I wish I could remember where I got this recipe originally, probably at SmittenKitchen. Either way, this recipe has now spread all over the internet, and rightfully so.  It’s really delicious and not at all difficult to make!

All the usual Twitter suspects were there, it’s been so long since I’ve updated the site, sorry about that

This Tiramisu is four layers, super moist and light.

Cake Layers:

• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Espresso Extract:

• 2 shots of espresso

Espresso Syrup:

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon Amaretto Di Saronno

Filling and Frosting:

• 1 8-ounce container mascarpone (coffee flavor if available)
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Amaretto Di Saronno
• 1 cup cold heavy cream
• 2 1/2 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped, or about 1/2 cup store-bought mini chocolate chips
• Cocoa powder, for dusting

To make the cake layers

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9×2 inch round cake pans and set them on a baking sheet.

Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat the butter on medium speed of an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Add the sugar and beat for another 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, and then the yolk, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla; Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk, adding the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients); scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix only until the ingredients disappear into the batter. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans at the midway point. When fully baked, the cakes will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the centers will come out clean. Transfer the cakes to a rack and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unmold them, and peel off the paper liners. Invert and cool to room temperature right-side up.

To make the syrup:

Stir the water and sugar together in a small saucepan and bring just to a boil. Pour the syrup into a small heatproof bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the espresso extract and the liqueur or brandy; set aside.

To make the filling and frosting:

Put the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla, and liqueur in a large bowl and whisk just until blended and smooth.

Working with the stand mixer with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, whip the heavy cream until it holds firm peaks. Switch to a rubber spatula and stir about one quarter of the whipped cream into the mascarpone. Fold in the rest of the whipped cream with a light touch.

To assemble the cake:

If the tops of the cake layers have crowned, use a long serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion to even them. Place one layer right-side up on a cardboard round or a cake plate protected with strips of wax or parchment paper. Using a pastry brush or a small spoon, soak the layer with about one third of the espresso syrup. Smooth some of the mascarpone cream over the layer – user about 1 1/4 cups – and gently press the chopped chocolate into the filling. Put the second cake layer on the counter and soak the top of it with half the remaining espresso syrup, then turn the layer over and position it, soaked side down, over the filling. Soak the top of the cake with the remaining syrup.

For the frosting, whisk 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the remaining espresso extract into the remaining mascarpone filling. Taste the frosting as you go to decide how much extract you want to add. If the frosting looks as if it might be a little too soft to spread over the cake, press a piece of plastic wrap against its surface and refrigerate it for 15 minutes or so. Refrigerate the cake too.

With a long metal icing spatula, smooth the frosting around the sides of the cake and over the top. If you want to decorate the cake with chocolate-covered espresso beans, press them into the filling, making concentric circles of beans or just putting some beans in the center of the cake.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours (or for up to 1 day) before serving – the elements need time to meld.

Just before serving, dust the top of the cake with cocoa.

Yeah yeah… It’s supposed to be CAKE and a movie night.  Not bread and a movie night.  Got it.  Well, sometimes you just want something a little different and since so many of my friends (just about all of them) had never even heard of bread pudding, I just had to make it.

It’s so easy to make and just as hard to mess up and always a winner.  Not really a bread, not really a pudding but 100% tasty.

Bread Pudding
Makes one 9×13″ Pan

• 6 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 4 cups milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 (1 pound) loaf bread, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Rum Sauce

• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup corn syrup
• 1/2 cup rum

Preheat oven to 300°F.

In a medium bowl, whip together eggs and sugar. Mix in milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Whip until smooth.

Arrange bread cubes in a medium baking dish, and top with golden raisins. Cover with the whipped mixture. Allow the bread to become saturated with the mixture.

Bake 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned.

To make the sauce, mix sugar, butter and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat when thoroughly blended, and whisk in the whiskey. Serve warm over bread pudding.

This also makes for a great brunch offering, if you decide to start your own Twitter Brunch like we have here in Columbia!

Yeah… don’t ask about the name…

These are sinfully delicious brownies, sinfully partly because they are brownies and then partly because there are Krispy Kreme donut holes in them.  Yes… brownies filled with donut holes. Plus, @MadMax69 seemed to really really love these brownies.

Fudge Brownies
Makes one 9×13″ Pan

• 16 oz. 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 12 oz chocolate chips
• One box of Krispy Kreme donut holes

Grease the 9×13 baking pan and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat butter in sauce pan until melted. Stir in bittersweet chocolate until smooth.  Set aside to cool.

