Thursday, October 29, 2009

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.




66 comments:

  1. Excellent job with your first cake Judy! It's stunning, really!!

    One thing to keep in mind if you should decide to one day frost it with buttercream - cold buttercream (made with real butter) is not very palatable and it will crack when you try to cut it. It's a great option for a room temperature red velvet cake without a cheesecake layer (like the wedding cake I made for my brother - I'll email you a photo), but I'd stick with a refrigerator friendly frosting if you need to chill a cheesecake layer.

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  2. Thanks Patricia! That means a lot coming from you- the cake queen! lol.

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  3. Judy, this is really lovely! I actually just had a bit of a failure with a different red velvet cake recipe which I think I overbaked. Also, thanks again for the great SMBC advice. I will definitely use all of it (and an adaptation of your recipe) in a peanut butter version coming up next month.

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  4. Oh Me Oh My... This has to be the best looking cheesecake I've ever seen! Mmmmmmmmmmm <--- there's nothing else to say!

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  5. WOW WOW WOW. I must make this immediately!

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  6. This is absolutely mouth-watering! I love how the thick layer of cheesecake looks in the middle.

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  7. What a beautiful cake! Tips on frosting - to keep the crumbs from driving you crazy, first do a 'crumb coat' with a small amount of frosting thinned with a tiny bit of milk. Spread the thinned frosting over the cake to trap the crumbs. Chill the cake for 30 minutes or so after crumb-coating then frost with the remaining frosting. This should give you a very smooth finished cake. If it still isn't as smooth as you would like, chill it again after frosting with the second coat for about 30 minutes. Then smooth the frosting with a 'hot and dry' frosting spatula (first dipped in very hot water then dried off). Apply the hot dry spatula to the cold frosting and it will smooth out nicely. Happy baking!

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  8. Looks so tasty! I agree with the crumb layer comment, supposed to trap those unsightly crumbs from your beautiful outer layer. I took one of those cake decorating classes, and they had us smooth the outside of the cake with parchment paper. It might only work on frostings that will crust, though (like buttercream with meringue powder). You let it harden a bit, then put the parchment on and gently smooth the frosting. Or something like that. But your cake turned out beautiful without it!

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  9. This looks amazing! Congrats on conquering your fear. I decided that I'm going to make my own birthday cake this year, and this is definitely the most exciting option I've found so far. Adding it to my to-do list, even if it doesn't happen for my birthday. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  10. Hi! That was really nice! I think everyone should try that!

    Looks so yummy.

    By the way.

    Please view this site:

    www.ilovechocolatetoo.com

    thanks.

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  11. What a wonderful idea for Christmas! Thank you! It is absolutely gorgeous!

    I was thinking about trying a red velvet for some times now... I never ate one but your post definitively help me made my mind! :D

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  12. It looks perfect to me! I think your frosting is outstanding!

    I made Red Velvet cupcakes today for my daughter's birthday! :D

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  13. I am making a red velvet cake next week for my birthday. And I adore cheesecake. So I think I may have to make this as my birthday cake. Beautiful pictures!

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  14. Wow this is gorgeous! Bookmarking this recipe, amazing job on your first cake!
    - Whitney

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  15. I just found your website via GHKim and can't believe the amazing cupcakes you churn out! Looks like you need to open a bakery! Also, I am a bit of a cake decorating hobbiest and frosting has always been the bane of my existence. Two recommendations: first, get a turn table. It will help to level the cake and frost it smoothly. Don't bother with that Wilton leveler, you're better off just using waxed floss (a tip I picked up from a baker) or simply taking a serrated knife and holding it steady while turning it on the wheel (hope that made sense) Secondly, cream cheese frosting is hard to make smooth so don't beat yourself up. But IMBC will turn out satin smooth if you use a bench scraper. You can pick one up at Seattle Home Cakes on Roosevelt. Seriously though, BEAUTIFUL cupcakes.

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  16. That's cake and cheesecake all in one! Fabulous.

