Today I have a lot to be thankful for: My Mum, my little Bro, and Beautiful Bloggers.
At the start of the month, a dear blogger friend recognized me with a Beautiful blogger award.
I should have recognized her straight away, but in my book, it’s never too late to say thank you (even though yes, I should have got on to it sooner. And to be fair, I did write to her immediately to tell her how touched I was). The lovely blogger and all around special lady I speak of is Sarah. She creates a very special blog called Sarah’s Place. She’s a stunning photographer, a voracious cook (despite her humble kitchen lineage;) and has the biggest heart of anyone in the blogosphere. She is a highly decorated blogger and definitely one to follow. Don’t believe me? Check her out here!
After receiving such a sweet award, and reading her lovely post paying the blog love forward, I got all soppy and my heart grew two sizes that day. Almost as much as my waist size grows when indulging in this Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake.
This is where the brother thanks comes in. The day I turned 12 my brother was born. This was not immediately something I was thankful for. It wasn’t a BAD thing. I mean, I got to take the day off school (MY birthday!) and hang out with my best friend Ange. We ate McDonalds, had a gooey chocolate cake. Ange and her family did a great job at making it a special day for me, while Mum was doing the hard work bringing little Nick into the world. The thing was, Ange had recently gained a brother into her family, and I desperately wished I could say, Ha! I got a sister! YOU have a brother! I win the genetic sibling game!
What I didn’t realize at the time was how awesome it was to have a brother with the same birthday. The day became extra special, almost like Christmas, because two of us were celebrating our day together. And Mum allowed us both to have a birthday cake of our choosing. She never wanted us to lose out on having to share the day.
As we got older though, and when we no longer had large birthday parties with lots of people to share said desserts, we began spreading out the baking celebrations. One of us would get our choice on the day and the other one we would enjoy a bit later in the year. Here is where the Mum thanks comes in (obviously I am thankful to Mum for more than this, but we’re talking cheesecake here!).
Mum had kept track of Nick’s as-of-yet unbaked birthday treat and decided to make it as a surprise for him when he last came home to visit.
This is an old family favourite and when we enjoyed it again this time, it was a revelation. WHY HAS IT BEEN SO LONG SINCE WE’VE MADE THIS?!
Let me break it down for you: Chocolate cookie crust (a no-brainer), a chewy combination of melted caramels and toasted pecans (keep talkin’), topped off with creamy, silky smooth chocolate cheesecake. Amen. While this is called Turtle Cheesecake and they are one of my favourite Christmas treats, it actually doesn’t taste like a turtle candy. It’s better. And that’s pretty hard to say about Turtles!
So, to wrap up, thank you Mum for baking this masterpiece, thank you Nick for being born and giving us a great excuse to eat this chocolate mound of heaven, and thank you Sarah, for being a supportive, kind friend. Maybe this is the perfect recipe for you to show your gratitude to someone? Paying it forward feels good! And don’t forget, when you bake for someone, the rule is, they need to return the plate with their own special treat. But I know that’s not why you do it. You do it because you’re so nice and you just can’t help yourself:)
While Sarah was my first contact in the vast blogging universe, she is not the only one who provides me with inspiration, support and eye candy. Rather than list them here, I am going to update my links listing (over on the right hand side of my blog) with all my lovely blogger friends who I faithfully follow, and who I believe you should too.
Happy baking, happy blogging, happy living…and lots of happy eating:)
Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake
(This recipe originally comes from The Toronto Star Aug. 4, 1993. I found the same recipe today via Food.com).
Ingredients
- 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
- 6 tablespoons margarine, melted
- 14 ounces caramels ( 1 bag)
- 5 ounces evaporated milk ( 1 can)
- 1 cup pecans, chopped and toasted
- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
Directions
- Combine crumbs and margarine, press onto bottom and sides of 9-inch spring- form pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes.
- In 1 1/2 quart heavy saucepan, melt caramels with milk over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth.
- Pour over crust.
- Top with pecans.
- Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed on electric mixer until well blended.
- Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Blend in chocolate, pour over pecans.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 minutes.
- Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan.
- Chill.
**Travelling Tastebuds will return next Tuesday. Will it be GREECE? or MOROCCO?
Comments (15)
Congratulations! Awesome award. While you’re enjoying your well-deserved honor, I’ll be stealing that slice…
It’s all yours. Just grab it before my brother takes it.
What a beautiful post Melanie! Thank you SOOO much for the kind words. You are such a great friend. You deserve this award, and any other award they have for bloggers because you’re a great one!
I LOVED reading about you and your brother. How cool to share a birthday!! It must be wonderful to share that special day with your brother. Great planning on your parent’s part! 🙂
I am SO going to celebrate this post with that cheesecake. I have got to get to the store tomorrow to get the ingredients. Those pictures are absolutely gorgeous Melanie. They make me want to dive right in and eat. Terrific job!
Ooooo….Morocco!! Either one will work though:) Can’t wait!
Thanks Sarah, you’re the best. Oh yes! Definitely make the cheesecake! I figure you could probably slice it up and freeze it since it’s so rich. I mean, have a few pieces first, of course. Thanks for the Morocco suggestion. So far the two are neck and neck!
This was a beautiful post – appreciating family so much is a rare but wonderful thing 😀
Congrats on the award and expanding waistline as well 😉
So worth it this looks gorgeous!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
What beautiful pictures! I definitely want to try this – the blogging world might just blow up with everyone trying this recipe!
Thanks Bill! I’ll have to tell Mum, she’ll be thrilled!
[…] making for us. I’m also making Allison’s Enchiladas Florentine today, AND, oh my, Melanie’s Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake. That bears repeating. Chocolate. Turtle […]
You better change the recipe! It says vanilla wafer crumbs not chocolate crumbs. And use buter not margarine!!!!!
Uh oh! Didn’t see that! Bakers take note!
I loved your story and it’s beautifully written as well. Oh, the photos are just stunning especially of the chocolate cookie crumb crust. I have added another dulcet devotion recipe to my list!
And I cannot wait for next week’s traveling taste buds…I’ll be excited to see where you take us (and what we’ll be eating)!
It looks divine, I`m bookmarking it for the next special occasion.
Thanks! Mum reminded me that the original recipe is incorrect–it calls for vanilla wafers, rather than chocolate. Make sure you let me know how it turns out when you make it.
[…] do you describe something that’s as wonderful as this Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake? You can’t. Believe me, I’ve spent 24 hours trying, and you can’t. Melanie (Hi […]
[…] do you describe something that’s as wonderful as this Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake? You can’t. Believe me, I’ve spent 24 hours trying, and you can’t. Melanie (Hi […]