Because we were provided a recipe that bases itself on the simple ingredients – cream cheese, sugar, eggs, whipping cream – and then told to “get creative” – well, I did just that.
A few days ago Kroger had their Pepperidge Farm Goldfish on sale for a dollar – yep, a dollar – I bought up plenty of them. Not just the typical cheese cracker goldfish, the Graham Cracker goldfish, too. They had them in honey baked, cinnamon, and also in chocolate, so I opted to use the chocolate cookies for my cheesecake crust. I ground a little over a cup and a quarter of them, and added in another half cup of pulverized almonds to finish out my base.
I then proceeded to make my batter, following the given recipe, though I did add an extra half brick of cream cheese as well as use half sour cream and half heavy cream. I chose to add almond extract, vanilla extract and even coconut extract to the filling…and let me tell you, it smelled wonderful even before baking.
Then I dumped all of the filling out of the mixer bowl.
Not onto the floor or anything – whew – but into a separate bowl. I left about a third of it in the mixer bowl, and added 3 ounces of melted Green & Black’s Bittersweet Chocolate. Once well mixed I poured the chocolate batter into the crust and began working on my middle layer. For this section, I added about 2/3 cup of sweetened coconut and 2 tablespoons of Nutella and let the KitchenAid mix it thouroughly – then poured it on top of the chocolate layer. Finally, I poured the remaining cheesecake batter over the other layers and allowed the whole cake to bake at 325 for 90 minutes, followed by another hour in a waterbath.
I hate waiting. It’s terrible. Sitting there, all alone in my fridge is this perfect looking cheesecake, no cracks, no blemishes – utter perfection. And I am not allowed to touch it. I had to take a nap just to forget about it. But once it was cool and I could unleash it from the springform – oh my, yes. Gorgeous crust. Evenly baked. Tall and creamy and the layers actually looked like layers.
Oh, and the taste? Some kind of yum. I almost named this cheesecake an Almond Joy Cheesecake, but there are already recipes out there for an Almond Joy Cheesecake…and this isn’t like them.
So if you are still here, leave me a comment. What should I have named this cheesecake? Yes, there is a prize involved….a cool one at that! How many times have you wished you had a square cheesecake pan? One that allows you to make evenly cut square pieces and not the aggravating wedges involved with round pans? Well, here’s your chance to win one! I am supplying one randomly chosen winner with a Square Cheesecake Pan from Fat Daddio’s. The size you will recieve is 12 by 12 by 3, so quite a big size!
Just leave your cheesecake name suggestion here for a chance to win…and good luck! Winner will be announced on May 1st via TWITTER – so you may just want to follow me. If the winner doesn’t get back to me by the 3rd – I’ll choose another winner!
Stop back by tomorrow – May 1st is my Blogiversary and I will be giving away a prize every day this week with all winners announced on Friday….so good luck and keep on coming by!
{ 31 comments… read them below or add one }
That is one gorgeous cheesecake! I am not creative, so no name here. But I would love a slice!
your blog is very good
That is one amazing looking cheesecake. Totally puts mine to shame! I wanted to totally lick my screen!!!
I like the name Almondy Joy. Or Chocolate Covered Almond…..
And your pictures are fantastic! I am trying so hard to get mine to look that great, but inside pictures totally don’t work for me!
But I am learning.
Anyway…..
Sign me up for a square cheesecake pan! Then I wouldn’t eat such huge slices! That’s my excuse and I am sticking with it!
Tania
How about Almond Choc-conut Bliss? That’s what is sounds like to me, bliss. I think I will go bake one right now!
Oh wow, that is one gorgeous looking cake. Wish i could have a slice. Great job!
The first thing that comes to mind is Almond Joy, but since that is trademarked how about Almond Bliss?
I have NEVER seen a square cheesecake pan! I love it!
beautiful. I would call it Almond Joyous Cheesecake. because Cheesecake is a joyous thing.
