Birthday Cake Oreo White Chocolate Cheesecake

Last Thursday was my (and my twin sister Genevieve's!) birthday and I had a fantastic day being spoiled by my fiance, who took me to my first NHL playoff game that evening, which was really exciting even though the end result of the game didn't turn out quite how we'd hoped!

On the weekend I celebrated with my family, which meant that I got to choose a birthday dinner, but I made my own cake as usual because I look forward to it every year!  For dinner, my parents made a somewhat Mexican-themed meal with sangria, chips and guacamole, and caramelized pineapple and chicken quesadillas with a strawberry salsa - it was all amazing!

And for dessert, I made this festive birthday cake Oreo white chocolate cheesecake! 

As I mentioned in my last post, I'm not a huge fan of the typical white birthday cake with super sweet frosting, but cheesecake is a different story - I love any and every kind of cheesecake!

My older sister had just brought back birthday cake flavoured Oreos for us from her trip to the US, so I decided to incorporate them into a birthday cheesecake!  I don't think I've seen these Oreos anywhere in Canada but I could be wrong - if someone knows if they're available, let me know!  If you can't find them, you can still make this with regular Oreos, it just won't smell as much like birthday cake :)   I didn't have quite enough birthday Oreos to use throughout the cake by the time I got around to grabbing the package, so I just used half regular Oreos which worked fine!

This cheesecake has an Oreo crust, with the birthday cake Oreos chopped up and mixed throughout the cheesecake batter, along with some sprinkles (necessary for anything birthday themed, of course) and melted white chocolate chips to enhance the sweet birthday cake flavour. 

I also made a quick buttercream frosting, which I don't particularly like but in this case I needed it to stick some Oreos on top for decoration.  I mixed in some sprinkles and Oreo crumbs to the frosting which ended up turning the frosting into a somewhat unappealing grey colour, so if you want to avoid my mistake just leave the Oreos out of the frosting, there's plenty of Oreos elsewhere in the cake anyway!

I have a tendency to overbake my cheesecakes because I'm always paranoid about them not being cooked all the way through and haven't quite mastered the art of knowing when a cheesecake is done yet, so as you can see mine was a tad overdone, but everyone still loved it! 

I loved how festive it looked, and it smelled and tasted just like a birthday cake but with the creamy texture of cheesecake - like a grown-up version of a kid's birthday cake to help make this getting older business a lot easier :) 

Birthday Cake Oreo White Chocolate Cheesecake

Note: Recipe adapted from this Philly Oreo cheesecake recipe and this white chocolate raspberry cheesecake recipe

Makes one 9” cheesecake; serves around 12

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

16 Oreos – I used regular Oreos for the crust

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:

2 cups white chocolate chips

1/2 cup half-and-half cream

3 (250g or 8oz) bricks of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

14 ‘Birthday Cake’ Oreos, chopped (I chopped each one into about 6 pieces)

2 tablespoons sprinkles

For the Topping (Optional):

1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup icing sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons milk

6-8 Oreos

Sprinkles

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Crush the 16 Oreos for the crust in a food processor or blender until they form crumbs.  Stir in melted butter with a fork and mix until combined, then transfer Oreo mixture to a 9” springform pan, and press evenly to cover the bottom in a thin layer.

In a metal bowl placed over a small saucepan of simmering water on the stovetop, melt white chocolate chips and half-and-half, stirring occasionally until melted and smooth.  Remove from heat.

In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, 2-3 minutes.  Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.  Add vanilla extracte and melted white chocolate mixture and beat just until smooth.  Gently fold in the chopped Oreos and sprinkles with a flexible spatula.  Pour batter over prepared crust and gently tap the pan against the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. 

Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes, until center is almost set.  My cheesecake had some butter drip out the bottom of the pan, which is an issue with my pan, but in case you have the same issue, be sure to place a baking sheet on the rack below the cheesecake to catch any drippings.  You could also use a water bath if you prefer to bake your cheesecakes that way.  Once done, I turn off the oven and let my cheesecake cool in there for about 10-20 minutes or more, then remove transfer it to a wire rack.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake so it doesn’t crack as it cools.  Let cool at room temperature for at least an hour, then refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

If you wish to decorate the cheesecake as I did, you can prepare a simple buttercream frosting to stick Oreos on to the top of the cake.  To make buttercream, beat 1/4 cup butter for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.  Add 3/4 cup icing sugar slowly and mix on low speed until incorporated.  Mix in 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and 1 to 2 teaspoons milk until smooth.  If the frosting's too thin you can add more icing sugar; if it’s too thick you can add more milk.  I also stirred in 2 teaspoons of sprinkles and 1 crushed Oreo but this can alter the colour of the frosting (mine came out kind of grey) so I might recommend leaving those out and just adding sprinkles on top, or at least just leaving out the Oreos.  Pipe buttercream onto spots of the cake where you want to attach Oreos and stick Oreos into the frosting (see pictures). Keep cake refrigerated until ready to serve.

