Still A Dreamer

And now for a lighter – and more delicious – topic. (Vs. my last post, that is.)

Easter brings with it an invitation to the home of a friend and her family, and that means one thing for me … baking a delicious treat. Considering something that both adults and children might like isn’t always easy, and as I pored over yet-to-be-made recipes, I realized that many of them were more sophisticated in flavors than youngsters would like. So I hit my tried and true recipe box.

I came up with a marble cheesecake, and was happy to later learn that cheesecake is my friend’s husband’s all time favorite dessert. The original recipe calls for a crust made from dark chocolate wafers, but I like a traditional graham cracker crust made with butter just as well.

Above, the one slice I took home — as my host loved it so much, I left the rest there for him! Above right, fresh out of the oven with the crack that always appears.

I’ve had this recipe for so long I have no idea where I originally found it, and therefore cannot provide a link. So here it is below. Pretty easy to make and not for the cholesterol-conscious. Happy baking!

Marble Cheesecake

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 10 minutes

Crust:
18 chocolate wafers, crushed (1 cup)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Or: make traditional graham cracker crust. Just as good!

Filling:
6 squares semisweet chocolate
3 pkgs (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 container – 16 oz. – sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Make crust: Combine chocolate crumbs, butter and cinnamon in a small bowl. Press over bottom of 9” springform pan and chill.
2. Make filling: Melt chocolate over hot water; remove from heat, reserve.
3. Beat cream cheese with sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer `til fluffy.
4. Beat in eggs one at a time until well-blended. Blend in sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
5. Combine the melted chocolate with 1-1/2 cups of the cheese batter in a small bowl and blend thoroughly.
6. Pour 2-1/2 cups of the plain batter into chilled crust; place 1/4 cup chocolate batter on top pf plain batter. Cover with remaining plain batter.
7. Drop remaining chocolate batter by spoonfuls and pull a spatula through in swirls to marbleize.
8. Bake in a moderate over – 350 – for 1 hour and 10 minutes, Turn oven off and leave cake in oven for another hour. Remove to wire rack to cool. Refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

Note: Top will crack and sink slightly.

p.s. I always wrap the bottom portion of the pan with aluminum foil, so the butter doesn’t drip onto the oven and burn.