This is my attempt at recreating the Cheesecake Factory's amazing Pineapple Upside Down Cheesecake. This month's Daring Bakers challenge happens to be cheesecake so it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. The April 2009 challenge is hosted by Jenny from Jenny Bakes. She has chosen Abbey's Infamous Cheesecake as the challenge. The recipe is for a vanilla cheesecake with graham cracker crust, but we were given the freedom to alter the recipe any way we like so I decided to go the pineapple route. I've posted photo segments below but to view the complete recipe you can click here.
I used a basic pineapple upside down cake recipe in place of the graham cracker crust but I did not assemble it upside down. This way, the pineapple layer was perfectly even with the cheesecake layer. I used a springform pan and baked the cake layer for about 25 minutes before I poured the cheesecake layer over top to bake.
The cake layer made the perfect crust. All gooey and brown sugary with the pineapple layer and cherries.
I whipped together a half pint of heavy whipping cream, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla for the top. It only takes minutes if you put the bowl and beaters in the freezer for about 5 minutes before you whip the cream.
