The time has come for me to start trying out new cheesecake flavors for my Christmas gifting. Inspired by all the booze themed baking books that are out this year I thought I’d try my hand at some cocktail inspired cheesecakes. For reasons inexplicable to me, I started with the mojito. I’m not actually a huge fan of mojitos, but I thought I would be in cheesecake form (I can be a fan of just about anything in cheesecake form!).
Please note: I like DENSE cheesecakes. No fluffy-Cheesecake-Factory type cheesecakes. They need to be solid and creamy and tasty and all together delectable. Also, all my test recipes will be in 6″ pans so that 1) I don’t get sick of trying cheesecake (as if that could happen…) 2) it doesn’t cost as much 3) I won’t get fat and 4) it’s a better size for gifting. Any recipes that are posted can be tripled to fit the standard 10″ pan.
The base of all my cheesecakes is the cheesecake recipe from Creme de Colorado. You can make any flavor with just a few tweaks to that recipe. It’s perfection.
So onto the Mojito!
First, I wanted to change up the crust. Usually I do the standard box of crushed Vanilla wafers and butter (though sometimes I get crazy and use chocolate cookies, peanut butter cookies or for one unfortunate cake…graham crackers). The taste is delicious but quite strong. I wanted something more mild for this cake and decided on Rose Levy’s Shortbread Base (You don’t know Rose Levy? She’s a baking goddess). If you Google the recipe you can find it. The shortbread base recipe makes the perfect amount for a 6″ cheesecake base with a few little cookies on the side. I baked it right in the cheesecake springform pan.
Second, I wanted to try a layered cake so there was a nice thick layer of a rum-lime cheesecake topped with a thin layer of mint cheesecake. I tried to be all fancy and made an infused mint simple syrup for the top layer. It smelled delicious and tasted delicious on it’s own, but in the cheesecake batter it kind of lost the taste.
Third, for the lime layer I used a rum extract and a few tablespoons of RealLime (I always forget to buy the real thing for zest). Then I remembered… last winter I tried to make a hot buttered rum cheesecake and it ended up tasting like EGGNOG. I never knew why. Figured it out this time though! My rum extract smells exactly like eggnog. I tried a few more tablespoons of lime juice to cover the taste, but knew this was a deal breaker.
Fourth, threw it in the oven. Baked for almost 2 hours and let it chill overnight.
Voila! It’s so pretty!
I had it for breakfast. I love cheesecake for breakfast. Yum.
VERDICT:
Little Brothers (age 10 and 13) were up for the week and they say: PASS. But, they like any of my cheesecakes and generally anything sweet.
Husband and Brother-In-Law: FAIL! They said it tasted overwhelming like rum and smelled like rum and they hate rum. A. is a garbage disposal (I say that affectionately) so if he won’t like it there is definitely something wrong with it!
Me: I’m going with FAIL. I still plan on eating all of it (if my little bros don’t polish it off before I finish this post) but it didn’t remind me of the mojito I drank last night…very disappointing.
OFFICIAL CHEESECAKE BREAKDOWN:
Crust: 10/10. Love this crust. Will definitely make it again. It stayed attached to the cheesecake when cut and didn’t get soggy when baking. This was NOT a fail.
Flavors: Next time I’m going to use mint extract, lime zest and real rum. I should have known to never skip on the rum!
Consistency: Smooth and creamy just how I like it!
Never fear though… I will be trying this one again on my quest for the perfect Mojito Cheesecake.
Next week I’m going to re-tackle my Girl Scout Caramel DeLite (Samoa’s for anyone who doesn’t live in Upstate NY) cheesecake. I almost had it perfect last year and I want to add it to my cheesecake list this year!
CurryKay 
