Yep, I did it.
If you know me, I am intimidated by cooking dishes that I feel are best left to the experts.
The gourmet cooks, like my sister.
The cooks who have these fabulous kitchens with stoves that cost more than my first car.
You know the ones….
The stoves with the 6 burners, and a griddle, and a grill, and those huge stainless steel hoods….
…..that also cost more than my first car.
Yep, that’s my sister’s stove.
One day, while reading a post on making a cheesecake by Laura, at Top This Top That…
…..I thought…hmmm..
My family loves everything “Banana Pudding”…
The Banana Pudding Cheesecake looked delicious.
So I wandered out of my comfort zone…
…..called my “gourmet cook” friend, Martha, asking to borrow a springform pan.
I did not have a springform pan, as recipes that called for them intimidated me….
…..there’s that “intimidated” word again.
I thought, if I was successful, then I would run, not walk, to the nearest Williams Sonoma.
So far, so good!
Paying careful attention to the directions…
I am documenting my step by step procedures…
…..as I am making history here.
AND…I need to show my sister and my mom,
…..that I am actually making a cheesecake!
But they probably know…as the Earth was moving.
As I poured the batter into the pan..I kept thinking and hoping…
…..THAT I DID NOT LEAVE ANYTHING OUT..truly!
OK..now into the oven it goes…saying a little prayer.
I just wish that my oven had a “date screen”…as I was truly making history..:)
It’s done!!…
I did it!!…
And to mark the occasion, my friend took a picture…
…..of the very proud me!!
I presented it to my dinner group…back in June..when the temps were 104 degrees…
…..the only request I had of my guests, was to be casual…wear shorts…!! Like me!
And in all of the excitement…I forgot to take a picture of a slice of the cheesecake!
So what did I do??? I made it again for my ladies lunch (my sewing group)….
And thank you Laura, for giving me the encouragement that I could indeed make my first cheesecake!!
And if you would like to make this wonderful Banana Pudding Cheesecake…Go Here
Bon Appetit!!!
I am joining:
LOL! Shirley, I wish you could hear me laughing out loud at this! Intimidated? You?? Well, it looks wonderful; and I am sure it was delicious!! In fact, I may have felt a small tremor over here!!!
You and I are so much alike. No gourmet here either and your stove is better than mine. I have never made a cheesecake either from scratch except those boxed ones that don’t even need cooking. Does that count? Probably not. Now I need to make one. Oh, yea, I will have to get a springform pan, too.
Congratulations! I have made many cheesecakes, but never banana. It looks wonderful!
I have a great recipe for a crust made with Zwieback instead of vanilla wafers.
Now have confidence in yourself! Baking isn’t hard! You did great!
Well if that doesn’t look like the best piece of banana cheesecake I have ever seen !! congrats to you. No more cheesecake virgin! You will have to make another and bring us a slice at the conference.
Way to GO girl!!! I am so proud of you! It looks delish!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE Cheesecake!
yeeeehaaaaaw!!!! Way to step out of your comfort zone! So proud of you and your dessert looks divine.
xox
Oh yum, Shirley i haven’t made a cheesecake for so long. Yum yours looks so delicious!!
Bravo!
xoxo
Karena
Art by Karena
2012 Artists Series
Oh boy Shirley, you did great! You look so excited. YUMMY, I am going to try this recipe.
Well – I think you’ve graduated Shirley. Into the gourmet cooking league that is. Who needs a big ole honkin expensive stove to make a cheesecake??? It looks delicious! Gotta go get that recipe. My first (and only) cheesecake looked pretty, but didn’t taste all that great. I blame it on the recipe. lol
Shirley~ My husband is a fan of banana pudding AND cheesecake so he would love this! That slice looks beautiful! I hope you’ve bought a springform pan now 🙂
Way to go, Shirley! And it even LOOKS pretty!!
TGIF!
xo Heidi
It looks great! I’ve never made one either (too chicken), but you inspired me 🙂
It looks great. I love making cheesecake it is one of my specialties.
Cynthia
Your cheesecake looks delicious. I would love to make this for my husband and kids.
Looks delicious! Unfortunately I’m to the only one in our house that likes cheesecake!!
Wow, congratulations. It looks beautiful and delicious. In fact, I would like a slice right now.
Shirley that looks super yummy!!
I’m pretty sure a drip of saliva just fell from my mouth. Drool. Way to go!! It looks beautiful and delicious!
Congratulations, Shirley!!!!! The pictures are great! My Dad used to make killer cheesecake, which surprised the heck out of us since he was born and raised an old farm boy. I guess moving off the farm got him all “citified and sophisticated” enough to want to make and eat cheesecake. (You KNOW they never had anything like that on the farm in the middle of Nowhere, Kansas!!!) His never looked as good as yours, though! Congrats!!!! Get out there and conquer another fear, and I’ll come taste test it! 🙂
Totally pinning this. That recipe looks awesome!! And now I’m determined to have a professional cook for a sister and a sewing group. 🙂
I know you can’t see or hear me right now, but I’m applauding you! That cake looks delicious and so pretty! You crack me up about “making history” and “the earth moved”. Is that what I felt the other day? Ha! The only thing wrong with your post, is that I couldn’t TASTE it…….or SMELL it. Guess that means I need to go make it for myself. Thanks for sharing the recipe and proving that it CAN be done even if you don’t have one of those commercial kitchens that make cooking actually look fun.
My sister’s passion is cooking and baking….as my passion is my home…Her beautiful kitchen reflects her passion and love for cooking…when she is not working with her husband in their business, she is home creating amazing dishes…When I lived only 15 minutes away from her, I could pop over and always know that she has great “treats” … now that I am 10 hours away, I have to resort to making my own cheesecake!
I am soooo proud of you. I already knew you could do it. You can do anything. Still I am proud of you. Better to have no springform pan and need one, than to have one and never need it. Love to you, Ginger
Shirley you do look so proud, and rightfully so. The cheesecake looks delicious and beautiful as well. Well done girl!
Hugs,
Jann
Wow, that looks so good! LOL I love your tutorial! You really did a great job! I made a pumpkin cheescake once and I think it weighed aout 8 lbs when I was done! I had to freeze up sections of it because it was too much for our family! That’s when I bought my springform pan and sadly haven’t used it since! I’ll have to check out your recipe!
I have had a dresser in my garage just waiting for the perfect inspiration. It’s been sanded and ready to go but I have been so intimidated on what I wanted to do but I think this post is the winner- I absolutely love the finish! And I’ve been clueless on what to use to seal it, so now I know what to use.persian tea