Vanilla Bean Chesecake

First, an apology. There are limited pictures for two reasons: one, I was rushing through because I had only the time it took in the oven to prepare the cheesecake and, two, my camera's battery died. But, it still looks good, so no complaining, right? Also, I apologize for the picture quality; my camera was mad I tried to take pictures with a dead battery (I forgot to charge it until after I finished the cheesecake, oops).

I am in love with cheesecake. I could eat it all the time. Okay, not all the time, but at least twice a day.

This is an imitation of the Cheesecake Factory's vanilla bean cheesecake with white chocolate mousse and vanilla bean whipped cream, based on a recipe by a favorite blog of mine, The Inner Gourmet. Unfortunately, my grocery store only had one vanilla bean in the entire damn place, so I had to replace the vanilla bean with vanilla extract in the whipped cream. Tastes almost as good.

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 pkg graham crackers, crushed
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecake:
16 oz (2 pkg) cream cheese, softened
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp corn starch
inside of one vanilla bean

Mousse:
5 oz white chocolate, melted
4 oz cream cheese
1 cup whipping cream
3 tbsp powdered sugar

Whipped Cream:
1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp powdered sugar
inside of one vanilla bean

Vanilla Graham Cracker Crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and crush the graham crackers. Mine are bigger pieces because that's how I like my crust. Mix the melted butter, egg yolk, and vanilla into the graham crackers and whisk. Truthfully, I prefer mixing by hand, scrunching it around with my fingers. Then spread it out on the bottom of a 9" pan. I use glass, but I know a lot of people use Springfoam pans, so to each his own. Bake this for about 8 minutes; try not to go longer, or else it'll be too crunchy when you finish baking the cheesecake.

Vanilla Bean Cheesecake: Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add the sugar and make sure it's mixed in thoroughly. Then add the corn starch, vanilla bean, and sour cream. Combine thoroughly, then pour on top of the crush, evening out. Put in the oven for 35-40 minutes. When cool, spread mousse over-top and refrigerate for several hours, overnight if possible.

White Chocolate Mousse: Melt the 5 oz of chocolate and allow to cool; I'd recommend sticking in the fridge.  While it's chilling, whip the cream until soft peaks form (1-2 minutes) and add the powdered sugar 1 tbsp at a time until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, beat the 4 oz of cream cheese until smooth and add the chocolate. When it's all mixed, put it back in the fridge for a couple more minutes. When cool to the touch, slowly mix into the whipped cream mixture. When finished, put into the fridge until the cheesecake is cool.

Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream: Beat the cream until soft peaks form and then add the vanilla bean and powdered sugar, mixing until stiff peaks form. (You know how you like whipped cream.) I added an additional 1 1/2 tsp powdered sugar to make up for the fact I had to use vanilla extract instead of a vanilla bean. Damn grocery store. Store in the fridge, covered, until ready to serve. I stuff it into a pastry bag and pipe onto the cheesecake around the edges and in the center, but spreading on top just like the mousse works just as well.

Isn't it a pretty cheesecake? The piping went a little haywire, so I smeared it all over the top of the mousse.

I won't lie, it's damn good.

I've got to be honest, I'm making cheesecake for two reasons. First, my life has been a little disappointing lately and only cheesecake and Harry Potter could make me feel better. (Haha, have you picked up that I'm a Harry Potter nerd?) Namely, my AP scores weren't nearly what I wanted. (Except chem, my worst subject. Godric, my life is weird.) And calc 2 in six weeks is severely kicking my ass. Thank Merlin it's over on Wednesday for me. Although, that means I'm taking my final chapter test tomorrow after class and then the final on Wednesday, instead of a little more spaced out. Ugh. Well, c'est la vie.

Second, I'm going to Oklahoma with my family to see my aunt and uncle and then I have AOP at MSU right after that. So I won't be updating for at least two weeks. And, for the cherry on the cake, I've been trying to read 100 books this summer, and for a little extra motivation, I've made a page here on the blog where I'll cross off a book when I've read it. Note: some books are still subject to change; I might not be able to get my hands on them. I could use any encouragement you've got, too; my ratio of read to unread sucks right now.

But, that's my life, so I'll deal with it. It's the only one I've got, right?

Keep stirring, loves!