jazzing up cheesecake
 

hi karen-- i've made your cheesecake and thought it was very good--- however, i would like to modify--- i love coconut, chocolate and mint--- how would i make a grasshopper cheesecake---
or would like a 'snickers version (peanut butter/choc) ...

going to a thanksgiving dinner need a dessert.

if just serve plain, with frozen strawberries and whip cream--- do i do something to sweeten the berries and what kind of whip cream is best

thanks...from a non baker :lol:

For the chocolate mint, I like to have bits of chocolate so what I would do is

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
5 Tbsp. Splenda
2 Tbsp whipping cream

Melt the chocolate and butter; stir the Splenda and cream together until Splenda dissolves. Mix the two together until smooth. Spread out into a pan and refrigerate. When set, chop into small pieces. Add to the batter along with 1 tsp. of mint extract. Add a few drops of green food colouring for a "minty" look. Make the crust from this link, adding 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder to the nuts.

For PB cheesecake, make a double recipe of Fern's PB cups, doubling the peanut butter and using a pan to set the mixture in rather than cups. Chop it up and fold it into the batter. Use ground peanuts with instead of almonds for the crust.

Strawberries? Add sweetener to taste and the best whipped cream is the stuff you whip yourself. :)

Karen

thanks karen...now lets see...

i think i'll go with the mint---will it taste ok to add unsweetened coconut? should i add it to crust and/or cake? how much ?

sorry to be so obtuse...but when making the choc you say to melt choc and butter..do i just add the splenda and then cream to the choc mixture...or, do i mix them tog. then add to choc. mix.

also, can i use almond butter for the crust?

another question-- when a recipe calls for a cup of sugar--do you just substitute the same amount of splenda?

and finally, when i made your cheesecake the last time , i got a giant crack down the middle--- what happened?

oops--rereading found anothre question.. where do you buy unsweetened choc--is it in a bar form? and the whipping cream-- is that heavy cream??

thanks in advance--- i think you offer a wonderful service, especailly to we fledglings.

the only unsweetened cholcolate i could find is ghiradellis-- is this tasty?

I think the coconut would muck up the texture, so grinding the coconut - in a food processor or coffee grinder - for the crust would be best. You can also add some coconut to the chocolate mixture. I corrected it in my post. No, it wouldn't turn into a crust. Your oven may be too hot, or you may have forgotten to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake after removing it from the oven. The cake shouldn't puff up in the middle at all, only slightly around the sides. Grocery stores, in the baking section. Ghiradelli is fine. Yes, the heavier, the better. :)

Karen

thank you very much!!!!

oops-- forgot one

another question-- when a recipe calls for a cup of sugar--do you just substitute the same amount of splenda?

Yep!

Karen