I can’t think of a name but I can think of a million ways in which I would eat that cheesecake… sitting on the floor, standing at the counter, in bed before I go to sleep, on the couch watching tv….
Your cheesecake looks fantastic! Mine is still in the oven!
OMG! It looks perfect! I love your flavor combo.
OK, I’m taking that cheesecake, sitting down in the middle of room and eat it all!
This looks so delicious! It’s like a combination of my four favorite things: chocolate, almonds, coconut, and cheesecake! As for a name…let’s see.
My boyfriend recommends “Delicious Diversity Cheesecake,” since he’s under the impression that the layers of cheesecake look like a gradient of skintones.
I say…”Almond CocoNutella Cheesecake,” because in it you get the almond, the coconut, the Nutella (for which you seem to have a penchant!), and of course the delicious chocolate!
Poor farmer, poor Bessie
That just made me laugh. I love the flavor combo, but I must admit I’m drawing a blank on a name. Chocolate coco-nutty cheesecake?
Oh my. Could you just send that my way? Holy Yum!!!!
Oh wow, that looks fantastic! Such an interesting flavor combination!
That looks amazing. I might even like that one — and I’m really not a fan of cheesecake. And your photos are fantastic! (Here’s my not-very-good name suggestion: Cheesecake Even Cheesecake Haters Will Like!)
How about Amaretti Coconut Cream Cheesecake?
Coco Almond No5
Love it! You did an amazing job!
Mondo Choco-Nut Cheesecake.. sort of a combination of almond (hence Mondo) and chocolate and coconut and of course cheesecake… I don’t know.. sounds good to me. And that looks fantastic, I could eat the whole cake!!
I like that it’s got three layers, so something like Triple Play Decadent Cheesecake.
It certainly looks de-lish!
Simply Delicious Cheesecake. Of course, it doesn’t sound so simple to make, but the pictures make it look oh-so-good.
Oh geez. That looks divine. Honestly, the only thing I could think of is the Bahamas – someplace tropical, white sands and palm trees, that kind of thing? Don’t ask me why… I could totally see that jazzed up with a little coconut rum.
On that note, I’m gonna say Bahama Mama, or A Slice of Tropical Paradise.
Kate
That's a pretty cheesecake & I'm glad I stopped by. Thanks to Zoe actually…caught her twitter!! hello from one DB to another…this was a fun challenge wasn't it? Love the flavours in yours challenge, they are SO unique…mmmmmm! Happy blogiversary to you! I cannot tell you how often I think I must have 'not a round' tin…more so after I saw Zoe's challenge bars!!
Of course Almond Joy Cheesecake would put people’s mind in the right place… BUT… maybe Choconut Almond Cheesecake? Haha get it? Chocolate + coconut = Choconut… ;P
Great giveaway! I’ve had my eye on those pans for a while now. Your cheesecake looks beautiful by the way, making me crave a nice slice this morning. I love that you used Chocolate Goldfish as the crust! How about this title: Gone Fishin’ Chocolate Crusted Almond Joyous Cheesecake. A mouthful, but I like it!
“A Slice of Heaven” It looks orgasmmic…
Chocolate “Ah-men” Cheesecake (a personal slice of heaven)
or
Divine Almond Cheesecake
Looks fabulous!!!
-Cat (ne1else)
Ack! Just realized I forgot to tell you my name idea for this. I was thinking Triple Threat Cheesecake because I’d the beautiful layers and three awesome main flavors’
Susan’s Over the Top Coconut Almond Hazelnut Triple Cheese Cake. Or is that too long. Nutella is hazelnut, right.
That looks lovely by the way. Very tall and very creative.
I am at loss for a name..too beautiful for my brains to think straight!
Wonderful take on the challenge!
Thanks to the over 1k Daring Bakers, I'm only now getting to your post. But this cheesecake is AMAZING. It reminds me of the Brachs coconut candies with the strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate coconut layers. Whatever those are called, this would be a great name for it.
Thanks for being a part of the challenge!
Jenny of JennyBakes