    I make big cakes all the time, but never a cheesecake too!

    I think this will be perfect for a birthday. And it just so happens that it's someone's birthday soon... (Not mine, sadly).

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  17. Made your cake...loved your cake...ate too much of your cake :)

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  18. I made this cake too, I made two of them, and everyone loved it. I used the wilton's red gel paste, and I think next time I would add a little bit more, or add until it matches the same color as yours. Mine came out a little less than red. But tasted awesome. Thanks!

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  19. thanks so much for the feedback! i'm glad you tried it and loved it as much as i did! =)

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  20. Can this cake be made ahead and frozen? Want to make it for Christmas. Thanks!

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  21. I made this for a Christmas celebration at our church. WOW! It was a huge hit. Everyone loved it! The best part...I didn't have to take any home with me (I would eat it-and that would not be good). I also got two requests to make it again!

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  22. i really don't know if you can freeze this cake or not. i imagine that you can. i know cheesecake factory consistently freezes all of their cheesecakes and thaws them out later. you can give it a try!

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  23. I took a Wilton cake decorating class and to keep from getting crumbs in your final icing, you need to thin some of the icing with water or corn syrup and put what is called a "crumb coating" on the cake first and let that set before the final icing. This "glues" down the crumbs. Also, to get a smooth final icing we used a smooth paper towel or napkin. Just lay it over your icing and gently slide your hand over it until you have the smooth look you want. This also helps remove some of the greasiness of a buttercream frosting.

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  24. Hello again! After keeping this cake in mind for my birthday cake for months, I finally made it and served it at my celebration tonight. I owe you a huge thanks, it was the best cake I've ever made! It got nothing but raves from everyone who tried it, and I had the best time making it too. Many thanks!

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  25. I have also had the red velvet cheesecake at CF and it is amazing! I was skeptical, because I only like my red velvet... but it was pretty amazing. Great job on your first cake!

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  26. There's no list of ingredients.

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  27. I made the red velvet cheesecake cake for Christmas and it was a success. I used a different red velvet cake recipe using butter instead and also added butter flavoring along with the vanilla extract. It is a very good special occasion dessert. No wonder The Cheesecake Factory sell theirs for $50.00. It is worth every penny of it. It is that good.

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  28. Wow, this looks fabulous ! I am in Australia and Red Velvet cake is only just gaining popularity here (that I know of) Can you tell me if the red gel food colouring is really neccesary ? Just that my neice cant have food colouring in her food. The red is just for show surely ? I'd just love to make this, but don't want her to feel left out ? Any thoughts ?

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  29. the red food coloring isn't necessary. in fact, a lot of people prefer to leave it out, simply because they don't want to be consuming so much artificial color. the novelty of the cake is that it's red, so that's why the recipe calls for it. but it certainly would still taste as good without it! it would look like a brown chocolate cake. you should definitely make it without the coloring because this cake is delicious and i would hate to see her miss out on it! let me know how you like it. =)

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  30. I had the red velvet cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory back before Christmas, and couldn't believe how delicious it was. I seriously craved it for weeks afterwards. I decided I needed to satisfy my craving, and instead of going back to CF and paying way too much for it, I started Googling recipes. I looked for a long time before I finally came across your blog, but when I did, I loved it! I knew that this recipe was the one I needed to make. I was a little intimidated at first, but my memory of the delicious cheesecake caused me to overcome my fears and go for it. I made the red velvet cheesecake and took it to my family's Christmas Eve get-together. Everyone absolutely loved it! My aunt had made a red velvet cake at Thanksgiving, but it was pretty dry, and I think only two pieces were eaten. This cake, on the other hand, practically disappeared!

    So thanks for the awesome recipe! I really enjoyed making (and especially eating) the cake! I now love your blog, and can't wait to continue trying the different recipes!

