recipe roulette.. neopolitan cheesecake

 

recipe roulette is going to be a new feature at my kaotic kitchen.. you see my grandma had/ i now have hundreds, if not thousands, of recipes she collected over the course of her 90+ year life.. at one point she even owned a restaurant.. when i say she had a lot of recipes i am not kidding around.. so rather than those recipes sitting there staring at me wondering why they are being neglected i have decided at least once a month, maybe more, i will close my eyes and pull out, point at or pick a recipe at random.. and make it as is... no changes!!! then i might revamp it to a more modern recipe {like i totally intended on doing with this one} or might not.. {like i totally decided not to do on this one.. this one was perfection on a plate and should not be changed in any way!!} today's recipe is C R A Z Y!! i used like 5 mixing bowls, 3 pots, more spoons and spatulas i can count and it took me like 3 hours.. {not something i suggest the morning before your about to have a dinner party for 13 guests.. like i did} but if you have a free sunday afternoon or your going to a pot luck and you want to bring, what will surely turn out to be the most amazing dessert ever, then i suggest this recipe here..

  

the name is misleading.. it's called neopolitan cheesecake.. so when my grandma told we were going to make it for the first time back in probably around 1978, i was not thrilled.. i can't stand, hate with a passion, won't eat, can't eat cause allergic but still hate, anything STRAWBERRY!! i know can you believe it.. but yes it's true i hate that little red "pretty" berry.. so when, my grandma knowing this, said we were going to make it, i was surprised, but much to my delight it had no strawberry.. but it did have 2 of my favorite things in the world.. chocolate and cheesecake!!

 

the addition of after dinner mints i thought was weird at first... but once you taste it you will realize it all goes perfectly well together.. 



it's supposed to look different.. i messed up.. *hanging head in shame* i doubled the recipe and dumbo me forgot to double the size of the casserole dish or use 2 which is what i should have done.. {actually there was no need at all to double the recipe, it's so rich and lovely that a small piece is all that is needed} it's supposed to have the yummy shortbread crust with a thick layer of chocolate and then a thick creamy white layer of the cheesecake and mine didn't do that because it spilled, drizzled, sloshed all over the edges of the casserole dish.. but even though it made a mess it didn't change the taste just didn't look as pretty!!

i screwed up my "meringue" also.. but it turned out just peachy keen.. jake and sam showed up while i was making this and well jake is kind of loud.. messes with stuff.. very distracting sometimes and i dumped my egg whites and sugar at the same time into the mixing bowl, rather than whipping the egg whites first then gradually adding the sugar.. it all worked out, but that was one of many things i did wrong with this recipe, yet it turned out just fine.. i am warning you the recipe is daunting.. it's long.. it's time consuming.. it's complicated.. it's heavenly.. it's like eating a cloud.. it's amazing and well it's worth it.. please make it!! if you love chocolate.. if you love cheesecake.. you will love this.. {weird story.. pete had to go 5 different stores to find the after dinner mints.. not sure why but no one had them.. weird.. :/ }

neopolitan cheesecake

prep time: 2 hours
cooking time: 30 minutes
servings: 10-12

ingredients:

crust:

1 cup ap flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup coarsely chopped after dinner mints
1/2 cup butter

neopolitan filling:

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3/4 cup milk
2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 package of cream cheese{8 oz}

2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces, melted {i used chocolate chips}
2 tblsp. crushed after dinner mints

directions:

crust:

pre heat your oven to 400 degrees {f}.. in a small mixing bowl combine flour, candy and vanilla.. cut in butter and use low speed to combine until mixture is crumbly.. press into a greased {i used pam}9 inch casserole dish.. press down to make sure it's all smooth and even.. bake for 12-15 minutes or until lightly brown..

neoplitan filling:

in a sauce pan, combine 1/3 cup sugar, salt and gelatin.. add milk and slightly beaten egg yolks.. cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a boil... remove from heat.. add cream cheese and allow to soften.. with a rotary beater beat until smooth.. cool until slightly thick.. in a small mixing bowl combine eggs whites and vanilla.. beat on high until foamy.. add sugar gradually continuing to beat until stiff, glossy peaks form.. fold into gelatin mixture..  in a small mixing bowl, beat whipping cream until thick.. Fold into gelatin mixture also.. Divide the gelatin mixture in half.. {at some point you need to melt your chocolate, i melted it over low heat in a small pot, until creamy} pour your melted chocolate into one portion of the divided mixture.. spoon onto baked crust.. spoon vanilla filling over chocolate {mine kinda mixed into each other rather than forming 2 separate layers} sprinkle with crushed after dinner mints.. chill for at least 2 hours before serving..
it's amazing.. it really is.. i really really want you to try.. if you do let me know how yours turns out.. or any changes you make to it..

enjoy and get cook'n!!