Lessons Learned from Cheesecake

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2011, and to another (exciting?) year with BusyBeeBets. I’ve already been cooking and baking and knitting up a storm; now to find the time to write about it!

For New Year’s Eve this year, we gathered with friends for a night in to enjoy some good food and drinks. None of this dressing-up-and-spending-lots-of-money-and-fighting-the-crowds nonsense! No, instead, we laughed and ate and drank and played board games, all in the comfort of home, and all for the reasonable price of a GO train ticket (we have since learned that the GO is FREE after 7pm on Dec. 31st). And when the clock struck midnight, we welcomed 2011 with a glass of champagne, a kiss, and flush of the toilet. Yes, you read right. One of our friends likes to be the first one to flush a toilet in our time zone. Strange, yes, but true.

My item to bring for the potluck meal was dessert (our friends read my blog, you see), and for the occasion, I browsed my collection of dessert recipes (both online and in print) and came across one for Candy Cane Cheesecake – prefect for the holidays. But this dessert came with a few struggles (seems everything I do these days has a few roadblocks).

While gathering our ingredients, we searched high and low for candy canes, and wouldn’t you know, we couldn’t find them any where. We thought for sure grocery stores would have them marked down, but turns out we thought wrong. Luckily, earlier that day, we had a massage appointment, and in their waiting room they had a bowl of small candy canes. We nabbed three, just enough for the topping. First hurdle – cleared!

Lesson One: Bake something you know you’ll be able to find all the ingredients for, or be willing to change your recipe.

And then came the baking. I read the recipe the night before, and with baking and cooling time, it took about 4 hours; I thought we’d have enough time to bake it the same day as the party. What a lack in judgement! I greatly underestimated how long it would take to cool, and by the time we had to leave for the train, my cake was still warm and hadn’t yet set. Carefully carrying it to the train station was a feat in itself; trying to keep it level proved to be challenging. When we had found our seats on the train, I checked to see what condition the cake was in, and found that the top had slid a bit, creating an uneven surface, but luckily, that was all. 

Lesson Two: Make sure you plan ahead and leave enough time. I would even recommend baking the day before, if possible.

When we arrived at our friend’s, I was able to put the cake in the fridge, and by the time we were ready for dessert, the cake had set and everything turned out just fine. The ironic thing is, after we ate so much at dinner, we hardly put a dent in the cheesecake! Our friends, whether they wanted to or not, kept the leftovers.

Lesson Three: Bake small or individual size desserts from now on. Easy to carry and easy to serve. Plus, leftovers, if any, are easy to store.

The cheesecake was tasty enough, but I've definitely seen other recipes that take less time and include less ingredients, but I'm glad I gave this one a try.

Candy Cane Cheesecake

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

2 pkg cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar

3 eggs

2 cups (500 mL) sour cream

1 tbsp (15 mL) lemon juice

1 tsp (5 mL) peppermint extract

Crust:

1-1/2 cups (375 mL) chocolate wafer crumbs

1/4 cup (50 mL) butter, melted

Topping:

1 cup (250 mL) sour cream

2 tbsp (25 mL) granulated sugar

1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla

2 tbsp (25 mL) coarsely crushed candy canes

DIRECTIONS
Grease bottom of 9-inch (2.5 L) springform pan; line side with parchment paper. Set pan on large square of heavy-duty foil; press up side of pan. Set aside.

CRUST: In bowl, stir crumbs with butter until moistened; press into prepared pan. Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven until firm, 10 minutes. Let cool on rack.

In large bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Beat in sugar until smooth; beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in sour cream, lemon juice and peppermint extract. Pour over crust.

Set springform pan in larger pan; pour enough hot water into larger pan to come 1 inch (2.5 cm) up sides. Bake cheesecake in centre of 325°F (160°C) oven until shine disappears and edge is set yet centre still jiggles slightly, about 1 hour.

TOPPING: Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla; spread over cheesecake. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn off oven. Let stand in oven for 1 hour.

Remove cheesecake from water and transfer to rack; remove foil and let cool. Cover and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 2 days or overwrap in heavy-duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks.) To serve, sift candy to remove powder; sprinkle pieces around edge.