tbt Easter Cheesecakes

 

Since 2008, I've had a tradition of baking a cheesecake every year for Easter.  It started when I was in college – we didn't get a long weekend for the holiday, so I’d stay up in Gainesville and celebrate with my friends.  Those first two years I made the same flavor – apple caramel using this recipe. 

 

 

In 2010 I decided to switch it up and try out this amaretto cheesecake.  It came from the book Cheesecake Extraordinaire – the recipe is outlined here on Melinda Lee’s food blog – but I added more slivered almonds to the top.     

 

After that, I kept up the tradition with my family.  In 2011 I made a chocolate raspberry flavor (and at that point I had a better camera too!) I followed this recipe from Cuisinart, but tweaked the crust to be a bit thicker by using 1½ cups crushed pretzels, 6 T butter, and 4 T brown sugar.  I also added a drizzle of chocolate and fresh raspberries.  

 

 

The next one in 2012 was super decadent – chocolate peanut butter.  It was adapted from this recipe from Taste of Home, but I added some crushed pretzels to the crust and decorated the top with Cadbury mini eggs.   Just a small sliver of this one was a total sugar bomb.  

In 2013 I made a pumpkin spice latte cheesecake adapted from Sprinkle Bakes.  If you plan to top it with powdered sugar stripes, make sure to do it right before you serve it, otherwise they will just soak into the cheesecake and disappear.  

 

It was really easy to add the stripes and made it looks super fancy!  Just cut strips of parchment paper and lay them over the cake, then dust sugar over. 

 

Last year in 2014, I made a carrot cake cheesecake, which I think is my favorite yet!  It was adapted from Secret Copycat Restaurant Recipes – which copied it from the Cheesecake Factory.   Carrot cake is my favorite – especially with cream cheese frosting.  I added some shredded carrots and chopped walnuts to the top.  The crushed pineapple kept the cake nice and moist. 

I’d love to just repeat last year’s recipe again – but I’m trying to bake a different flavor each year.  Lance’s sister Brandi and her husband Jeremy will be in town from Idaho this year which will be exciting!  Any suggestions for what kind I should make this year?

Reservations Gourmet-To-Go – Tampa, FL

 

I bought a Creative Loafing deal for Reservations Gourmet-To-Go a month or so ago because I’ve heard so many great things about this restaurant.  It is on Tasting Tampa’s Top Ten Restaurants in Seminole Heights and they only have positive reviews on Yelp, Urbanspoon, and Facebook. 

So I was sad to see my friend Raena’s post yesterday saying that Reservations was going to shut their doors at the end of the month.  Since Lance and I both had Tuesday off work, we decided to head to Seminole Heights and try them out for lunch.

 

With our CL deal, we had $30 to spend – and since the prices are all so reasonable, we got a LOT of food for that much. 

 

It was cold out yesterday – it got to the 30’s at night, which for a Floridian felt like Antarctica! So the first thing I ordered was a hot cup of tea.  Lance had a beer (they only had one to choose from – Uinta Brewing Company’s Baba Black Lager). 

 

For our meals, we each ordered sandwiches – I had the Meatball Parmesan and Lance had the Tampa Cheese Steak.  We got the large size, but we could have easily filled up on the small. 

OMG they were amazing.  The meatballs were handmade, topped with Bolognese sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella.  The Italian bread was perfectly crispy.  Lance’s sandwich was generously loaded with slices of grilled steak, sautéed onions and mushrooms, and topped with horseradish mayo dressing, blue cheese drizzle, and lettuce.  Since each large sandwich was already cut in 2, we swapped halves and got to try a bit of each. 

 

 

They were voted Best Carrot Cake by Creative Loafing Best of the Bay 2012, so we got a slice to go (we didn’t have any room after our huge lunches).  We enjoyed it later that evening and it did not disappoint.  It was moist and filled with plenty of carrot, raisin, and nut chunks.  The cream cheese frosting was so delicious that I could have eaten it alone with a spoon. 

 

 

It’s a real shame that I didn’t discover this place sooner.  Make sure to go try their incredible food while you still can! 

Reservations Gourmet-To-Go is located at 4703 N Nebraska Ave, Tampa, FL 33603.  Here’s their schedule for the remainder of the month:

November 20^th, 21^st, 25^th, 26^th, and 28^th for lunch 11:30am – 3pm
November 21^st & 22^nd - After Dark dining, 6pm – 10pm

Brew D Licious – St. Petersburg, FL

 

We both had the day off yesterday, so we went to St. Pete to check out the Chihuly Collection (we bought a deal on LivingSocial that gave us 2 tickets for $15 – you can buy them here.) We had originally planned to grab breakfast before at Central Coffee Shoppe, but a sign taped to their door said that they are closed Monday through Wednesday this week. 

So we checked Yelp to find somewhere else to eat and discovered Brew D Licious down the street.  I am so happy we discovered this place!  I love their mascot on the sign – a bumble bee hyped up on caffeine holding 6 cups of coffee (or they may be 6 espresso shots).  It is clear before walking in that they’re a bit sassy – a sign in the window says “Yes We’re Open! B*tches!”

The interior is cozy and inviting with eclectic art and furnishings.  Inspirational quotes are scattered throughout with sayings like “Don’t look back – you’re not going that way.”  The counter is made of a beautiful patchwork of different woods.  A print of the famous photo of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany’s has been tweaked to add a cup of Brew D Licious coffee in her hand. 

The owner, Brigitte, is very knowledgeable about her coffees.  I got an iced mocha which was fantastic.  And when Lance requested a few ice cubes to cool down his extra hot coffee, she offered him coffee cubes to keep it from getting diluted.  

I had a ginger & lemon glazed carrot cake muffin – it was nice and moist with coconut, walnuts, pineapple, raisins, and applesauce baked in. 

A company called The Hole Donuts sells donuts at Brew D Licious on Wednesdays.  Lance had an “Elvis” donut – peanut butter filled topped with a peanut butter glaze, sliced bananas, and crumbled bacon.  Probably the best donut I’ve had in my life. 

After our sweet treats and coffees, we visited the Chilhuly Collection.  I had been a few years back when it first opened, but this time they actually allowed us to take photos!  It’s not a huge museum, but the pieces are beautiful and definitely worth seeing in person.

Brew D Licious is located at 667 Central Ave, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 and is open 7am – 4pm Monday through Friday, 9am – 4pm Saturday, and 9am – 1pm Sunday.   

The Chihuly Collection is located at 400 Beach Dr NE, St Petersburg, FL 33701 and is open 10 – 5pm Monday through Saturday and 12 – 5pm on Sunday.