This outrageous psychedelic cheesecake is an ode to all the tie-dye of the 1960s. Making the vibrant swirls is much easier to do than it looks; all you need is a wooden skewer — groovy!
| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 10 hr 45 min |
| Active: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (from about 18 whole crackers)
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Pinch fine salt
- Three 11.5-ounce containers whipped cream cheese
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- One 16-ounce container sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- Neon blue, pink and purple food coloring
- Yellow food coloring
- Whipped cream, for serving
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
- For the crust: Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar and salt and press into bottom of a 10-inch springform pan. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely. Wrap up the bottom and sides of pan with a large piece of foil and put in a large roasting pan.
- For the filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar, in a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the sour cream and mix until just combined. Add the heavy cream and mix until just combined. Mix in the eggs, by hand, 1 at time. Then mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, by hand as well, until just combined. (Overmixing can turn your cheesecake into a souffle.)
- Using a ladle, divide the cheesecake batter into 4 separate bowls. Dye each a separate color; blue, pink, purple and yellow. Add enough food coloring so that the colors are very vibrant and intense.
- Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the crust, alternating the colors, until all the batter has been scooped. Use a wooden skewer and drag it through the colors to marble them for tie-dye effect, making sure the skewer reaches down to the bottom of the pan. Transfer the pan to the roasting pan. Add enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan.
- Bake until the outside of the cake is set and the center is still slightly loose, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan to a cooling rack. Run a knife around the edge and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours.
- Unmold the cheesecake and transfer to a serving plate or cake stand. Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream.
Reviews
This recipe is so good! My family is very peticular on their cheesecake and this recipe is very creamy and rich. I am need this to red and blue, so I could do a red/white/blue version for the holidays. Worth a try!