Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake

I have a confession. One that I'm slightly ashamed to admit. Ok here goes: I've never baked an actual cake. (The mini ones don't count. Small ones are super easy to frost and decorate.)

There, I said it. Feels good to have gotten that one off my chest! lol.


As you all know, I have an obsession with cupcakes. I think that was a huge contributing factor. I've been thinking for a while now that I would try my hand at this cake baking thing, but I kept putting it off.

The thought of finally attempting to bake and decorate a cake was just so daunting. I mean, what if it turns out dry? And how the heck do you frost a cake so that it looks completely smooth and clean? Yes, it was fear of failure that kept me from attempting it. I thought that I would take a cake decorating class first. I looked up several classes in the area, but could never commit to an entire series. Hence, the procrastination.

But two things happened recently that acted as a catalyst to kick my butt into gear: (1) I had the most amazing Red Velvet Cheesecake at Cheesecake factory and (2) I convinced myself that a true domestic goddess would know how to bake and decorate a cake. I mean, the Queen Domestic Goddess herself, Martha, would never shy away from a baking task purely because it was daunting. No. In fact, I'm sure she would embrace it and triumph! True domestic goddesses would have some mad cake decorating skillz!

Ok, more about this new Red Velvet Cheesecake at Cheesecake Factory. At first, I was a bit skeptical about ordering it. It seemed like it would be super sweet and rich. But no, it was amazing. Simply divine. Hubby and I are rarely able to finish an entire order of cheesecake at CF, but every single time we've ordered it, we devoured the entire thing.

I couldn't stop thinking about it. So I made up my mind that my first cake baking experience would be to replicate this amazing beauty! It presented itself as a worthy challenge for an aspiring domestic goddess!

I researched recipes for Red Velvet cake and Cheesecake for literally a month, before even attempting to bake anything. I must've read several dozen recipes for each, before settling on a handful to test. I tested four recipes before finally finding the two winning ones. Of the four that I tested, two were cheesecake recipes, and two were red velvet. They didn't turn out to my liking- sometimes the cake wasn't moist enough, or didn't have enough flavor. The cheesecakes either turned out too soft in texture or was too rich and sugary.

But after tasting these two, I knew they were perfect: (1) a Red Velvet cupcake recipe from Martha's cupcake book, and (2) A heavily modified WS White Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe.

(1) The Red Velvet Cake

Combine the dry ingredients and mix together well. As I mentioned in a previous post, I always use a super high quality cocoa powder: Ghirardelli. It really makes a difference in the flavor of your end product.

Combine the wet ingredients: oil, eggs, vanilla....

...and of course, red gel-paste food coloring. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk. Lastly, stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl- they will fizz and bubble, add it to the batter and mix well.


Divide the batter evenly between two parchment paper-lined 9 inch spring form pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. When done, set aside to cool completely.

(2) The White Chocolate Cheesecake

Melt 2 oz of white baking chocolate. Set aside to slightly cool.



Beat sugar and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.

Mix in flour, eggs, vanilla, and the melted white chocolate. Beat until completely smooth and well blended.

Pour all the batter into a single parchment lined 9 inch spring form pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, or until the center has set. Allow the cheesecake to cool completely. (At Cheesecake Factory, they have two layers of Red Velvet and two layers of cheesecake, but I decided to do one thick middle layer of cheesecake, as opposed to two thinner ones. Feel free to double the recipe if you'd like four layers total.)

(3) The Cream Cheese Frosting

Ok so, I toyed with what kind of frosting to use for a good long while. Traditionally, Red Velvet cake is paired with cream cheese frosting, as did the one at Cheesecake Factory. I really dislike super sweet frosting, so I thought about using a lighter-on-the-sugar-and-palate Swiss Meringue Buttercream. But since I was replicating the one at Cheesecake Factory, I decided to stick with the original frosting. However, as a good compromise, I cut down the sugar by a lot. The cake and cheesecake layers already has sugar in it, so I didn't want to add a super sweet cream cheese frosting to drown out the flavors of the cake itself.


Usually you use about 2-3 cups of powdered sugar for one 8 oz package of cream cheese. However, in my recipe, I used a 1 to 1 ratio (3 cups of powdered sugar w/ 3 packages of cream cheese). If you are a big fan of cream cheese frosting, I suggest tasting the frosting as you're making it to adjust it to your liking. You might want to add more sugar than I did. Feel free to use your favorite cream cheese frosting recipe if you have a go-to one. =)

(4) The Daunting Task of Frosting and Decorating the Cake

This was the part that I was afraid of the most! I was totally stressing over whether or not I could decorate a cake and make it look flawless.

