Wish Upon A Chef

Here at Wish Upon A Chef we talk mostly about food and recipes, but I want break from tradition for just a few minutes and talk about life.  And we can't really talk about life without also talking about death. 

I started this blog in 2006 during a rough patch in my life.  Cooking and blogging gave me something to look forward to and be accountable for and I blogged like hell during those days.  Things eventually worked out for the best and I've thanked my lucky stars for the joy and happiness I've experienced since those dark days.  But I think we all know it can't be roses and rainbows every single day and blogging or cooking can't always cure what ails you.

My blog has been without words for the last 3 months.  My meals have consisted mostly from the stock of frozen prepared foods in my freezer.  There has been no creativity or desire.  No words would come. 

My mother has been battling stage III cancer since September.  She is preparing for a bone marrow transplant in March at Vanderbilt hospital.

We tragically lost my 16-year-old cousin to suicide in November.

Jesse James, my furry four-legged companion of nearly 12 years, died in February. 

My job has caused a great deal of anxiety and stress over the past several months. 

I look at myself in the mirror and I hate what I see - the dark circles under my eyes, hair badly in need of coloring.  I hate the way I feel - lethargic, unmotivated, depressed.  My thoughts have been dark and brooding.  I've been going through the motions and nothing more, but it's time to change all of that and the only way I know how is to dive right back into life. 

It's time to breathe life back into Wish Upon A Chef and resurrect a few other projects that I've been working on.  It's time to be thankful for the times we've had and make the most of the time still yet to come. 

I chose a Caramel Apple Cheesecake from Pinterest as my inspiration for getting back into the kitchen.  The recipe that I found was based on Mimi Hodges' Candy Apple Pie, which won the Pie of Emeril's Eye contest, but I tweaked it just a bit more and came up with the perfect blend of sweetness to celebrate a friend's birthday this past weekend.

It's life.  It's death.  It's all going to get in the way at times.


Caramel Apple Cheesecake
adapted from Mimi Hodges, winner of Good Morning, America’s “Pie of Emeril’s Eye” Contest, 2000


Crust
1 1/2 cups ginger snap cookie crumbs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
5 1/3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Apple Filling
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3-4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
Cheesecake
16 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Caramel
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup chopped pecans, for garnish

To make the crust: preheat the oven to 375 F. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper. Combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and melted butter in a medium bowl. Use a fork to stir until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Transfer the mixture to the prepared springform pan and press into an even layer over the bottom and about two-thirds of the way up the sides of the pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until golden in color. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes.  Reduce oven heat to 350 F. 

To make the apple filling: Melt the butter in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the brown sugar, salt and cinnamon, stirring to combine, and cook until gently bubbling, about 1 minute. Add the apples and toss to coat. Cook until the slices are tender, and most of the liquid in the pan has been reduced, about 15-20 minutes.  Add the cooked apples to the cooled crust.

Refrigerate the crust while you make the filling. 

To make the cheesecake layer: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Add the vanilla, egg and lemon juice and beat until incorporated and smooth, about 1-2 minutes. Pour the cheesecake batter over the apples in the crust and spread into an even layer. Bake until the cheesecake is set, about 20-30 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 4 hours before making and adding the caramel.

To make the caramel sauce: Add the butter, brown sugar and heavy cream to a medium saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Lower the heat to medium and continue boiling until the mixture thickens slightly, about 7-8 minutes. Turn off the heat and let cool slightly.

Remove the sides of the springform pan, then gently pour the caramel over the cheesecake. Garnish with chopped pecans, if desired. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

Among our group of friends, there are three different February birthdays to be celebrated so Boy Toy and I made plans to encompass all the Aquarius and Pisces among us into one big gathering at one of our favorite places, Morgan Ridge Vineyards.  One birthday girl particularly likes red velvet cake so I decided to put a little different spin on things by making a red velvet cheesecake from a recipe that I found on Pinterest for everyone to enjoy.  We discovered that it pairs really well with red wine!

