Cheesecake, though, is a different story. I have never really been a huge fan of cheesecake (until now, of course) so I don’t get too excited over it. I do love the richness of the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake over at the Cheesecake Factory. Though sadly, I could never really eat more than three bites before it got to be too rich.
When mom mentioned Red Velvet Cheesecake, I was pretty scared I wasn’t going to like it, but I was also willing to try it. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. Red velvet cake layered with cheesecake and lots of cream cheese icing? Count me in.
So it turns out that I really love this stuff and I will never underestimate the power of cheesecake again.
Do you love quick layer cakes? I know I do. I appreciate fancy cakes with lots of flowers and basket weaves, but I can definitely say that I would rather go down the simple path when it comes to cakes: bake, stack, ice. Done.
For the red velvet cake, we just used a normal cake mix, but we spruced it up using real butter, milk instead of water, and an extra egg. Easy and delicious, right? We baked both the cake and the cheesecake in a springform pan so they would be the same size in the end.
Ingredients
- 1 box red velvet cake mix 16.25 ounces
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 cup milk
- Cheesecake:
- 32 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 cup chopped pecans if desired
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the dry cake mix, eggs, butter and milk. Mix on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Spray two 10 1/4" cake pans with non-stick cooking spray and then flour the pans. (If your cake pans are not the same size as your springform pan, you can use the springform pan to bake your cake layers so the layers come out to be the same size). Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then remove the from the pans and turn them onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you'd like to top your cheesecake with red velvet cake crumbles as I did, you can cut just the very top of the cake off (the part that has domed slightly. You won't need very much cut off and no one will know the difference!
- Once they cool completely, you can wrap the layers in plastic wrap and freeze them so the cake is easy to assemble and ice. This is optional, but something we like to do!
- For the cheesecake: In a stand mixer bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar at medium speed until completely smooth, which will be about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or so after each egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract, and beat until thoroughly mixed.
- Spray a 10 1/4" springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap the sides and bottom of the pan in two layers of aluminum foil. Pour the batter into the springform pan. Place the springform pan into a larger pan. Boil 1-2 quarters of water. Pour the boiling water into the larger pan until the water comes about halfway up the side of the foil covered springform pan.
- Bake the cheesecake at 350 degrees for about 45-55 minutes. The edges should be set, but the middle will still jiggle a bit. Turn the oven off, but leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed for 1 hour.
- When the cheesecake is done baking, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and place the springform pan on a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. Then put the cheesecake in the refrigerator and allow it to chill for at least 4-6 hours.
- After the cheesecake has cooled, assemble the cake. Place a red velvet cake layer on a plate. If you'd like, level the cakes with a large serrated knife. We didn't feel this was necessary, since our layers were fairly even. Then place the cheesecake layer on top of the cake. Top the cheesecake with the second cake layer.
- For the frosting: Using an electric mixer, mix the butter and cream cheese, scraping down the sides as needed, until the mixture is light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar, 1/2 a cup at at time, until it is thoroughly mixed. Add the vanilla and beat the frosting on medium speed for about 3 minutes.
- Using a rubber spatula, cover the sides and top of the cake in frosting. Refrigerate the cake overnight, then store the cake in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
- If your pans are bigger or smaller than 10 1/4", you will need to adjust the baking times. The hot water bath is not necessary, but makes a nice cheesecake with no cracks. This recipe takes a long time because of refrigeration and baking, but is not a lot of hands on time. I like that you can make the layers ahead of time, and put the cake together later. It's nice for when you need a dessert that can be made a day or two in advance!
Thanks done share recipes to : https://www.tastesoflizzyt.com/red-velvet-cheesecake/