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  31. I will be making this for my sister's 28th birthday celebration...she's a huge CF fan and has already requested we go there for dinner and dessert. Little does she know that I have a different idea. Ha! How will I throw her off my trail...this dessert must be a surprise! Thank you for the research you have done...it saves me time. I've only been researching recipes for 2 weeks and once I read your blog I knew it was the one! Thanks again...I'll keep you posted about how it turns out.

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  32. I love that cheesecake there. I had planned on replicating it, but you already have. So I will try your version. Yum.

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  33. Judy,

    I just made this cake. Great recipes! I hope you don't mind, but I linked back to your blog on my blog (offthehangerblog.blogspot.com) because your recipe is amazing!

    Danielle

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  34. Does anyone make a food coloring that is more natural than the standard liquid or gel or paste offerings? That could be a good thing to know about. I'm a southerner so red velvet cake MUST be red! :-)

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  35. http://www.seelecttea.com/index.php?cPath=41

    there are a lot of companies out there that make natural food colorings. the above link is just one of them. you can also find them on amazon...but i'd try and find some reviews first, because i have heard that the natural ones give your baked goods a funky flavor! yikes! =)

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  36. Hi Judy

    I want to make this for my best friends birthday this week and i was just wondering what are the quantities of the flour, eggs, sugar and cream cheese for the cheesecake?

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  37. Hi Judy! I found this recipe of yours while searching the web for a tasty cake; and this gorgeous red velvet cheesecake immediately made me hungry to taste it!! :) But...I cannot see any list of ingredients nor quantity of amount of ingredients. Could you please add that information as well, so we could have a try at making this super delish cake?
    Thanks a bunch! :)

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  38. the recipe is at the end of the post. please see the giant "CLICK HERE for the recipes."

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  39. Hey this cake looks AMAZING and I can not wait to try it out!! I'm from the UK and measure everything in grams but can use ounces if need be. However, when recipes say x number of cups that's when I get confused. I was hoping that yourself or someone else could provide me with the measurements in grams or ounces... I will be eternally grateful. Thanks in advance. PS - I love this blog :)

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  40. there are a lot of conversion websites that convert us measurements to the metric system. here's one:
    http://www.gumbopages.com/metric.html

    you can just google it.

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  41. I must try it! Looks beautiful. I was googling Cheesecake factory red velvet cupcake after having a delicious one at Starbucks. I hope it works for my family on Mem Day wkend!
    Judy, lovely photos and great commentary. keep up the tasty work!

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  42. First, I'm planning to surprise my friend with this tomorrow for her birthday. She has as big a sweet tooth as I do, and her three favorite sweet things in the world are red velvet cake, white chocolate and cheesecake. So you understand why I practically fainted with excitement when I saw this recipe!
    Second, I haven't read all of the comments so I'm not sure if anyone else has said this, but if you want to avoid the crumbs getting all into your white frosting there's a technique called crumb coating which should help. First, wipe the cake free of crumbs with your hands. Then spread a very thin layer of frosting over the cake. You then refrigerate the cake until the frosting is set (maybe 15-30 minutes), and then put on your second, thicker layer. I hope you find this helpful next time you try to conquer a cake recipe!

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  43. This looks sooo good!!! I want to make this!
    By the way, if you still have problems dividing the cake into layers, I have a little trick; I take a knife and "scratch" the cake, all the way round, where I want to divide it. Then i take a piece of thread and place in the scratch, so it forms a loop around the cake.
    Now pull each end of the thread and the thread wil cut you cake layers perfectly.

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  44. to add to the question over natural colouring above - last week I got my first cake commission for a local organic veggie bistro. I decided on a Red Velvet cake since my red velvet cup cakes are my biggest seller but chose to use BEETROOT juice as the alternative to food colouring. Although the red colour was not as vibrant when using red food colouring, it looked more natural and you couldn't taste the beetroot at all. I'm just heading up there for feedback - fingers crossed it was a success :-)

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  45. Re the above comment; I'm not heading up there for feedback at 2:52 am US time - I'm from England and the time is a more respectable 10:52 am!!!

