said...

Thank you for a fun challenge! Your cheesecake looks wonderful!

Unknown said...

Thanks so much for hosting this month, Jenny!

Rhyleysgranny said...

Can I just say that was a wonderful choice for the April challenge. I have never eaten let alone make a baked cheese cake. It was superb. I thank you (and Abbey)It was lovely. I have been raving about it since I made it and the recipe is going around like wild fire. Thank you again Jenny

Medhaa said...

Jenny thank you for this challenge, i got to make my fav cheese cake at home.

Esi said...

Thanks for hosting this challenge and allowing for so much creativity. I had fun!

Laurie said...

Thanks for this wonderful recipe! I love it, its my new fave.

Kristine said...

Jenny: thanks for the great challenge. And please, please let Abbey T. know that while I still don't love cheesecake, her recipe is perfect. I made it twice, my family would eat it every day. The texture is lovely. Really the best cheesecake I've made. I'm so glad to finally have a go-to recipe for all those in my life who ask for cheesecake. Kristine

Eva said...

Great recipe! I might need to try the coffee caramel one now....

Y said...

Thanks Jenny, for the choice of challenge. It was great that you allowed us to experiment a little and be creative!

Lauren said...

This was an awesome challenge!! Thanks for choosing cheesecake =D!

Young Adventures... said...

Jenny, thanks so much for hosting the challenge. This cheesecake recipe is absolutely delicious! It will be my new go to recipe.

Engineer Baker said...

Thanks for the freedom on this challenge - it was really fun! Oh, and the texture of this cheesecake? Spot-on perfect.

Christine said...

Thanks for hosting this month! Your cake looks delicious and my family and I very much enjoyed this treat!

Anonymous said...

This was a wonderful recipe and produced such a GREAT cheesecake! Thanks for the fab challenge!! :)

Elissa said...

Jenny, thank you for such an amazing challenge! It was my first month as a DB and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Your cheesecake looks super creamy and delicious... Mmm!

Memória said...

Jenny, thanks for the challenge!!

trishtator said...

Wow - two months of cheesecake baking? Dedication!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the recipe. It was fantastic. I made cheesecake cups topped with boysenberry syrup and blueberries. Yum!

Kitchenlander said...

Thank you Jenny for hosting this challenge and for the great recipe!
It's going to be a new staple of mine!

(And say HI to Abbey!)

Simones Kitchen said...

Thanks Jenny for picking this lovely cheesecake recipe! I never used to like cheesecake as I didn't particularly care for the taste of the ones I had tried before, so I was a little anxious about this recipe being my first cheesecake ever. But the taste was just absolutely perfect!! Loved the challenge and your cheesecake looks lovely!

L*Joy said...

jenny
thanks for picking such a perfect, user friendly, and delicious challenge that also enabled us to be creative!
this recipe will be made again around this house.

Abbey T. said...

Oh my gosh, I am absolutely humbled by all the positive responses to my recipe. Seriously, thank you everyone. I'm so excited to read about all the variations that were made! I've said to people for years now that it's the "best cheesecake they'll ever eat", and it's nice to now have so much proof to back up the statement. ;-)

Marija said...

Thanks a lot for a yummy challenge!

Dharm said...

Jenny! Thanks for the great challenge this month. I know its not easy hosting so many, many thanks. The recipe was great and we all enjoyed the cheesecake. Yours looks pretty darned superb as well!

CookiePie said...

What a great challenge, so fun!! Thanks for a fabulous choice, and a wonderful recipe!

Jenny* said...

Oh - another baking Jenny!yummy things on your blog....!
have a look@mine:

www.ilovemuffins.es/blog

Jenny*

Marian said...

Oh me oh my; does this cheesecake ever look GOOD!!!
Ijust discovered your blog - love it! - and am looking forward to reading more!

Trying Traditional said...

Just now posting my photo, etc, for some reason I thought today was the 27th...oops. Mine ended up a dark chocolate chili cheesecake. Thank you so much for hosting, it was a wonderful recipe and the encouragement to experiment was great.

Anonymous said...

What a nice looking cheesecake! thanks for hosting jenny!

Carly said...

Thanks so much for this challenge! I loved the free reign for creativity you gave us. It made it really fun! Thanks a bunch!

steph- whisk/spoon said...

thanks to you and your friend for a great recipe!

Arlette said...

Hello Jenny
What a nice challenge, cheesecakes are one of my favourites, thanks for hosting a great challenge.
by the way your cake is calling my name!!!!

Jen Yu said...

Dear Jenny,

You rock! I've made a lot of cheesecakes. I am not a huge cheesecake fan. But this recipe - THE BEST. I think if people don't like cheesecake, they just haven't tasted THIS ONE yet :) Thank you for hosting. You are teh goddess!

tina said...

Jenny thanks for being a wonderful hostess and for a keeper of a recipe.

Anita said...

Love the caramel sauce on your cheesecake! Sounds like a fantastic cheesecake recipe.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for choosing such a great challenge! I'm not big fan for cheesecakes but I'm converted now. I love your cheesecake which looks so soft and creamy. Again, thank you so much!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Thanks for hosting this month's challenge! The cheesecake was outstanding!

CECIL said...

Thanks so much for hosting this month's challenge!! Such a perfect dessert - my kind of dessert. :D

creampuff said...

Jenny, take a bow! You did a great job hosting the challenge on your own and you chose an amazing recipe. Based on all the interpretations, people really took to this challenge. Thanks for being such a great hostess!

Your cheesecake is gorgeous!

isa said...

Thanks to you, my first Daring Bakers challenge was a success!
Coffee and caramel are a perfect match. Your cheesecake looks gorgeous.

