An early Father’s Day present for my husband came in the form of a cheesecake. Testing recipes is an occupational and personal hazard for me (think hips), so I gave this fresh-flavored and ultra-creamy dessert to him as a gift. Being the good husband that he is, I knew he would share it. I could bake a cake and eat it, too. Pretty clever of me, wasn’t it?
Fresh Banana Cream Cheesecake
Recipe from Robbie’s Recipe Collection
INGREDIENTS
20 vanilla cream sandwich cookies
1/4 cup margarine, melted
24 oz. cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 eggs
3/4 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
1. Process cookies in a blender or food processor. Pulse to finely chop.
2. Add melted margarine or butter and pulse until thoroughly combined.
3. Press mixture into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan; refrigerate.
4. Beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until creamy.
5. Beat in sugar and cornstarch.
5. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
6. Beat in bananas, whipping cream, and vanilla.
7. Pour mixture into prepared crust.
8. Place pan on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes.
9. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees and bake an additional 75 minutes, or until center is almost set.
10. Allow to cool completely before removing rim of pan.
11. Refrigerate cheesecake, uncovered, at least 6 hours.
Serves 12
LINNELL’S NOTES
1. I used a 9½-inch springform pan and I’m glad I did. This recipe does not make a tall cheesecake, so it was perfect with the smaller pan.
2. Because I used a smaller pan than specified, I used fewer cookies. Even then, the crust was a little thicker than I would have preferred.
3. I used butter instead of margarine, basically because I didn’t have margarine on hand. 1/4 cup of butter is equivalent to 2 ounces of butter for those that weigh their ingredients.
4. Even though the directions don’t state it, don’t forget to preheat your oven.
5. I served each slice with a dollop of whipped cream, a banana slice and a small sprig of mint.
Enjoy!
