The Boozy Baker Strikes Again

A few weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our big fancy wedding anniversary. To mark the occasion, he bought me a few of my favorite things: new clothes and new bake ware. I was super excited to try out both, but this isn't a fashion blog, so we'll just say the dress is absolutely fabulous, and I've never received more compliments on an outfit in my life. On to the baking equipment...I have never owned or worked with a springform pan in my entire life, but I always wanted one once I had a kitchen with more storage space. He presented me with a gorgeous 10" springform pan, and I immediately pinned about 75+ cheesecake recipes on Pinterest. Now, Kate knows how to bake cakes, cookies, and mini cheesecakes. But Kate does not know how to make a super fancy cheesecake in an even fancier springform pan. I am a complete cheesecake novice with aspirations to one day be a complete cheesecake snob. When I undertook this first cheesecake, I had no idea what was in store for me...did you know it takes approximately three weeks to make one cheesecake? Yeah, me either. There was a lot of research involved, and I figured if I could make my first fancy baked cheesecake without removing the springform pan and having it completely fall apart like a gelatinous mess, I'd call it a win. Naturally, I was gonna need a lot of booze to make this possible.

...for the cheesecake, that is.

Because I like to make everything way more difficult than it needs to be, I didn't want my first real cheesecake to be some traditional New York style endeavor. No...it had to be big with a wow factor only a hearty amount of rum can supply. And so, the strawberry daiquiri cheesecake was created. It's already way too hot here, so a delicious umbrella drink in cheesecake form is just what the Florida weather calls for. This beauty is tart but creamy, light but flavorful, and sweet with a hint of smooth golden rum. Basically, I would like to eat the whole thing in one sitting, but since this is a giant cheesecake, I decided to split it up into 10 servings for 360 calories each. I mean, really, a normal person's strawberry daiquiri cheesecake would go for 12, 14, or even 16 servings, but I want to shovel dessert into my mouth with reckless abandon, so 10 servings it was. I also have another boozy cake planned for next weekend when family is visiting, so we have to get this bad boy taken care of first. Priorities.

Tasty priorities.

I started this adventure by making my crust, but let me breakdown everything you need to make the booziest cheesecake you've ever enjoyed.

Crust:

• 14 sheets of cinnamon or regular reduced fat graham crackers
• 6 tablespoons of butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup of Swerve granular (or regular sugar if you don't care about calories. I envy you.)
• 2 tablespoons of water

Filling:

• 16 ounces of reduced fat cream cheese, softened (still makes a delicious cheesecake, no matter what full-fat cream cheese cheesecake purists say)
•  1 cup of Swerve granular or regular sugar
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla
• 16 ounces of strawberries, pureed (I used a thawed bag of frozen strawberries)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup of Bacardi Superior golden rum
• 3 tablespoons of Triple Sec

Topping:

• Fresh strawberries
• One lime
• Cool Whip Free/Lite/Regular
• Strawberry syrup

Golden and delicious! Awh. Now I want apple pie, too.

For the crust, preheat your oven to 325. Line your springform pan with Parchment paper and spray with cooking spray generously, especially the sides. Take your graham crackers, butter, and Swerve, and add to a food processor or blender. Process into a fine crumb before adding the 2 tablespoons of water and mixing until your crust is wet.

This pan is absolutely massive.

 Press your crumbs into your prepared pan. The crust will come up the edges somewhat but not all the way. If you want a cheesecake crust that goes all the way up the side of the pan, use a 9" springform and not a 10" and add an extra 7 sheets of graham crackers to the mix. You will probably need an extra tablespoon of butter and water as well. I like to use a measuring cup or a small glass to help me flatten out my crust and even things out. Bake this in the middle of your oven for 10-12 minutes until golden. Let rest on a cooling rack until completely cooled before adding the filling.

Attempts were made.

Once totally cool, you need to prepare your pan for a water bath by giving it a tinfoil hat...nothing about cheesecake makes sense, so you need to bathe them as you bake them. I used like 3 layers of foil but somehow water STILL got into the bottom of my pan, giving me a soggy bottom, which although unfortunate, still tastes awesome. Next time, I will use a crockpot liner on the outside of my pan and THEN wrap it with foil to keep any water from the water bath from seeping into my crust from the bottom of the pan. Crockpot liners are absolutely amazing and possibly even the answer to world peace, I'm almost sure of it. Definitely the answer to non-soggy bottomed cheesecakes, anyway.

