Say Cheese ... Cake!

Cheesecake has always seemed too fancy and rich a dessert to make at home. Brian loves cheesecake and when we go out for dessert he typically veers toward it on the menu. But I stealthily manage to guide him to a less hip-widening sweet by saying something dramatic like, "Do you want me to be the size of our sofa!"

But not last night. It was his birthday, so he got cheesecake. Chocolate cheesecake. Drizzled with homemade chocolate sauce. I got the recipes from a local Cry-Leike cookbook that the Bank girls had floating around (hey ladies!).

It's called "Hershey's Best Loved Cheesecake," but I didn't use Hershey's chocolate and I don't love that name so I'm just going to call it:

Chocolate Cheesecake

3 pkg cream cheese, softened

1 1/4 c sugar

1 (8 oz.) sour cream

1 T vanilla extract

1/2 c cocoa powder

2 T all-purpose flour

3 eggs

Crust:

1/2 stick butter

1 cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs

Preheat oven to 450. Combine softened butter and crumbs and press onto bottom of 9 inch spring-form pan. Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add sour cream and vanilla. Add cocoa and flour. Add eggs one at a time (I added two at a time. Why waste time?) Beat until blended. Pour into crust and bake for 10 minutes at 450. Turn heat down to 250 and bake 40 minutes. Cool completely and refrigerate 4-6 hours.

Before I forget, let me give you the chocolate sauce recipe too.

• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine in sauce pan. Bring to a boil for one minute. It wasn't too sweet or clumpy at all. And it refrigerated well. I will definitely use this one again.

Brian was so sweet. We went to a french place downtown for dinner. I had told them earlier in the week when I made reservations and requested a quiet table that it was my husband's birthday. I didn't think they would care, I just thought it might get me a table out of the way. Well, when our waiter brought the dessert menus he told us that it was complementary for Brian's birthday. They had written it down on the phone and even had a handwritten card for Brian with cards for complementary drinks the next time we came.

We were both really impressed, but even so Brian politely thanked the waiter for dessert and said we would pass because he was going to eat my dessert at home :) What a sweet guy to pass up free yummy french dessert.

And one last thing, I feel the need to confess something. As I wrote this post I ate a small piece of cheesecake. It's only 9:15 in the morning. Someone save me from myself!