This is an easy and festive way to make a home-baked or store-bought cake your own.
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 10 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | One 9-inch cheesecake |
Ingredients
- 2 cups cinnamon graham cracker crumbs
- 6 to 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Four 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 2 cups sour cream
- Food coloring gel (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet), for decorating
- Edible iridescent glitter, for decorating
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a food processor, blend the crumbs and melted butter until moist, but not wet. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- In a large bowl, using an electric beater, combine the cream cheese, lemon juice, 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and smooth. Slowly mix in the eggs, then pour into the prepared pan. Bake until the center sets, about 55 minutes. Turn off the oven and remove the cake.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the sour cream, remaining 1/4 cup sugar and remaining teaspoon vanilla. Spread this over the top of the cheesecake and return to the warm oven for 30 minutes. Remove, then let cool slightly before removing the side of the springform.
- When the cake is still warm, begin this process. Thinking of the cake as the dial on a clock, add 1 teaspoon food coloring gel as follows: red at 10:30, orange at 11, yellow at 11:30, green at 12, blue at 12:30, violet at 1. Using the back of a knife longer than the cake is wide, gently drag the knife from the top of the clock to the bottom, dispersing the color along the way. (You can also use a pastry brush and thoroughly clean it between each drag.)
- Finish with a dusting of glitter.