I bought a cake leveler and tried to trim the cake as best as I could. I ended up wasting a lot of it! My cake layers turned out to be way thinner than the actual cake when I pulled it out of the oven. Oh well, practice makes perfect, I guess. At least it was level! hehe.


I took a deep breath and went for it. First up: a bit of frosting on the first layer, before applying the cheesecake layer.


Alright, so far so good. Got all the layers together and frosted the middle between each layer! That was the easy part, but...


...it proved to be super difficult to get the icing around the cake to be smooth. How do people do it?? Tips anyone? I kept picking up pieces of red cake, which stuck out like a sore thumb on my white frosting! I had to layer it on thicker and thicker to try to get rid of them and to try to smooth out the "wrinkles!" It was hard work. Took me forever. I bet Martha could frost a perfect cake in couple of minutes..


Ta-DA! My very first cake!! I think it turned out quite well! I piped some flowers around the edges and garnished them with some cute white chocolate chips. Not bad for an amateur, eh?


The cake was so gorgeous when we cut into it! This would be a beautiful dessert to have for a holiday party or a Christmas dinner! Wow! I was so proud of myself for pulling this one off! Took me all day to do it, but it turned out fantastic! What do you guys think? =)

Ok, here are a few things about the cake:

(1) SO incredibly delicious! Everyone who tried it was amazed by the fantastic flavor of the red velvet with the white chocolate cheesecake. The cake was super moist and flavorful, while the cheesecake was subtly sweet and had a really nice, dense and creamy texture. The flavors complimented perfectly! It doesn't taste exactly like the one at Cheesecake Factory, but it was still pretty damn good- as delicious as the original one. =)

(2) When the cake is fully assembled, refrigerate overnight. The cheesecake needs time to set- that's when you'll get the best texture and flavor. Serve immediately after taking it out of the fridge. This is one of the rare times when cake tastes the best when it's chilled.

(3) So about the cream cheese frosting... it wasn't super sweet, so it didn't over power the cake like a normal cream cheese frosting would. However, next time when I make this, I will definitely try using a lighter, more mild Swiss or Italian Meringue buttercream. Since the flavors of the red velvet and the white chocolate cheesecake are so delicious and unique, the buttercream that goes with it should be muted, so that you can really enjoy the flavors of the cake itself. But if you're a big fan of cream cheese frosting, please try it with this cake! Some of my friends who tried this cake loved it with the frosting- I think it was because they were fans of cream cheese frosting in general.

Anyway, all in all, this cake adventure from beginning to end was a huge success! Aside from the cake being super beautiful and photogenic, it was also incredibly delicious, which is all that matters in the end anyway. It's me and Hubby's new favorite cake! Give this a try and let me know how you like it! I'm so excited to be sharing this super unique recipe with all of you! =)


Recipes from this entry:

Red Velvet Cake
White Chocolate Cheesecake
Cream Cheese Frosting

Click HERE to view all recipes.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownie Bars

Truth be told, I really didn't want to feature these on my blog at first.

I've seen these bars everywhere. Every other person who owns a food blog has already featured them. It's my goal to be innovative and creative with what I post, so that people can get fresh and exciting ideas/recipes from my blog. So I told myself that it was absolutely out of the question to give these a try. But every time I saw them featured, my mouth watered and I wanted so badly to try them...I really had to restrain myself. Many of my readers are huge foodies and frequent sites like Tastespotting, so I knew that this would be a "repeat" for them.

But remember last week when I wrote about being all up in a panic because my Pumpkin Pecan Pie was ugly? Well, during the several days when I struggled with my inner turmoil (of whether or not to post those ugly pictures), I decided to give this recipe a try. It would be my "back up pumpkin recipe," should my personality disorders triumph. (If this doesn't make any sense to you, read the Pumpkin Pecan entry. hehe)

And it really didn't help that I kept seeing them. They were sooo gorgeous and I was all up in a panic about pumpkin recipes, so I totally caved. Anyway, Hubby's a big chocoholic, so I wanted him to be able to try them.

They turned out really well! They were SO photogenic. And you know how much I love them pretty food pictures... =)


Whenever I bake anything chocolatey that calls for cocoa powder, I always use Ghirardelli. It's the best and it really brings out the flavor of your brownie/cake/whatever. You'll get a super deep and rich dark chocolate flavor. Good quality ingredients will make a huge difference in your end product.

