Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

Tag: Christmas Dessert

• 

  New Year’s Eve Cheesecake with Heath Topping and White Chocolate

  Posted at 9:01 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

  Dec 29th

  I remember my mother making this cheesecake when I was a young child. My mother called this a New York-style cheesecake made with five packages of cream cheese and seven eggs, plus sour cream. So deliciously rich! It became a family tradition for my mother to make her cheesecake at Christmas. The recipe has become a staple in my cooking repertoire. And at Christmas, I make the basic cheesecake and change up the topping. If you flow my blog I’ve topped it with candied cranberries for a festive Christmas dessert.

  This year I added a Heath Baking bits topping and drizzled it with white chocolate for a New Year’s Eve dessert. I’ll serve it with Champagne!

  Crust:

  2 1/4 cups (302g) graham cracker crumbs, Honey Made 

  5 tbsp (65g) sugar, Domino’s Sugar

  1/8 tsp salt

  10 tbsp (140g) unsalted butter, melted, Cabot Creamery

  Filling:

  5 pkg.(8-oz) cream cheese softened, Philadelphia cream cheese

  1 3/4 cups sugar, Domino’s Sugar

  3 tablespoon flour, King Arthur flour

  2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

  1 1/2 grated orange peel

  1/4 teaspoon vanilla, McCormack

  5 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

  1/4 cup heavy cream

  Topping

  1/2 Heath Baking bits, Toffee bits

  1/2 cup white chocolate, Ghiradelli chocolate

  2 teaspoons shortening, Crisco

  Preheat over to 325F. Grease the inside of the 9-inch springform pan(3 inches high). 

  Make gram cracker crust: In a medium bowl, combine gram crackers, sugar, salt, and melted butter until blended—place in prepared springform pan. I like to use a measuring cup to press gram cracker crumbs on the bottom of the pan and two inches up the sides. Bake the crust for about 8-10 minutes, cool.

  Preheat oven 450F.

  Filling: In a large mixer bowl, blend cheese, sugar, flour, peels, and vanilla at high speed. Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time: beat until smooth, occasionally scraping bowl with a spatula. Add cream and beat in until combined. Pour into pan. Bake 10 minutes. Lower oven to 250F. 

  Remove cheesecake from the oven. Sprinkle Heath topping over cheesecake. 

  Return to oven. Bake 1 hour longer or until the tester comes out clean. Remove pan to rack to cool, 2 hours.

  Melt white chocolate according to package instructions. Stir in shortening—Drizzle over cheesecake. Chill until ready to serve. You can make this a day ahead and keep it in the refrigerator.

  Enjoy!

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  Posted in Baking, Cake, Celebrations, Christmas, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, desserts, Elegant, entertaining, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, New Year's Eve | Tagged Cabot creamery, Cheesecake, Christmas Dessert, Crisco, Domino's sugar, Ghiradelli Chocolate, Heath Baking bits

• Bourbon Pecan Cheesecake

  Posted at 9:33 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

  Nov 1st

  

  Southern Living Magazine is one of my favorite magazine for cooking, garden, and decorating ideas. I find their recipes easy to make, kitchen tested and delicious. I made this cheesecake for my family on Christmas and it was a huge hit.

  The only comment I will make is that I would make is that if you chill the praline topping overnight it become too thick to drizzle over the cheese cake and you have to warm the mixture up. I think this was omitted from the recipe since they say to put the praline topping in a heatproof bowl. I would suggest making it the day that you are serving the cheesecake and letting it cool for 1-4 hours then drizzle over cheesecake.

  Crust

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from 1 [13 ½-oz.] pkg. graham cracker crumbs)
    
  • ½ cups finely chopped pecans 
    
  • ½ cup butter, melted
    
  • 3 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
    

  Filling

  • 4 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
    
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
    
  • ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
    
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
    
  • ¼ cup sour cream
    
  • ¼ cup (2 oz.) bourbon
    
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    

  Praline Topping

  • ¼ cup butter
    
  • ¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
    
  • ¼ cup whole milk
    
  • 2 tablespoons (1 oz.) bourbon
    
  • 1 cup toasted pecan halves
    

  Directions

  • Step 1
    Prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, pecans, butter, and brown sugar in a bowl until well blended. Press mixture into bottom and 1 ½ inches up the sides of prepared springform pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. (Do not turn off oven.) Transfer Crust in springform pan to a wire rack; cool completely, about 30 minutes.
    
    
    
  • Step 2
    Prepare the Filling: Beat cream cheese with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add granulated and brown sugars; beat until fully combined and smooth, about 1 minute. Add eggs 2 at a time, beating until just combined, about 15 seconds, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed using a rubber spatula. Add sour cream, bourbon, and vanilla. Beat until just combined, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl as needed (do not over-beat).
    
