Red Velvet Cheesecake

Oh the holidays.....it's the best time for some really good desserts. Now normally I sit on the sidelines and watch all the better pastry chefs dazzle us with these wonderful concoctions. But you know what?? Not this year!! I vowed to mark my place in holiday 2011 history. And you know what? I think I might have done it with a Red Velvet Cheesecake. Oh yeah.....you heard me. Red....Velvet.....Cheesecake. Is that your drool I see on the screen? Well I definitely drooled.......a lot when I saw it first. It was, believe it or not, in a 1800flowers catalog. They wanted $50 for it and I realized it wouldn't be that hard. So here we are. My success!!


Red Velvet Cheesecake:
1/2c cocoa powder
2 1/2c all purpose flour
1t baking soda
1/2t salt
2 sticks butter, softened
2c sugar
4 eggs
1c sour cream
1/2c milk
1 bottle red food coloring
2t vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 round cake pans. Set aside.


Mix cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.


In a large bowl cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer for 5 minutes or until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until mixed. Do not overbeat. Pour into prepared pans. 


Bake 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. 


**I do believe I have typed these in the wrong order. You really should make the cheesecake first since it needs to chill overnight. Whoops! So just pretend I did and make it first.


Cheesecake:
I took this recipe from allrecipes.com. If you would like the recipe with all the reviews click here. 


4 pkg cream cheese, softened
11/2c sugar
3/4c milk
4 eggs
1c sour cream
1T vanilla
1/4c all purpose flour


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Making cheesecake alone you would want a crust. But since I was cutting it up, there was no need. Grease a large springform pan. Set aside.


In a large bowl mix together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Mix in milk. Then add eggs one at a time until incorporated. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, and flour until smooth. Pour into prepared pan. 


Bake for one hour. Turn off oven and let cool inside the oven for several hours. This prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until ready to use.


Frosting:
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
2 T sour cream
2t vanilla
1 box (16oz) confectioners sugar


Beat cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add in sugar and beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside until ready to frost.


So now the fun begins!! You get to assemble your cake.  Trim the edges off one red velvet cake. If your cake is slightly taller in the center, as most are, slice the top until it is flat. Slice the trimmed red velvet cake in half to create two thin cakes. Place one thin cake on a cake plate or other serving platter. If you want to keep your presentation clean, place 3 small strips of wax paper or parchment paper under the edges of the cake to catch crumbs and dripping frosting. Place a thin layer of frosting on the top of the cake.


Depending on how large your cheesecake is depends on how much you need to trim it. One thing for sure is you will need to trim the edges and probably the top layer. If the bottom of your cheesecake is dark or burned, trim it off as best you can. Once you get it where you want it, gently place on top of the frosted red velvet half. If there needs to be any cheesecake trimming, now is the time to do it. 


Otherwise place the other red velvet half on top of the cheesecake. Take your frosting and coat the sides and the top.  Now take your remaining red velvet cake and in a large bowl crumble it into fine crumbs. Take the smallest crumbs and press into the frosting around the entire side of the cake. Place more crumbs around the outer edges on the top of the cake. And voila!

So now what do you think?? This girl can bake!!! Muahahaha!! But you know what? You could do it too. It isn't the easiest process, but definitely worth it. It tasted quite delicious as well. We all agreed that this could be done with just about any flavor cake you liked. Maybe next time.....chocolate.