First, make the brownie batter. mmmm...so chocolatey and delicious!


Spread it into your pan as the bottom layer. Reserve 1/3 of the batter.

Next, make the pumpkin cheesecake batter. Slowly pour it over the brownie batter in the pan.


Scoop the rest of the brownie batter over the cheesecake layer in small dollops throughout the pan.


Run a knife horizontally across the pan, in rows. Then run it vertically across the pan, in columns. Repeat to make more swirls.

Bake at 350 degrees, for 40 minutes. Refrigerate before serving.

I tried these when it was warm-ish, and then when it was completely chilled. Beantown Baker says that the flavor really comes through when it's chilled. But I preferred them when it was still gooey and warm. When we ate them the next day, we microwaved them. Soooooo yummy!

I cut them into tiny bit sized pieces, and put some poison toothpicks in them.

They're perfect for a Halloween party!

After I decided on featuring the Pumpkin Pecan Pie, I thought that I would just scrap this recipe and leave it out of the blog. But I really couldn't help myself because the brownies were so delicious and the pictures were so beautiful! Anyway, to those of you who have already seen this recipe featured, I apologize. But at least the pretty pictures provided a little bit of entertainment, right? =)



Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies
Click HERE for the recipe.

Scary Rice Krispy Treats

I thought it would be fun to come up with a Halloween sweet-treat project that moms can do with their kids!

When I was a kid, I loved Rice Krispie Treats more than life itself. When they came out with the pre-packaged kind, wrapped nicely in shiny blue foil, I was so excited! All I wanted was to have one in my sack lunch. But when my mom finally caved into my demands, I was thoroughly disappointed. They weren't nearly as good as the homemade kind! Though I didn't know it at the time, in retrospect, I think they lacked the freshness that you can only get by making it at home.

I don't have any kids of my own, but I figured that you can never go wrong with Rice Krispie Treats! So here's what I came up with:

Ta-DA! Scary candy coated Rice Krispie Treat eyeballs!

Melt marshmallows in a heat safe bowl, toss in Rice Krispies and mix until well combined.


Spread into a greased 13x9in pan and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes.


Here's what you'll need: lollipop sticks, a Styrofoam block, white and red candy melts. You can find all these ingredients at your local craft store (I got mine at Michael's). Candy melts come in all different colors, in the form of round chips. They melt really easily and will give you a smooth coating. They taste kinda like white chocolate!


When the Rice Krispies are ready to go, butter your hands and tear off small chunks to roll into balls, about 1 inch in diameter. You will have to butter your hands often, or else they will stick to your fingers, and you won't be able to shape it. I buttered my hands about every 2 balls or so.


Next, melt some of the white candy melts. Dip the tip of your lollipop stick into the candy melt and stick it into the Rice Krispie ball- about 1/2 inch deep.


When all of them are done, place on a plate and refrigerate for about 20-30 minutes, so the balls and the candy melts get a chance to harden a little bit. This will make it easier when you dip them in candy melts later.


They're kinda cute without any candy coating, and would make for a great party treat any other time of the year!


When the balls are ready to go, dip them into the white candy melts, and immediately stick an M&M onto the front, before the candy melt has a chance to harden.

Then, stick the lollipops into the Styrofoam block, so that it can harden. At this point, you can leave it out (it will harden eventually at room temperature), or you can speed things up by popping it in the fridge for 10-20 minutes.

At first, I was trying really hard to get all of the eyes to come out with a smooth coating, but then I realized that the ones with lumpy coating really added to the creepiness! So feel free to let your kids have at it! The lumpier, the better! =)


After the white candy coating has hardened, melt the red candy melts and place in a zip lock bag. Snip the end of the ziplock bag, to produce a tiny opening. Use this to pipe on the veins to make bloodshot eyes.


Hehe. Creepy, eh? =) Once the red candy melts have hardened, it's ready to be served!


I got some small candy bags at the craft store, along with some black ribbon.


They were super cute wrapped like individual lollipops (well, as cute as creepy eyeballs can possibly be)! They can be handed out as party favors.

Or served in a bowl!

I can't remember the last time I had a Rice Krispie Treat. I had forgotten how good they were until I made these! I think I might've eaten 1/4 of the entire batch while I was making them! And after they were turned into eyeballs, they were even more delicious, with the candy coating and the chocolate M&M! I think adults would really enjoy these too!

