Baked Plain Cheesecake—Prototype 6:
 
Okay, I wanted to know at this point if my lower-fat cheesecakes tasted too inferior (if at all) compared to their more traditional, "full-fat" counterparts. So Prototype 6 was a "bite the bullet" test (yikes!). I could not recall ever using regular cream cheese, with its full amount of fat, in any of my experimental recipes beforehand. But I proceeded with this unusual prototype and reasoned that if the "fattening" taste was still similar enough to my lower-fat attempts, maybe the changes that I needed to do for a more exciting taste were dependent upon other ingredients used, or even upon preparation methods (e.g., baking).
 
Repeat Prototype 5, but replace the yogurt cheese with regular ("full fat") cream cheese (both crust and batter). Bake the same way as well (i.e., 300 degrees, about 85 minutes, with a 9 1/2" pan and a tub).
 
I used the Cabot brand (instead of Philadelphia) for the cream cheese, because it was on sale at a decent price. I also felt that this Vermont-based brand had an excellent reputation.

After 85 minutes of baking time, I took this cheesecake out, and its appearance gave me the impression that maybe I cooked it too long (it was not burnt—it just looked somewhat too dry). When I prepared the crust earlier, the mixture took on a thick, cement-like texture immediately after I blended in the Bran Buds. That was because the cream cheese mixture, before the Bran Buds addition, was already thick—compared to its cottage cheese counterpart (from what I best recall, it was even thicker than the yogurt cheese version). So, reasoning that cream cheese itself was much thicker than cottage cheese (and thicker than yogurt cheese as well), I ended up suspecting that the cream cheese prototype could have been baked for a lesser amount of time.

I smelled an aroma that easily had a noticeable cheese presence (especially as I took the cheesecake out of the oven). However, when I finally tasted this "full-fat" cream cheese prototype after hours of refrigeration, the batter's flavor—to my surprise—hardly seemed to be any more exciting than its Prototype 5 counterpart. In fact, the taste of this cream cheese cake (at least its batter) greatly reminded me of that yogurt cheese version. While my nose may have exclaimed "Cheese!" earlier, my tongue responded "Uh, not quite...not all that much so" (were my taste buds perhaps getting too old?).

So on a positive note, I reasoned that my earlier, healthier versions had a taste that, very hopefully, were hardly inferior to their fatter counterpart after all. On the other hand, if I still wasn't all that enthusiastic about the taste, even despite the higher fat, what else could I do to liven up the flavor more? I ended up considering that perhaps some more sweetness needed to be added. I also thought about sticking with the cottage cheese. Another option was giving the yogurt another try, but with less baking time. Other ideas: reduce eggs and/or arrowroot.

Although I reasoned that there was no significant difference in the taste, I felt that the texture was firmer for this cream cheese version, compared to its healthier counterparts.

I made Prototype 6 for a car wash event at Living Hope Church (whatever was left over was served after church services the next day), which was a fundraising event to help send kids to a camp associated with this church.
 

Back to my bushy homepage