Are you one? I am. Like bad! Always have been. A cheesecake person, that is. Cheesecake has always been like the ultimate dessert in my opinion. And thanks to my mom, it was a treat that only showed up once in a great while. That must have also made it more special! Ever since I can remember, if cheesecake was on a menu, I would ask if I could order it. THEN this restaurant called THE CHEESECAKE FACTORY showed up in my adult life and I was waiting tables at an Italian restaurant right next door! In my opinion, they should toss their mammoth menu and just stick to their sign because their cheesecake rocks! (I have tried a few, but I always get the raspberry-white chocolate) Here's where it gets weird - I never once thought about making one myself. I am not big on baking and in my whole life until menopause, I have always leaned toward savory! Specifically - CHEESE! I just didn't think about making one because I never thought I could. I thought they were too difficult to pull off and I love them wherever I go so why make one!? Then I moved to Houston, rearranged and cleaned Lars' kitchen and his amazing pantry and all of his kitchen equipment like took over my existence and I began dabbling into the scientific world of bakers! They probably wouldn't want me. I am not precise. I am all about my hands and dashes of this and a little more of that. That is one of the beauties, though, of being in the kitchen. You can create, screw up, try again, keep at it, make adjustments, have fun.... The arts are what give me that feeling of living authentically. No matter what we are creating through our practice, experience, imagination - we are creating! If the only soul on earth that finds joy and purpose through your creativity is yourself - you win!
Can you believe it? My very first cheesecake that I ever made was last year and it is still my favorite one. What I am cuckoo for when it comes to being in the kitchen is executing my own ideas. I am not someone who enjoys recipes. I never have. I respect recipe followers. Being in the kitchen in any way is a great thing. For me, I want to create. When it comes to baking I know measuring is important, so of course, I needed help with the basics. Whenever I create a new dish, if there's a technique I do not know, I will research those techniques before creating my own version. My favorite guy for baking tutorials has a youtube channel called "Preppy Kitchen."
Lars had these amazing cherries - "Luxardo - Original Marischino Cherries" - so like any dish, I always start by what ingredients are moving me. These cherries blew my mind so I knew I wanted to use them. I decided to go with a basic vanilla cheesecake with a honey-graham crust. I made a vanilla glaze and put a thin layer on top. There are cherries & a bit of cherry juice married in with the filling as well and topped with the star cherries.
The pantry that inspired my cheesecake trials..... (post organization :) )
A few months later, I combined my TWO loves - Cheesecake and Key Lime Pie! I decided to go with a chocolate biscotti crust and topped it with a homemade whipped topping and chocolate drizzle. I loved the tart, fresh key lime tang paired with bitter sweet chocolate.
Whew - this pumpkin cheesecake was so good! It's all about FRESH, quality ingredients! But when you toast nuts on the stove, they toast up very quickly because of the oils. I over did these beautiful pecans. It was very sad, but we loved it anyway. For this I used a ginger snap crust.
And then came Christmas 2021. I HATE eggnog! Always have! Always!!! Blegh!!! Then, Lars made an eggnog drink with nutmeg and as I reluctantly took a sip, I was like, "mmmm!!!" So, with some eggnog remaining, I thought I would do some holiday, mini, eggnog cheesecakes. I topped them with a thin layer of homemade icing and some festive sprinkles. For the crust I processed some dark chocolate pretzels and they were a bit fudgy/moist, but these were very tasty too! (I still HATE eggnog unless cheesecake or alcohol is involved. :) )
This was a flop! I mean, the chocolaty explosion was good. Lars has beautiful bags of imported chocolate in the pantry. And he's one of those who buys all things as though we are planning for the end of days. I wanted to use the amazing chocolate. I love raspberries with chocolate, but I think my sauce was just a visual flop. Tasty, not pretty.
Lol - I saw these teeny, weeny marshmallows at HEB and I was like, SMORES!!! So for Thanksgiving 2022, I topped our pumpkin cheesecake with a marshmallow topping and the teeny marshmalllows and a drizzle of too thick chocolate. Then, of course, I got to use the blow torch. It was NOT a success! Pumpkin plus the Smore' style just didn't work. Too competitive. They didn't play nicely together. But I still love those teeny marshmallows! :)
Since I wasn't transitioning or cleaning or remodeling or purging anymore and I was settling into my new life in Texas, my 2022 cheesecakes were gifts. I ordered a few disposable cake holders and some fun piping bags. This is a vanilla cheesecake with graham cracker crust, topped with mixed berries and some decorative butter cream additions. I brought it to a church retreat and the gals enjoyed it very much. My decorating skills are in line with being a 5th grade teacher for 30 years. (No offense to my 5th graders who could likely do a much better job.)
I had to use more teeny, weeny marshmallows! So I created a "Hot Chocolate Cheesecake" and donated it to my church. It was super rich!!! Triple chocolate with a homemade chocolate butter cream. A tiny slice was so satisfying so this cheesecake fed many! I used thin Oreo cookies as the crust. Next time, I would either combine them with graham crackers or not use the white filling side of the cookie because the crust did not hold up well.
There are no boundaries to what we can do with our creativity. What I love about the art of cooking is that we get to share our final product by feeding anyone and everyone! And we all need nourishment now don't we? What is YOUR cheesecake idea? I would love to hear! I think the next one I do will be for Lars' sister's birthday! Since we are celebrating in wine country, I think I will make mini Prosecco cheesecakes with pearl decor! The next one I make for home will have to feature rhubarb because I am so in love with her!!! Happy Cheesecake Eating Everyone!
Love from Tahleforsue
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