Not Just an Ordinary Birthday Cake

Today also marks a big milestone for my little brother, he turned 25. Ok, not so little anymore, if anything his 6’1” height overshadows my 5’4’’ drastically. My brother absolutely loves my signature New York style cheesecake, much like many others, but he also loves rich decadent chocolate cake. He will always compare the chocolate cake he had at Heaven on Earth in Portland, Oregan many, many years ago to every chocolate cake he eats. So I thought to myself, how will I combine these 2 together to create something so magnificent that it marks a quarter of a century old celebration with a certain landmark type treat?  A secret recipe from the Cheesecake Factory. The Hershey Chocolate Bar Cheesecake. The recipe can be found here:

http://www.recipesecrets.net/blog/recipes/cheesecake-factory/the-cheesecake-factory-hersheys-chocolate-bar-cheesecake/

Though I made a few tweaks of my own, it went off without a hitch. I know I still need to work on my presentation for baked goods but the quality of this dessert was absolutely divine. To witness family members reactions, to hear the breathless ssounds of ‘mmmmm…soooo good’ and to receive images of other family members enjoying this light, moist  and fluffy treasure from another location, just felt like the time and effort was worth it. Each cake layer was light and fluffy but not at all dry. The cheesecake part is always my biggest fear, is it too dry? Did I over bake it? Under bake it? This time it was airy and creamy, the texture was smooth on the palate and not at all rich. The frosting was almost perfect, not too sweet but the most ideal accompaniment to the entire creation. A brilliant recipe, with rave reviews. If you love to bake, I highly recommend this recipe. I’d whip it all together again in a heart beat!