Smores Cheesecake

After making and giving away the birthday cheesecake, I was craving cheesecake of my own. While I was searching for cheesecake recipes, I came across several that looked amazing, including a smores cheesecake. Toasted marshmallows?? SOLD!



This cheesecake is different because it uses sweetened condensed milk instead of sour cream or heavy cream. I think next time I'll stick to a mixture of heavy and sour cream because I wasn't a fan of the SCM base. The recipe didn't call for a waterbath, which I guess doesn't matter because you cover the top with marshmallows. It did rise and shrink though. And I really should test my oven because it took a lot longer to bake than the recipe says.

Smores Cheesecake


2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
16 oz cream cheese
14 oz sweetened condensed milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 Tbsp shortening or butter

1. Preheat oven to 325F. In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar. Stir in butter. Press onto bottom and up the sides of a greased 10-inch springform pan. Place on a baking sheet.

2. Beat cream cheese, milk, and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs, beat just until combined. Stir in 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup marshmallows. Pour into pan and bake 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup marshmallows. Bake 4-6 minutes longer or until marshmallows are puffed and toasted.

3. While cooling, melt remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and shortening. Drizzle over cheesecake. Cool for an hour. Refrigerate overnight.

Source: Taste of Home's Prize-Winning Recipes, 2006 p. 76

Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Fact #1 - I bought a set of three springform pans with the intention of making regular-sized cheesecakes (compared to baby cheesecakes). Fact #2 - I need to buy a roasting pan big enough so I can make a waterbath. Without a waterbath, disaster strikes:


Look! The Grand Canyon!

My best friend's birthday was this past weekend. When I asked what kind of cake she wanted, she instantly said "cheesecake." After getting more details, she decided on a caramel chocolate chip cheesecake. I thought, ok just need to find a turtle cheesecake and instead of nuts, use chocolate chips. After much research, I wasn't satisfied with any recipe, so I went out on a limb and created my own. Really all I needed to do was fold in caramel sauce and chocolate chips.


So much better than last year's birthday disaster

I chose Dorie's recipe because I made it once before. Then at the end, I folded in caramel sauce and chocolate chips. Then after pouring into the pan, I plopped some more caramel on top and swirled it around. However, using my 9 inch pan meant no pan big enough for a waterbath. I can still bake without it, right? Wrong! I mean I could, and I did, but as you can see, it's not pretty. I lost my swirling (although the cracks did swirl nicely) and the cheesecake shrunk. Like, it was at least two inches above the pan (think souffle) and shrunk after cooling. But the important part was it tasted good.


Apparently we don't have a #2 candle

Winners of Nescafe Giveaway...

A few days late, but I have picked three winners for the Nescafe Giveaway using random.org. I was too lazy to take and edit the screenshots, but the winners were comments 4, 15, and 17. That means Sherry G, Jennem, and bison61 should be expecting a package within the next few weeks! Thanks to all who have entered. I still encourage you to buy Nescafe in your local coffee aisle.

Tuesdays With Dorie - Chocolate Chip Cookies

This week's chosen recipe was Dorie's Chocolate Chip Cookies. This is my second time making them. The first time they spread too thin because I used diet margarine. This time around, I decided to use my brand new heart cookie pan. I was really hoping to get the cookie texture you find in cookie cakes from the Great American Cookie Place at the mall or even your grocery's bakery, but this cookie cake was more...cakier? It was still a good recipe, just not my type of cookie. I like my CCC more chewy and not so soft.



I didn't bother decorating it because it wasn't the texture I was looking for and I was too lazy. If anybody has a recipe for a cookie cake just like the one from mall, let me know. I tried a second recipe last night, but still turned out too soft compared to the mall one.



Thanks goes out to Kait of Kait's Plate for hosting this week's recipe! You can check out the recipe on page 68 of Baking: From My Home To Yours or on Kait's blog.

Red Letter Day

McCormick recently contacted me and told about how they are making Valentine's Day this year a "Red Letter Day" - a special day of significance that infuses red into baking and activities. Not only can you use food coloring for baking, you can also use it for crafts. They offered to send me a kit including a menu for the day, recipes, images and craft ideas...



...but I wasn't expecting this! I sent my reply Wed. night, and soon Thursday morning the FedEx guy showed up with a giant red box. Talk about special delivery! And I was definitely not expecting to find all this


Cookie cutters, stencils, measuring cups, paint brushes, food coloring, vanilla extract, cupcake liners, plus heart placemats, recipes and a menu

Amazing! Funny thing was I was going out to the store and had vanilla on my list. Another funny thing I was originally going to make McCormick's Red Velvet Cupcakes for my neighborhood spaghetti dinner, but because of the 24+ inches of snow, they cancelled it. Now that I received this kit, I was still determined to make them, but I made sure to cut the recipe in half. 30 is way too many for any family to eat haha



Before I talk about dessert, I want to share some ideas with you. Because Valentine's Day is on a Sunday, it is much easier to plan a whole day menu(i.e. breakfast, dinner, and dessert) rather than on a weekday with work, school, life, whatever. Start the day off right with Love Bug Cinnamon Pancakes, Very Vanilla Fruit Salad, and Hot Cocoa with Red Sugar Crusted Marshmallows. For dessert, try Cupid's Cupcakes, Tender Heart Cookies, or Red Velvet Cupcakes.



