July 30^th is National Cheesecake Day! I have been dying to try baking my own cheesecake, but have never been brave enough. And with a husband who claims not to like cream cheese, there hasn’t been much incentive. (He loved this dessert and simply gave me a “yeah, whatever” when I teased him about his cream cheese aversion.)

And then I started this blog. Stuart has been really supportive with this newest hobby of mine and I think he’s enjoying the side effects of more homemade dishes. It wasn’t until “late” in life that I was aware of my love for cooking. I discovered the Food Network late my senior year of college, and parked myself in front of the TV with a notebook before finally becoming employed. I love trying new recipes and exploring the world of food blogs.

After working for 2 years, cooking every night started to seem more like a chore – well really the piles of dishes were deterrent enough. Making a home cooked meal 6 nights a week turned into 3 nights. But writing this blog has brought me back up to about 5 nights a week. So I have to say thank you to my readers for rekindling my love of cooking.

Baking isn’t something I feel I’ve particularly mastered. Which, being an engineer I find a little amusing because baking is a science; it’s following a recipe and measuring out ingredients properly. There’s more flexibility in cooking, and maybe I need the break from exact, and I get to find that in savory dishes. Regardless, baking a cheesecake seemed to be above my comfort level.

Until I found this recipe! On an episode of Food Network’s Best Thing I Ever Made, Anne Burrell said this cheesecake was the best thing she ever made with cheese. She walked through the steps and I thought to myself, “I could do that!” So, on National Cheesecake Day, I am enjoying a large slice of Goat Cheese Cheesecake.

I will apologize in advance for making your house smell like a gourmet bakery. And I don’t recommend tasting the filling before putting the eggs in because you might just give up on the final product and eat the entire bowl of cream cheesy goodness; taste at your own risk.

Goat Cheese Cheesecake

Ingredients for crust:

• 6 tbsp butter, melted
• 2 1/2 C Nilla wafers
• 1/4 C sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• pinch nutmeg

Ingredients for filling:

• 16 oz cream cheese
• 12 oz goat cheese
• 1 1/2 C sour cream
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 C sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Put all ingredients for the crust in the food processor and pulse until you achieve the look and feel of wet sand. Press the crust into a buttered spring form pan, pressing it halfway up the sides.
3. In a stand mixer, beat the cheeses. Add in the sour cream and beat until combined. Add in sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time. Pour filling into the crust.
4. Bake 30 minutes. Rotate the cheesecake and bake another 30 minutes. Allow cheesecake to cool completely before serving or setting in the fridge overnight for best results.