Red Velvet Cheesecake

With my Birthday coming up, the family had asked what I wanted and how did I want to celebrate.....I pondered on it, and said the usual oh I don't know and nothing much, then it was perhaps let's go out, no OK I settled on an idea let's have a family dinner at home on the Saturday night and on my actual birthday the Sunday we would have this amazing cake with coffee and friends.

Fascinated in the current resurrection of the popular Red Velvet Cake it was a must to cook. Although having researched the history of Red Velvet Cake it appears that it is a false quote to claim that it is a scientific reaction that causes the Red colour, which is why most recipes have large quantities of Red Food Colouring.  With a passion for wanting a perfect Red Velvet Cake, the blog hop was on and this was when I stumbled across Willow Bird Baking blog and the original recipe was taken from there.

I am so proud of my family and the huge effort of working through all the processes of this cake and working it in to an amazing birthday celebration.  We will be cooking it again that's for sure!!!

We loved it and found this version exceptionally rich and one that you only needed a small slice of, which was perfect for my family and friends coffee and cake date, one cake fed many.!!!

Ingredients
Crust

• 32 Oreos Biscuits, finely processed into crumbs
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Ganache

• 3/4 cup cream
• 250g Dark chocolate, finely chopped

Red Velvet Cake

• 50g Nuttelex
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
  
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon red food coloring ( we used the wilton paste variety)

Cheesecake Filling

• 3 x 250g packages cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup Caster sugar
• 1½ tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs

Decorations

• 1/3 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup Icing sugar, sifted
• white chocolate for drizzling

Method

Being one of many processes this was an easy way of dividing up the tasks and working in with work and lifestyle for the family.

Bianca baked the red velvet cake on Thursday her day off and popped it into the freezer once cool.

Dylan Worked on the Cheesecake on Saturday before finishing off the decorations and putting together with Brian and my Mum on Sunday Morning.

Red Velvet Cake

Preheat oven to 180*

Line the bottom and the sides of an 9-inch springform round cake pan with baking paper.

Cream the Nuttelex, sugar, and egg.

Make a paste of the cocoa and coloring and add to the Nuttelex mixture.

Add salt and vanilla.

Add buttermilk alternately with the flour, beginning and ending with flour.

Mix vinegar and soda right before using and add to mixture by folding in.

Pour batter into the cake pan and bake at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Cool completely, Wrap in baking paper, and freeze for 30 minutes or until firm. Or in our case until needed

Cheesecake

• Grease/butter a 9-inch springform pan and place it on a baking tray.
• Combine the Oreo crumbs and melted butter in a small bowl. Toss with a fork to moisten all of the crumbs. Press into a thin layer covering the bottom and sides of the springform pan, all the way up the sides or as far as you can - be sure it is a thin layer.
• Bring the cream to a simmer in a saucepan. Place the chocolate in a medium bowl. Once the cream reaches a simmer, pour the cream over the chocolate and let stand 1-2 minutes. Whisk in small circles until a smooth ganache has formed. Pour 1 – 1.5 cups of the ganache over the bottom of the crust. Freeze until the ganache layer is firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve the remaining ganache; cover and let stand at room temperature for later decorating. Or in our case we covered popped it in the fridge and then brought back to room temperature before piping the decorations.
• Preheat the oven to 180*
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-high speed until well blended. Beat in the flour. Add in the vanilla and beat until well incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl between each addition.
• Pour the filling over the cold ganache in the crust. Place the springform tin on a baking tray just in case you have a leak - it is very unlikely, but it's best with baking in springform tins. Bake until the top is lightly browned, puffed and cracked at the edges, and the center moves only very slightly when the pan is lightly shaken, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire cooling rack. Cool at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Transfer to the refrigerator and let cool at least 3 hours, until completely chilled and set.

Decorative Topping

• Whip reserved room temperature ganache to create a fluffy texture perfect for piping.
• In a separate bowl, mix together cream cheese, butter, and icing sugar to make a small amount of cream cheese frosting for decorating.

READY TO ASSEMBLE

• Remove Red Velvet Cake from freezer.
• Wrap a warm towel around the outside of the springform pan to help loosen the crust from the sides.Carefully remove the springform. Transfer the cake to a serving platter.
• Place cake layer on top of cheesecake (right side up). Decorate top of cake with drizzled white chocolate, piped cream cheese frosting and whipped ganache.

Sit back and enjoy the excitement as everyone enjoys such an amazing treat!!!