s’mores cheesecake
So much has happened over the past week! So let me fill you in. I recently found out the place I am planning to have my bridesmaids get their dresses from us being acquired and therefore their shops are closing! Ugh. So I ended up making an appointment in NYC last Friday to go with whoever could make it to look and purchase. Of course it was at 3:30pm so kinda inconvenient so only 2 people were able to make it, but I got to see a whole host of my bridesmaids anyway for drinks which was awesome.
I also found out that my BEST FRIEND and maid of honor is moving to Maryland because her husband passed his medical exam! Sooooo excited! Turns out she’ll still be an hour away, basically on the other side of DC from me, but whatever, still better than 4+ hour drive to the town where we grew up! And so in honor of her hubby passing his exam I whipped up this s’mores cheesecake!
This cheesecake turned out amazingly. My preference for cheesecake is a thick crust and a good amount of cheesecake filling, but I like a nice balance of crust and other flavors mixed into each bite. This has everything I want–a solidly delicious cheesecake filling, chocolate chips, chocolate ganache and topped with a small toasty mountain of marshmallows!
Since I don’t have a springform pan, I used an 8″ pie plate, which means that this recipe makes enough extra cheesecake filling for another small cheesecake if you’re so inclined. In the future I’ll refine the recipe to make it more exact for the specific pie plate, but this recipe was so amazing I want to share! And I can’t exactly see why extra cheesecake is a bad thing.
My personal favorite is to chill the cheesecake, put on the chocolate topping and marshmallows and broil the marshmallow top which ends up making the most delicate crust with the perfect crunch. While I prefer my cheesecake cold, I love that the s’mores bit is warm and toasty from the oven.
s’mores cheesecake;
Ingredients
Crust
- 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 5 Tbsp melted butter
Cheesecake*
- *cheesecake filling may make more than required, depending on the size of your pie dish
- 24 oz cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup heavy cream divided
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp corn starch
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 2 cups chocolate chips
Instructions
Crust
- Add parchment paper or grease an 8” pie plate. Set aside a large roasting pan.
- Crush or use a processor to make graham cracker crumbs. In a small bowl, combine crumbs, brown sugar, melted butter, and vanilla.
- Spread crumb mixture into the bottom of the pie plate, pressing down to compact it on the bottom and up the sides.
- Sprinkle a handful of chocolate chips and marshmallows across the crust and set aside
Cheesecake
- With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high until smooth and fluffy, approx. 2-4 minutes. Make sure to scrape the sides.
- Add corn starch, sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla and ½ c. heavy cream and beat until mixed well.
- Pour cheesecake over crust and place the pie plate into a large roasting pan.
- Fill roasting pan halfway up with water and bake for 60 minutes. Once edges are just barely beginning to brown, remove from oven and allow to cool. Chill 1+ hour.
Topping
- Meanwhile, in a small pot add the remaining ¼ c. of heavy cream and heat until just boiled.
- Remove from heat and add chocolate and mix until smooth.
- Allow to cool approx. 30secs – 1 minute, then pour ganache over chilled cheesecake and spread to cover the top.
- While ganache is still warm, add a marshmallows to make a heaping mound on top.
- When ready to serve, broil for 15-30 seconds on high or until marshmallows are browned and toasty.
- Serve warm for toasty marshmallows, or refrigerate and serve cold, but marshmallows may lose some of their crispy fire-roasted shell
