Type what you have

Ingredients

• ✓ pink gel food coloring
• strawberry
• bittersweet chocolate
• semisweet chocolate
• heavy cream
• lemon juice
• lemon zest
• vanilla extract
• egg yolk
• egg
• all-purpose flour
• granulated sugar
• cream cheese
• strawberry
• granulated sugar
• butter
• chocolate wafer cookie
• cooking spray

Instructions

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Wrap outside of a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch springform pan with a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil.
2. 2 Stir together cookies, melted butter, and granulated sugar in a bowl. Press onto bottom and 1-inch up sides of prepared pan.
3. 3 Bake in the preheated oven until crust is set, 7 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; cool completely, 30 minutes.
4. 4 Preheat the oven again to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
5. 5 Process chopped strawberries in a food processor until completely smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides as needed. Set strawberry puree aside.
6. 6 Beat cream cheese with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, 2 to 3 minutes. Gradually add sugar and flour, beating until smooth, about 1 minute. Add whole eggs, 1 at a time, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition (do not overbeat). Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.
7. 7 Beat in reserved strawberry puree, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice on low speed just until combined. Gently stir in food coloring gel until desired shade is reached.
8. 8 Pour batter into the prepared pan (pan will be full). Place cheesecake in a large roasting pan. Place roasting pan with cheesecake in preheated oven and pour very hot water into roasting pan half-way up sides of cheesecake.
9. 9 Bake in the preheated oven until center is almost set but still wobbly, 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Turn oven off, and let cheesecake stand in oven, with door closed, 15 minutes.
10. 10 Remove cheesecake from oven, and gently run a knife around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. (Do not remove sides of pan.) Cool completely in pan on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Cover with aluminum foil; chill 8 to 24 hours.
11. 11 Prepare Chocolate Ganache Topping: Bring cream to a light simmer in a small saucepan over medium. Place chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Pour hot cream over chocolate in bowl and let stand 1 minute. Whisk chocolate mixture until completely smooth. Let mixture cool until very slightly warm, whisking occasionally, about 20 minutes.
12. 12 Assemble Cheesecake: Dip a few whole strawberries in ganache and chill until ready to top cheesecake. Remove sides of pan from cheesecake and place on a serving platter. Slowly pour ganache over top of cheesecake, spreading to edges with a small offset spatula. Chill for 1 hour.
13. 13 Top cheesecake with whole and halved strawberries and chocolate-dipped strawberries.

By Pam Lolley

Ingredients

• ✓ pink gel food coloring
• ✓ pink gel food coloring
• candy sprinkle
• candy
• salt
• vanilla extract
• heavy cream
• confectioners sugar
• cream cheese
• butter
• purple gel food coloring
• blue gel food coloring
• green gel food coloring
• buttermilk
• vanilla extract
• egg
• white sugar
• butter
• baking soda
• baking powder
• salt
• all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and lightly flour 4 (9-inch) cake pans.
2. 2 Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. 3 Beat butter in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in sugar on high speed, scraping the bowl with a spatula as needed, until fully incorporated, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-high; beat in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
4. 4 Mix flour mixture into creamed mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk, until batter is smooth and slightly thick.
5. 5 Divide batter evenly among 4 bowls. Tint each portion of batter with green, blue, purple, or pink food coloring; stir until smooth. Pour batter into the prepared cake pans.
6. 6 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of cakes comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Place the pans onto wire racks to cool completely, about 25 minutes.
7. 7 Make frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer fitted with a clean paddle attachment until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add confectioners' sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla; beat on low speed for 30 to 60 seconds. Increase speed to high and beat frosting until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Mix in salt.
8. 8 Cut a 4-inch circle out of the center of 2 cake layers using a round cookie cutter.
9. 9 Place one of the intact cake layers on a cake stand or serving plate. Use an offset spatula or butter knife to spread frosting over cake layer. Position one of the cake rings on top. Spread frosting over the top and inside the circle. Repeat with second cake ring. Fill the hole with candies and sprinkles. Place remaining intact cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides of entire cake.
10. 10 Tint any remaining frosting with pink food coloring and pipe decoratively over cake.
11. 11 Cut cake into slices; spoon any candies that spill out over the slices.

By Sally's Baking Addiction