Using a hand mixer, whisk eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla until mixture is beginning to fluff.  Add in the warm chocolate and carefully fold in the flour and baking powder and 1/3 of the chocolate chips.

Slice donut holes in half and scatter them throughout the pan. Pour batter over the donut holes . Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick a tester comes out clean.

Use the remaining 8 ounces ounces of chocolate chips as a topping.  Simply put the chips into a ziplock bag, warm in the microwave just until they are melted and smooth.  Snip one end of the bag and let the chocolate coat the top of the brownies. Serve and enjoy!

The title of this cake is too long to be the title of this post… wow, that seems to happen a lot with me.  The full name of this cake?  Lemon Chiffon Cake with Lemon Glaze and Blueberry Compote.

In other words, light, fluffy fresh, springy, cake.

@brooding_soul had been begging for a lemon cake and I finally came through for him.  This is a mix of several different recipes I found all over the internet… The glaze and compote are pretty general, simple things.  The cake itself comes from the infamous original Chiffon cake first created by Harry Baker in 1927.  It was kept top secret for decades!

This cake is a modified version of Rose Levy Beranbaum‘s Orange Glow Chiffon Cake.

So who showed up this time?

@brooding_soul @ok2baprincess @mdanbom @radzack @oddraw @babyfishie @madmax69 @kelssisco @coopercraigm

Time for the cake!

Lemon Chiffon Cake
Makes one 10″ Tube Pan Cake

• 2 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup oil
• 7 large eggs, separated + 3 additional whites
• 3/4 liquid cup lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 2 tablespoons lemon orange zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Preheat the oven to 325°F.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, all but 2 tablespoons of the sugar, baking powder, and salt and beat 1 minute to mix. Make a well in the center. Add the oil, egg yolks, orange juice, lemon zest, and vanilla and beat 1 minute or until smooth.

In another large mixing bowl beat the egg whites until frothy, add the cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form when the beater is raised. Beat in the remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised slowly. Gently fold the egg whites into the batter with a large balloon wire whisk, slotted skimmer, or angel food cake folder until just blended.

Pour into the tube pan (I do not recommend a silicon tube pan for this recipe), run a small metal spatula or knife through the batter to prevent air pockets, and bake for 55 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed in the center. Invert the pan, placing the tube opening over the neck of a soda or wine bottle to suspend it well above the counter (my tube pan didn’t fit over a bottle, hope you have better luck!), and cool the cake completely in the pan (this takes about 1 1/2 hours).

Note: You really must turn it upside down, otherwise the cake will fall flat and go from 5 inches tall to like 3 inches, lame.

Loosen the sides with a long metal spatula and remove the center core of the pan. Dislodge the bottom and center core with a metal spatula or thin, sharp knife. (A wire cake tester works well around the core. To keep the sides attractive, press the spatula against the sides of the pan and avoid any up-and-down motion.) Invert onto a greased wire rack and reinvert onto a serving plate. Wrap airtight.

Lemon Glaze

• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoon lemon zest

Seriously simple here.  Mix the ingredients until smooth. Done.  Pour over the cake, let it drip down the sides.

Blueberry Compote

• 2 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, unthawed
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon corn syrup

Combine 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar and 1/3 cup water in sauce pan. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup berries. Cook until compote coats spoon, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

Two ways to use the compote, fill the center of the tube cake with it, looks really pretty as the compote oozes down the sides of the cake and soaks the middle, or serve a little bit with each slice.  Either way, it’ll be a delicious cake!

Triple Layer Chocolate and Caramel Cake with Chocolate and Caramel Topping… a mouthful (pun intended).  This cake was inspired by a request from @ok2baprincess during Easter Brunch.  She had a craving for caramel and I wanted to fill that craving!

I went to my usual suspects, Gourmet Magazine, SmittenKitchen and my own little book of recipes for this one.

This cake has two layers of classic cake with a rich chocolate layer wedged in between.  I used the same frosting as from the Triple Layer, Double Chocolate Cake and then drizzled the warm, home-made caramel over each slice of cake just before serving.

We watched the film, V for Vendetta, it was the first time to see it for everyone, except me.  Seemed like everyone enjoyed the film just as much as the cake, which is a good thing!

Those in attendance? Well, not that many. It’s a busy time of the year, but Cake and a Movie lives on, time for it or not!

@ok2baprincess @brooding_soul @madmax69 @kaleb1983 @keeeeth @akikooda

Bittersweet Chocolate Layer
Makes one 10×10 Layer

• 16 oz. 70% bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into several pieces
• 6 large eggs
• 2 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Heat butter in sauce pan until melted. Stir in chocolate until smooth.  Set aside to cool.