For those of you who have kids, if you attempt this recipe with them, will you let me know how it turned out? I hope they enjoy it as much as I did! =)

I think this yielded about 30 lollipops, but I can't be sure, because I ate a lot of it along the way. So, let's just say that it'll yield 30-35. lol.


Rice Krispie Treats
Click HERE for the recipe.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

Ok so, here's the entire truth about my personality disorders:

* I have OCD - an extreme aversion to anything perceived to be dirty and/or germy.

For example, my severe OCD does not approve of the following (just to name a few):
(1) Camping. For obvious reasons.
(2) Not washing your hands before eating, not washing your hands after coming home from being "outside," not washing your hands before entering my irrationally large personal bubble.
(3) Moms who will stick pacifiers back into their baby's mouth after it fell on the ground.

* I'm a perfectionist, to a flaw. I will drive myself crazy perfecting something. I will spend 10+ hours on something that requires 2, just so I can make it 110% perfect. This applies to all aspects of my life, from academics, to career, to baking. I don't ever put my name on something "sub-par," which is defined as anything less than 110%. I will meticulously research every aspect of one recipe for about a week before actually attempting it. Even then, if it doesn't turn out like how I expected, it's back to the drawing board, and the recipe in question does not make it onto the blog.

I'm sure my friends will tell you that I have other disorders, but for now, we'll just leave it at these two, because they directly pertain to how I bake and run this blog. =)

Ok so, I'm telling you all this because it relates to why I decided to post this Pumpkin Pecan Pie recipe. I was super upset when I pulled it out of the oven and it was ugly. I was even more mortified when it proved to be super un-photogenic. I panicked and thought: I must immediately find another pumpkin recipe to feature in the pumpkin series. (This is the third installment in the Welcome Autumn: Pumpkin Series.)

But then, the second I sank my teeth into this pie, my taste buds were jumping for joy. There was no doubt about it- this recipe was a huge success. Everyone who tasted it agreed unanimously that it was one of the best pies ever.

Needless to say, I experienced some major cognitive dissonance. My OCD told me that the pecans on top made it look extremely dirty and unappetizing, while the perfectionist in me screamed that something this unattractive should never be publicly displayed on my blog! I mean, I'd be so ashamed to post something that looked like a pile of mushy dirt and tell everyone to just take my word that it is, in fact, delicious.

Anyway, to my loyal readers: I hope that you will not judge me on these photos because the logical side of me won...eventually. After days of struggling with my inner turmoil, I knew that I could not deprive the world of this awesome recipe simply because of a few weird personality disorders.

So here it is in all its glory: the best-tasting-but-dirty-looking pie ever!

The basic necessity for a great pie: a special edition fluted Emile Henry Pie pan, exclusive to Williams Sonoma! It's a magical pan that produces perfect pies every time. I kid you not, it is indeed magical. (Click here to read all about it!)


Start by making the crust. Prepare it about 2 hours ahead of time. I always use this WS crust recipe, it's the best! And it's the only one I ever use. Please read the Apple Pie entry and its links for tips on working with pie crust, which can be tricky for beginners.

Once the pie crust is ready to go, prepare the the pumpkin pie layer.

Whip up the pecan layer and gently pour it over the pumpkin layer. GAH! None of the steps of this pie recipe are photogenic, either. lol. I'm cringing right now at the thought of having these pictures up on my blog. It's doing some major damage to my psyche as I type this. ;) Man, the lengths I go to just to share a recipe...

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for about 50-55 more minutes until the sides are set. The center doesn't have to be completely set- it's ok if it's still a big gooey. When it cools, it will naturally become firm.

I love pumpkin pie. And I love pecan pie! What more could a girl ask for? Amazing crust with two amazing pies squished together in one! The pecan top was delightfully crunchy, while the pumpkin layer on bottom was melt-in-your-mouth gooey.

I urge all of you to give this recipe a try! Don't judge a book by its cover, right? Not all pies are created equal- some are more photogenic than others. And some pies rank superior among all others in terms of taste and quality. As far as I'm concerned, this pie takes the cake! Har, Har.

(Hubby's reading over my shoulder as I type this and he just informed me that the "cake" joke was super lame, even for him- the king of lame jokes. lol.)


For the recipes in this entry, click HERE.

The WS Pie Crust
Pumpkin Pecan Pie
(See links above for source)