Pontch said...

Thank you Jenny for a great challenge and tasty recipe
it was fun
:-}

Jenny Tan said...

Thanks for sharing Abbey's recipe with all of us. Though I'm not exactly a huge fan of regular cheesecake, indeed this is very creamy and delicious.
Do you remove the icing in the Oreo cookies? I have done that and it worked...plus, it not overly sweet. Definitely like the coffee and caramel version...mmmm..mmm.!! :) Thanks again!

minisuperbias said...

amazing challenge! i will never use another cheesecake recipe again! :D

ice tea: sugar high said...

Thank you so much for hosting this month's challenge Jenny.. Especially thank you so much for the Fantabulous recipe that have made me a cheesecake convert. Please give Abbey a hug and a kiss from all of us for sharing his (in)famous recipe.

Lorraine @NotQuiteNigella said...

Thanks so much for hosting the challenge Jenny! What a great recipe and idea choice :)

Isa said...

The first pic is the money-shot! Wow. Drool.

Thank you SO MUCH for the recipe and for hosting this month's DB. I certainly had a lot of fun!

PAM said...

Jenny,
Thanks for all the hard work you put into this challenge. It was fun to create a cheesecake of our own with a great base recipe.

alana said...

I loved this challenge- and this is totally my new go-to cheesecake recipe. Thanks so much for hosting the challenge!

Lisa said...

Thank you for the wonderful challenge this month. Your cake looks fab-U-lous!!

Christina said...

Jenny this challenge was, in a word, Fabulous! Your cheesecake looks delicious! And I love that you prepared for it by making cheesecake for 2 months before!

Jenny said...

Thanks for hosting this month - I know I wasn't feeling particularly inspired this month, but then a good part of that was a lack of time, not the recipe itself.
Great to have coworkers who will eat what you make - mine are on weight watchers so won't touch things.

Dianne said...

Jenny, thanks for a stellar hosting job this month! The cheesecake is divine, and I'm so glad to have the recipe in my baker's arsenal. So delicious!

Congratulations on a challenge well-hosted.

Ninette said...

Hi Jenny, thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting on the mango cheesecake. This is my first DB challenge, and I had never made cheesecake before. I also appreciated your allowing us to be creative -- the amount of variation was incredible! I'm a terrible baker, but I had beginner's luck. Thanks for making this possible for me.

Laura said...

Hi Jenny!

Thanks for stopping by my blog. I had fun with your pick, something people love and it can played with so many flavors.

Happy baking!

cristina said...

Jenny! Thank you very much! I love your cheesecake and congratulations for your blog is fantastic and thank you for writing me. I'm happy to meet you because i'm going to learn a lotof you!

Wendy said...

Thanks for the great challange. It is the creamiest cheesecake ever! I am definitely making it again. Your photo looks absolutely delicious. Wendy

Laura said...

I LOVED this challenge as well--I don't think I have ever been prouder of a dessert that I've made. Your plain cheesecake, btw, looks heavenly and makes me want to make another one. Yikes.

rida said...

Hi jenny, I must say that your cheese cake seems absolutely divine, the top is evenly baked & unblemished, I had many unfortunate baking incidents until I found this really simple & amazing recipe. I'd like to share it with you & other people here http://hubpages.com/hub/Cheese-Cake

Laura said...

Thanks Jenny! Loved the cheesecake recipe! I love my own cheesecake recipe so much, I never would have branched out without this impetus. I'm so glad I did. I have a new favorite and got so many great ideas from everyone.

dandelion said...

Amazing recipe! THX for hosting, I know it takes some time to experiment and pick a recipe. This cheesecake is a keeper. My family really loved it.

Brownies for Dinner said...

Thanks for this great challenge! Even though I waited until the last minute to bake mine, I was so glad that I did. The recipe was perfect!

Cook the Books said...

What a great challenge Jenny! Thanks so much :)

farida said...

Jenny, thank you for stopping by my blog. It is me who has to thank you for choosing such a great challenge. I enjoyed both making and eating the cake:)Thank you!!!!

Andreas said...

Jenny thank you for hosting this fun challenge. (I'm late to the party, I know.)I didn't make the connection that you were this months host, due to your new avatar on the DB forum. I only knew your avatar from the top-left of this blog and your comments on other blogger-powered blogs.

Anonymous said...

Jenny - thanks for hosting the challenge, and for choosing cheesecake! I love the shot of the slice - mouthwatering :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this great recipe. It's so fun to see how everyone made it their own! Great job!

Unknown said...

I'm having a linky party called A Themed Baker's Sunday and this week's theme is Cheesecake! I'd love it if you dropped by and link up! And join us for next week's theme: Cake/Cake Pops!
http://cupcakeapothecary.blogspot.com/2011/05/themed-bakers-sunday-5.html
Alyssa

Anonymous said...

I've made this wonderful recipe so many times and with many variations. It has become my go-to when cheesecake is on the menu. I've even made it sugar free (using erythritol to replace the sugar) when I need a good dessert for a diabetic friend.

So here's my hint:
Instead of a cut-away foil pan or a springform pan (with removable sides), I bake the cheesecake in a round silicone pan that is deeper than a regular cake pan and as deep as a springform pan. It allows me to use the water bath without having to worry about leaks!

When it's time to remove the pan from the oven I cool it to room temp and then freeze it. Later I pop the entire frozen cheesecake out of the silicone pan and place it on a serving platter to thaw. Sometimes I garnish the top with melted chocolate or even sugared flowers.

I hope this helps others avoid the nightmares of mushy crusts that happen when water seeps into your springform pan despite your best efforts to keep it out.