This is not my review of another blogger's recipe, it's the cake I made for my mom's birthday today. I took bits and pieces from several recipes and I think I like how it turned out. I don't have pictures of every step..because I wasn't planning on posting this to the blog. I mean really, this is a new blog that nobody reads...lol, but this one is too pretty not to add....just in case somebody shows up here.
- 3 - (8oz) boxes of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (room temp)
- approximately 20 Oreo cookies (maybe 14 if you are only doing the bottom...but I like crust up the sides as well)
- 1 - (14oz) bag of Kraft caramels
- 1 - (5oz) can of evaporated milk
- about a cup of chopped pecans
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs (room temp)
- 1 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 Pint of heavy whipping cream (you will only use about half)
- 9" spring form cake pan
First, toast the pecans....Butter a pan (I used a pie pan) and pour in crushed pecans. Place in an oven preheated to 300 degrees for 8-10 minutes.
Crush the Oreo cookies (I used the food processor) until the black and white parts are fully incorporated. Be sure to taste test 1-5 cookies to verify freshness. From things I have read, didn't add anything to the Oreos.....no extra sugar, no butter.....otherwise, it seems some people ended up with an Oreo brick crust that was impossible to cut through, or eat...and that would be tragic.
Spray the cake pan well with cooking spray....any area that is not sprayed will be an area that the crust will stick to, so be sure to get it all.
Pour about 2/3 of the crushed Oreos into the pan. Use the lid from the cooking spray to press down on the Oreos and pack them. Then I started adding small amounts to the sides and pressing them in until the entire side was covered in Oreo. (1/2 to 2/3 way up the pan)
Place the pan with the Oreo crust into the 300 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.
While the crust is in the oven, open up all the little caramels.....again, be sure to taste one or two to make sure they are still good....what? doesn't everyone do that? Place the caramels into a microwave safe bowl and pour in about 4 of the 5oz evaporated milk. Heat in the microwave for 1 minute....stir and stir and stir. If it's not ready, try another 15-20 seconds....stir, stir, stir. Eventually, you will have a lovely caramel sauce.
Grab the pan with the crust that you have removed from the oven.
Toss in about 1/4 C of the pecans
Pour in 3/4 of the caramel sauce
Then add another 1/4 C or so of pecans
Place the pan into the fridge for a bit while we work on the next part.
Now for the cheesecake filling....mmmmm. I don't mess with the water bath and all that stuff for the cheesecake....I have 3 boys, and just don't have time, lol. Not to mention...if you get cracks they can be fixed....and this cake is heavily topped anyway, so no worries.
Have the cream cheese, and eggs at room temperature.
Start with the 3 packages of cream cheese and mix them for a while on a low to medium speed (or with a spoon if you need a workout) When it looks creamy and lump-free, add the sugar and mix to combine. Once the sugar and cream cheese well mixed (be sure to scrape sides, bottom, and paddle then mix some more) add one of the eggs. Mix for a minute or two until the egg is incorporated...then add the other egg and repeat. Add the extract and mix a lil bit more ;)
Now melt 1/2 C of the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl....start with 30 seconds...stir, stir, stir.....don't overcook or you will have to start over. If they aren't ready try again in 10 second increments until it stirs out smoothly. Mix into the cheesecake batter.
Take the pan out of the fridge and pour the batter on top of the caramel/pecan layer. Pop any large bubbles with a toothpick. Place in the oven for 45 minutes....turn 180 degrees (the cheesecake silly, not you) and let it cook another 10-15 minutes. Turn off the oven but don't open the door....let the cake hang there for 45-60 minutes.
Put in the fridge until the next day!
Now comes the ganache....take the other cup of chocolate chips and mix in about half the pint of heavy mixing cream. Use a microwave safe bowl and put in for 30 seconds stir around and put in for another 20-30 seconds...stir, stir, stir....keep adding 10 seconds at a time after each round of stirring until it is done. I usually stir it for quite awhile because it's still melting while you are stirring.
Once it's ready, let's get it on the cake! You can use a piping bag, or just a Ziploc type bag with a small hole in one corner, but go around the edges first....let it pool up a bit every inch or so, and gravity will drip it down...fun stuff. Once the edge is complete, just squeeze it out all over the top...it will blend well with the sides.
I put the cake in the fridge for about 10 minutes here...just to let the outside of the ganache set up a little bit, but it's not a deal breaker.
Using the rest of the caramel sauce from the bottom layer, I used a piping bag and a #3 tip...but any little tip will do....the Ziploc bag will work here as well. I drizzled some caramel around the top of the ganache, then added the rest of the pecans......then I used up every drop that remained of the caramel sauce on top.....didn't want to waste, yanno.
I hope this makes some sense, lol....I am still so new to blogging, so please let me know if I left anything out of the post.
p.s. I will post a picture of a slice once I get it to my mom's!
