Peachy Valentine Cheesecake

Here we are, the day after Valentine's Day. If you still feel like celebrating, why not try a heart shaped cheesecake? Luckily, cream cheese and sour cream were on sale this past week and I smartly picked some up - just in case! My husband saw what I had bought and lovingly made this cake for me. He's great. It was wonderful. He based it off of a recipe from the Cookbook "125 Best Cheesecake Recipes" by George Geary. He tweaked "Blue Ribbon Cheesecake" to fit a heart shaped 8" pan.

Here's what you need to enjoy your own

Peachy Valentine Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" heart shaped pan with tinfoil, bringing the foil up and over the sides of the pan so it can be lifted out when it is cooled.

Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

Filling

2 packages (8 oz/250g) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Topping

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Decoration

1 1/2 cups peach slices, either fresh or drained canned slices

1. CRUST: in a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.

2. FILLING: In a large mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour over frozen crust. Bake in preheated oven 35-40 minutes or until the top is light brown and the center has a slight jiggle to it. Cool on the counter for 10 minutes (do not turn off the oven.) The cake will sink slightly.

3. TOPPING: In a small bowl, combine sour cream, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into center of cooled cake and spread out to edges. Bake for 5 minutes more. Cool on a rack for 2 hours. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before decorating. 

4. DECORATION: When completely chilled, lift from the pan using the tinfoil and peel away the tinfoil. Transfer to a serving plate. Top with peach slices. (You could also use blueberries or strawberries.)

Happy Valentine's Day Cheesecake Pie

I was planning to do a beautiful 2-layer chocolate cake, covered in white fondant and little pink hearts but I went to bed last night with a slightly sore throat instead of making a cake. So, this morning, I scoured my cookbooks for something easier. Here is what I came up with:

It was from a cookbook called Nestle Classic Recipes. The recipe is called "No-Bake Chocolate Cheesecake Pie" (p. 89). I modified the recipe to fit my 7" heart pan, from the 9" round pan size they provided. It fit beautifully! Rather than a whipped cream topping, I went with strawberry slices. This was a delicious, thick cheesecake! I only needed a small piece to be satisfied. Yummy and super easy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine Chocolate Cupcakes

As promised, here are some cupcakes that I made today. They were a hit. I made enough for all the children in my school children's classes (45) and 4 extra. My 4 children wanted to eat them all!

Once they were cooled, I covered them in chocolate butter cream icing and added fondant hearts.

Each cupcake has a monogrammed fondant heart with a child's initial. I used my Wilton press set of letters again. These were a lot of fun! I hope the children enjoy them tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day (a little early)!