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  46. re comment above, I'm not heading up there for feedback at 2:52 am US time - I'm from England and the local time is a more respectable 10:52 am !!

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  47. Hi Julie,

    We're reading The Red Tent for my book club, and I figured now would be a good a time as any to try my hand at making a red velvet cake. I came upon this one while searching for recipes, and I'm dying to try it.

    Is there any way you could email me an ingredient list (lara.marsman@gmail.com)? Unless I'm blind, I didn't see one on this page.

    Thanks so much!

    Happy baking :)

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  48. i have already answered this question above with a previous comment, but here it is again:

    the recipe is at the end of the post. please see the giant "CLICK HERE for the recipes."

    the font is already as large as i can possibly make it.

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  49. hello Judy did you by any chance research this red velvet cake recipe? if so how did you find it?

    thanks so much!!!
    http://cheftessbakeresse.blogspot.com/2010/04/moms-best-red-velvet-cake.html

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  50. Success; I found the recipe again! I originally had this bookmarked and planned on making for my birthday. In the meantime, I bought a new laptop and simply couldn't find this blog again. I finally rebooted my old (slow and pathetic) laptop and got the site addy and have it loaded on my new laptop.

    Anyhow, my birthday is this week and I'm definitely planning on making this. I do plan on making and freezing the cake layers today to help with prep time during the work week. I'll post back later to let you know how it all turns out :)

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  51. Mandy - I hope you enjoy it! Definitely let me know how it turns out! =) Happy Birthday!

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  52. Hi, I wanted to check back with you about the cake.

    I had originally thought of separating the cheesecake into two separate pans, but I'm glad I forgot to because the layer turned out fairly thin. Also, I didn't really need an extra layer of cheesecake because the frosting on top doubled as being the second layer pretty much. I did bake the cheesecake in a water bath because I've had previous success in cheesecake making with that method. It had a few cracks but I didn't really care since it was covered up.

    I did the crumb coating for the frosting and it turned out beautifully smooth.

    The verdict? Delicious! I think it's going to be requested quite a bit from now on :)

    Incidentally, two friends took me to lunch at Cheesecake Factory on my birthday and one ordered their red velvet cheesecake since I'd mentioned I had done an imitiation of it for my birthday. I honestly thought my own turned out much better!

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  53. I live in Canada, and we don't have a Cheesecake Factory here sadly. However, when in Vegas, we went there and had the Red Velvet White Chocolate cheesecake and it was instantly my favourite dessert!

    I found your website last year, and made this exact cake for New Years. I am making it a second time for Chirstmas dinner this year, and I am sure it will be a huge hit again. Like others, I did the crumb coat. And, as I am a cream cheese icing fan, will most likely do that again although I am curious about the traditional boiled icing.

    In any case, thank you so much for making this and posting the pictures!!!

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  54. OK, I made this cake yesterday for a Christmas Eve party. It was a huge hit!!!! No one could believe how moist and light the red velvet cake part of it was. Especially since most red velvet cake comes out kinda dry. I’m not sure, but this might be attributed to the mixing the vinegar with the baking soda and adding it right at the end. This may have given the cake the nice holes in it.

    I didn’t care for the cheesecake part. It was much too thin and too dense for me. And the edges of it were more brown than I was expecting it to be. But, I loved the idea of pairing white chocolate with red velvet. When I normally make regular old red velvet cupcakes, I use a white chocolate cream cheese frosting. So using a white chocolate cheesecake was a great idea. I just didn’t like the way mine turned out.

    About the cake assembly, I did not trim the cake layers at all. I turned them so the flat sides (the sides that were on the bottom of the cake pan while it was in the oven) were facing each other. The round sides were on the top of the cake and the bottom of the cake. That prevented me from doing any trimming.

    About decorating, I didn’t even try to get the icing really smooth like you did. That was way too advanced for me. I decorated it just like any other cake and it looked great. Is there a way for me to post pictures of what my final product looked like.

