Happy Thanksgiving to my fellow Canadians out there! It’s not very often that Allan and I are in town for long weekends, but since we’re saving for the wedding, we’ve stayed home more lately and were able to join in on my family’s Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving is also a great time to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives… I’m very grateful for Allan, my family, my friends, my job, and my blog readers (counting to more than 2.6 Million unique visitors!)… thanks for reading

I also got some time to put together dessert for Thanksgiving dinner this year, and decided on a Vancouver-style pumpkin cheesecake recipe and a chocolate cheesecake recipe. Yes, Vancouver does have it’s own style of cheesecake… it’s characterized by very creamy/fluffy cheesecake and no crust. I added crust anyway, but this recipe can be made without crust.

VANCOUVER-STYLE ROASTED PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE AND CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE RECIPE

Makes two small cheesecakes, one pumpkin and one chocolate, enough for about 16 servings in total using 6″ springform pans

Ingredients for the Vancouver-Style Cheesecake:
725 ml cream cheese, at room temperature (very soft)… about 3 packages
185 ml ricotta cheese, at room temperature… about 1/2 a cup plus 1/4 cup
375 ml whipping cream
8 large eggs
1 cup of sugar
A small squeeze of lemon juice
1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped for seeds
5 ml pure vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Pumpkin Filling and Crust:
1 sugar pumpkin (the small ones)
1/2 teaspoon of good quality cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup of ginger snaps crumps
1/8 cup of toffee, broken into very small pieces
1/4 cup of butter

Ingredients for the Chocolate Filling and Crust:
1 cup of melted good quality dark chocolate (about 1.5 cups of dark chocolate broken into pieces)
1 cup of Oreo or Chocolate Wafer crumbs
1/8 cup of toffee, broken into very small pieces
1/8 cup of chocolate hazelnut, broken into very small pieces
1/4 cup of butter
Optional: Frozen or fresh strawberries plus sugar, cooked over low heat for a yummy strawberry topping!

1. Wash the pumpkin, then halve it, scrape out the seeds, cut into small pieces and place flesh side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour or until soft.
2. Scrape the soft flesh off the pumpkin and puree in a food processor or blender until very very smooth.
3. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Mix the crumbs for each cheesecake respectively with the butter and press down into a parchment paper-lined 6″ springform pan. Graham crackers/toffee/ginger snaps for the pumpkin, and Oreo or Chocolate Wafers/Toffee/Hazelnut for the chocolate cheesecake.

5. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and stir until completed melted and you have about 1 cup of melted chocolate. Let cool and stir occasionally.

6. Beat the cream cheese and ricotta together until very smooth.
7. Beat in the sugar and vanilla bean and extract.
8. Split the creamy mixture into two different bowls.
9. Mix in all the pumpkin puree into one of the bowls and beat until very smooth. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves and mix well.
10. Beat in the 4 eggs until fluffy, and then half the whipping cream until light and smooth. Add a squeeze of lemon.
11. Pour pumpkin cheesecake mixture into graham cracker crust pan. Do not fill to top of pan, leave at least an inch of space.
12. Now start on the chocolate cheesecake. Pour the melted chocolate into the other creamy mixture bowl and mix well.
13. Beat in the 4 eggs until fluffy, and then the other half of the whipping cream until light and smooth. Add a squeeze of lemon.
14. Pour the chocolate cheesecake mixture into the chocolate crust pan. Do not fill to top of pan, leave at least an inch of space.
15. Bake both cheesecakes in the oven for about 30 minutes until the outsides are lightly browned but the middle of the cheesecake is still very jiggly. Do not overcook.

You can make the strawberry sauce or chocolate decorations while the cheesecake is baking.

16. Let cool and then refrigerate overnight or for at least 4 hours!

17. Serve with whipping cream for the pumpkin cheesecake and strawberry sauce for the chocolate! Yum!

All in all a fantastic Thanksgiving and we really enjoyed the turkey that my cousin made (my parents got a nice break from cooking). A great weekend!

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? What are you grateful for?

It’s been a while since I’ve made a post on the food/dessert I’ve been cooking and making… and I’ve been re-inspired by one of my new friends, Amy, and a long-time uni friend, Sandy… both of whom have been cooking up some delicious concoctions on their blogs. If you’ve missed my other food posts and recipes, just click here to go back and read them!

When I was younger, I looked forward to birthdays and special occasions almost solely because of my mom’s tiramisu. Now — this is no normal tiramisu. For those of you hardcore tiramisu lovers who are into the traditional dessert, this is not for you. However, if you’re like me… and you love cheesecake, but you also kinda like tiramisu… this is the recipe for you.

It’s fluffy, rich, cheesy, not-to-sweet, and yes, chocolatey with coffee aromas and flavours. And of course a little booze thrown in for good measure. This is my mom’s secret recipe… she’s been making it for ages, and I’ve gotten her to cough it up a few years ago and have been making it every few months since then. I’ve changed it up a bit by adding more vanilla and different liqueurs.

Mom’s Secret Delicious Best Tiramisu Cheesecake Recipe

2 8-oz packages light/fat free sour cream
2 8-oz packages cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar (I like to put in half of this because I don’t like it too sweet)
3 Tablespoons milk
1-3 teaspoons vanilla (to taste)
1/2 cup strong coffee (preferably freshly brewed, or you can get it from Starbucks or Timmy’s)
2 Tbsp Kahlua
1 Tbsp coffee liqueur (optional, such as Van Gogh Espresso)
1 Tbsp creme de cacao/chocolate liqueur (optional!)
3 boxes of ladyfingers (biscuits, you can find these at Whole Foods or an Italian bakery… some grocery stores carry these, usually in the cookie aisle)
Semi-sweet or bittersweet good quality dark chocolate for shaving

1. Combine the sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, milk, and one teaspoon of vanilla in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on high until smooth and airy. Taste the mixture to make sure you like it. Adjust sweetness accordingly.

2. Combine the coffee, Kahlua, coffee/chocolate liqueurs (optional), and 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla (to taste) in a small cup. Have a tiny taste and adjust accordingly. Add more coffee and coffee liqueur if you like more of a coffee flavour. Add more vanilla and chocolate liqueur if you like more of a sweet chocolately flavour.

3. If you have large lady fingers, split them in half. If you have small ones, then simply shave off the non-sugared side with a knife. Layer these in a dish cut-side up. Use a pastry brush or just spoon the coffee mixture on to the ladyfingers.

4. Smooth a third of the cream cheese mixture on top of the ladyfingers, and flatten.

5. Keep repeating until gone, layering the ladyfingers, brushing with coffee mixture, and layering the cream cheese mixture. Typically I end up with three layers of ladyfingers and 3 layers of cream cheese, with the cream cheese mixture at the very top.

6. Using a grater or similar tool, shave the chocolate over generously to cover. Cover with saran wrap, and make sure you refrigerate for at least 12 hours, preferably 24 hours.

ENJOY!