I wish that I could say that I have spent the past two months lounging by the pool, tanning, and drinking pina coladas. Summer isn't only fun and games like it was once upon a childhood. Summer has come to embody so much more: jobs, internships, family, friends, and all those activities that just sound so enticing. Who doesn't want to spend the day in the park barbecuing with friends? Who doesn't want to go to the beach and fly a kite? Go swimming? Go dancing? The activities are endless. I find the solution is all about time management. Time management is a delicate balancing act. Work. Family. Fun. Friends. Cooking. Blog.
Well, I'll be the first to admit that I have yet to perfect this method. Although I've been cooking, I have been falling especially behind in the latter. While I was in New York, I found myself craving cooking a cheesecake that my mother used to cook when I was a child: Pina Colada Cheesecake. This recipe was once an award winner at the LA County Fair circa 1990-something and I promise you it has not gone out of style. Ask my friend, Adriana, who, after her first bite, became of a born-again cheesecake lover. (She "hated cheesecake [her] entire life." If that's not a good review, I don't know what is...)
Pina Colada Cheesecake
Cake Batter:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup toasted shredded coconut, chopped fine
3 tbsp sugar
1/3 butter, melted
1 16-oz can crushed pineapple in heavy syrup
5 8-oz packages cream cheese
1.5 cups sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
Grated peel of 1 lemon
1/2 cup canned cream of coconut
1/3 cup dark rum
Pineapple Topping:
1 tbsp arrowroot
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup shredded coconut
~Cover the outside of the spring-form pan with aluminum foil. Combine graham cracker crumbs, finely chopped coconut, and sugar. Stir in melted butter until all ingredients are moistened. Using your hands, spread the crumbs evenly across the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan and then half-way up the sides. Set aside.
~Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a roasting pan with 1/2 inch water and place into the oven.
~For the cake batter, drain pineapple, saving the juice in a separate bowl. Set aside the juice.
~Beat cream cheese and sugar in mixing bowl until light and fluffy (about 10 minutes). Use an e electric mixer. Beat in cornstarch. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, until well blended. Beat in lemon peel, cream of coconut and rum. Stir in half of the drained pineapple. Save the other half for the topping. Pour the mixture into the crust.
~Place the cake pan into the pan of hot water and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes.
~To ensure that it is done, insert a toothpick into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, then you know it's done. Cool to room temperature.
Pineapple Topping
-Blend together the reserved pineapple juice and arrowroot in a medium saucepan until smooth. Stir in reserved crushed pineapple, sugar, and rum.
-Heat it to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil and stir until the liquid becomes clear and thickened. Let cool to warm.
~Pour the pineapple topping onto the cooled cake. Then lightly toast the coconut and pecans and spread over the cake and pineapple topping. SERVE. ENJOY. EAT.
The most important thing to take away from the recipe is the way in which you bake the cheesecake. By filling a pan with water (and wrapping the spring-form pan in aluminum foil), it allows the heat to bake the cake evenly. There is no other way to describe it other than decadent. Enjoy the summer. And enjoy that cake.
Feel free to live your life decadently. It's the summer and you deserve it. Live Well. Eat Well.