Toward the end of June, Boy Toy and I spent a lovely afternoon at Morgan Ridge Winery and quickly put it on our list of things we must do again.  We were so stoked to see the Living Social deal offered in January that we spread the word to all of our friends and loaded up 12 of them and headed back there for the birthday celebration. They have a beautiful patio and pavilion area but we were relegated to staying indoors this time because of the cold rainy weather. Once again we had a lovely time - the tour, the tasting, the cheese plate, the variety of wines and the camaraderie we shared were still the conversation buzz at dinner a couple of hours later.

And can I just say that here it is two days later and the red velvet cheesecake is still the buzz among everyone too.  It was probably one of the best cheesecakes I've ever made (running a very close race with this one) and there was not one crumb left to verify its existence.  I've already been asked to repeat the performance.  


The vibrant red color was enough to WOW the crowd and the addition of tangy buttermilk added a certain creamy richness not found in other cheesecakes.  Some reviewers at Recipe Girl, where the recipe seems to have originated, said they thought the amount of cream cheese frosting was too much but I'm here to tell you that it totally made the cake.  Just like cream cheese frosting on a red velvet cupcake or cake, you can never have enough and it was the crème de la crème of dessert.  Don't skimp on that part!


I had a box of edible silver from a long ago purchase at Dean & Deluca that I finally decided to break open and use for garnish.  It retailed for $44 and I got it for a steal of a deal from the discount bin but I still used it sparingly.  It added just the right amount of birthday bling but if you change out the garnishes, this red beauty would be a hit for Christmas or Valentine's Day.



Red Velvet Cheesecake with Cream Cheese Frosting

printable recipe

Ingredients:
CRUST:
17 Oreo cookies, crushed finely
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 Tablespoon granulated white sugar
CHEESECAKE:
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 ounces red food coloring (two 1-ounce bottles)
FROSTING:
3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
heavy duty foil

Directions: 1. Prepare crust: Stir together Oreo crumbs, melted butter, and 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare water bath: Fill large roasting pan (big enough for springform pan to fit into) with about 1 inch of water. Place in oven and allow to preheat along with the oven.

3. Prepare filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs and remaining cheesecake ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.

4. Take out two sheets of heavy duty foil and layer them on top of one another. Place springform pan on top of the foil and wrap the foil gently around the pan and up the sides. Make sure that there are no tears or holes and that the foil comes all the way up around all sides of the cake. Carefully place the foil-protected pan into the water bath in the preheated oven.

5. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°F. Bake for an additional 75 minutes or until the center is firm. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven for 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven. Carefully remove cheesecake from water bath and place on wire rack. Run a thin knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake. Cool on rack for a couple of hours, until the cheesecake becomes close to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours (or overnight). Remove sides of springform pan.

6. Prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly on top of cheesecake. Garnish, if desired.

Source: RecipeGirl.com (Adapted from Southern Living)

Pumpkin is everywhere in the food blogosphere these days. Pie. Bread. Milkshakes. Even my friend Gina celebrates an entire month of pumpkin this time of year.

Dare I admit, for fear of being burned at the stake, that I don't really care for pumpkin? I've just never had anything that bowled me over. There was the pumpkin white chocolate cheesecake that I made for many years and pretended to love. And there were cookies and bars that were okay but it was really the cream cheese frosting that I adored. So why, pray tell, did I decide to spend my time on yet another pumpkin kitchen project? Why did I spend my money on two pounds of cream cheese, a can of pumpkin, and a bag of marshmallows?

Because Bon Appetit tempted me to, that's why.

I had torn BA's recipe for Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow Sour Cream Topping and Gingersnap Crust from the magazine when it was first published in November 2008 but each year afterward when pumpkin season rolled around, I was guilty of hiding it at the bottom of my "To Try" recipe pile. When it resurfaced again this year, I just happened to be in the right mood.

I think we can all admit that, by itself, pumpkin is boring. Can't we? But add two pounds of cream cheese and typical spices, bake it in a gingersnap/pecan/candied ginger crust and slather it with sour cream and melted marshmallows....well, now we've got something to get excited about!

It was DIVINE, people. I just hate that I waited so long to give it a fighting chance. Don't be guilty of making the same mistake. The cheesecake was very easy to pull together and it baked up beautifully without a waterbath. I have a gas oven and after only 1 hour of baking time, I decided to call it quits. The next day, I cut into what turned out to be a deliciously smooth and creamy center. Deeee vine, I tell you. Try it now.


