I feel strongly that no celebration is complete without cheesecake. Cheesecake is a celebration in a springform pan.
I've got plenty of trusty, tasty cheesecake recipes, but I decided to try a new one for Valentine's Day: gingersnap pear cheesecake. If you'd like the recipe, you can find it here, at Real Simple. But let me save you the trouble: This cheesecake was just "eh." Don't get me wrong -- no cheesecake is bad cheesecake. But this one was better in theory than in execution.
The recipe was pretty simple. For the crust, you replace graham cracker crumbs with crushed gingersnaps. After the crust is set, you thinly slice pears, toss them with ginger, and layer them. Then you pour in a pretty basic cheesecake batter and bake. After about 50 minutes, you pull the whole thing out of the oven, top it with a little sour cream sweetened with sugar, and give it another eight minutes or so.
The pears sounded like a great idea, but they just kind of got mushy and didn't really add much flavor. The sour cream was interesting, but would separate from the cream cheese part of the cake when you stuck your fork into a piece, which was a little weird. And the gingersnaps were just too crunchy.
In spite of these flaws, I managed to eat several large slices. I know, I know. I'm a real trouper.
The food: Gingersnap pear cheesecake
The verdict: Not the best cheesecake I've ever had, but I never met a cheesecake I didn't like
I just found your blog, and I have to echo what you said at lunch today: I think we have very similar tastes. I have enjoyed looking at and reading about your culinary adventures! I will look forward to more, and in the meantime, we need to hang out sometime where we can talk cameras and food...maybe over food...
ReplyDelete