Now, back to that yummy filling.

To make the filling, place a paddle attachment on your stand mixer. Mix the cream cheese and sugar/Swerve on medium speed until totally incorporated and things look light and fluffy (3-4 min). Puree your strawberries while this is whipping up. Scrape the sides of your mixing bowl before adding in the strawberries and vanilla. Mix well on medium, then add eggs, one at a time, while keeping your mixer speed on LOW. Air is the mortal enemy of cheesecake (I understand this on multiple levels as an allergy sufferer). Too much air whipped into your cheesecake batter will more than likely lead to cracks all over the surface of your cheesecake, and boy do eggs like to get frothy and huge when you whip them too fast, taking in tons of air, hence the need to mix on low. Granted, you could always just shovel a ton of strawberry sauce on top of the cheesecake to hide cracks, but remember, I was working on perfecting my very first big girl cheesecake, so I took heed to the warnings I came across in my cheesecake studies. After all the eggs are added, throw yourself a party and add that Bacardi and Triple Sec to the mix. Give a stir on low for a minute, then pour your cheesecake filling into your prepared pan.

Now, for bath time.

You will need a large roasting pan (we all have one that lives somewhere in our kitchen and gets used approximately once an entire year for holiday ham). Place your foil-lined springform pan into the roasting pan, and carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan. You want the water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. The water bath helps the cheesecake heat and cook evenly, also preventing any cracking, browning, and caved in cheesecake tops. Put on the middle rack of your oven and bake the cheesecake for 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees. Start checking to see if your cheesecake is done around the 1 hour 15 minute mark. The sides should be completely set, but the middle will still have that Jello wiggle when it is done. Once you've achieved this, turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the cheesecake finish it's cheesecake magic for one additional hour in the oven...I told you, it takes like a year to make these things (worth it).

It is a lovely shade of soft, Millennial pink...

Once that hour has passed, place your cheesecake on cooling rack or a towel, take a sharp knife, and carefully run the blade around the edge of the pan. This way, the sides are released from the pan so while it continues to cool and de-puff, no cracks will form around the edges. Let this cool for another hour (these things are more demanding than a toddler that was promised a puppy), then cover with foil and put into the fridge to set overnight. What, you thought you were going to get to make and eat this all in the same day? You fool. Cheesecake doesn't care about your pain and food cravings. If you feel like eating cheesecake next week, you better start making one right now.

It's pretty enough to get away with acting so important.

The next day, remove from the fridge, hold your breath, and release the edges of the springform pan. If things have gone right, it will come off with no issues and no gelatinous ooze. Tears of joy can and should be cried. You're technically done here, but hi, I am all about going the extra mile for a gorgeous dessert, so I got fancy.

Because fancy is fun!

 I piped little Cool Whip mounds around the edge of the cheesecake using a 2D tip. A 1M will also work for this. Leave a little space in between each piped mound.

So summery!

Then I placed fresh strawberries in between the Cool Whip mounds, gently tucking them into the Cool Whip.

Every dessert needs a centerpiece.

I finished by quartering a lime slice, piping a few mounds of Cool Whip in the center of the cheesecake, and fitting the lime slices in between the spaces. Although not a cherry on top, a final strawberry did assume this position.

As it should.

I mean, not bad for a first attempt at a bonafide cheesecake, right?

It was worth breaking out the good cake stand for!

You can try to use a giant spatula to remove your cheesecake from the springform bottom, but I was not willing to risk complete destruction of a cheesecake I spent a solid year making, so I am currently using the bottom of my pan as a serving plate and using a very dull knife to cut my slices and not tear the Parchment paper and score the pan. I sincerely enjoy how smooth and creamy this cheesecake turned out--even if it was a ton of work. It has a good hint of golden rum, a tart bite of strawberry, and some delectably smooth filling. My husband (who has a normal relationship with sweets) finds this recipe to be *just right* in the sweetness department. But my taste buds (who have an unhealthy, "let's drink syrup with a straw" relationship with sweetness) require just a bit more sugary goodness, so I top my slices with some strawberry syrup, and the taste goes from great to next-level awesome. I conquered the first of many, many fancy cheesecakes this week, so I guess I'm going to go celebrate that with another slice of strawberry daiquiri goodness. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

After 700 hours of baking, I earned this.