Sunday Salutations and Thanksgiving Cheesecake
I am making cheesecake for Thanksgiving. Usually, I would make pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin pie. But this year I have decided to make chocolate chip cheesecake. What desserts are you planning for Thanksgiving? What are your favorite desserts for Thanksgiving?
The crust — normally people do a graham cracker crust — I decided to make a fudge-like crust. This was something I thought up without testing or even trying beforehand. But it sounds like it will come out good. However, I will have to tell you next week about how it turned out.
Crust
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup ghee
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
Mix dry ingredients above in one bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another. Add wet mix to dry mix. Mix combination well.
Layer combination on the bottom of cheesecake pan and bake for 10 minutes in a 350F oven.
In a bowl mix (adding the wet to the dry):
Cheesecake Batter
3/4 cup of sugar
4 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese (soften)
8 oz of sour cream
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
Add the chocolate chips either mixed or layered in. I like to layer and design them in later.
Mix batter in electric mixer for 5-7 mins on high, until smooth.
In a new bowl mix the following:
5 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 tablespoon of sugar
Whisk and fluff the egg whites until fluffy. Then add cream of tartar and sugar and whisk for another 5 minutes.
Combination
Fold the egg white mixture into the cheesecake batter. (Do not use a mixer as that will remove the fluffy air.)
Remember when I said I like to layer and design in the chocolate chips? We’re going to do that here.
Place a layer of cheesecake batter on top of the pre-cooked crust in the cheesecake pan.
Add a layer of chocolate chips.
Add a layer of cheesecake batter.
Add drawings with the chocolate chips on the top. Because it is fun!
Place a pan filled with water underneath the rack on which you plan to place the cheesecake. This serves two purposes. First, the water adds humidity while cooking. Second, most likely your cheesecake will drip moisture through (or over) the pan. This catches that and prevents you from filling your house with smoke.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until the top doesn’t jiggle or you can stab it with a knife and it comes back clean. If you don’t want a brown top, cover it with aluminum foil, with a vent for the steam to escape.
Refrigerate for 4 hours. (I am freezing it, after it cools. Then I can serve it for Thanksgiving, even though I made it early.)
Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!
~Anna and Tod