The red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting turned out delicious. Then again, I don't know what red velvet cake should taste like. Cutting the recipe in half made 15 cupcakes perfectly. Big thank you to McCormick for making the opportunity to bake these easier and to try their Red Letter Day kit. For more recipes and craft ideas, please visit McCormick's site.

Coconut Gingerbread Cake

I know I'm a little late with this recipe, but why must gingerbread be only for the holidays? I bought a book a few months back titled Gingerbread - 99 Delicious Recipes From Sweet to Savory. Each recipe, even traditional ones like chocolate chip cookies, meatloaf, and corn dogs (little scary, I know), involves ginger, cloves, cinnamon, molasses, or all four.



I had leftover chocolate frosting from my surprise cupcakes, so I decided to bake a cake. I was in the mood for gingerbread, so I turned to this cookbook and found Coconut Cake with Mocha Frosting. Instead of mocha, I used chocolate fudge frosting.



The original recipe calls for three layers of cake, but I knew we wouldn't eat that much. I cut the recipe into thirds and made just one layer. I know some of the measurements are weird (1/3 tsp), so I used a teaspoon and guessed what a third would be. After frosting, it's then topped with toasted coconut.



1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 tsp ginger
1/3 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/4 cup butter, room temp
1 egg, separated
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 cup cake flour (or 1 tbsp cornstarch + enough AP flour to make 1 cup)
1/2 cup milk
Chocolate Fudge Frosting (won't need the whole recipe)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease one 9-inch round cake pan. Spread 1/4 cup coconut onto cookie sheet and toast in oven. Check every 5 minutes until lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Leave the oven on.

2. Mix together baking powder, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom and set aside.

3. Whisk butter and egg yolk until smooth. Whisk in sugar and molasses. Whisk in spice mixture. Gently stir in milk and flour, alternating between the two.

4. In a separate bowl, beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into cake batter. Fold in untoasted coconut. Pour into pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove cake from pan and let cool on cooling rack. Once completely cooled, frost and top with toasted coconut.

Makes one layer cake

Source: Gingerbread - 99 Delicious Recipes From Sweet to Savory pgs. 70-71

Julie and Julia

Tonight after calling off work due to the second blizzard, I decided to finally watch Julie and Julia my brother got for me from Netflix about a month ago. Did anybody else find themselves in Julie? She was spot-on with my life (minus the husband part) - worked a job she hated, loves to cook, has a food blog, and a cat. Hell, she even flips out in the kitchen like me, crying on the floor when dinner is a complete disaster and runs away while boiling live lobster (which I haven't done yet). Now I want to cook through Julia Child's cookbook except I won't make beef aspic. Or bone a whole duck. Oh well, I still might check it out at the library.

One minor thing I didn't like is the cat didn't have a name. Seriously, when she blogged towards the end, she said "me, Eric, and the cat." Then the ending that told you "where they are today" said "the cat" as well. He was in the movie more than I expected. Give him a name! haha

Has anybody else seen this movie and felt inspired by it? None of my close friends have seen it. I'm probably a little bias in saying I loved it, but I think anyone who has a heart for food will find it a favorite as well.

Coffee Giveaway

For those of you who haven't heard, Western PA got hit with 18 inches of snow last night/early this morning. To give you an idea, we had two cars in the driveway. You can still see the side mirror on mine LOL


View from garage

What better way to spend a snow day than indoors with a nice hot cup of coffee? Recently, I was sent some of Nescafe Taster’s Choice instant coffee sticks to review - original, decaf, vanilla, hazelnut, columbian, and gourmet roast. Before I begin, I will tell you straight-out I'm a coffee snob. I own a top-quality pump espresso machine and a not-so-cheap grinder. I buy my coffee beans online to guarantee freshness. I hardly drink coffee from drip-coffee makers (aka your typical coffee maker) simply because it's not prepared properly and tastes awful. And McDonalds "lattes" are worse than a cup of mud. Really, it should be illegal for fast food places to sell anything more than a simple pot of coffee. I've even blogged about coffee beans and different types of drinks. So yes, it is safe to say I love coffee and only expect the best.

As you can probably imagine, I wasn't expecting much from instant coffee. However, I was surprised. After adding some sugar and milk (which I do for any cup of coffee), it tasted decent. Something I can make when I don't have time to make a good cup. It reminds me of my traveling days while studying abroad, staying at hostels and making a cup in the morning. To give Nescafe a fair review, I had my dad make a cup because he isn't picky. He made the vanilla kind and loved it. I had the Columbian one.



Like what you see in this picture? Now is your chance to win your own instant coffee and mug. I have three prize packs to give away to my lovely readers. Here's how you can win.

1. Visit Nescafe's website.

2. Leave one comment answering this question: What kind of coffee do you enjoy? It can be a particular brand, a particular kind (latte, cappuchino, macchiato, etc), a particular setting (coffee house, with friends, etc), whatever. Or tell me a coffee story. If you don't like coffee, well why are you entering a coffee giveaway? ;)

Giveaway ends February 14, 2010 and you must live in the US. Three winners will be picked randomly.