Pumpkin Cheesecake with Marshmallow Sour Cream Topping & Gingersnap Crust
Bon Appetit, November 2008


Ingredients:

crust
•Nonstick vegetable oil spray
•2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 9 ounces)
•1 cup pecans (about 3 1/2 ounces)
•1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
•2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
•1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

filling
•4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
•2 cups sugar
•1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
•5 large eggs
•3 tablespoons all purpose flour
•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
•1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
•1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
•1/4 teaspoon salt
•2 tablespoons vanilla extract

topping
•2 cups mini marshmallows or large marshmallows cut into 1/2-inch cubes
•1/4 cup whole milk
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1/8 teaspoon salt
•1 cup sour cream

Preparation:

crust
•Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides with nonstick spray. Grind cookie crumbs, pecans, brown sugar, and ginger in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; using on/off turns, process to blend. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; press onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake crust until set and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

filling
•Preheat oven to 350°F. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in pumpkin. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating on low speed to incorporate each addition. Add flour, spices, and salt; beat just to blend. Beat in vanilla. Transfer filling to cooled crust. Bake until filling is just set in center and edges begin to crack (filling will move slightly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour 20 minutes. Cool 1 hour. Run knife around sides of pan to release crust. Chill cheesecake uncovered in pan overnight.

topping
•Stir marshmallows and milk in medium saucepan over low heat until marshmallows are melted. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and salt. Cool marshmallow mixture to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
•Add sour cream to marshmallow mixture; fold gently just to blend. Pour topping over cheesecake and spread evenly, leaving 1/2 inch uncovered around edges. Chill to set topping, at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Cheesecake can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.

There are times my mind gets so off-kilter with thoughts and worry for friends and family that nothing sets it right like immersing myself in a kitchen project. I decided on this particular worrisome day that a cheesecake was in order and before long I began to realize how much like a cheesecake that life really is.

There are plain cheesecakes and plain lives. Even though neither are embellished with extra goodness, they are still rich with quality ingredients and aren't nearly as simplistic as they appear at first glance.

There are those whose lives are likened to a rich, decadent, exotically flavored cheesecake. The same quality ingredients as the plain, but the extra frills make each bite of life sickeningly sweet.

And no matter how much patience, time and attention you dedicate to any flavor of cheesecake, there are times when, due to some cosmic kitchen disaster or outside life interference, it's going to have a momentary lapse of reason and crack wide open.


What if my life were compared to a cheesecake? It would be just like this Black Raspberry jewel with Chambord Glaze. Plain in appearance, but once you delve in, you'll find it slightly sweet and a bit fruity. Rich in things that matter, but not obnoxiously so. A hint of intoxication and only a slight few surface cracks but nothing that needs major repair.

If you find yourself pondering the meaning of life as compared to a cheesecake, try this one on for size and see how it suits you!

Black Raspberry Cheesecake with Chambord Glaze

Crust:
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1-1/4 cup chocolate wafer cookies, crumbled (I used chocolate Teddy Grahams)
Filling:
2-1/2 pounds of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
6 eggs
17 ounces seedless black raspberry preserves
Topping:
1/2 cup sour cream
1-1/2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 tablespoons Chambord

Crust: combine melted chocolate and butter. Cool slightly. Stir in crumbs. Pat in bottom of a greased 10" spring form pan. Chill 1 hour.

Filling: Cream together cheese and sugar. Add flour and continue creaming, scraping down sides of bowl. Add eggs, 2 at a time, beating on low speed until blended. Blend in blackberry preserves. Pour into prepared crust and bake 325 degrees for about 60 minutes or until edge of cake is dry and rounded and begins to pull away from sides of pan. Remove from oven, cool and refrigerate.

Topping. After cake has cooled and has been removed from pan, combine topping ingredients until well blended. Gently pour over cake (tip: you may want to heat the combined ingredients in the microwave for about 30 seconds to make it easier to pour).

Cheesecake is best if made the day before serving.