Using a hand mixer, whisk eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla until mixture is beginning to fluff.  Add in the warm chocolate and carefully fold in the flour and baking powder.
Pour batter into a 10×10 baking pan sprayed with oil and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick a tester comes out clean.

Place in freezer to cool while the other layers are baked.

Classic Cake
Makes two 10×10 Layers

• 5 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring)
• 5 tbsp sifted cake flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 7/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
• 2 1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk

Grease the 10×10 cake pans, lined with parchment paper and set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. At low speed, beat in buttermilk until just combined (mixture may look curdled). Add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until each addition is just incorporated.

Spread batter evenly in cake pans, then rap pan on counter several times to eliminate air bubbles. Bake until golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes, then place in freezer while you prepare the frosting.  These cake layers need to be very cold before frosting.

Ganache Frosting

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup corn syrup
• 2 pounds semisweet chocolate
• 1 stick butter

Warm heavy cream, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan until sugar is completely dissolved.  At a simmer, add semisweet chocolate whisking until all the chocolate is melted and smooth.  At this point you can add the butter, cut into 1tbsp chunks to melt and mix with the chocolate.
Remove frosting from heat and pour into a bowl which can be refrigerated.

This frosting will be ready to apply to the cake once it has thickend up a bit.  It should have the consistency of rich caramel when it’s ready.
Remove cakes from the freezer, frosting from the refrigerator. Remove one cake from the pan, topside down on the cake platter. Peel away parchment paper. (You can choose to level the top of the cake by cutting it or just flip it upside down to save time and have an extra tall cake)

Frost the flat top of the first layer and add the second, and then the third and finally, frost the sides of the cake by pouring the remaining frosting onto the top of the cake and letting it slowly ooze down the sides of the cake.  You can use your offset spatula to smooth the sides if you want that effect, though the natural fall is quite beautiful.

Place in the refrigerator until ready to cut, served and drizzled with the caramel glaze, which should be made about 1/2 an hour before serving the cake.

Caramel Glaze

• 2 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoon light corn syrup
• 2 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Bring cream, brown sugar, corn syrup, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Boil until glaze registers 210 to 212°F on thermometer, 12 to 14 minutes, then stir in vanilla.

Put rack with cake in a shallow baking pan and pour hot glaze over top of cake, allowing it to run down sides. Cool until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.

Alternately, since this is a large cake, you can use the warm caramel as a topping to individual slices.  If you go this route, place caramel into the refrigerator for 15 minutes until it’s thickened, but still warm.  Drizzle about 1 tbsp of warm caramel on each slice of cake.

OMG! How many times did people ask me to bake a Red Velvet Cake?  Just about every single Cake and a Movie night.  So I finally did it, I baked a Red Velvet Cake and as usual, I chose SmittenKitchen.com as my source, she originally adapted the cake from  “The Confetti Cakes Cookbook” by Elisa Strauss.  Seemed like everyone had their favorite recipe but no one wanted to share it, guess that frosting of theirs is top secret!  I had to modify her recipe a bit, doubling it among other things.

It came out, and it came out as red as can be and everyone seemed to really like it.  The next time I make it, I’ll do some homemade vanilla-bean ice cream.

This was a HUGE Cake and a Movie night.  We had 51 people vote on the movies and Brick won out, then we had about 28 people come over!

@akikooda @madmax69 @brooding_soul @fotofobe @ok2baprincess @babyfishie @aurablush@MDanbom @eapenthampy @juliarygaard @oddraw @laurenried @taylorjm10 (cameo appearance) @coreyschmidt @keeeeth @matthurst @kaleb1983 @radzack @jjsteffe @welchy87@kjneverlies @jeffreybee

For the smaller version of this cake, three 9″ rounds, check out the original SmittenKitchen version.

Red Velvet Cake
Cake Base
Makes Three 10″ Layers

• 7 cups cake flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 3 tsp salt
• 4 cups canola oil
• 4 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 3/4 cup red food coloring
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tbsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar.

This recipe is too large to fit in a standard 5qt Kitchenaid stand mixer, so unless you have a larger one, you’ll have to use a hand mixer and a large mixing bowl.

Preheat your oven to 350°F.  Spray the pans with Baker’s Joy non-stick spray with flour. Line the bottom of the 10×10 square cake pans with parchment paper and spray again.

Sift flour and whisk in a medium mixing bowl with cocoa and salt.

Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until sugar begins to dissolve. Beat in eggs one at a time. With mixer on low, add red food coloring (beware of splashing!).  Add vanilla and mix until color is even.

