One year ago we ended 2008 with the Tall and Creamy Cheesecake. And THIS year we are edning another year of TWD with cheesecake!! Coincidence…. I think not. (Well, maybe…) My absolute favorite dessert (after Galub Jamun) is CHEESECAKE. And this one did not disappoint. Good thing, too, since it was my turn to pick the LAST TWD recipe for 2009. Not as easy as you might think. (And everyone who has said that is absolutely right) I went through BFMH2Y several times. Picked out about 20 recipes and with the help of son and hubs finally settled on the LOW AND LUSH CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE (on page 243).
I made it this morning and we ate it for dessert tonight. It was WONDERFUL. Just the right amount of chocolate.
Of course, I couldn’t just ‘follow the recipe” I had to jazz it up a bit. I made Chocolate Wafers from an old Gourmet Magazine recipe and crushed them with small bits of caramel. I was going for a Heath bar affect. Worked!! It gave me a marvously crunchy crust. I did leave the filling alone, except to sub out 1/2 the sugar for Splenda. I used Ghirardelli 72% Intense Dark Chocolate (on sale at World Market — YES!!!
The filling was smooth and velvety and delicious.
This is NOT a one time cheesecake for me. I will make this often. I hope those of you who baked along enjoyed it as much as I did.
Please visit the other bakers of TWD and see their creations.
December 29, 2009 at 8:31 PM
Hope your mom is feeling better (maybe she needs a slice of cheesecake)! How can you let it cool on the counter without sampling??? It’s a delicious recipe – thanks for choosing!
December 29, 2009 at 10:08 PM
Hi Tea Lady, thanks for hosting us this week. Your cheesecake looks fab, and I’m glad that you enjoyed it so much.
December 29, 2009 at 10:11 PM
Wow! Your cheescake looks awesome!
December 29, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Love cheesecake, this looks wonderful!
December 29, 2009 at 11:17 PM
Love your festive photos! Thanks so much for choosing this delicious recipe.
December 30, 2009 at 12:02 AM
I love how you styled it with the pretty Christmas greenery. I will make this, I promise…we are just dessert-ed out right now and well, it’s chocolate, so I need my chocolate eaters to participate in this one. Yours looks lovely and very inspiring.
December 30, 2009 at 12:05 AM
Thanks for choosing this recipe. I loved it! Yours looks wonderful. I hope your mom is feeling better!
December 30, 2009 at 12:09 AM
Great pick, Margaret! And I haven’t even finished making it yet. =P I made chocolate wafers for crust, too. Now I just need to make the filling–was waiting for my in-laws to get here to help eat it. =)
December 30, 2009 at 12:10 AM
I love this cheesecake recipe. Thanks so much for picking it.
December 30, 2009 at 1:06 AM
Chocolate and cheese has got to be the best combo. It’s such a lovely dessert!
December 30, 2009 at 1:52 AM
Thanks for such a yummy pick! I made a couple of changes too and really enjoyed this.
December 30, 2009 at 2:16 AM
I like your festive photos! Your crust sounds really delicious! Nice way to include the recipe – no typing needed.
I’m sorry that I skipped this one, but I’m on holiday overload.
December 30, 2009 at 2:31 AM
i loved this selection, and i enjoyed baking with you:) happy new year!
December 30, 2009 at 3:47 AM
Great choice, Margaret – it looks perfect.
Happy New Year!
December 30, 2009 at 3:59 AM
It was a great pick, Margaret. (Even if it wasn’t my favorite. I had fun with it, making truffles and such.) And your crust sounds de-lish! I’m loving toffee lately!
December 30, 2009 at 4:26 AM
Chocolate wafers sound really good for the crust. Will do that next time. Love your pics.
December 30, 2009 at 5:04 AM
Best, and easiest cheesecake I have ever made- thanks for the great pick! Definitely will make repeat appearances in my kitchen.
December 30, 2009 at 5:20 AM
Well, it’s been a year – I was finally ready to bake my second cheesecake! Nice pick, Margaret, the cake made a big hit for our Christmas Dinner!
December 30, 2009 at 9:37 AM
thanks for picking such a GREAT dorie recipe! I totally admire you for even doing the crust from scratch!
December 31, 2009 at 12:35 AM
I LOVE World Market! There was one by my old apartment when I lived in Arlington, VA! Now that I’m back in NYC, I have to dream of it!
I made this today and it was a HUGE HUGE HUGENORMOUS hit! I’m posting it tomorrow… thanks so much for a great pick!
December 31, 2009 at 1:35 AM
What a great idea to use 72% and make chocolate wafers for the crust. I think that would really amplify the chocolate flavor. Thanks for a great pick!
December 31, 2009 at 2:25 AM
Love your pictures. Your variations sound super yummy.
December 31, 2009 at 10:00 PM
I was so glad I played along with your recipe choice this week. I absolutely positively LOVED this cheesecake! DDeeeeee-licious!
December 31, 2009 at 10:57 PM
[...] want to hang on to and modify in dozens of ways (Almond Joy cheesecake, anyone?) so dash over to The Tea Lady’s place for the [...]
January 1, 2010 at 5:41 AM
Thanks for a great pick. I didn’t remember that cheesecake was the last pick of 2008, but I guess it was… sounds like a good tradition.
Your cheesecake looks wonderful.
January 1, 2010 at 2:04 PM
Your cheesecake sounds delicious! thanks for sharing
January 1, 2010 at 5:40 PM
Ciao ! Thank you for choosing this very nice cheesecake !! I bet your crust was divine !!
January 1, 2010 at 7:26 PM
thanks for a great addition to my new year’s eve dinner! happy 2010!!
January 1, 2010 at 8:06 PM
Thanks for a great pick! It was delicious!
January 1, 2010 at 8:07 PM
[...] the oven. The flavor definitely wasn’t compromised You can view the recipe on the blog Teas and Scones, where it was chosen for [...]
January 1, 2010 at 8:42 PM
Great pick! Even my non-cheesecake loving husband loved it.
January 1, 2010 at 9:34 PM
I love how you posted the recipe, and I love the little splotch of liquid on the page. This cheesecake looks divine; I must try it soon.
January 2, 2010 at 5:27 PM
Thanks for a great pick! I actually had this for my wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. I finally posted and linked to you – thanks again!
January 3, 2010 at 5:45 AM
Thanks for adding to my cheesecake recipe collection. It was nice to try a different flavor for a change.
When does your new granddaughter arrive?
January 4, 2010 at 2:17 AM
[...] few days late. The Tea Lady of Tea and Scones (what a great blog name eh?) picked this week’s recipe. I don’t recall ever making a cheesecake so this was a new one for me. I made it for New [...]
January 4, 2010 at 2:56 AM
love your changes to the crust! i didn’t know the cheesecake was called low and lush b/c it’s so “short” compared to most cheesecakes until it came out of the oven
thanks for this pick!
April 8, 2010 at 1:20 AM
[...] 30 people are going to try and decide if they liked your choice. I did that in December for TWD (Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake). (I think that went over well.) So this month it was my turn to choose one of April’s [...]
February 12, 2011 at 7:17 AM
Looks delicous….
March 12, 2012 at 4:29 PM
What a divine cheesecake – looks fantastic!
Cheers
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