The folks over at POM Wonderful spent $34 million in medical research just so they could tout how healthy their tangy pomegranate juice is with no added sugars, preservatives or colors, gluten-free and loaded with potassium.

And what do I do with it?



Leave it to me to take something so healthy good-for-you and turn it into something so sinfully delicious and artery-clogging by turning it into a rich and creamy cheesecake slathered with a gorgeous ruby red pomegranate glaze that just begs to be dived into.

Seriously....look at that. Couldn't you just swim in that pool of pomegranate?

The cheesecake is the most excellent one from last year's Daring Bakers challenge and the glaze is a very simple combination that is also perfect for serving over vanilla ice cream. It will thicken up after it cools, so plan to either thin it with a bit of warm water or additional juice or just nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds to loosen it up.

It ain't healthy, but it sure is good!

If you'd like other Pom Wonderful recipe ideas, visit these links:

Pomegranate Gelato
Pomegranate Glazed Cornish Hens
Pomegranate Martini

Cheesecake with Pomegranate Glaze:

crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 stick butter, melted
2 tbsp. 1 tsp. vanilla extract

cheesecake:
3 sticks of cream cheese, 8 oz each (total of 24 oz) room temperature
1 cup
3 large eggs
1 cup
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

glaze:
2 cups of Pom Wonderful pomegranate juice
3 tbsp. cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 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, top with pomegranate glaze and serve.

To prepare the glaze:

In a medium saucepan, mix the cornstarch with the sugar. Slowly stir in the pomegranate juice and mix well. Cook the sauce over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to thicken and darkens to a deep wine color, and the sauce coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and let cool. The sauce may be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator. When ready to use, thin to desired consistency with water or additional pomegranate juice.

....pretty much everyone I know!

April is probably my most favorite month....the world seems to take on a fresh, new Springy green look with the flowers and trees in bloom, the weather is still a bit sporadic but the warm days bring people out of hibernation from a long cold winter, and this month is also loaded with birthday celebrations for special people in my life.

On April 11, my office celebrated my boss's birthday and while it would be really unethical and weird to say that he is a special person in my life, he does sign my paycheck so that makes him an honorary special person.

April 13 marks the date that Captain Sturm was born into this world and while he's no longer at the top of my "Special People" list, it would be rude for me not to acknowledge his special day at least nonchalantly.

I have April 21 to thank for bringing the Italian into my life.

April 22 brings about a celebration for my sweet four-legged constant companion Jesse James who loves me unconditionally and forces me to take long walks when I don't really feel like it.

And the most special person of all who celebrates a birthday in April is ME! April 27 marks the day that my mother realized the greatest joy in her life {isn't that right, Mother?} The years may be adding up, but I can honestly say that at this point in time, I feel so unbelievable happy and young at heart - I just remarked to one of my girlfriends the other day that if I were any happier, I'd burst into a million pieces!

How fortunate for me is it that my birthday is the day that the Daring Bakers' April challenge gets posted? I can't help but think that all these lovely cheesecakes were made especially for me on my special day. The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. We were given free reign with this recipe to be as daring and creative as we wanted to be. I wanted to be as creative as my pantry would allow without having to purchase anything other than cream cheese, because it's already somewhat ridiculous that a weekly grocery bill for a single chick hovers around $150 per week. A quick inventory of my shelves showed several boxes of crystallized ginger and a jar of lemon curd. And so a lemon ginger cheesecake was born right here in my kitchen last night.

I was really afraid that the nearly 1 cup of chopped crystallized ginger would be overpowering, but in the end, the flavors melded very well. I used the zest and juice of only 1 lemon and in retrospect could have added a ton more zest and still been happy with the results. I knew the cheesecake would be topped with lemon curd so I erred on the side of caution. I did not use any liqueur because I didn't have anything on hand that complimented my chosen flavors but I was recently intrigued by a ginger flavored vodka that I saw on the shelf in the ABC store this past weekend.

I loved the texture of this cheesecake - so fluffy and creamy. I've had some cheesecakes that tasted like nothing more than eating a brick of cream cheese right out of the foil package. This will definitely be a great basic recipe that I will keep in my files for when creativity in a springform pan strikes me again. There was alot of discussion on the DB forums about how to prevent water from seeping into the layers of foil during the waterbath. I've never solved that mystery myself, so I opted to put the pan of water on the rack below. My cake cracked - which is nothing new for me - but that's what garnish is for, people. No one ever knew that those lemon slices were strategically placed over the San Andreas Cheesecake Fault.

