LORINDA'S RED VELVET CHEESECAKE CAKE

Last summer, I went to visit my sister in Chicago and I tried the Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake at the Cheesecake Factory and it was so awesome.  We all fell in love with that cake so I came home and decided I would try to create my version of the cake so take a look. 

CHEESECAKE

20 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 Cup Sugar + 2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Teaspoon Almond Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

2 Large Eggs, at room temperature

1/2 Cup Sour Cream, at room temperature

Set a kettle of water to boil. Make filling: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium until fluffy, scraping down side of bowl. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Beat in the extracts and salt. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down side of bowl after each addition. Beat in the sour cream.

Wrap bottom half of pan in foil. Pour in filling; place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up side of springform. The foil should protect the cheesecake from any seeping water. Bake until just set in center, about 40 minutes. Remove pan from water; let cool 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge; let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate.  (TIP: Place cheesecake in freezer 30 minutes before assembling cake.)

RED VELVET CAKE

1 (18.25-ounce) package German Chocolate Cake Mix 
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1-ounce red food coloring gel
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans generously with Baker's Joy.  (It has the flour and oil mixed in.  It's normally next to the no stick cooking spray. Or grease and flour the pans).  Saturate bake even strips in water and wrap around pans. (TIP: Wilton Bake Even Strips ensure a level cake.* They are available at amazon.com.  Make sure you read the instructions prior to first use). Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix, sour cream, water, oil and eggs on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add vanilla and food coloring gel and beat for 30 more seconds until the food coloring is well incorporated into the cake batter. (TIP: Use the food coloring gel instead of the liquid. It gives a richer color and doesn't alter the flavor of the batter). Divide the batter between the prepared pans.

Bake for 28 to 30 minutes or until cakes test done when a wooden pick inserted in the center of each comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans for 10 minutes on wire racks. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

 

LORINDA'S CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

18 ounces cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup butter, softened
3 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until well mixed. Gradually add in the powdered sugar, until well incorporated and smooth. Add vanilla and almond extracts. If mixture is too thick, add a little milk, 1 tablespoon at a time to obtain a spreadable consistency. Makes 4 cups frosting.

 

ASSEMBLING THE CAKE

I've made this a couple of times now, so there are a few things I've learned that will make assembling this cake, well a piece of cake.

First, place two pieces of parchment paper on your cake plate.  Place one of the layers on the cake plate. (Since you used bake even strips, there's no need to level the cake.) Spread with a very small amount of frosting, just enough to cover the cake in a thin layer and to ensure the cheesecake will stay in place.

Second, get your cheesecake out of the freezer. (I placed mine in the freezer for 30 minutes before assembling. It's really important to do this.  The cheesecake is delicate and needs to be really cold and firm so you have no problems handling it). Open up the springform pan. My cheesecake was still attached to the bottom of the springform pan. This can be pretty scary because you totally don't want your cheesecake to rip apart.  Take one hand to hold it, and gently flip it over onto the red velvet cake layer. Then gently lift off the bottom of the springform pan and peel off the parchment paper. (TIP: I have really good non-stick pans, so I didn't use the parchment paper the second time I made this and it turned out better and came out of the pan easier but that's up to you).


Third, spread another very thin layer of frosting on the top of the cheesecake. Flip the remaining layer of red velvet cake on top of the cheesecake.

Use about a third of the cream cheese frosting to cover the whole cake with a crumb coat. (I didn't do this the first time, I made this and you will see crumbs in the photos. No crumbs the second time around and don't ask me why I didn't take pictures the second time, I don't know. ; )  It really makes a difference so please don't skip this step). You want to frost the cake with just enough frosting to pick up all the crumbs off the cake.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set the frosting.


Finally, frost the cake with the rest of the cream cheese frosting and enjoy!

* The small package of the Wilton Bake Even Strips contains two 1-1/2" wide oven safe strips: both are 30" long for either two 8" round or two 9" round pans.  I personally wish they were a little longer for ease of putting on a 9 inch pan.  If you don't want to purchase these, there are videos on YouTube on how you can create your own bake even strips.