Measure buttermilk and add in baking soda.  Gently mix and let double.

Slowly add in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk into the large mixing bowl with the oil mixture.  Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.  Add in vinegar and continue to mix until batter is smooth.

Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 60-70 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Place in the freezer to firm up.

I made two thick layers and one thin layer to place in the middle. It’s just aesthetics and something you can do to make it not look like just any three layer cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes 6 qts

• 32 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 4 sticks of butter room temperature
• 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
• 12 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted (2.65lbs)

Place cream cheese and butter in your stand mixer and beat until fluffy. Add vanilla,continue to mix. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add confectioner sugar, 1/2 at a time. Beat, on low speed to combine. Scrape down the sides and beat until smooth.

Frost the the tops of each layer of cake, one atop the other.  There will be lots of frosting so feel free to make thick layers (the frosting is the best part of the cake!).  However, the top most layer should just have a thin layer of frosting at this point.

Frosting the top and sides of a dark cake with a light frosting can be difficult. Here are some tips to make this as easy as possible.

Measure out just enough frosting to put a thin layer of frosting on the sides of the cake, using an offset spatular.  This is your crumb layer, place cake in the refrigerator and let the frosting cool on the cold cake, firming up the frosting and preventing any rips in the cake or turning your white frosting pink.

Place in a refrigerator until ready to serve!  A dollop of vanilla bean ice cream only makes this cake even better.

Here’s the slideshow of the entire process.

Everyone loves cake, it’s so versatile and delicious.  But what if you can’t have gluten?  Yeah, we could make a gluten free cake, potato flour or rice flour but let’s be honest, they just aren’t as good.

Lucky we have @juliarygaard who shared her absolutely heavenly soufflé.

Chocolate Soufflé

• 6 eggs
• 7 oz bittersweet chocolate (Scharffen Berger)
• 3.5 oz of 62% cacao
• 3.5 oz of 70% cacao
• 1 Vanilla Bean
• 1 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons potato starch
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder for dusting

Preheat your oven to 400*F.  Butter and flour ramekins, makes six 3″ or an 8″ soufflé dish and set aside.

Separate the egg yolks and whites, place the whites in a large mixing bowl and the yolks in another bowl to the side.

Chop chocolate into small pieces. Split vanilla bean lengthwise using a small spoon, scrape the inside of the vanilla bean. Place the vanilla seeds, bean, and chocolate pieces in a double boiler set over low heat and leave to melt, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, using a hand mixer, beat egg whites, gradually adding 3/4 cup plus one tablespoon sugar, until they hold stiff peaks.

Once the chocolate has melted, remove double boil from heat and take out vanilla bean. Add half the egg yolks and stir until evenly mixed. Add the remaining yolks and stir.  Add one cup of sugar and the potato starch. It should have the consistency of Play-Doh.

Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. The mixture should be well blended, but overmixing will deflate the beaten egg whites.

Pour chocolate into ramekins or soufflé dish about 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 minutes. You want to see a few cracks in the surface which will leave it SLIGHTLY gooey inside. Remove from oven.

Dust top of soufflé with cocoa powder and serve!  Add a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream for an irresistible treat.

This classic cheesecake is an old family recipe of @mdanbom, carried on from his grandmother.  When she was in high school, her typing instructor had her type out recipes for touch type practice. This was one of those recipes and a great one it is!  This cheesecake is as simple to make as it is delicious.  You don’t even have to use a water bath.  Try it out for your next Cake and a Movie Night, you will not disappoint.  This is essentially a base cheesecake, add whatever flavor you want for a totally different cake each time.

We paired this cheesecake along with the Oreo-Peanut Butter Cheesecake because the only thing better than having a cheesecake is having two cheesecakes!

Hollywood Cheesecake

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 tbsp sugar

• 16oz cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/8 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs, separated

• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 300*F. Spray 9″ spring form pan with oil and line bottom and sides with parchment paper.  The paper will make removing the cheesecake easier and prevent the cake from cracking.

Using a food processor, mix graham cracker crumbs with butter and sugar until evenly mixed.  Press crumbs crust into the pan.  Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and set pan on a rack to cool.

In a stand mixer, blend cream cheese, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.  Add egg yolks, one at a time.

Meanwhile, using a hand mixer, whip egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.

Fold egg whites into cheesecake mixture being careful not to deflate the egg whites.  Pour into the spring form pan and bake at 300*F for 45 minutes.

In the stand mixer, blend the sour cream with sugar and vanilla until well mixed.

Remove cake from oven and pour sour cream topping over the cheesecake.  Return to the oven for an additional ten minutes.

