butterscotch cheesecake

(sitting upon my antique glass plate I picked up at an estate sale last month)

Is there anything as special as cheesecake? It’s perfect for any occasion and people are impressed because they think it’s difficult to make, which it’s not. There is actually not much butterscotch flavor in this, but the addition of the pudding creates a lovely soft texture. The cake is dense and soft all at the same time. I think more chocolate on top (maybe even a glaze or a drizzle) would be nice too. 

I made this for a lunch I hosted for the Eagle Ringers - my student hand bell choir. They came to my home, along with their families, before we performed at a Festival of Choirs at a nearby church. They looked great all dressed up and sounded even better! It never fails to amaze me what young people can do!

  

Here’s what you need:

1 ½ C graham cracker crumbs

½ C + 1/3  C sugar

6 T melted butter

1 3.5 oz. box of butterscotch pudding (regular, not instant)

1 ½ C milk

3 8 ounce packages of cream cheese (my picture above only shows 1 package, but you do need three!) 

3 eggs

1 t vanilla

Chocolate for shaving – the garnish

Here’s what you do:

Step One

Prepare the pudding by mixing it with ½ C sugar and 1 ½ C milk. Stir over low heat until it begins to thicken. Remove from heat and cool completely. You can see in the photo that I rested my sauce pan in an ice bath to cool quickly. Be sure to keep stirring so a skin does not form on the pudding.

Alternatively, you could put the pudding in the fridge with a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface – whatever it takes to avoid the dreaded ‘pudding skin.’

Step Two

Make the crust by mixing the crumbs with 1/3 C sugar and the melted butter. With your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a spring form pan. Try to get the crumbs up quite high on the sides.

Step Three

Mix the cream cheese, the eggs and vanilla very well. You want a completely smooth texture. Add the lovely pudding and continue to mix.

Pour into the prepared crust and bake for about 50 minutes at 375 degrees.

When completely cool, remove sides from the pan and with a vegetable peeler, garnish with dark chocolate. 

You can eat cheesecake for breakfast can't you? I sure can!

Here I am - directing and ringing at the same time!

(printable recipe)