Apple Pie Cheesecake

Apple Pie Cheesecake

Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Cheesecake:
2 – 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp allspice

Apple pie:
4-5 medium apples
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Crumb topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp cinnamon

For this recipe you’ll need a 12″ spring form pan.

To make the crust, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and blend with a fork, pastry cutter or your fingers until well blended – it will look like big, soft crumbs. Press into the bottom and most of the way up the sides of a greased spring form pan.

To make the cheesecake layer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and allspice. Pour into the spring form pan on top of the crust.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Peel and core the apples, cut them into small pieces, and toss with sugar and spices to coat.  Pour the apple pieces over the top of the cheesecake.

Combine all of the crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl and blend like you did the crust.  Cover the apple pie layer evenly with the crumb topping.

Bake for 12 minutes at 400F, then reduce the heat to 375F and bake for another 35 minutes.  The apple pie cheesecake will have puffed up a lot and will be quite jiggly, but if this is your first cheesecake don’t let that alarm you – it will return to its normal size and firm up as it cools.  

Let cool in the pan, then refrigerate.

Serves 12-16.

Ketchup Cake

Ketchup Cake

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups All-purpose flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
1 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp Ground ginger
1/2 cup Ketchup
1/2 cup Water
2 tbsp Red food coloring
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1 1/2 cups Dark brown sugar, packed
2 Eggs

Frosting Ingredients:
6 oz Brick-style cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup Butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla extract
4 cups Confectioners sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grease two, 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Stir the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and ginger into a bowl.

Stir the ketchup, water and coloring in a separate bowl. Set aside.

Beat the butter and blend in the sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour mixture and ketchup mixture. Beat on low, scraping down the bowl as needed, until combined. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for one minute.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool the cakes for 15 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool completely.

Frosting: Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla on medium speed for 2 minutes or until smooth. Gradually beat in the sugar on low, scraping the bowl as needed. Beat on high until fluffy.

Frost between the cake layers and over the sides and top of the cake.