Let cheesecake sit in the oven until it has cooled.  Place in a refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight before serving.  Top it off with some fresh fruit.

My local twitter friends had been asking for a cheesecake since the very first Cake and a Movie night and finally, at our last movie night, I came through for them.  To help me out, @MDanbom took the liberty to make his very own cheesecake.  If I can get the recipe from him, I’ll post it along with this one later.

Each week we get more and more Twitter folk joining us. It is so exciting to meet all the noobs and great to see the regulars returning.  Here’s who came this week.

@akikooda @madmax69 @brooding_soul @fotofobe @ok2baprincess @babyfishie @aurablush @MDanbom @eapenthampy @juliarygaard @oddraw @laurenried @taylorjm10 @j_tigers @coreyschmidt @keeeeth

We had several non-twitter folk over as well.  Seem to be keeping at around 20 people each week.

Well, let’s get to the cake!  This was probably the easiest cake I’ve made for Cake and a Movie. Yeah, a cheesecake that is easy to make. It didn’t even crack. Awesome.  I used a recipe from Baked Perfection with a few modifications and the result was awesome.  The crust on this cheesecake is about twice as thick as most cheesecakes and it’s oooh so good.

Oreo-Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Hazelnut Ganache
Cheesecake
Makes one 9″ Cheesecake

• 1 pkg. (18 oz.) Double Stuf Oreos
• 1 stick butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 3 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 container (16 oz.) Sour Cream
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Using a food processor, chop 1/2 of the Double Stuf Oreos until they are broken down to a grainy powder.  Add stick of softened butter and mix until butter is evenly blended and crust is smooth.

Spray 9″ spring form pan with oil and line bottom and sides with parchment paper.  The paper will make removing the cheesecake easier and prevent the cake from cracking.

Next, in a stand mixer, blend cream cheese and sugar just until blended. be careful not to over blend as this can mess with the texture of the cake. Add sour cream and peanut butter; mix well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, on low speed after each addition just until blended. Let cake rest.

Meanwhile, crush the remaining cookies until they are about 1/4-1/2 their original size. Fold in in chopped cookies and pour over crust.

Wrap cheesecake’s springform pan base with aluminum foil and place in a water bath.  This will raise the humidity in the oven to prevent the cake from drying out and cracking. Bake 60-70 minutes or until center is almost set, 2-3 inches of the center should still jiggle when it’s done.

When cake is finished cooking, turn off the oven but let the cake rest for 30 minutes to an hour before refrigerating.  Cake should chill for at least 4 hours before adding ganache or serving.

The cake will be good to go as is, but if you want to bring it up a level, why not add a ganache?

Hazelnut Ganache
Makes about 2 cups

• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
• 1/4 cup Nutella Hazelnut Spread
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

In the top of a double boiler, combine the chocolate, Nutella, and corn syrup, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the whipping cream, beating until smooth.

Let the ganache sit for a few minutes. It should be warm but not hot when applied to the cake.

Slowly pour the ganache over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely.

If you prefer, you can use peanut butter in place of Nutella.

Remove cake from refrigerator at least 30 minutes before serving and cut with a warm knife.  It’s super rich, especially with the ganache.

Here’s the slideshow with the full process.

We paired this ice cream with the similarly titled, Six-Layer Coconut-Mango Cake, the movie Choke and the wine Uncle Dick’s Sparkling Shiraz.  It was perfect with the cake!  Since the cake only had a thin layer of mango between the layers, this ice cream worked both as a flavor enhancer as well as a great way to make the cake even more moist, a little ice cream with each bite!

I scoured the internet for a coconut-mango ice cream recipe and found tons.  None were exactly the same so I just tried to mix a few of them together and make one of my own, very similar to the one from Epicurious.  Came out perfectly.  It’s a little time intensive compared to the last ice cream but worth it.

Coconut-Mango Ice Cream
Makes 4 quarts

• 2 1/2 cups canned or fresh passion fruit nectar/mango purée
• 1 1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup half and half
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar

Stir together mango purée or passion fruit nectar, coconut milk, cream, corn syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla in a medium bowl until combined well.

In a large saucepan, heat half and half just until it boils.

Meanwhile, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, and a salt in a bowl, then add hot milk in a stream, whisking. Pour mixture back into the saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, then stir in mango mixture until combined well.

Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl (to remove any lumps or the strings from mango purée), discarding solids, and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until very cold, about 4 hours.

Follow the directions from your ice cream machine manufacturer. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 12 hours.

Here’s a slideshow of the entire process.