    
    
  • Step 3
    Pour Filling into cooled Crust. Gently jiggle pan to smooth top. Place cheesecake in a plastic slow-cooker liner; place cheesecake in liner in a large roasting pan. (Or double wrap the springform pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil.) Place roasting pan in oven. Pour warm water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of pan (do not let water get into slow-cooker liner). Bake at 350°F until cheesecake center is slightly jiggly, about 1 hour. Turn off oven; prop oven door ajar about 4 inches. Let cheesecake stand in open oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and from slow-cooker liner. Place in refrigerator until fully chilled, at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours.
    
    
    
  • Step 4
    Meanwhile, prepare the Praline Topping: Cook butter and brown sugar in a saucepan over medium-high, stirring often, until melted and beginning to bubble, 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; whisk in milk and bourbon. Cook, whisking constantly, until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in pecans. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Cool 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Cover; chill until ready to serve, up to 24 hours. 
    
    
    
  • Step 5
    Remove cheesecake from pan. Drizzle with Praline Topping before serving.
    
    
    Enjoy!

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  Posted in Baking, Cake, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, desserts, Holiday Celebrations | Tagged Bourbon, Cheesecake, Christmas Dessert, pecans, Southern Living Magazine
• 

  Eggnog Cheese Cake with Cranberry-Cherry Topping

  Posted at 9:23 am by Good Dinner Mrs Mellen

  Dec 5th

  Who doesn’t love cheesecake? That rich, creamy taste savored with each bite, a sweet treat that is the perfect finish for any meal! The variety and texture of cheesecakes are endless. Cheesecake can be very dense and heavy or light and fluffy. You can use graham crackers, chocolate cookies, or pastry for the crust and fill it with your favorite recipe. I guess you can tell I love making all types of cheesecakes. Also, flavorings and toppings are endless to create wonderfully tasty cakes for special occasions.

  At Christmas, I like to make an Eggnog cheesecake topped with cranberries and cherry preserves for a festive dessert table.
  I like this recipe because it is light with a baking method that ensures the cheesecake doesn’t crack. I made either a fruit topping, or if you prefer, you can make a whipped cream topping sprinkled with sparkly candied crystals.

  CRUST

  2 ¼ cups (302g) graham cracker crumbs

  ½ cup (112g) salted butter, melted

  3 tbsp (39g) sugar

  1/2 tsp nutmeg

  FILLING

  24 ounces (678g) cream cheese, room temperature

  1 cup (207g) sugar

  3 tbsp (24g) all purpose flour

  1 cup (230g) eggnog

  3/4 tsp ground nutmeg

  4 large eggs, room temperature

  TOPPING

  1 12-ounce jar cherry preserves

  1 cup cranberries

  1 tablespoon brandy or rum

  CRUST

  Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Line a 9-inch (23cm) springform pan with parchment paper in the bottom and grease the sides.
  Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the springform pan.
  Bake the crust for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool.
  Cover the outsides of the pan with aluminum foil so that water from the water bath cannot get in. Set prepared pan aside.

  CHEESECAKE FILLING

  Reduce oven to 300°F (148°C).
  In a large mixer bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar,

  and flour until well combined (Use low speed to keep less air from getting into the batter, which can cause cracks). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

  
  Add the eggnog and nutmeg and mix on low speed until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, beating slowly and scraping the sides of the bowl after each addition.
  Pour the cheesecake filling into crust and spread evenly.

  
  Place springform pan (covered with aluminum foil) inside another larger pan. Fill the larger pan with enough warm water to go about halfway up the sides of the springform pan. The water should not go above the top edge of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
  Bake for 1 hour and 30-40 minutes.

  Turn off heat and leave cheesecake in oven with the door closed for 30 minutes.

  Crack the oven door and leave the cheesecake in the oven for about 30 minutes.
  Remove cheesecake from oven and chill until firm, 5-6 hours or overnight

  TOPPING

  Cook and stir cherry preserves and cranberries in a small saucepan over medium heat until preserves are melted and cranberries start to pop. Stir in 1 tablespoon of brandy or rum. Cool for 30 minutes.

  
  Remove the cheesecake from the pan. Spoon topping over prepared cheesecake.  Refrigerate the cheesecake until ready to serve. Cheesecake is best for 3-4 days.

  Enjoy!

  

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  Posted in Baking, Cake, Christmas, Christmas Recipes, Dessert, desserts, Elegant, entertaining, Food, Good Dinner Mrs Mellen, Holiday Celebrations | Tagged Cheesecake, Cherries, Christmas Dessert, Cranberries

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