Week 18: Autumn Festival

Last cheesecake for this experiment!  It's been a good run.  I started off having never made a baked cheesecake, to making 17 baked cheesecakes in 3 months (one cheesecake I made was a no-bake).  Definitely have learned a lot, and have been able to provide others with cheesebaking tips as well.  One thing I will not miss is consuming all the extra calories each week - gotta test the product before sharing with others ;)  After this post, I will take a hiatus from blogging about baking, but will return in the future.  My next adventure is taking a class next week and applying to a Masters degree in Ed.

Here is George Geary's Autumn Festival cheesecake recipe:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup toasted and ground pecans
1/3 cup unsalted butter melted

6 packages cream cheese softened
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 medium baking apple, peeled and chopped fine
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 tbsp organge zest
1tsp each ground nutmeg and cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground cloves and allspice
2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup whipping cream
2tbsp granulated sugar
1/4 tsp orange zest
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, ground pecans and melted butter.  Press into bottom of cheesecake pan and freeze.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium high speed for 5 minutes.  Next, add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.  Fold in chopped apple, raisins, orange zest, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and vanilla.  Pour batter over frozen crust and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven  for 60 to 75 minutes or until the top is a light brown and the middle has a slight jiggle to it (as a reminder, every oven is a little different - my cheesecake was done at 50 minutes).  Cool cheesecake for 2 hours at room temperature, then cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours.

For the decoration - whip the cream on medium high speed until soft peaks form.  With the mixer still running, sprinkle in the sugar and continue whipping until firm peaks form.  Fold in the 1/4 tsp orange zest, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg.  Spread on cake.