Hello Everyone!

Welcome to another recipe blog by The Pastry Ward” en!

Today’s recipe is inspired by the Christmas Holiday Season.  It is a time when everyone is full of holiday cheer and when people can enjoy their time with their family.

It is also a time when people love to give away gifts, anywhere from toys for children, to jewelry, cars, etc… for others.

However, many of these “CHEERFUL GIVERS”, have the tendency of giving away common all-purpose gifts such as Ugly Christmas Sweaters or my most hated generic Christmas gift of all time…

THE FAMOUS FRUIT CAKE… YUCK!

WHY!  WHY!  WHY, people do you do this?  I just don’t know!

No Worries Though, because today I’m going to show you a great dessert you can make in your kitchen, with confidence, using an all-time Christmas dessert classic:

My Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake

This cheesecake right here…… will put Cheesecake Factory’s version to shame.

The Moist Red Velvet is the Don Corleone of all Red Velvet’s

But, I will let you be the judge, so get your aprons on, lets dive into the recipe and have some fun in the kitchen!

NEW YORK STYLE CHEESECAKE

569g (2 ½ cups) cream cheese, at room temp
170g (½ cup) sugar
29g (¼ cup) cornstarch
Grated Zest of half Lemon
1tsp vanilla extract
2 ½ eggs, at room temperature
1 egg yolk
71g (1/3 cup) sour cream

• Mix cream cheese and sugar together on low speed, until completely smooth
• Mix the cornstarch, lemon zest, and vanilla
• Mix smooth, scraping down the sides and the bottom of the bowl
• Add the eggs a few at a time, blending thoroughly after each addition
• Incorporate the sour cream
• Pour the filling in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator while you prepare the Red Velvet cake batter

RED VELVET CAKE

2 cups all-purpose flour
1tsp of baking soda
1tsp of baking powder
1tsp of salt
2TBS unsweetened, cocoa powder
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2tsp of vanilla extract
1-2 oz. red food coloring
1tsp of white distilled vinegar
½ cup of prepared plain hot coffee (don’t skip this ingredient)

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
• Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.
• Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
• Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at time, mixing after each addition, just until combined.
• Reserve to the side for baking

 TO BAKE

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Line a 6 or 8 inch spring form or regular cake pan with a parchment paper lid (a 6 inch pan will give you a much taller cheesecake!)
• Pour in cheesecake batter to completely cover the bottom of the pan
• Pour in a little bit of the red velvet cake batter in two spots on top of the cheesecake batter
• Continue interchanging both batters until the pan is filled or all the cheesecake batter is used
• If you want a layered effect just bake as is or for a swirl, gently swirl the batter with a butter knife
• Bake in oven until set but still a little jiggled! Approximately 40min (35min for a small sized pan)
• Cool completely, then chill before removing the cakes from pan

RED VELVET CAKE FOR CRUMB COAT

• Line a cake pan with parchment an pan spray
• Pour in the remaining Red Velvet cake batter and bake in the oven next to the cheesecake at 350F as well
• When done, let cool completely
• Process some of the Red Velvet cake in a food processor to coarse crumbs
• Pour the crumbs out on a pan, uncovered, to let dry some so they are easy to handle when pressing on the side of the cake

ROASTED WALNUT FOR CRUMB COAT

• Roast 1/2 cup of walnuts on a pan in the oven at 350F
• Proper roasted walnuts should give off a nutty aroma, golden brown, and have a shiny appearance from the natural oils that come to the surface of the walnut
• When cooled, process the walnuts in a food processor to coarse crumbs
• Reserve for assembly

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

6 oz cream cheese, softened

4 oz unsalted butter, softened

12 oz powdered sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

• Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together in a mixing bowl
• Gradually add the powdered sugar mixing until all the sugar is incorporated
• Mix in the vanilla until completely combined
• Reserve the icing for assembly

 ASSEMBLY

• Once the cheesecake is completely cooled, spread the cream cheese frosting on top
• Crumb coat the sides with the Red Velvet cake crumbs
• Crumb coat the top with the roasted walnuts crumbs
• Refrigerate for 15-30 to firm up
• Pull from the refrigerator and pipe a decorative boarder on the top of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting.
• Slice and enjoy
• Note:  Cheesecakes are best when tempered out of the refrigerator, so pull it out 10-15 min before serving!

Be creative in any way you like.  The best part is this cheesecake was made by your hands and it tastes awesome.

Enjoy!