Well, I finally made it over to the Cheesecake Factory when we were in Charlotte over the holiday weekend visiting family. I’ve drooled over their menu for months now, and my mother-in-law and I were talking about how we wanted to go by there while we were visiting. They have such a large menu with so many different kinds of cheesecake to choose from, that it seemed like I took one look at all of the cheesecakes in the display case and said, “Yes please, I’ll take all of them.” Although, if I were to do that, I’d probably go into debt and gain thirty pounds. It just may be well worth it.
The cheesecake that I got was what inspired me to come up with this recipe. It was layered red velvet cake with cheesecake, and it was absolutely delightful. I ate about 3/4 of the piece in the car on the way home, then polished off the rest of it once we got back to the house. Topped it off with a glass of red wine. They probably don’t go together, but I didn’t care…and it was a good night.
When I made this, I was a little skeptical with the end result. I’ve only made a handful of cheesecake recipes before this, so I was worried that it wasn’t cooked enough…but it was PERFECT. My parents are visiting, and I asked them if they wanted a piece of the cake. My mom answered “Yes!” immediately, and my dad seemed like he felt guilty to eat anything really sweet. But, I did ask him to take a bite, brought him a forkful of cake and stuffed it in his mouth. “Holy crap!” he said with a mouthful of food once he started chewing. I had to fight off the urge to cut another piece…which is exactly why I’ve got to get that thing out of the house.
Cake Recipe:
1 box Duncan Hines dark chocolate fudge cake mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix
8 oz. sour cream
4 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup water
Combine all ingredients and beat at medium speed with electric mixer for 3-4 minutes. Distribute cake batter evenly between two greased 10 inch round cake pans (or sprayed). Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25 minutes. Let cool in pans for 15 minutes, then turn out on cooling racks and cool completely.
Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe:
4 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
4 eggs
Combine first four ingredients and beat well with electric mixer on medium speed until mixture is smooth. Add melted chocolate until blended. Add one egg at a time on low speed, beating just until blended. Line 10 inch round cake pan with foil, spoon mixture into pan. Put one pan with water on rack below cheesecake in oven while baking, this will help prevent cheesecake from cracking. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until center is almost set. Remove from oven and cool completely on cooling rack.
Icing Recipe:
1 lb. confectioners sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 can Duncan Hines cream cheese icing
Combine all ingredients at beat at medium speed with electric mixer (I use a standing mixer) for 5-7 minutes.
When all layers have cooled completely, put one layer of chocolate cake on the bottom. Using a cake lifter, slide under cheesecake and transfer on top of bottom cake layer. Then, put second layer of cake on top of cheesecake layer. Cover with icing and store in refrigerator in airtight container. Set for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.
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