Sprinkle Bakes’ Birthday Cheesecake

Manageability – Shit-show

Everybody loves cheesecake, right? It’s light, it’s sweet and creamy, and there’s even a whole factory dedicated to them. Thank you, industrial revolution.

But not everybody makes cheesecake, and now I know why. The recipe for Sprinkle Bakes’ birthday cheesecake is relatively simple, but you need some very specific tools that I don’t have. I still don’t own frosting shaping knives. I don’t have the right size spring-form pan. And I certainly don’t have three of the right size spring-form pans. I had to freeze each layer at a time, so that took all night, and don’t forget to cut circles out of the parchment paper. I had to use the 9″ pan I had, so I doubled the recipe to ensure that there were actual layers. Hooray.

Also, the recipe calls for the cream cheese to be “softened but still cold”, which – who knows what that means. I thought I hit that happy medium, but my cake batter turned out lumpy, so apparently I was wrong. I would do it just fully room temp.

This cake is rich and creamy, with a delicious sugary frosting. But needless to say, making it became kindof a shit-show. God bless all those factory workers out there.

Special equipment: Three 6-inch spring-form pans lined with parchment paper

Ingredients

Graham crust:

• 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 4 tbsp butter, melted

Vanilla bean cheesecake batter:

• 1 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 10 oz. cream cheese softened but still cold
• 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract can be used)
• 1 tsp powdered gelatin
• 1 tbsp cold water

Vanilla bean buttercream:

• 1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
• 2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar – the finest you can find (usually 10x)
• 2 tsp. vanilla bean paste
• Confetti sprinkles
• Milk or heavy cream, optional

Directions

1. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour in melted butter and stir until mixture resembles wet sand. 
2. Press crust into the bottom of one of the lined spring-form pans. Set aside.
3. Whip heavy cream in a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment.  When mixture begins to thicken, gradually add the sugar. Whip to stiff peaks then switch to the paddle attachment. Add in cream cheese a little at a time until well incorporated.  Beat in vanilla.
4. Sprinkle powdered gelatin over the cold water in a small microwaveable bowl. Wait 3-5 minutes until gelatin is absorbed.  Microwave mixture for 7-10 seconds, or until gelatin is completely melted.  Let cool slightly. Fold liquid gelatin mixture into the cheesecake batter.
5. Divide cheesecake batter evenly into three bowls. Fold food coloring into the batters creating a blue, yellow and pink batter.  Pour the blue batter over crust.  Pour the yellow batter in a 6-inch pan and shake to level. Repeat with the pink layer.  Freeze layers solid.  They will be easiest to work with when completely frozen.
6. Remove frozen layers from freezer and press a towel warmed with hot water around the edges of the pan to help release.  Remove the spring-form collars. Transfer blue layer with crust to a cake stand or serving plate. Invert the yellow layer over the blue layer and use a knife to coax the parchment paper off the spring-form base. Peel off parchment.  Repeat with pink layer. Smooth edges with an off-set spatula. Refrigerate cheesecake while you prepare the frosting. I recommend frosting the cake while it’s still frozen/partially frozen.
7. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, mix together the butter and confectioners’ sugar.  Begin mixing on low speed until crumbly, and then increase to high and beat for 3 minutes.
8. Add vanilla bean paste and beat again for another minute until light and fluffy. Beat in food coloring a little at a time until the desired color is achieved. If you find the buttercream is too stiff, you may add milk or heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture is spreading consistency.
9. Frost cheesecake with buttercream using an off-set spatula.  Pipe stars along the top edge of the cake with Wilton star tip #2D, and then pipe an undulating border around the bottom edge using the same tip. 
10. Sprinkle borders with confetti sprinkles. Refrigerate or store in freezer.  Slices are easiest to cut when cheesecake is partially frozen.  Serve slices chilled but not frozen.  Cheesecake batter is very soft at room temperature, so be sure to keep this cake chilled!