Baked Eggnog Cheesecake—Prototype 12:
 
I have come a long way in my various cheesecake prototypes since Baked Eggnog Cheesecake—Prototype 11! What I have done with the first two baked eggnog-pumpkin combos, as well as Baked Plain Cheesecake—Prototype 4, have led me to update the eggnog-only cheesecake.

There were quite a few changes from the 11th eggnog prototype to the 12th for the batter. The lemon juice went from 1 teaspoon to 3. The rum extract went from 1 teaspoon back to 1 1/2. The cottage cheese was increased from 2 cups to 2 1/2, and the flour—previously all-purpose but now whole white wheat—got upped from 3/4 cup to a full one (in my ongoing quest for firmness). And the nutmeg's teaspoon was cut in half.

Furthermore, whereas I baked Prototype 11 above the tub, I went back to baking in the tub with Prototype 12.

A major change was made in regard to the crust. Many times, I have sought to attain one that would have a decent texture—not too soggy and not too dry—and be truly tasty. I have not always been satisfied with the outcome when trying to match the crust's flavor to its batter counterpart. Eventually, I felt that I had attained my goal for the chocolate flavor. But with other flavors, particularly with eggnog, this has been difficult. From what I best recall, I was fairly happy with the
taste, but not the still-too-soggy texture, of the crust in Baked Plain Cheesecake—Prototype 4. However, due to its hopeful taste, as well as simplification issues, I made a decision to cease pursuit of matching crust flavors (to their batter counterparts) at this point (at least for most non-chocolate flavors, including eggnog) and go instead with a regular crust, similar to that of the plain cheesecake, but with further refinements (particularly reducing the cottage cheese back to 4 ounces) in an effort to get the texture more to my liking.
 
Crust:
1.5 oz. melted, white chocolate
1/2 cup (4 oz.) lowfat cottage cheese, whipped, no salt added
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2.2 oz. Bran Buds, ground up

Batter:
2 tablespoons butter, softened or melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon rum extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (20 oz.) whipped lowfat cottage cheese, no salt added
2 cups of light eggnog
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs

Bake in (not above!) a tub at 300 degrees for about 2 hours, then remove from oven, and let this cheesecake cool off for about 2 hours before removing from pan.

Eggnog Cheesecake—Prototype 12 (made with eggnog by Oakhurst—"The Natural Goodness of Maine")

I used Oakhurst ("The Natural Goodness of Maine") eggnog for this one (which was baked early in the same week commemorating the 10th anniversary of Amtrak's Downeaster, an increasingly-popular train, serving Oakhurst's home state). This cheesecake was a terrific hit at the Sports Page, and I myself was quite pleased with the taste, both the batter and the crust (which itself was not too soggy).
 

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