"Do you make Red Velvet Cheesecakes?" M. Ansel

"Nope - but I will put it on my todo list on things to figure out" - Gourmet Diva

"It's always a hit at parties"

She was right!!! This is the first time that I didn't get any pictures of the cake, everyone ate the cake before I got to it

To illustrate how to make this cake, I'm borrowing pictures from the Domestic Goddess's blog. (giving credit where credit is due).

The Red Velvet Cheesecake that I heard about was from the Cheesecake Factory. I never had one so I was imagining how it would taste. Looking at a picture the Red Velvet cake it was a multi layers cake with cheesecake in between. I could have simply made a red velvet cake and put a regular cheesecake in between, but I could imagine its probably more to it than that.

I looked up recipes for a red velvet cheesecake and it was not what I was looking for. They had a red velvet cake at the bottom and a cheesecake on top with some sour cream looking frosting.

I finally came across this recipe for a "Red Velvet Cheesecake, it was made with a Red Velvet cake and a White Chocolate Cheesecake. I think we found a winner.

After reading her blog I had the same concerns about making the cake, all the parts had to talk to each other I didn't want it to be overly sweet or the cream cheese frosting to dominate the cake.

I brought the cake to a family gathering and everyone enjoyed it, even those who didn't like red velvet cakes or cheesecakes.

Give it a try! If not don't worry, this one will be on the Gourmet Diva menu

Original Post from:
Red Velvet White Chocolate Cheesecake
Judy In Her Natural Habitat: The Kitchen

Red Velvet Cake
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 tsp red gel-paste food color (or 1 oz. liquid red food coloring)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp distilled white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.

With an electric mixer on med-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Mix in food color and vanilla.

Reduce speed to low. add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisk well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam), add mixture to the batter and mix on medium speed for 10 seconds.

Line two 9 inch spring form pans with parchment paper. Divide the batter equally between the two pans. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Transfer pans to a wire rack. Allow to cool before removing the cake from the pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the cheesecake.


White Chocolate Cheesecake
Adapted from the Williams Sonoma Baking Cookbook

2 oz white chocolate, chopped
16 oz cream cheese, at room temperature ( 2 packages)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp sugar
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Melt the white chocolate and set aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, using an electronic mixer, mix the cream cheese on low speed until creamy. add the sugar and mix slowly until smooth. on low speed, mix in the flour. turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl and beater with a rubber spatula. Add one egg at a time and mix until smooth. scrape down again. mix in the vanilla and cream until the mixture is smooth. Using a large spoon, stir in the melted white chocolate until incorporated.

Pour the batter into a parchment paper lined 9 inch spring form pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center is set when you shake the pan slightly. Allow to cool before removing from the spring form pan. Allow to cool completely before assembling with the red velvet cake.
Cream Cheese Frosting

24 oz cream cheese (3 packages), at room temperature
3 sticks of butter, at room temperature
3 tsp vanilla
3 cups of powdered sugar, plus more to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electronic mixer until well combined. Add more powdered sugar to taste, if a more sweet frosting is preferred. Use immediately to frost the cake.

Assembling the Cake:

Level the two red velvet cakes. If you don't have a cake levler you can use a long serrated knife.

Frost the bottom layer of the cake, place cheesecak on top, frost again, place top layer. Frost entire cake.

After assembling the cake, allow it to rest in the fridge over night, before serving. Serve immediately after taking it out of the fridge.

  Points to perfection:

Red Velvet cake - do not over cook your cake, you want to make sure it

stays moist and not dried out.

Frosting - taste the frosting while your making it, feel free to add more sugar if you like

Frosting the cake - Make a 'crumb coat' with a small amount of frosting thinned with a tiny bit of milk.

Spread the thinned frosting over the cake to trap the crumbs.

Chill the cake for 30 minutes or so after crumb-coating then frost with the remaining frosting.

This should give you a very smooth finished cake. If it still isn't as smooth as you would like, chill it again after frosting with the second coat for about 30 minutes. Then smooth the frosting with a 'hot and dry' frosting spatula (first dipped in very hot water then dried off). Apply the hot dry spatula to the cold frosting and it will smooth out nicely.