Wednesday, November 28, 2012

The BEST Cheescake Ever.

I don't know if you guys know this or not, but I LOVE to bake.
You also may not know that I'm sort of known for my chocolate chip cookies. And I won't lie, they're pretty epic. And though I've baked many different things, I've never made a cheesecake before. So last week, I decided I'd give it a shot and make one for Thanksgiving. Well, I actually made two. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so naturally I made a "practice" cheesecake a few days before, just to make sure it turned out OK.

Seriously, it was the best cheesecake I've ever had. The second I made it I knew I had to share the recipe with all of you. I was a bit nervous about making a cheesecake, but it was much easier than expected!

I found the originally recipe here, and the only thing I changed was how I baked it. Prepare yourselves, for the amazingness that is...

White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

Ingredients:
-1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs ( I used Oreos)
 -3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
 - 1 (10 ounces) package of frozen raspberries
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- 2 teaspoons conrstarch
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups white chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup half-and-half cream
- 3 (8 ounces) packages of cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Supplies:
9 inch springform pan  
Mixer
Spatula
Strainer

Directions:
  1. In a medium bowl, mix together cookie crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, and melted butter. Press mixture into the bottom of your pan.
2.In a saucepan, combine raspberries, 2 tablespoons sugar, cornstarch, and water. Bring to boil, and continue boiling 5 minutes, or until sauce is thick. Strain sauce through a mesh strainer to remove seeds. Warning: this is the most time consuming part of the process. But it's SO worth it. I also added a bit more sugar to the sauce, as my raspberries were extremely tart.
3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a metal bowl over a pan of simmering water, melt white chocolate chips with half-and-half, stirring occasionally until smooth. You can also do this in the microwave. Just simply heat it only 30 seconds at a time, stirring it after each 30 seconds until it's mixed.
4. In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and melted white chocolate. Pour half of batter over crust. Spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over batter. Pour remaining cheesecake batter into pan, and again spoon 3 tablespoons raspberry sauce over the top. And the best part is using a knife to swirl the sauce to create the beautiful marbled effect.
 5. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until filling is set. Cool in the oven for 40 min, and then on the counter. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8 hours before removing from pan. Serve with the rest of the raspberry sauce.
 The key to getting a cheesecake to cook absolutely perfectly, is by using the water bath method. What you want to do is wrap your pan with a few layers of foil to keep it dry, and then place it in a baking pan. After you place it in the oven, fill the baking pan up about halfway with boiling water. This helps the cake cook evenly, and helps maintain the custard like texture without overcooking it. 
Another tip is to let the cake cool down for 40 min in the oven. Just turn off the heat, crack open the door, and let it cool down. Then make sure you let it cool on the counter until it is barely warm before you put it in the fridge. This will prevent it from cracking.
The cake was a hit at Thanksgiving! It's a great recipe for a holiday meal, and I really suggest you try it out!
Let me know if you try out this recipe. I guarantee it will be gone in just a day or two!

Happy Wednesday!
xoxoKelsey



 

Monday, November 19, 2012

Poppy


Hey there, blogging friends!

So I have some very exciting news:



Yes, it's true! 
This June, we'll be welcoming a little baby into our family of two. 

You guys, I wasn't sure I believed it when women said that you instantly fall in love with your baby the second you find out you're pregnant, but it's true. I just love the little babe so much already! So much so that I have burst into to tears just thinking about it. Although, I'm sure a big part of that is my crazy hormones, ha ha. We are so excited for this little baby, and feel so blessed that the Lord has given us this gift. Sure, I'm a little (a lot) freaked out about being a mom, but more than anything, I cannot wait! 

Two weeks ago we got to see our baby for the first time. Talk about the COOLEST thing ever. After seeing and hearing the baby's heart beat, I was so much more at ease. It was so nice to see that the baby was alive and well. We've nicknamed the little babe Poppy, since he/she was the size of a poppy seed when we found out we were pregnant.

Dear Poppy, you are SO loved by your mama already!


On another note...I've decided to kind of change my blog up a bit. I used to focus mostly on beauty/fashion, and I think I want to have a bit more of a "lifestyle" feel to it. I've been struggling the past few months about what direction I want my blog to go. So in addition to my love for blogging about beauty and fashion, I'm going to start adding in some more posts about my daily life, and a lot of crafting posts. Since I'm preeetty much the biggest crafter of life. 

 Happy Monday!
 xoxoKelsey