PROJECT OF THE DAY: Red Velvet Cheesecake

Last month the sister and I had lunch at certain chain restaurant famous for its cheesecakey goodness. In case you didn't figure it out...I'm referring the Cheesecake Factory. Now, I usually try and stay away from the big chain restaurants and try and support the smaller businesses but when I get a hankering for a creamy cheesy dessert, this place is at the top of the list, especially since they have such an array of cheesecake flavors and other non-cheesecake dessert items to choose from. Plus with its booklet of a menu its hard not to find something you'd like, making it a great choice for big parties or ones with picky eaters.

Anyways, back to the meal at hand, as we perused the cheesecake/dessert menu we noticed that they were promoting a new item. This new item? Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake. Here's the description: Moist layers of Red Velvet Cake and their Original Cheesecake covered with their special Cheesecake Factory cream cheese frosting. Drooling yet? The sister is a fan of Red Velvet so this was definitely the winner and we had to order it. However, we kept reading the menu and discovered that just a single slice of this cheesecake would pretty much cover your entire caloric intake for the day. That is some major decadence right there. But that didn't stop us, we had to try it. But we justified it by also discovering that part of the sale of each slice would be donated to Feeding America, one of the nation's largest domestic hunger relief organization, and by swearing that we wouldn't finish the entire slice in one sitting. =P

Well, the dessert arrived. It was indeed decadent. The layers of cake and cheesecake and the smooth frosting worked harmoniously to create one perfectly luscious bite. It was so rich that a few bites were enough to suffice, so luckily we were successful in keeping our promise to not devour the whole thing. The sister loved it so much that she made me promise to try and recreate it for her birthday. Well, the sister's birthday was last Friday, and I kept my promise. I now present to you my attempt at recreating Stefanie's Ultimate Red Velvet Cheesecake.

Here's a summary of what I did. I was a little hesitant to make this cake because it would be time consuming since I was basically making two different desserts. But, the individual recipes aren't too difficult, so it wasn't bad at all. I searched for a cheesecake recipe to use, and came across a white chocolate cheesecake recipe which I decided to use. Then for the cake part, I just used a traditional Red Velvet Cake recipe that I already had. Luckily both recipes called for the same temperature and cooking time to bake at so I was able to cook all components at the same time. When it came time for the frosting, I used a traditional cream cheese frosting, but I remembered that Cheesecake Factory's frosting is a bit lighter and fluffier than most cream cheese frostings. So I decided to half the recipe and mix it with whipped cream. I thought this turned out really well, and will definitely continue to do that. Once all the cakes were cooled, I was able to put all the layers together, which, let me tell you, wasn't such an easy task. It was finally all finished and we were able to taste! That first bite was rich and creamy. The texture of the moist cake complemented that of the smooth velvety cheesecake. It wasn't as decadent as the original, but it tasted pretty darn delicious if I do say so myself. The frosting wasn't too sweet and was the perfect accent to the cake.

Here's my final analysis of my first attempt of the Red Velvet Cheesecake and the recipes too!
1. The cake layers were too thick, next time I will definitely make only half the batter
2. I really enjoyed the hint of white chocolate in the cheesecake, I think I'll add more white chocolate next time.
3. The cake came out a little dry, so I'm going to try a different recipe or adjusting the baking time next time.

the finished product


only 10 minutes after cutting into it

Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe


Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp red gel-paste food color
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

With an electric mixer on med-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisk well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam), add mixture to the batter and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

Line two 9 inch spring form pans with parchment paper. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack. Allow to cool before removing the cake from the pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the cheesecake.


White Chocolate Cheesecake

2 oz white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature (2 packages)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, using an electronic mixer, mix the cream cheese on low speed until creamy. add the sugar and mix slowly until smooth. On low speed, mix in the flour. turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Add one egg at a time and mix until smooth. scrape down again. mix in the vanilla and cream until the mixture is smooth. Using a large spoon, stir in the melted white chocolate until incorporated.

Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you shake the pan slightly. Allow to cool before removing from the spring form pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the red velvet cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting (i only made half)

24 oz cream cheese (3 packages), at room temperature
3 sticks of butter, at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar, plus more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electronic mixer until well combined. Add more powdered sugar to taste, if a more sweet frosting is preferred. Use immediately to frost
the cake.


After assembling the cake, allow it to rest in the fridge over night, before serving. Serve immediately after taking it out of the fridge.

PROJECT OF THE DAY: Jambalaya

I was looking inside my fridge and I noticed there were 3 big bowls of leftover rice. Not wanting to let it go to waste, I decided that I had to make something out of it. After a little thought, I decided that this would be perfect to make a nice big pot of Jambalaya. I first tried this dish from my old college roomy.(Shannon, if you're reading this....thank you for adding this dish to my food repertoire!) Her version of the dish was pretty spicy (which I loved!) and a little on the thicker, and richer side. I definitely enjoyed eating it, but when I tried to make it on my own, for some reason it just wouldn't turn out the same. So I decided to come up with my own recipe. I researched several recipes online, but a lot of the recipes called for simmering it for 2-3 hours. I personally am not patient enough to wait that long. So I did some tweaking, and based on those recipes I read, I created my own recipe that only takes about an hour and fit my personal tastes. So here it is!

JAMBALAYA

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic. Minced
3 bell peppers (I used 2 red and 1 green)
2 bay leaves
2 tsps. crushed red chili flakes
2 packages of smoked sausage, sliced (about 2 lbs) or 1 lb smoked sausage + 2 cups cooked chicken
*I actually added the 2 packs of sausage plus about a cup of leftover chicken I had*
1 (32-ounce) can of tomato puree
1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
4 tbs. Cajun Creole Seasoning (what's in it? i do not know)
2 tbs. chili powder
½ – 1 tsp. Cayenne pepper (you can adjust more or less depending how spicy you like it)
½ cup scallions, diced

Directions:
1.Pan fry the sausage in a large pot so that it gets a little crispy on the outside and gets a nice color to it. Once the sausage is done, scoop it out into a bowl and set it aside.
2.Use the oil that came out of the sausage to saute the onions. (if there isn't enough oil to cover the bottom of the pot add a little extra oil until the bottom of the pot is coated) Once the onions have softened, add the garlic and saute a couple more minutes,stirring occasionally. Next add the bay leaves and chili flakes. Saute it for a few minutes so that the flavors infuse. Next add the bell peppers and saute until softened.
3.Add all tomato products. Stir and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
4.Add chicken stock, Cajun creole seasoning, chili powder, and cayenne. Stir and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
5.Add the meat into the sauce. Then add the scallions in at the last minute for some color.
6.Pour the sauce over a bowl of rice and it's ready to serve!



The final product came out just as I had hoped. The consistency was just right, it wasn't too thick and the spice was just right. I didn't make it too spicy this time around, but there was definitely enough to please a heat lover like myself. I like this recipe because of the fact that you stir in precooked rice with the sauce as opposed to cooking uncooked rice in the sauce itself. I find that when you cook the rice in the sauce the rice ends up a little stickier, which I am not a fan of. I should probably mention, though, that all the leftover rice I used was a little dry/undercooked so I actually dumped all the rice into the pot with the sauce and stirred it together and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Which gave it enough time to soften to just the right texture and to soak up not only the sauce but all that delicious smokey tomato-ey goodness. I also topped it off with extra green onions because I love the taste, plus it made it look prettier. This recipe can easily feed at least 10 hungry people, so be prepared to feed a small army if you make this!