S'mores Cheesecake

Because an open bag of marshmallows goes stale faster than you'd think.  So do graham crackers, come to think of it.

I've been wanting cake lately, but don't feel like frosting one.  Well, I don't feel like crumb coating one.  The nice part of cheesecake is that it skips all the frosting drama.  It's really a pie.  Not sure how the whole springform pan thing came about.

This recipe is blender cheesecake with s'mores ingredients added.  I'm giving you the 9" pan version, but I made a 6".  It's half of the crust recipe and one third the filling.  I didn't run the crust high enough in the pan and ended up with extra filling.  I baked that in a ramekin in water bath next to the main cake, and it turned out lovely.  A little graham crust on the bottom of the ramekin, and they would make great individual servings.

I'm also lightening up the sugar and fat, to compensate for the added ingredients.  It's still not a diet dessert (3 bricks of cream cheese, sheesh), but it's a little less indulgent.

Crust
2 C crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/2 C margarine, melted

Filling
3 8oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
6 eggs, room temperature
2-1/4 C plain lowfat or nonfat Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1-1/4 C sugar
2 Tb cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract
*1/2 C marshmallow creme
*1/2 C mini marshmallows
1/2 C semisweet chocolate chips
1 Hershey bar
1 sheet graham cracker

1.  To make the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs and margarine into a crumbly paste.  Press into a 9" springform pan, coating the bottom and going as far up the sides as possible.  Set pan on a baking sheet (in case of margarine or filling leaks) and set aside while you make the filling.  Start preheating the oven to 350º.

2.  In a blender, combine cream cheese, eggs, yogurt, sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla.  It's easiest if you put in the more liquid ingredients first and incorporate the cream cheese one brick at a time.  Purée until smooth and about the consistency of crepe batter.

3.  Sprinkle chocolate chips on bottom of crust.  I forgot that marshmallows float and put them on the bottom too.  It makes a nice photo, but they burned into the top of the cake as it baked and did not look great.  Fortunately, I was going to top it anyway.

4.  Bake cake until center is set but still jiggly, about 1 hour.  Turn off oven and leave cake in there with the door shut for half an hour.  Then crack the oven door and allow it to cool slowly to room temperature, about another hour.  It's still going to fall and have cracks.  Remove springform ring, but leave the cake on the base.

5.  Turn oven broiler on.  Spread top of cake with marshmallow creme.  Dot with marshmallows and pieces of Hershey bar.  Place under the broiler for about a minute, to toast the marshmallows.  Don't leave it in as long as I did; they got a little burnt and I shouldn't have put on the crackers before broiling.  Break up remaining graham cracker and decorate cake with it.

Serves about 12

Difficulty rating  :)