Tuesday, December 30, 2008

TWD: Tall and Creamy Cheesecake


Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great Christmas! I'm just getting back into the swing of blogging, and this week's Tuesday's with Dorie pick was a perfect excuse. On this week's menu was Tall and Creamy Cheesecake, chosen by Anne of AnneStrawberry.

(Oh, and before I get started, I'm dying to hear what everyone got for Christmas! What was your favorite gift? ...I'll share my prizes in a later post.)

I've made quite a few cheesecakes in my day, so I decided to make one of my favorite cheesecake flavors, apple cinnamon. Mmmmm... yum!


Here's what I did... first, I had some homemade apple pie filling (a canned filling such as Comstock would also work), about a half cup. (By the way, I halved the recipe and baked it in a 7-inch by 2-inch tall cake pan.)


I added about a half cup of my prepared cheesecake batter to the apples and mixed.


I set the apple cheesecake mixture aside. Then, I added half of the remaining cheesecake batter to my pan with my graham cracker crust. I layered the apple cinnamon cheesecake mixture on top of that.


I thought it looked like it needed more, so I added a little more straight apple pie filling.


Then I covered with the rest of the cheesecake batter very nearly to the top of the pan. (Notice the pan is in the water bath, but with no pesky aluminum foil wrap? That's because I don't use spring-form pans for cheesecake anymore. You can read about how I do it toward the bottom of this post.)


Finally, I sprinkled some of the cinnamony liquidy part of the filling on top, just for something different.


Since I added the liquidy apple filling, I baked for about 10-15 minutes longer to make sure the cheesecake was baked through.

I liked the splattered, artsy look on the finished cheesecake. As you can see I got some cracking, but strangely enough the cracks followed my cinnamony sprinkling. I thought it added character.


The verdict? I give it two thumbs up. I have a couple of favorite cheesecake recipes already, but I could easily add Dorie's to the list. It was light and creamy, just like I like. Oh, I forgot to say that I used half cream and half sour cream. I don't like my cheesecake tooooo tangy, just a little bit tang is fine for me.

In addition, I liked the crust. I've never pushed it up the sides before, but I really liked the look of it.

This recipe is a winner in my book. Speaking of books, please check out Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking: From my Home to Yours" for the recipe, or visit Anne's blog above.

36 comments:

Engineer Baker said...

Beautiful job! I love the flavor variation too. As for water baths, I just gave up on those and kept with my springform. Still pretty creamy. Favorite Xmas goodie? Probably the lowel ego lights and sweep my bf got me :) He knows me too well!

Cathy said...

This looks incredible! I love the apple cinnamon version -- that had to be amazing. This was my first cheesecake, so I'm glad to hear that Dorie's could stand up to some of your other favorite recipes!

My favorite gift was the hot pink iPod nano that Santa brought me. It is impossibly cute and tiny. I also love my new digital kitchen scale! :-)

Steph said...

My new goldtouch muffin tin! I can't wait to use it. The apple cheesecake looks amazing. I never thought of putting actual fruit inside the cheesecake before, that is such a great idea!

Marthe said...

O my.... apple and cinnamon cheesecake sounds delicious!!!

My favourtie gift was 'Nigella's Christmas' by Nigella Lawson: lots of great ideas for next years feast!!

Megan said...

Oooh, apples, cinnamon and cheesecake. Can I have a slice? It looks fantastic.

Happy New Year!

chocolatechic said...

Gorgeous.

I love your apple idea.

Danielle said...

Apple cinnamon yumminess! Yours came out great :)

Christine said...

I give up on water baths! Your cheesecake looks delicious and perfect! One of my Christmas gifts was measuring cups in odd increments, 1 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup etc I love it and used it with this recipe!

Beryl said...

This looks so delicious. I love the apple cinnamon. Great job!

Anonymous said...

I made a similar cheesecake several months back. I, too, thought it was terrific. Yours looks brilliant!

Kimberly Johnson said...

Your cheesecake looks great! I put homemade apple pie filling on TOP of mine and thought that taste was awesome!

PheMom said...

What an awesome variation! Your cheesecake looks amazing!

Maria said...

I love what you have done here! The cinnamon apple version sounds fabulous!!

Anonymous said...

A beautiful and delicious looking cake! I think my favorite gift was a super rad Star Trek t-shirt from my boyfriend.

Carol Peterman/TableFare said...

I will try your non-springform approach next time. I don't have a problem with leaking since I started using the extra-wide foil, but I like to remove the cheesecake from the springform bottom and place it on a nice cake plate, and it is a tricky maneuver. I think your approach might be a better way to go.

Leslie said...

Apple cinnamon sounds yummy! I love your method for baking cheesecake in a traditional cake pan!!! I have to try it. I don't have problems with the water bath but I love a good technique, you know?

Anonymous said...

Ooh, apple pie filling sounds delish.

My favorite gift is a hot rock massage. The husband did well. ;)

Anonymous said...

Apple-cinnamon sounds absolutely delicious. Great job!

Happy New Year!

Pamela said...

The cake looks great! Your variation looks really yummy.

test it comm said...

I really like the sound of an apple and cinnamon cheesecake!

Anonymous said...

Apples! What a fantastic idea! Thanks for sharing!

Bunny said...

Your version is fantastic, I adore apples and cinnamon, this wouldn't last long at my house!

Amy of Sing For Your Supper said...

It looks great! I love the apple cinnamon idea!!

I think my favorite Christmas gift was the new silverware I got from hubby! I can't wait to have a party now! :-)

-Amy
www.singforyoursupperblog.com

kimberly salem said...

the flavor sounds so delicious!! great job :)
my fave gift: all 4 of the cookbooks i got ;)

Joy said...

Beautiful cheesecake!

I also had to visit your site, and your cakes and cookies are gorgeous! I love your wedding cake and flip flop cookies!

Tami said...

I love the look of you cheesecake! I bet that it tasted fabulous!

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

Oh lovely! The shape of the cheesecake is so pretty.

Liliana said...

Apple and cinnamon - one of my favourite combinations! Your cheesecake looks amazing. I have to try your method next time - I hate using those water baths!

Amanda said...

Just beautiful! Perfect looking,and I'm intrigued by your apple pie-take on cheesecake. I imagine it was delicious!

spike. said...

That does like arty and sounds delish

Lisa magicsprinkles said...

I love the apple twist! It came out beautifully!

My favorite gift was the set of pasta roller attachments for my Kitchen Aid mixer.

Kristin said...

Jacque - thank you for the comment on my blog! Your cheesecake looks AMAZING!! What an awesome combination.

Nancy said...

Mmmm, just thinking about an apple-cinnamon cheesecake makes my mouth water! Next time I try cheesecake I'll definitely remember yours!
Happy New Year!

AmyRuth said...

Thanks so much for sharing how you made your yummy cheesecake. I'm glad to know there is success in cheesecake in a pan other than a springform. I've had great luck with the Kaiser pan. It has a flat bottom which is super easy to slide the cake off onto a service plate. No leaking either. Anyway, you cake looks yummy and comforting.
AmyRuth

Cakelaw said...

Apple and cinnamon is one of my favourite flavour combinations - looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

The appley filling sounds delicious! I'm so used to seeing berry cheesecakes but, being a huge fan of apples, I'm glad to have stumbled upon this one :D.