Congratulations on another great Daring Bakers challenge {make sure you head over to Jenny's blog JennyBakes for the awesome recipe that she chose} and happy birthday to you, you, you, and me! I'm so excited to read about all of these fabulous birthday cheesecakes - about as excited as I am about the birthday present that I bought for myself!!!

It's not very often that I eat dinner at a restaurant and immediately feel compelled to run home and re-create something from my dining experience. In fact, I don't think that has ever happened, but they say there is a first time for everything. A few weeks ago, while I was visiting my family in Tennessee, we had dinner at a quaint little out-of-the-way bistro with an awesome menu. My dinner was great - shrimp with cheese grits - but it was the dessert that had me running back to my own kitchen to recreate.

Maybe it was because I was feeling nostalgic by being back in the town where I grew up, back to my roots.  Or maybe it was just because the slice of Orange Creamsicle cheesecake was so darn good. Either way, each luscious and creamy bite conjured up images of when I was a kid riding home from school on the bus that was driven by my grandfather.

After he finished driving his route, he would stop at the little gas station/convenience store close to his house and let me buy a treat. Sometimes it was a pack of Elvis Presley trading cards and sometimes it would be a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup but more often than not, it was a Creamsicle. Even knowing that my grandmother had a big dinner waiting for us as soon as we darkened the door, I was allowed to eat my treat right away (yeah, I was spoiled. Big deal. I turned out okay...well, sort of, but that's a whole different story).


As soon as I darkened my own door after devouring this sinful dessert, I searched the internet for a recipe and came upon this blog by someone named Charles French. Seems like Charles also has a fondness for Orange Creamsicles and posted his version in the form of a cheesecake. Take his advice and don't increase the amount of Cointreau and take my advice and let this jewel sit overnight. I was dying to try it so Captain Sturm and I had some friends over for dinner and decided to cut into it only a few hours out of the oven. It had an overpowering, bitter taste from the residual alcohol but by the next day it had mellowed out and I was once again taken to way back when.......


Orange Creamsicle Cheesecake

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/4 cups sugar -- divided
2 pounds cream cheese at room temp.
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup Cointreau (do not substitute)
1 teaspoon orange extract
4 large eggs at room temp.
4 T heavy cream
zest of one orange finely minced (couple of teaspoons)
1 pinch salt
8 oz Sour Cream
Orange food coloring

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/4c sugar, orange zest, and 6 tablespoons butter into the bowl of a food processor and blitz, about 30 seconds until you have crumbs.

Pour this mixtures into a 9" cheesecake pan and press down with your knuckles so the pan is fully covered on the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides and well pressed.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes until set. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack.

Lower oven temp to 275.

Place 1 package of cream cheese in the large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer bowl) along with about 1/4 of the remaining cup of sugar, beat until well combined, add in about 1/4 of the sour cream and beat until whipped well. Make certain you scrape down the bowl from time to time while doing this.

Repeat this process until all packages of cream cheese, the sugar and the sour cream are incorporated and well mixed, scrape the bowl down often.

At this point add the Cointreau, add the vanilla and orange extracts, and the heavy cream then add the salt. Slowly add the eggs a little at time while continuing to mix & scrape the bowl. Once all of this has been added whip another minute or two. Reserve 2 cups of the batter and then pour the rest into the spring form pan. With the remaining 2 cups of batter add orange food coloring until you get a tangerine color. When you get the color right, pour it in 4 dollops on top of the batter in the pan. Using a skewer swirl the orange batter into the rest don’t over do it or you’ll lose the swirls. Start with the upper right dollop swirling clockwise. Then down to the bottom right swirling counter-clockwise, bottom left, clockwise and upper left counter-clockwise. When you’re done you’ll see that all the swirls move towards the center of the cake.

