Red Velvet Cheesecake

That fact that this is a Red Velvet Cheesecake, really leaves little left to be said about it. It's rich, it's chocolaty...it's yummy! Enough Said.

It looks more brown in this picture, but I assure you that is due to poor lighting in the kitchen. It really is very very red!!

Filling:

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa       
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
1 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 (1ounce) bottles red food coloring

Topping:

3 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup butter                                                          
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar                                             
1 teaspoon vanilla                                                           
                                                                                      
Crust:

1 1/2 cups chocolate graham crackers
1/4 cup butter
1/4 sugar

Note: Because of the buttermilk in this recipe, this cheesecake will never set as firm as other cheesecakes. But it is still delicious!!

Perfect Cheesecake Tip #2

Always make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature. This will make it easier to blend, eliminate chunks, and insure maximum smoothness. If the cream cheese is cold, your cheesecake will end up looking like it was made out of cottage cheese!! No bueno!

Banana Cream Cheesecake

I need to start off by saying that we all (we all being me, Mandi, and Jenn) loved this cheesecake! If you sense a "but" coming on, you are correct. Its nothing bad, just one minor adjustment I would make for the next time around. I put a little over a cup of bananas into the cheesecake, and it was just a bit too much. We all agreed that the banana and cream cheese didn't balance each other out as well as it should. Just not enough of the cream cheese taste. So I have adjusted the amount in the recipe that I am going to post.

We all did, however, agree that the fluffiness created  by the whipping cream and one less egg than normal was a nice change from the normal dense, overly sweet cheesecake that we are all used to. Usually by the time I get to the last few bites of a piece cheesecake, I find myself struggling to make it through. I had no problem making it through one LARGE piece of this light and fluffy cheesecake. I hope that you enjoy this cheesecake as much as the three of us did!!

                YUMMY!!




Filling:

1/4 cup margarine, melted
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 eggs
3/4 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract


Crust:

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafers
1/4 butter (softened)