Homemade Cheesecake

After being inspired by my amazing-cheesecake-baking friend, I decided to make it a personal goal this year  to make my first cheesecake.

Culinary expert though I am (wink wink), I have never made a cheesecake. There is something about it that always intimidated me. Water baths, soft fillings, cookie crusts... I don't know, it just sounds scary.

Doesn't it?

I think another factor is that I never really liked cheesecake growing up. I hated cream cheese. I didn't like the texture. Etc. Etc. Etc.

It was only after I went to the Cheesecake Factory for the first time that I discovered that cheesecake was a good thing. A really good thing. A please-order-me-a-Cheesecake-Factory-Cheesecake-every-month good thing. (which has never happened, but wouldn't that be nice?)


Anyway... so this past week I made my first ever cheesecake. I read oodles of cheesecake making techniques and play by plays and found this recipe  for a Turtle Cheesecake and decided to try it.  *For those with boys, please note, it's a turtle as in chocolate, caramel and pecans... not turtle as in creature that lives in land and water*

I didn't follow the recipe exactly.  I started out with an Oreo cookie crust (instead of wafer). Being an amateur, I goofed and didn't put the crust up along the sides of the pan.

I toasted the pecans while the crust was baking. Oh how good is a toasted pecan?

My handy dandy Kitchen Aid and I stirred up the batter while the crust cooked. I opted out of making the entire batter chocolate and kept it plain instead, but added chocolate swirls before baking.

After the crust was cool, I poured creamy caramel over the crust, and topped with pecans.

Then topped the entire mixture with the cheesecake batter. I swirled the batter with some remaining caramel and roughly chopped chocolate baking pieces.

I think it just about baked perfectly. I did get a single crack on the top which marred it's beauty. And because I didn't put the crust up the sides of the pan, some of the caramel bubbled out and hardened along the edges. It didn't taste bad (or burnt) it just made the edge a little crunchy. But I'll fix that the next time. I might try a water bath too, I just didn't have the right equipment to do it this time.

After it had completely cooled and chilled over night, I topped it with some remaining toasted pecans and drizzled caramel and melted chocolate over the top. It was pretty amazing for a first cheesecake.

So there you have it! My first cheesecake! I'd offer you a piece, but it's just about gone already. That's what happens when you try sneaking a piece for breakfast and your little boys catch you with your mouthful.

Yes, you guessed correctly: I let my boys eat cheesecake for breakfast too. What can I say? I'm such a fun mom.