brownie mosaic cheesecake

Little blurry (taken with the iPhone) but you get the idea.

I saw this recipe in Smitten Kitchen a month or two ago and have been waiting for a good excuse to make it. Luckily our Fire Chief's birthday was yesterday so it was the perfect excuse. I made the brownies Monday, the actual cheesecake Tuesday, and today we ate.

I have to admit that I was really nervous to attempt this cheesecake recipe. The brownies were from scratch, which I had never done before. Because lets be honest, when they have Safeway or Ghiradelli brownie mix why would you even bother? The brownies didn't make me too nervous because I could sample, and did generously sample, them to make sure they tasted good. I had also never made a ganache before. Luckily I could taste test that as well; it melted in my mouth.

The part that made me nervous was the actual cheesecake. I have never made a real cheesecake in a springform pan ever. True story. In the pre-made graham cracker shells with the recipe from the Philly box sure, but not one fancy like this. The major stressor was that I could not sample the fancy cheesecake. Was it good? Was it cooked enough? Did I beat the eggs too much? It was really fluffy when I pulled it out of the oven. Was it supposed to be fluffy? Needless to say I was nervous. Adding to my apprehension was that it was making its premiere in-front of my Chief and a crowd of firefighters who has high expectations of my cooking. I tried to channel Annie and her fancy culinary skills to help me with the endeavor. Apparently that worked pretty well.

Verdict: The Brownie Mosaic Cheesecake was a pain to make but totally worth it. It was yummy and it presented really well with the beautifuly smooth ganache top. It was slightly undercooked, the middle was a little soft, next time I will cook it longer.

The ganache makes it look so professional! I love it.

Did I mention I was on a call (for a person who called 911 but was healthier than I am right now. which frankly is really annoying to run when you yourself feel like crap. it is not cool when the medic is more legitimately ill than the patient. I digress...) I was on a call when the cake was debuted. The above is what was left by the time I got back to the station. For dinner I ate a piece. (And nothing else.) For 3am snack (right now) I had a little sampling more. It hit the spot.