Vanilla Speckled Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

I am sometimes an impulsive shopper, but I can usually resist buying the recipe magazines.  But not too long ago, I couldn't resist the cheesecake gracing the cover of Mixingbowl.com which seems to be a magazine published by Better Homes and Gardens.  It was their Baking issue and featured a Vanilla-Speckled Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache.  Now, I'm a sugar for vanilla, especially actual vanilla bean.  (So much so that I've asked for vanilla beans for Christmas).  I wanted to bake it, but more importantly, I wanted to eat it.  The weekend after Thanksgiving finally gave me the opportunity to splurge and bake this cheesecake as we had Thanksgiving dinner with hubby's paternal family.  I always bring dessert and they love me for it. 

The flavors of this cheesecake were great!  But sadly, I have one major issue with the recipe.  The ganache was too firm or the cheesecake was too soft, but it was impossible to slice without it flattening and getting messy.  Thus, no nice slice photo.  Next time, I might add more cream cheese or less sour cream to attempt to fix this issue.  Or perhaps I'll just do a thinner layer of ganache.  I guess I'll just have to make a few more :)

Vanilla Speckled Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache

(Mixingbowl.com, Fall/Winter 2010, page 13)

• 2 cups finely crushhed chocolate graham crackers (about 28 squares)
• 1 tbsp finely shredded orange peel (omitted because hubby would hate it)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2  8-oz packages cream cheese, softened
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup sweetened condences milk
• 2 pints fresh raspberries (purchased but forgotten)
• orange peel strips (optional)

Preheat oven to 325F.  Place an 8 inch springform pan on a large sheet of foil.  Wrap foil around bottom and sides of pan to enclose; set aside.  

For the crust, in a medium bowl combine rushed graham crackers and orange peel.  Stir in melted butter.  Press the crumb mixture onto bottom and up sides of the prepared pan.  Chill while preparing filling.

For filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined after each addition.  Gradually add sugar, beating until filling is creamy.  Beat in sour cream and vanilla bean seeds.  Scrape sides of bowl throughout mixing to prevent any lumps, but do not overbeat.

Pour filling into chilled crust; use a spatula to smooth the top.  Place in a large roasting pan.  Carefully pour enough boiling water into roasting pan to reach one-fourth of the way up the sides of the springform pan.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven for 1 hour or until cheesecake jiggles slightly.  Remove cheesecake from roasting pan to wire rack.  Using a small sharp knife, loosen the crust from pan sides.  Cool for 30 minutes.  Chill, loosely covered, for at least 4 hours.

For ganache, in a small saucepan, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk.  Cook and stir over low heat until smooth.  Spread evenly over cheesecake.  Chill until set.   Just before serving, top with raspberries and, if desired, orange peel strips.  

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

This weekend was jam-packed with in-laws.  Yesterday we went to hubby's cousin's wedding, and today we had an early pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner at his aunt's house (I say pseudo because we had steak and lobster instead of turkey.. that's my kind of Thanksgiving!). His aunt, knowing about this blog and my dreams of baking, asked that I bring dessert. I knew immediately I'd bring the pumpkin spice cookies because they're like crack, but also wanted to bring something a bit more impressive.  I've been wanting to try my hand at a chocolate cheesecake lately as I've only made the plain kind before and this seemed to be the perfect opportunity.  I found this recipe at least a year ago over at The Smitten Kitchen (which is great).  It sounded tasty and I was also super-amused by the teddy graham massacre.   Other than the caramel part, the recipe is easy-peasy.  More importantly, it is delicious! I think I have a few more admirers in my life now.  

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake
(original recipe here)

Crumb Crust

• 1 1/2 cups finely ground cookies,  such as chocolate wafers or teddy grahams 
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
  

Cheesecake

• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 8-oz packages of cream cheese, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla 

 In a medium bowl, stir together dry crumb ingredients (cookie crumbs, sugar, and salt).  Using a fork, mix in the melted butter until all of the ingredients are moistened.  Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1" up the sides of  a buttered 9" springform pan.  Place in the freezer until ready to fill.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

In a small, heavy saucepan, cook the sugar over moderately low heat, stirring slowly until the sugar has melted and is golden.  Continue to cook the caramel, swirling the pan instead of stirring, until it is a deep golden brown.  Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream.  There will be lots of steam and the caramel will harden.  Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until the caramel has softened and dissolved.  Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until smooth.  Stir in the sour cream.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy, then beat in the chocolate mixture on low speed.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is fully incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl between additions.

Put the springform pan in a shallow baking pan.  Pour the filling into the crust and bake (in the baking pan to catch drips) in the middle of the oven for 55 minutes, or until the cake is set 3 inches from the edge and the center is slightly wobbly. (This took maybe 70 minutes for me.)

Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen and cool completely on a rack.  Chill the cake, loosely covered, for at least 6 hours.  Remove the side of the pan and transfer to a plate.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

A few notes:  Hubby and I feel the chocolate overwhelmed the caramel, so next time I might use a mixture of bittersweet and semisweet chocolates or just use less chocolate in general.  Also, the cookie crumb crust is very crumbly.