Open oven, on lowest rack set the baking dish with the water. On the middle rack place the cookie sheet and set the filled spring form pan in it. Close the oven and bake at 275 for about 1 hour 45 minutes. (could take 10 minutes longer due to the alcohol content). The edges should be set but the center should still be wiggly (like jello) when done cooking. There may be some cracks around the edges up to 3/4 of an inch. Don’t worry these will settle beautifully.

Place cake on cooling rack, allow to cool for 30-45 minutes then go around edges with the offset spatula (or a thin knife) to loosen. Allow to continue cooling for 3 more hours. Refrigerate overnight to chill.

Source:
"charlesfrench.com blog"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : Has a bitter aftertaste if not chilled overnight.

Have you ever looked at a recipe and thought that it would be a breeze to put together....easy ingredient list, little to no effort and a great presentation? My momma always told me if it was too good to be true, it probably was. I took one look at this recipe for Ladyfinger Cheesecake that was featured in a 2005 edition of "Taste of Home" magazine and thought my dessert problems were solved.

Each month, the catering kitchen is in charge of preparing a treat for a client who belongs to an investment group. The ladies meet on the first Tuesday, count their money and indulge in dessert. With the economy and stock market such as it is these days, I'd say they're definitely eating more dessert and counting less money! Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I needed inspiration to prepare something that was as pretty as it was delicious so when I ran across the photo of this cheesecake I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. After looking over the list of ingredients, I figured it would be a pretty easy task to accomplish. But since when is anything worth having easy to get? Momma's word were echoing in my head.

The ingredient list was pretty standard stuff that we keep on hand: sugar, cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, and it was no problem to run across the street to pick up the fresh strawberries that it called for. Yeah, well, no problem if the I'd-rather-be-beaten-severely-about-the-head-than-go-to-Walmart store had actually had fresh strawberries. Not one to be detered (read: I'm not wasting a trip into this foresaken place for nothin'), I walked the 1/2 mile to Aisle 8 and grabbed a can of cherry pie filling, walked the 1/2 mile back to the checkout line, stood in line for 15 minutes and headed back to the kitchen. Huge time waster #1.

I figure I need to make up for lost time and quickly start assembling my little ladyfinger fort in my cake pan when a thought occurs to me. The recipe says to use 3 packages ladyfingers, split. The word "split" gets me thinking I probably shouldn't use the hard variety that we carry in the gourmet market but instead use the spongey ones that you get in the grocery store. The photo looks like the hard variety, I reason with myself because I don't want to go back to that place again. I also reason that after soaking up the cream cheese mixture, the ladyfingers would probably soften up much like they do when making tiramisu. Bad thinking on my part, I would later realize. And we won't even go into how long it took me to stand those little boogers around that cake pan. I don't even think having 10 hands would have made it any easier. Once I FINALLY got my fort underway, I dared anyone in the kitchen to breathe for fear of blowing my ladyfinger house down. Huge time waster #2.

From that point on, the ingredients came together very quickly and no one was none the wiser that I had substituted Amaretto spiked cherries for the original fresh berries. The presentation was indeed very nice, but as I was plating the finished cheesecake the next day, I realized that the ladyfingers on the bottom and around the edges were still rock hard and that stood to reason that the ones in the middle were probably just as solid. I'm sure it wasn't the easiest thing to cut and eat, but hopefully they were WOW'd by the sheer beauty of the thing and didn't give much thought to their cracked tooth enamel.

Moral of this story....when in doubt, use the spongey lady fingers! Oh, and listen to your mother.

Alison Thought It Was Going To Be Easy Cherry Cheesecake

1 can cherry pie filling
2 tablespoons Amaretto
2 cups sugar
3 packages ladyfingers, split
32 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups heavy whipping cream

In a bowl, combine cherry pie filling and Amaretto. Set aside. Arrange 25 split ladyfingers around the edges of a 10" springform pan. Place 25 more on the bottom; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar. In a large bowl, beat cream until stiff peaks form. Gradually fold into cream cheese mixture.

Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture into prepared pan. Spread with 3/4 of cherry pie filling within 1" of edges. Arrange remaining ladyfingers over top of pie filling. Spoon remaining cream cheese mixture over ladyfingers. Cover; refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan and top with remaining cherry pie filling.