    Oh, and the icing recipe yielded a LOT of icing. After I finished icing the cake, I had about a cup and a half of icing left. Which I don’t mind at all. It’s in my refrigerator now, waiting for some red velvet cupcakes. :-) Overall, this recipe gets a huge two thumbs up!! It is now permanently in my repertoire.

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  55. Seriously, that is the most amazing cake I've ever seen and for your first time making a cake...well, I am mightily impressed. It is unbelievable!

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  56. THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who gave me feedback on this recipe!!! it means so much to know that people are actually trying the stuff I post! I'm so glad that you have all enjoyed it so much!!!

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  57. i plan to bake this for my mom's b'day this weekend.
    - can i substitute 1 tbsp heavy cream with something else?
    - do i bake the cheesecake in bain-marie?
    - will the temperature 170C just right for the cheesecake cause according to my previous attempt i bake it at 160C?
    - i think my red food coloring isn't a gel, kinda thinner paste, how much should i use?

    i'm sorry Judy that i ask many questions here. i just want the best for my mom. i'm nervous here as this will be my first red velvet cheesecake...ah there's always first anyway. cheers!

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  58. if you do'nt have heavy cream, you can substitute 3/4 cup milk and 1/3 cup melted butter. mix it together. it replaces 1 cup of regular heavy cream. but it's just a small amount - i would suggest using the real thing. you can always bake it in a bain-marie, but i'm not sure if it changes the temperature and baking time. usually all that it does is prevents it from cracking, which i dind't care about, since it's in the middle anyway. i'm not familiar with the celsius unit of measurement, so i'm not very sure what temperature you should have it at. there are a lot of conversion sites available, if you google it. i would suggest investing in some gel food coloring. it's easy to find - it's at all craft stores and kitchen stores. it's more concentrated coloring and it doesn't water down your batter. this recipe calls for a lot of coloring, so it's better to use gel. hope that helps!

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  59. I've made this cake twice now - I'm obsessed with it! So are my family and friends! Just wanted to share my thoughts on the icing... I made the cream cheese icing the first time around, and then modified a cream cheese buttercream icing recipe when I made this cake last week and it was the PERFECT compliment to this amazing cake! It had a light, sugary consistency with just the right hint of cream cheese flavor. This was the original recipe I used http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/cream-cheese-buttercream-frosting and here is the link to my blog post where I sort of tweaked the ingredients to get it to a consistency I could really work with http://aebrady.blogspot.com/2011/01/fave-cake-ever.html. I'll definitely make this again and again :) Thanks so much for sharing!

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  60. Hi Judy,
    I'm a recent follower and have also added you to my blog's google reader. Just wanted to let you know that I will be making this cake using your recipe and ideas over this weekend. I'll post pics on my blog when all is said and done. Btw, if you get the chance, please visit my blog, its a cute blog on cupcakes and sweets. Best, Jackie

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  61. Hi Judy,
    As promised..here is the link to my blog using your cake as inspiration and credit.

    http://galexicupcakes.blogspot.com/2011/02/ultimate-red-velvet-cake-cheesecake.html

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  62. Would love to make but hello where's the ingredient? you know the recipe?

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  63. When I was browing through your recipes, this one caught my eye - such great colours! I really like your step by step tutorials too, really helpful!

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  64. LOVE this cake to bits (and I usually can't stand cheesecake). This is the best of both worlds though - CAKE AND DESSERT! Perfection. Yours looks absolutely beautiful. And btw, I linked this page in a blog post on my version of your most amazing cake.

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  65. I saw your comment on leaving out the red food coloring, and making a chocolate cake instead,
    What other cake would you suggest other than a red velvet I love the concept of the two cakes, but I also wanted to try using another flavor,
    Any suggestion, I just subscribed to your email.
    Thanks

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  66. How about a pumpkin flavored cake? This time of year is perfect for it! Also, any kind of fruit flavored cake would go well with cheesecake - raspberry, blueberry, lemon, etc. The possibilities are endless!

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