Wednesday Recipes: Samoa Cheesecake

Dear Readers, I'm making an exception to an unspoken recipe of mine with this recipe--I'm sharing something I found on the internet. It's just delicious and I will share the link, and get back to old-fashioned cookbooks next week, I promise. :)

Samoa Cheesecake

Delish!

Ingredients:

Cheesecake Ingredients:

24 Oreo cookies

4 tablespoons melted butter

pinch of salt *I never could find where this appears in the recipe, but hey.

3 (8-ounces) bricks neufchatel (low-fat) or regular cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (I used plain)

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 eggs

Samoa Topping Ingredients:

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1 3/4 cups caramel dip or sauce (you can either buy the 16-ounce store-bought tubs of caramel or use 1 3/4 cup homemade--I used storebought this time)

4 ounces dark chocolate

Directions:

To Make the Cheesecake:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, and grease a 9-inch springform pan. Carefully wrap the outside of the pan in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil, being sure that there are NO gaps where water could seep through.

2. Add Oreo cookies to the bowl of a food processor, and process until completely crumbles. Add in the melted butter, and stir in until evenly mixed with the Oreos. Press the Oreo mixture evenly into the bottom of the springform pan. Then place the pan in a large roasting dish (or any pan larger than the springform). Bring a tea kettle or pot of water to boil in preparation for the water bath.

3. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium speed for 3 minutes until smooth. Add sugar and beat for an additional minute until well blended. Add Greek yogurt and vanilla, and beat for an additional minute, stopping partway to scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Do not overbeat (but don't worry either)! Pour into crust.

4. Place the double pans in the oven on a shelf on the bottom third of the oven. Very carefully use a tea kettle (or large measuring cup) to pour the boiling water in the larger pan to form a water bath around the springform, so that it comes up about 1-inch around the springform.

5. Close the oven door, and bake about 1 hour 30 minutes, or until center is almost set (the cake should still jiggle ever so slightly). Turn oven off, and open door ever so slightly. Let cheesecake set in oven 1 hour. Then remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool before placing in the refrigerator.

6. *This is where I differ from the original. I don't take the cake out of the pan until I'm ready to serve. I find this really helps when traveling (aka taking the cheesecake to church or some other location).

7. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

To make the Topping:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread shredded coconut in an even layer on a parchment-covered (or foil-covered) baking sheet. Bake for about 6 minutes, or until the top layer of coconut is toasted and lightly golden, then remove the tray from the oven and stir the coconut. Bake for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the new layer of coconut is lightly golden. Keep a close eye so that the coconut does not burn. Remove the pan, and pour the coconut into a mixing bowl.

2. Add 1 cup caramel sauce to the bowl with the coconut, and stir to combine. (If your caramel is not very pourable, heat it in the microwave or in a small saucepan until it is just slightly warmed).

3. Using a spoon, spread a separate 1/2 cup of caramel sauce onto the chilled cheesecake. Then top with the caramel/coconut mixture, and press it down until the top of the cheesecake is covered.

4. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag or a Ziplock bag with the corner snipped off, then pipe it onto the top of the coconut/caramel mixture in even lines (*I didn't do this, and I just drizzled with a spoon and it was still yummy and faster). Repeat in a separate bag with the remaining caramel sauce.

Difficulty: Intermediate.

Note: I found this in my cabinet where I downloaded in 2018 from the following site:

https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/samoa-cheesecake-recipe/