Mini Baked Peppermint Mocha Doughnuts

First I made cheesecake bars, then there were shortbread cookies, and now here I am with another peppermint holiday dessert, this time doughnuts! For those of you who hate peppermint, I promise this is the last one (at least for a little while)!

These go a step further than basic peppermint by adding chocolate and coffee flavours to resemble one of my favourite Starbucks’ holiday drinks, the peppermint mocha. (Although I’ve since discovered white peppermint mocha frappucinos and that is now my new favourite drink – try it!)

Though I don’t often make doughnuts because they’re better eaten fresh and I don’t usually have a big group of people to feed fresh doughnuts to, I do love them because they’re so cute and easy to eat, plus they’re a little better for you than their full-sized, fried counterpart.

These little guys have a coffee chocolate base covered in a peppermint white chocolate glaze with a sprinkle of crushed candy canes on top. They’re so festive looking and reminded me a lot of a peppermint mocha!

These had just the right amount of subtle coffee flavour for me, but you could add more coffee or espresso powder if you want a strong coffee taste. Or you could eliminate it and just go with a chocolate base if you don’t like coffee. Similarly, you could eliminate the peppermint extract from the icing if you’re not into minty things – I know some people who tried these weren’t really a fan and I assume it’s because they either don’t like coffee baked goods or minty baked goods or the combination of the two. If you’re not sure if you do, just leave out the coffee and peppermint and you’ll have a chocolate doughnut with a little crunch of candy cane that will be just as good!

In other news, my holiday preparations are in a lot better shape than the last time I wrote – all but one of my gifts I ordered online have now arrived and I’ve finished my shopping for all but two people. I’m sure people who finished their shopping in November would scoff at that, but it’s pretty good for me! I’m also done with school for the semester (though I’ll still have work to do from home over the holidays) and am looking forward to spending lots of time with my family and boyfriend and doing lots of Christmassy activities over the next week!

Mini Baked Peppermint Mocha Doughnuts

Idea inspired by Starbucks’ peppermint mocha; glaze recipe my own; chocolate doughnut recipe adapted from Buns in My Oven

Makes 24 mini doughnuts

Ingredients:

For the Chocolate Coffee Doughnuts:

1 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon instant coffee

1 large egg

1/2 cup buttermilk (or regular milk with a teaspoon of white vinegar added)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

For the White Chocolate Peppermint Glaze:

1/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract - optional for peppermint flavour, but you could leave out and just use the candy canes if you like

1-2 tablespoons milk

Crushed candy canes (about 1/4 cup total)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Lightly spray a mini doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cocoa, salt, and instant coffee.  In a medium bowl, whisk the egg, then whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla, and vegetable oil.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until just incorporated.  Transfer mixture to a ziplock bag, snip off the corner, and squeeze the batter into the doughnut pan, only filling each mold halfway full (they will puff up when baking).  It's a lot easier to fill the molds by squeezing it out of a bag, trust me.

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cooked through and the top springs back when touched.  Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Prepare icing by melting the chocolate chips in a small bowl in the microwave, then stirring in the icing sugar and peppermint extract (if using).  Add 1 tablespoon of milk, stir, and add up to 1 additional tablespoon of milk until desired consistency is reached (I used the full 2 tablespoons, which makes a thin glaze).

Once doughnuts have cooled, dip the top of each doughnut in the icing, then set back on the wire rack, which should be placed over a baking sheet or sheet or parchment paper to catch drippings.  I like to coat each doughnut twice to ensure there is enough glaze.  Only coat a few doughnuts at a time the second time, then sprinkle crushed candy cane over the top while the icing is still wet so it sticks.

These are best served immediately and eaten on the same day, but note that after about half a day, the candy canes may start to melt into the icing.