Choose Your Flavor Cheesecake Food

TRIPLE-FLAVOR SHEET PAN CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For the crust: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Mix the cracker crumbs with the butter, sugar and salt in a medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 15-by-18-inch sheet pan. Use the back of a measuring cup to smooth out the crumbs. Bake the crust until golden brown, rotating the pan halfway through, 10 to 12 minutes. Cool the pan on a rack, 10 minutes.
• For the filling: Lower the oven to 325 degrees F. Blend the cream cheese and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Add the eggs and 1 cup sour cream and pulse until well combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula.
• Bake until the cheesecake is slightly puffed on the edges (the edges will deflate as the cheesecake cools) and just set, rotating the pan halfway through, 40 to 45 minutes. Completely cool the cake in the pan on a rack. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 8 hours or up to overnight.
• Combine the raspberry jam with 1 to 2 teaspoons water in a small bowl until spreadable but not thin. Spread the jam on the left third of the cheesecake. Top with the raspberries.
• Spread the remaining 1/4 cup sour cream over the middle third of the cheesecake and top with the mango slices.
• Spread the blueberry jam over the right third of the cheesecake and top with the blueberries. Slice into bars for serving.

BASIC CHEESECAKE WITH FLAVOR VARIATIONS.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 for standard baking, or 375 for a convection oven.
• Melt butter, and mix crust ingredients, press into the bottom, and up the sides of a springform pan. You can use whatever size you have from 8 to 12 inches, the smaller the pan, the higher the cake, but I like a wide, low one, too. Chill the crust while you make the filling.
• Cream together cream cheese and sugar.
• Add eggs one at a time.
• Add extracts and zest, mix well, be careful not to incorporate too much air, so you don't get cracks on the top of the custard.
• Pour filling into crust. For better texture, you may choose to first wrap the pan in foil, and place into a large baking dish of hot water. The recipe works both ways, but I like the results from a waterbath.
• Bake the cheesecake for an hour, then turn off the oven, and don't open it for 30 minutes.
• If using sour cream topping, spread it on top of the cheesecake ten minutes before the hour bake time is up.
• Cool cheesecake completely, and refrigerate for a few hours before slicing. Fishing line makes a great slicer, since the cheesecake will be very sticky to your knives.
• Variations: This is the fun part. As long as you stick to the basic proportions, you can do lots of flavors. I'm up to 17 personally.
• Use chocolate cookie crumbs for the crust, leave out the lemon, and add 1/4 cup pf cocoa to the filling for chocolate cheesecake.
• Add a teaspoon of lime zest to the crust, leave out the cinnamon, and sub 1/4 cup key lime juice for vanilla and lemon in the filling for key lime cheesecake.
• Sub one of the packages of cream cheese for a can of pumpkin, add cinnamon, ginger, and clove to the filling, use gingersnap crumbs for the crust. This one is especially good if you add a lot of cinnamon to the sour cream topping, and drizzle the slices with some caramel sauce and more gingersnap pieces.
• Leave out the lemon, and sub one of the packages of cream cheese for a cup of peanut butter, use a chocolate cookie crust, and top it with chopped up peanut butter cups.
• Use a chocolate crust, leave out the lemon, and use mint extract and green food color in the filling for grasshopper cheesecake. Add chocolate chips if you like.
• Sub the sugar in the filling for 1 cup brown sugar caramelized with 1/2 a stick of butter for a caramel cheesecake.
• Sub half the sugar in the crust for sweetened flaked coconut, leave out the cinnamon, sub vanilla and lemon for rum extract and lime, make sour cream topping with half sour cream, half Thai Kitchen coconut milk (it's the only one I've found thick enough) add the juice of the lime instead of lemon and more flaked coconut to topping. this is the one my brother always wants instead of a birthday cake.
• If you try your own variant, I'd love to know what it was, and how it turned out. Have fun!

SAVORY CHEESECAKES

Steps:

• For the crust: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Spray the bottom of four 4-inch springform pans with nonstick spray.
• Mix the cracker crumbs, butter and pecans in a medium bowl until evenly moistened. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pans. Bake until the crusts are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool the pans on a rack.
• Once completely cool, spray the sides of the pans with cooking spray and line with strips of parchment.
• For the Cheddar-pimento cheesecake: Add the cream cheese, Cheddar, pimentos, Worcestershire, hot sauce and some salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Beat together using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture on top of one of the cooled crusts in the pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, 4 hours.
• When ready to serve, unmold the sides of the pan from the cake and peel off the parchment. Top with the candied bacon and scallion greens.
• For the blue cheese cheesecake: Add the cream cheese, blue cheese, cream and some salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Beat together using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Fold in the dates and shallots. Spoon the mixture on top of one of the cooled crusts in the pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours.
• When ready to serve, unmold the sides of the pan from the cake and peel off the parchment. Top with the candied walnuts and a drizzle of honey.
• For the mozzarella-basil cheesecake: Add the cream cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, cream and some salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Beat together using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Fold in the chopped basil. Spoon the mixture on top of one of the cooled crusts in the pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours.
• When ready to serve, unmold the sides of the pan from the cake and peel off the parchment. Top with the cherry tomatoes, drizzles of balsamic syrup and olive oil and a sprig of basil.
• For the goat cheese-herb cheesecake: Add the cream cheese, goat cheese, cream, parsley, rosemary, lemon zest, Worcestershire to taste and some salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Beat together using an electric hand mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture on top of one of the cooled crusts in the pan and smooth the top with an offset spatula. Spread the jam over top. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 hours.
• When ready to serve, unmold the sides of the pan from the cake and peel off the parchment.

LOW CARB CHOOSE-YOUR-OWN-FLAVOR CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Dissolve JELL-O into boiling water.
• Stir in whipping cream.
• Add cream cheese, mix until blended.
• Chill 1 to 2 hrs before serving.

CHOOSE YOUR FLAVOR CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• 1. Generously coat sides of an 8" springform pan with 1 tbls. margarine about 1/2 inch up sides of pan. Coat sides with graham cracker crumbs from mix.
• 2. Melt remaining margarine and mix with remaining graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Press mixture into bottom of the pan.
• 3. In a small mixing bowl, combine no-bake cheesecake filling, either sour cream OR cream cheese, and milk. Beat at low speed of mixer until thoroughly blended; beat at medium speed for 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
• 4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Cool and refrigerate until ready to serve.
• 5. VARIATIONS:
• 6. SOUR CREAM TOPPING: Combine 1 cup sour cream and 2 tbls. sugar. Spread on top of cheesecake before baking.
• 7. NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE: Combine graham crackers from mix with 1/3 cup melted margarine and 3 tbls. sugar. Press against bottom and sides of a 9" pie plate. Prepare cheesecake filling as directed above; pour into crust and chill.
• 8. ROCKY ROAD CHEESECAKE: Mix 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, 1/4 cup mini marshmallows, and 1/4 cup chopped walnuts into beaten cheesecake filling.
• 9. TOASTED COCONUT CHEESECAKE: Add 1/3 cup toasted coconut to beaten cheesecake filling mixture. Mix until well blended. Garnish with additional toasted coconut before serving.
• 10. FRUIT-TOPPED CHEESECAKE: Prepare basic recipe as directed, but do not use the sour cream topping. Spread in prepared pan or pie plate. Top with 1 cup canned pie filling. Bake as directed above, or if making the no-bake version, chill until ready to serve.