Red Velvet Compromise

by Dena

Over the years my holiday baking isn’t complete unless I bake a New York Cheesecake. Until I married my husband the only kind of cheesecake I had ever made was the kind in a box where you add milk and chill. Myself, I love that kind. My husband is quite a cheesecake snob. He only likes the real kind. For this Thanksgiving, I really wanted to make a red velvet cake. I didn’t have time to prepare both, so I compromised. This Thanksgiving, I made my first red velvet cheesecake.

RVW 019 If you are going to go to the trouble of preparing any kind of cheesecake, you might as well experiment and make something different.

RVW 008 This was a project that we worked on together while making the Thanksgiving meal. My daughter, age 11, prepared the crust. A springform pan is a must. This is the only thing I use mine for and it is worth it to have it. I mixed everything together and soon had my cheesecake ready to bake.

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup whole buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
2 (1-ounce) bottles red food coloring
1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat 3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese and 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute. Add eggs and next 6 ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.

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Bake at 325° for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center is firm. Run knife along outer edge of cheesecake. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool in pan on a wire rack 30 minutes. Cover and chill 8 hours.

*This is where you have to remember to plan this project well before bedtime. I got overly ambitious and decided to start this little project close to 10:00 PM, which meant that night owl Joy got to stay up and do all the fun oven business. She was a lil cranky the next day*

Beat 1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth; gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake. Remove sides of springform pan.

We frosted the cheesecake the next morning. My opinion? Fair. Everyone else gave it rave reviews. My husband? He said we ruined a good cheesecake. You can’t win them all. RVW 017 To be honest, it wasn’t my favorite either. We had plenty of desserts though, and always have a ton of leftovers. The main thing we have?