So, it has become tradition for us to, each Christmas, have a White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake as our Christmas dinner dessert. I found a recipe years ago for a Olive Garden copycat that is really really great. For the past couple years, though, we have received, as a gift from a friend, a whole White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory as a Christmas present. This year, we did not receive the cheesecake and I asked my family if we should just buy a cheesecake which my answer was a resounding NO. I was going to have to make it.
So, Christmas Eve was the day. I wanted to bake the cheesecake on Christmas Eve so it would be set and ready for Christmas dinner. It was a bit of a problem from the beginning. I have not made this recipe in years and it has a lot of moving pieces...you have to make the raspberry sauce by cooking raspberries, cornstarch and sugar to boiling until a thick sauce is formed...then you must strain it from the seeds. Also, you must make the white chocolate which is, in a double broiler, white chocolate and half and half. And you also have the cheesecake mixture going in the mixer (to which you will add the white chocolate sauce to).
Everything was going great...raspberry sauce was cooking and thickening properly. Cheesecake mixture was mixing up well. But, the white chocolate sauce seemed so thin...almost watery. I couldn't figure it out. I went ahead and added the mixture to the cheesecake mix, making the cheesecake mix so liquidy. I knew, instantly, that something was wrong. I put the oreo mix into the bottom of the pan and pressed it in. I added half the cheesecake mix which poured in like a thick liquid. My heart sank as I added raspberry sauce and it just sunk right into the liquidy mixture. Next, I added the second half of the mix and added the raspberry sauce on top. It looked like a mess and I knew INSTANTLY that this was a mistake of some sort. I searched my recipe over and over and could not figure it out. What had I done wrong. Recipe wise, I followed the directions implicitly. Than I thought to look at the half and half container and saw that I was supposed to shake it vigorously (I am sure to mix the half cream with the half milk). Who knew?? I do not drink coffee... I just knew that the white chocolate was just melted with mostly milk. I knew, without any doubt, that the cheesecake was ruined.
I cried...I wailed...I put it in the oven declaring Christmas dinner RUINED!! Matt, ever the optimist, said all would be fine but I knew...KNEW...it would NOT. So, Matt went to the store and bought the same ingredients all over again. I let the first cheesecake bake out of curiousity of how it would turn out while the second one was put together. I shook the HECK out of that half and half and the white chocolate sauce appeared to, once again, get liquidy. Not wanting the same thing to happen again, I only put half of the mixture into the cheesecake. It was thicker and the raspberry mix didn't just sink and it made for a much prettier cheesecake.
Last night, Christmas night, Daniel was sick. He was in bed by 6:30. We, Sierra, Matt and I, decided to try the "ugly" cheesecake that while not pretty, had appeared to cook properly and set. We saved the "pretty" one for later today. Well, let me tell you...it was GOOOD!! Very creamy. Very cheesecakey. No issues, taste wise.
So, Christmas Eve was the day. I wanted to bake the cheesecake on Christmas Eve so it would be set and ready for Christmas dinner. It was a bit of a problem from the beginning. I have not made this recipe in years and it has a lot of moving pieces...you have to make the raspberry sauce by cooking raspberries, cornstarch and sugar to boiling until a thick sauce is formed...then you must strain it from the seeds. Also, you must make the white chocolate which is, in a double broiler, white chocolate and half and half. And you also have the cheesecake mixture going in the mixer (to which you will add the white chocolate sauce to).
Everything was going great...raspberry sauce was cooking and thickening properly. Cheesecake mixture was mixing up well. But, the white chocolate sauce seemed so thin...almost watery. I couldn't figure it out. I went ahead and added the mixture to the cheesecake mix, making the cheesecake mix so liquidy. I knew, instantly, that something was wrong. I put the oreo mix into the bottom of the pan and pressed it in. I added half the cheesecake mix which poured in like a thick liquid. My heart sank as I added raspberry sauce and it just sunk right into the liquidy mixture. Next, I added the second half of the mix and added the raspberry sauce on top. It looked like a mess and I knew INSTANTLY that this was a mistake of some sort. I searched my recipe over and over and could not figure it out. What had I done wrong. Recipe wise, I followed the directions implicitly. Than I thought to look at the half and half container and saw that I was supposed to shake it vigorously (I am sure to mix the half cream with the half milk). Who knew?? I do not drink coffee... I just knew that the white chocolate was just melted with mostly milk. I knew, without any doubt, that the cheesecake was ruined.
I cried...I wailed...I put it in the oven declaring Christmas dinner RUINED!! Matt, ever the optimist, said all would be fine but I knew...KNEW...it would NOT. So, Matt went to the store and bought the same ingredients all over again. I let the first cheesecake bake out of curiousity of how it would turn out while the second one was put together. I shook the HECK out of that half and half and the white chocolate sauce appeared to, once again, get liquidy. Not wanting the same thing to happen again, I only put half of the mixture into the cheesecake. It was thicker and the raspberry mix didn't just sink and it made for a much prettier cheesecake.
Last night, Christmas night, Daniel was sick. He was in bed by 6:30. We, Sierra, Matt and I, decided to try the "ugly" cheesecake that while not pretty, had appeared to cook properly and set. We saved the "pretty" one for later today. Well, let me tell you...it was GOOOD!! Very creamy. Very cheesecakey. No issues, taste wise.
So, how is this a metaphor? Well, this Christmas season has been our most challenging one. As so many others throughout the country, the recession has made life challenging. We knew this Christmas would be hard to do all we wanted to do and so we made plans...had it all sorted out. Knew with what paycheck we would do what. As what happens, life got in the way. Unexpected bills....an illness that blocked a week of overtime...etc. There was doubt that we would be able to do half of what we wanted to do and many things did get lost (outside decorating did not happen this year....oddly due to not finding what we wanted...but a blessing to not spend money on something so frivolous).
I spent much time feeling in despair over how this was going to work...calling Christmas RUINED. I am such a pessimist.
But, just like the "ugly" cheesecake, Christmas had it's ugly parts, but turned out sweet (though the day itself was full of despair with Daniel being sick....). We did all we wanted for the kids....no one was disappointed....Christmas was creamy, sweet and delightful...not ruined at all.
I spent much time feeling in despair over how this was going to work...calling Christmas RUINED. I am such a pessimist.
But, just like the "ugly" cheesecake, Christmas had it's ugly parts, but turned out sweet (though the day itself was full of despair with Daniel being sick....). We did all we wanted for the kids....no one was disappointed....Christmas was creamy, sweet and delightful...not ruined at all.
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