Red Velvet Cheesecake

This is a recipe I actually made a while ago, but it definitely needed to be added to the site, because it is so yummy! Last Valentine's Day, I was trying to think up something creative to make for my husband that wasn't red velvet cake. There is a bit of a back story there: Valentine's Day is pretty special for us--its the day my husband proposed. (Which is cliche, I know, but I definitely was not expecting it because it is, in fact, cliche!) Also, there is an amazing bakery in my husband's hometown that makes the most delicious red velvet cupcakes. I therefore know what a delicious red velvet cupcake tastes like and I have been ruined forever on all other red velvet cupcakes.

So, in my search for something unique, I ran across a recipe for a red velvet cheesecake on the McCormick spice website. (Big stretch, I know.) It looked pretty daunting, but I knew I could tackle it! It ended up being much easier than I expected, and I'm looking forward to trying it again!

Red Velvet Cheesecake
2-8 oz. packages of regular cream cheese
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 oz. semi-sweet baking chocolate, melted
1 Tb. red food coloring (may need more depending on brand/deepness of color desired)
1 prepared Oreo crumb crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low until completely combined.

Take one cup of batter out of the large bowl and put into a separate bowl. Add the red food coloring to this separate amount of batter. Then quickly whisk in the melted chocolate.

Pour the red-tinted batter into the crust first. Top with the remaining regular batter. Bake for 40 minutes, or until set. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.