Sunday Funday: Homemade Cheesecake and First World Problems

 

Well, the cheesecake has officially been tested, and Thomas and I agree that it is DELICIOUS!!!!  I'm so thankful that I picked a good recipe (off of the hundreds on Pinterest), and I'm also incredibly grateful that I didn't screw it up!  So, I feel the need to share this wonderful recipe with you!

I do like that I went with a plain cheesecake recipe because now that I know what I'm doing, I feel like I could spice it up next time with some add-ins or maybe make a smaller cheesecake (maybe an 8") and use the leftover batter for personal cheesecakes in muffin cups!  The possibilities are endless!!!

So, I originally found this recipe through Pinterest, and I didn't change much from the original recipe posted by Katy on "Food for a Hungry Soul".  Katy also listed that the recipe came from Jim Fobel's Old Fashioned Baking Book.

So, here's my FIRST cheesecake saga!  Enjoy!

First off, you have to let 5 eggs, 4 bricks of cream cheese, 1 stick of unsalted butter and 2 cups of sour cream sit out to reach room temperature.  Boy, was that torture!  On the upside though, I was smart enough to make a little fort out of the cream cheese and butter and put the eggs in the middle so they wouldn't decide to hop onto the floor while I wasn't looking!

After about a million years, you can then start creaming things together.  Eggs and sour cream in the BIGGEST mixing bowl you own.  And cream cheese and butter in the SECOND BIGGEST bowl you own!  Seriously, I thought all of this stuff was going to overflow my enormous bowls.  Then, when you've beat these two sets of ingredients, add the cream cheese mixture to the sour cream and egg mixture, and beat it to perfection!

After that, you add sugar, cornstarch and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.  And that's where I slightly altered the recipe.  The original called for less vanilla and some lemon juice and lemon zest.

Then, you're almost there!  Make sure your oven is preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.   And here's the hard part.  Wrap your 10" springform pan in two layers of aluminum foil to try and prevent water from seeping in.  You'll also have to have a huge pan ready for the water bath.  The pan needs to be big enough that the springform pan doesn't touch the sides.  I bought a big disposable roasting pan to use because I don't have any pans that big.

So, now, pour the cheesecake filling deliciousness into the springform pan, and place the pan in the roaster.  Then, put the whole thing in the oven and pour very hot tap water into the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the springform pan.  Once it's in the oven, if you're one of those adventurous people, lick the bowl.  Yuuuuuuuuuummmm!

Let the whole thing bake for about 2 hours to 2 hours and 15 minutes.  My tip is to make sure you keep an eye on it.  I looked in on my cake at about 1:55 and the top was done.  I took it out because I didn't want it to burn, but in hindsight, I probably should have put aluminum foil on top and left it in the oven for a little longer.  The top was definitely done, but I think the inside was maybe just a tad bit too moist.

Once you take it out of the oven, let it sit at room tempurature for FOUR HOURS!!!  I had to set an alarm to wake up at 2:30 am to put this thing in the fridge!  But, after the four hour sit, just pop it into the fridge.  I covered it loosely first.  The recipe said to let it chill over night.  I let mine sit until after dinner the next night so we could have it for dessert, and it was perfection!!!

I also made a blackberry sauce to go with it.  Delish!

 So here's my slightly altered version of the recipe.

New York Cheesecake
Adapted from: "Food for a Hungry Soul"

Ingredients:

5 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sour cream, room temperature
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Lay out the eggs, sour cream, cream cheese, and butter and allow them to reach room temperature.  Wrap a 10" springform pan in two layers of aluminum foil.
2. When the ingredients are at room temperature, preheat your oven to 300 degrees.  Then, cream the eggs and sour cream together with an electric mixer in a very large bowl.
3. In another bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until well combined and creamy.
4. Next, add the cream cheese and butter to the egg and sour cream mixture.  Beat these together until creamy, no lumps allowed.
5. Last, add the remaining ingredients: sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
6. Pour the filling into the springform pan.  Put the cheesecake pan into the roasting pan and put the whole thing in the oven.
7. Pour very hot tap water into the roasting pan until it's about halfway up the cheesecake pan.
8. Bake for 2 hours to 2 hours 15 minutes, and keep an eye on it to make sure the top doesn't become over brown.
9. When its lightly brown on top, take everything out of the oven.  Be really careful when removing the springform pan from the water bath because the water is super hot.  But, remove the springform pan and take the aluminum foil wrap off.
10. Allow the cheesecake to cool at room temperature for 4 hours.  Then pop it into the fridge to chill for as long as possible.  12 hours seemed to be a good amount of time.
11. Try not to eat the entire thing in one sitting!

Fresh Blackberry Sauce
*** This makes about 1/4 cup of sauce, which is not much, but it was good for us since we gave a lot of the cheesecake away to friends too.

1.  Add several tablespoons of sugar to about 20 blackberries and mash the whole thing together a little bit.  Then let it sit for a while, half an hour is a good amount of time.
2. Then boil the mixture in a small sauce pan.  Allow it to boil just a bit to help combine and thicken.  Stir continually and continue to smoosh the blackberries around.
3. Push everything through a strainer to keep all of the seeds out of the sauce.
4. Drizzle over your scrumptious cheesecake.

Enjoy your delicious dessert!!!


So... now to the other part of Sunday Fun day!  I thought we could all use a little of the silly things all over the internet that make us laugh.  And, one of the silly things that makes me laugh is the popular meme of "First World Problems".  They are hilarious because they're so true.  And though they make me laugh, they also remind me of how blessed I am, and how I should be more thankful for everything I have.  So, here is a first world problem!

Just a funny reminder that we should be much more thankful for all of the wonderful blessings God has given us.  Wherever you are, the fact that you have the ability to read this post means that you are incredibly blessed.

Have a wonderful night!