Fab Food Friday

Last Friday was my youngest brother's birthday. I asked his wife what kind of cake he would like and she said, "Oh, he's not really into cakes. I suppose a cheesecake would be ok." My SIL loves cheesecake so I'm sure that it would be "ok". I asked what kind. "A Snickers® cheesecake would be fine.”

I like to call it my $30 cheesecake because that’s about how much it costs to make. But it is sooooo worth it!




The recipe I use is from epicurean.com. Don’t let it intimidate you. The most time consuming thing is cutting the Snickers® into little pieces!
Ingredients:
Crust:
1-1/2 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1-1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 Tbsp vanilla
1 cup heavy cream
1-1/2 cups small pieces of snack-sized SNICKERS® Bars

Topping:
4-1/2 cups small pieces of snack-sized SNICKERS® Bars

Fudge Sauce:
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp light corn syrup

Garnish:
Whipped Cream
Directions:
1. To make crust, combine wafer crumbs and butter.

2. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-1/2 inch springform pan. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

4. To make filling, with an electric mixer set on medium speed, combine cream cheese and sugar, beating until smooth.

5. Add eggs, one at a time.

6. Add vanilla and heavy cream. Beat at medium speed for 5 minutes.

7. Fold in SNICKERS® Bar pieces.

8. Pour filling into crust and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until cheesecake is almost set in center.

9. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 1 to 2 hours.

10. Top cooled cheesecake with SNICKERS® Bar pieces and chill for 4 to 6 hours.

11. To make fudge sauce, combine chocolate and butter in a heavy saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring gently, until mixture has melted.

12. Stir in boiling water, sugar, and light corn syrup, mixing until smooth.

13. Increase heat to medium and stir until mixture starts to boil.

14. Reduce heat and let simmer for 5 minutes without stirring.

15. Remove from heat and let cool for 15 to 20 minutes. Drizzle over chilled cheesecake just before serving.

16. Garnish with whipped cream. (we don't do this)
Yield: One 9-1/2 inch cheesecake.

And just a little FYI: that restaurant that serves cheesecakes so much that it's part of their name... they sell one like this for $42.95. I'm just sayin'.