Red Velvet Cheesecake

My oldest son, Eli, turned 10 this past weekend. How in the world did that happen?! Evidently I need to stop blinking, because my kids keep growing up right before my eyes. We are getting to the age where he no longer asks for "themed" birthday parties with decorated cakes. I had planned to make him a dirt-and-worms cake this year (you know the drill, crushed up Oreo's for the "dirt" with gummy worms buried in there) but he had other ideas - he wanted red velvet cheesecake (because he's sophisticated like that). One traditional birthday dessert in our family has been my mother's red velvet cake. So when Eli sampled red velvet cheesecake at our church's annual Christmas program, it must have been memorable enough to request for his birthday. Side note: if you want your kids to sit through a program at church, here are two magic words: dessert buffet. Works like a charm. If they wriggle around and act like jerks, NO DESSERT! Since I'm not a baker I had to go searching for a red velvet cheesecake recipe. Oh my land (O'Lakes) did I ever find a good one! The party was on Sunday, so I made the crust on Friday night, then got up early Saturday morning to prepare and bake the filling. That way it had plenty of time to cool before refrigerating it overnight. We had the party at my mom's house so I shaved chocolate over the top once we arrived. It turned out fabulous, decadent, rich and creamy - exactly what he imagined. It really is an enormous blessing to watch our kids grow up, even though sometimes I feel a bit melancholy over the whole situation. That's when I grab a piece of cheesecake, feeling grateful I didn't have to decorate two dozen Lightning McQueen cupcakes. Maybe I could get used to this...

Red Velvet Cheesecake (adapted from landolakes.com)

For the crust:

9 oz. oreos
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. sugar

For the filling:

1 (11 1/2 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips 
3 (8 oz.) packages light cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
2 t. red food coloring
4 large eggs
1/2 c. light sour cream
2 t. vanilla extract

For the topping:
1 1/2 c. light sour cream
2 T. sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
Chocolate curls, if desired (I bought a Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bar and used my vegetable peeler to make some shavings)

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350. Wrap the bottom of a 9 or 10" springform pan with foil. Spray the inside with cooking spray and set aside. Combine the crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the cookies resemble fine sand and the butter and sugar are evenly distributed. Press onto the bottom and 1" up the side of the prepared pan and bake for 8-12 minutes. Cool completely. 

For the filling:

Melt the chocolate chips in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Cool for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese, 3/4 c. sugar and red food coloring in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed for 2-3 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the melted chocolate, 1/2 c. sour cream and 2 t. vanilla extract, beating at low speed for 1 minute or until fully incorporated. Pour cheesecake mixture into the prepared crust and bake 80-95 minutes or until just set 2" from the edge of the pan. 

For the topping:

While the cheesecake is baking combine 1 1/2 c. sour cream, 2 T. sugar and 1 t. vanilla in a medium bowl, stir and set aside until the cheesecake is baked. Once baked, pull the cheesecake out of the oven, and spread over the top in an even layer. Continue baking an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand until cool then run a butter knife around the sides of the pan to loosen. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. When ready to serve remove sides of pan then garnish with chocolate curls if desired.


16 servings (421 calories each serving) according to my calculator on loseit.com