Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake

I had what felt like the busiest week of my life last week. 

I had dinner guests in the middle of the week, and then family visiting at the end of the week. I basically spent every waking moment cleaning or cooking. I felt like the epitome of a proverbial "house wife."

While the million loads of laundry and 3 foot tall dandelions in the front yard about sucked every last ounce of energy I had, there was one thing I could find comfort in. This cheesecake.

I have a lot of experience making cheesecake, but cheesecake is not always reliable. Sometimes the center doesn't set. Sometimes it cracks creating deep, ugly craters on the surface. But this cheesecake was perfect. And I made it twice last week. Both times: perfect.

Plus, the wonderful, reliable thing about this cheesecake is once it's all done baking you cover it with this delicious whipped cream cheese topping. So who cares if it cracks? No one will ever know. 

Top it with whatever you want. It's vanilla mousse, so anything will go with it. I did one cheesecake with raspberries and one with strawberries. But you don't have to add fruit. You could do chopped candies, or chocolate shavings. Customize it to your preference.

And then take a deep breath. Eat some cheesecake. And leave those 3 foot tall dandelions for the bees. 

Vanilla Mousse Cheesecake

Ingredients:

40 Nilla wafers, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)

3 tbsp butter, melted

4 8oz packages of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup of sugar

1/4 cup of sugar

1 tbsp plus 1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 tub cool whip, thawed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 

Mix the wafers and butter and press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. 

Beat 3 packages of the cream cheese, 3/4 cup of sugar, and 1 tbsp of vanilla until well blended. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low just until blended. (When making cheesecake, it's important not to mix the batter any more than necessary. Mixing too much for too long will cause the cheesecake to crack when baking.)

Pour the batter over crust and bake 50-55 minutes or until the center is almost set. (Place a baking dish filled with water on the lower rack in the oven while the cheesecake bakes. It will keep the oven humid and prevent cracking.) 

Once the cheesecake is done, turn the oven off and leave the cake in the oven with the door open (cracked) to cool. Once it is mostly cooled, run a knife around the rim of the pan to loosen. Cover and refrigerate before removing from the pan. 

Beat the remaining cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with the mixer until well blended. Fold in the cool whip and spread over the cheesecake. Refrigerate 4 hours. Remove rim of pan before serving. 

Top with fresh berries. (Or anything you want)

Recipe from: Kraft Foods

You don't have to have company to have cheesecake you know.