Something you may not know about me: I love making cheesecake.
It may sound crazy, but I love to bake!
I have heard some people say they are scared of making cheesecake. They don’t want the top to burn, sink, bubble, rise or crack. Sometimes those things happen, but it doesn’t mean your cheesecake isn’t amazing.
Now…I don’t mean to brag, but I make the best cheesecake ever. I know I sound a little full of it, but I can make a pretty good cheesecake.
I have converted people from cheesecake haters, to cheesecake lovers.
If you have never made a cheesecake, don’t be scared. If you follow my steps and listen to some of my tips, your cheesecake will be better than anything you could find at a chain restaurant.
I made this cheesecake with Valentine’s Day in mind. I was planning on making red velvet, but when I was mixing the batter it turned a really pretty pink and I left it at that. It did bake up a littler darker then I had imagined, but it was still different then the vibrant red of my red velvet whoopie pies.
Pink Velvet Cheesecake
Recipe adapted from RecipeGirl.com
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 package of double stuffed oreos, cookies and creme layers seperated
- 5 tbsp butter, meted
- 1 tbsp organic white sugar
Cheesecake:
- 3 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups organic white sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 3 tbsp organic unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp distilled white vinegar
- red food coloring – I used the gel food coloring, but the recipe called for 2 – 1 oz bottles of the liquid food coloring
Frosting:
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened to room tempature
- 1/4 cup butter
- the creme from the middle of the oreos
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Other things you will need: foil, saran wrap, kitchen string, a huge foil pan.
To Make the Cheesecake
Prepare the Crust:
- Take the separated cookies, and pulverize them to a fine crumb.
- Mix together crumbs, butter, and sugar.
- Press into the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan.
Preheat the oven to 325º F and prepare a water bath in your huge pan.
To prepare the water bath simply fill the pan with 1 inch – 1 1/2 inch of hot water, and place in the oven.
Wrap the bottom of the spring-form pan with a layer of saran wrap, and a layer of foil, then tie the top edge of the pan with kitchen string.
OR
Use a turkey bag! This is my favorite trick. If you place your spring-form pan in a turkey bag and fold down the edges you can get a much more water proof pan. If you are like me you don’t like a soggy cheesecake crust..so do yourself a favor, and use a turkey bag.
Make the Batter:
- Beat together the cream cheese and sugar for no more than 1 minute.
- Mix in the eggs 1 at a time until just barely incorporated.
- Slightly mix in the cocoa powder.
- Then add in the sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring and mix until just blended. DO NOT OVER MIX YOUR BATTER!!! This is very important, it will create bubbles in the top of your cheesecake making it look like the moon.
- Pour the batter into your oreo crust.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 325º F, reduce the heat to 300º F and bake until the center is set*
Before baking - look at how pink it was!
*My recommendation: bake for 10 minutes at 325º, reduce the heat to 300º F then bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. But you must remember to never open the oven when the cheesecake is baking! I am not sure of the exact reason for this, but I make it a ritual to never open the oven.
Another tip: once the timer has gone off, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in there for 3-6 hours. Again, do not open your oven until the time is up!
Once it’s time, take out your cheesecake and remove the turkey bag. With a very thin knife, loosen the edges of your cheesecake but do not remove the sides of the spring form pan. Cover with saran wrap and refrigerate over night.
After refrigerating your cheesecake…
Make the Frosting:
- Mix together the cream cheese, butter, and creme from the oreos until smooth.
- Beat in the vanilla and almond, then mix in the powdered sugar until it is thick and sweet.
- Frost your cheesecake and decorate with desired sprinkles.
If you have any questions about baking cheesecake e-mail me, or sign up for my newsletter to receive exclusive baking tips!
About bigfatbaker
Pretty!!!!!! I’m glad you went with the pink! (which is my fav. color!!) And…. I’ve never had buttermilk in a cheesecake… Must try!
You have all right for braging for this cheesecake looks fabulous! Photo perfect! Thank you for sharing
I’m having a pink moment myself this weekend, looks lovely.
Gorgeous! And how could it be anything but delicious!!!
OK. This deserves to be published in a magazine. It looks beautiful and scrumptious.
Beautiful cake! Gee, I wonder which chain restaurant you might have been referring to? The tips you provide are beneficial towards achieving that glorious texture depicted in your photo. Brava!
Haha, thanks! I do love that restaurant, but sitting at home in my pjs and making cheesecake is way better then going out.
gorgeous gorgeous cheesecake! i’m lovin’ the pink… it’s been a while since i’ve made a whole cheesecake, thanks for the helpful hints and tips!
That is a very pretty cheesecake indeed!
Wow this looks amazing! I am not a huge cheesecake fan, but this looks awesome!
Oh my, that looks incredibly good! I love (to the millionth power) cheesecake! I am all about this delicious dessert!
Don’t open the oven door?! I will try that out next time … and thank you for all the other tips… will follow them to a “T”.
Good luck! Let me know how it turns out.
What a gorgeous cheesecake. I cant wait to try this! Thanks for sharing your recipe and wonderful tips on baking.
Pink, so pretty! My cheesecakes always crack, they still taste delicious!
I want to go home right now and make this one, I love the layers of color!
What a fun cheesecake…I adore the color.
Cheesecakes are always fun to bake…and if a crack happens…that’s just an excuse for me to top it with caramel or chocolate.
No one will ever notice.
So pretty and festive
wow! I love pink! and I love cheesecake! so… I LOVE this recipe!!!!
Wow, your photos have me so curious! Nice work on all the gorgeous V Day treat recipes. I can taste this cheesecake just looking at it – Cheesecake with cream cheese frosting – this is awesome!
This is a favorite of mine! I think I will end up making it again this year for Valentine’s Day
fabulous recipe.
thank you, for sharing.
Hi. I’ll be making this recipie for my sisters babyshower:D i’ll make mini cheesecakes. Any suggestions?
Just be very careful to not over bake them! Otherwise have fun with it and enjoy the baby shower!