Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Coconut Cream Cheesecake

Thursday was take lunch to dad day. You read that right, I did not take dad to lunch, I took lunch to him. I took him a couple of meals, first a new roast beef that I'd made in the crockpot that has the working title of Slow Cooker Red-Eye Roast (It was so good, I'm only sorry that I didn't have it long enough to photograph so that I could share it with you right away, but hang on it's coming.), and Spaghetti with Italian Meatballs. Naturally, I also took him dessert. Dad loves coconut, and so, when I saw a recipe for Coconut Cream Cheesecake, I had to make it.
The late Mr. O-P loved his cheesecake, and made a dandy one. You may recall this post and this post where I talked about our cheesecake wars. He was a cheesecake purist though, and just couldn't abide any cheesecake with additional flavor. So, I had to give this one a try, to see if it would be as good as his. Oh, mama! This was delicious! It was so good, in fact, that I had to cut it into individual slices, wrap them, and freeze them, to keep myself from eating them all. Dad liked it too. In fact, I think he could've eaten a couple more slices.
This is an easy cheesecake to make - delicious, beautiful, easy, what more do you want? If you love coconut like dad and I do, you're going to want to try this.

Coconut Cream Cheesecake

Slightly adapted from Tornadoughalli

Crust:
1 envelope graham crackers, broken
5 tablespoons sugar
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
6 tablespoons butter, cut into cubes

Cheesecake:
3 (8-oz) blocks cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon coconut extract
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, beaten
7 ounces coconut milk

Topping:
1 cup heavy cream, whipped
½ cup toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9” springform pan with Pam; set aside. (If you have any fears that your pan may not be watertight, wrap foil around the edges.)

In the work bowl of a food processor place graham cracker crumbs, sugar, coconut, and butter; pulse until combined.

Press into prepared pan (I use a tart tamper to do this. If you don’t have one, you MUST get one, click here) and bake for 15 minutes. Remove and set aside while you prepare the rest of the cake.

Lower oven temp to 325°F.

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar, cornstarch, coconut, extracts, and salt, and mix until incorporated. Slowly add eggs, mixing well after each addition. Add coconut milk and beat to combine.

Pour into prepared pan and place inside a roasting pan. Fill halfway with water so it’s up the sides of your pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until center is slightly jiggly.
Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature before wrapping in foil and chilling for 8 hours to overnight.

Once chilled, spread whipped cream over the top of the cheesecake, reserving some for piping, if desired. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and serve.

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12 comments:

Debbie - Mountain Mama said...

You are not helping my weight watchers journey even the tiniest bit, Pattie! Oh my gosh, I love cheesecake, and usually I'm a purist as well but I might just have to give this one a try, it looks incredible!

Linda said...

Looks like a masterpiece! It looks very silky and not flour-dense like some cheesecakes, which would suit me just fine. I think I'd love the crust as much as the filling. I'd have to give away every piece, not freeze them! I've not seen a tart-tamper. What a great invention. Getting the crumbs evenly distributed is always the most difficult part of a graham cracker crust for me.

Jenna H. said...

Oh wow, that looks amazing! I need to try out this recipe! :)
-Jenna <3
Follow me back? The Chic Cupcake

Miz Helen said...

Your Coconut Cream Cheesecake looks amazing! Hope you are having a great day and thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday!
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen

S H Elliott said...

This looks delicious. I love coconut deserts. I will save this. Sheila

Poppy said...

Hi Pattie,

This looks and sounds divine! I will definitely give it a try next time I am craving coconut. I make a mean coconut cream pie, but have yet to whip up a coconut cheesecake concoction. Thanks for sharing!

Visiting via Home Sweet Home,
Have a lovely weekend,
Poppy:)

The Charm of Home said...

Wow! That looks so good! Thanks for sharing at Home Sweet Home!

Sandra Lee said...

This is one beauty of a cheesecake! Thank you for sharing with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, and have a great weekend.

The Charm of Home said...

I will feature Thursday at Home Sweet Home!

Gardening Helen said...

Coconut pie is my favorite - and now as a cheesecake?? Oh I think I'm in heaven! Thanks for sharing on the What's for Dinner Link up!

mary m said...

is coconut milk found with regular milk or in the international section in a can????? i get confused with this. please advise

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

Coconut milk is canned and, generally, located in the International section of your grocery store (in mine, with the Thai foods). Hope this helps.