Chocolate Cream Pie

Half way through making this cake, I realized I made almost the exact same thing for my sister's boyfriend just a year ago.  This time around, I didn't include the flourless chocolate cake layer and I made an oreo whip cream layer.  This was a lot less labor intensive to make yet just as delicious and rich.

Recipes: Chocolate cookies crust was from Martha's Stewart Pie and Tarts, chocolate pudding was from Baked Explorations, and whipped cream frosting was adapted from Junior's Cheesecake cookbook.

Mississippi Mud Pie

For my sister's boyfriend's birthday, I made a Mississippi Mud Pie to celebrate.  The pie tasted a lot better than it looked.  It was impossible to get a clean slice; I can't imagine how they did it in Baked Explorations.

This cake was quite labor extensive but definitely worth it for the chocolate lover in your life.  It starts with a chocolate cookie crust.  Then a flourless chocolate cake.  Followed by the chocolate pudding.  Finished with whipped cream.  It was a very dense and rich pie.

White Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake

Want to know how to make a cheesecake taste even more rich?  Add white chocolate to your batter!   Inspired by the Starbucks White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha drink, I decided to turn the house favorite Oreo Cheesecake into the perfect holiday treat for our dinner guests this past weekend.

I followed the white chocolate and raspberry swirl cheesecake recipe from Junior's Cheesecake Cookbook but eliminated the raspberry swirl for 8 chopped Trader Joe's Candy Cane Joe-Joes.  Also, the crust was made with the chocolate peppermint cookies.

Chocolate Cookie Crust
A Baked By Jen Original
Makes 1 9-inch crust

15 chocolate peppermint sandwich cookies
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350F.  Place the cookies in a ziploc bag.  Flatten, remove excess air, and seal.  Roll a rolling pin over the bag until you have finely crushed crumbs.  Place crumbs in a bowl and mix in the melted butter.  Press firmly into a 9-in springform pan.  Bake for 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack as you proceed with cheesecake recipe.

Oreo Cheesecake

For my niece's birthday cake, I was inspired by the Oreo Dream Extreme cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory.  I knew I had to incorporate chocolate into her cake, as it was her favorite, but I didn't want it to be just a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.  The creamy cheesecake compliments the richness of all the chocolate components.

Oreo Cookie Crust

Layer of Oreos

Original New York Cheesecake

Chocolate Mousse

Next time, I cannot forget to line the pan with parchment paper.  Because I didn't line the pan, I was afraid that it would just fall apart if I attempted to remove the disk.  Hence, the cake was presented with the disk still attached.  Not a big deal this time around as I attended her party and served the cake myself.