Cheesecake Extraordinaire : More than 100 Sumptuous Recipes for the Ultimate Dessert Paperback – September 1, 1994

The recipes in this book produce cream cheese cheesecakes that are good on the first try, so you don't have to worry that they're going to turn out to be a bomb. They are consistently good, and in many cases they turn out to be spectacular. The variety of flavors is quite broad, including not only standard New York style cheesecakes but also unique creations with fruits, nuts, and liqueurs. The recipes are formulaic. Each starts with 24 ounces of cream cheese and goes from there. Easy. Once you learn the pattern, you can improvise to make your own flavors if you want. You can easily halve them, or if you quarter the recipes, you can fit them into small 1.5 cup ramekins and can sample them several at a time without much waste. Echoing other reviewers, I'll say Mary Crownover's Low-Temp-Long-Time baking technique seems counter-intuitive at first, but it has worked very well for me. It is because of this unusual technique that the cheesecakes almost never have cracks, they are always soft and creamy, and if you're using berries, you'll find they hold their shape pleasantly. I have noticed that sometimes some of the cheesecakes with higher liquid content come out of the oven a little soupy, or a little giggly in the center when shaken gently, but they firm up nicely after refrigeration, and they maintain that creamy texture. So, follow her instructions to the letter, trust in the process, and your cheesecakes will turn out just fine. More pictures would be nice to give the reader an idea of what the finished products should look like, but the 20 in it are enough to figure out what to do. The first chapter "Success Every Time" has some really useful tips, and a helpful chart for modifying recipe amount based on different springform pan sizes: 8", 9", and 10". After that, the book is divided up into recipe sections for nut cheesecakes, coconut, fruit cheesecakes, candy, custard, chocolate, and guilt-free (low fat and low sugar that never seem to taste as good), but my favorite chapter is the one on alcoholic drink-flavored cheesecakes. The required liqueurs are generally inexpensive, widely available, and they lend such a surprisingly pleasant flavor and aroma to the cheesecakes. What a brilliant idea. There are 121 recipes in this book, and over 70 of them call for some form of alcohol for flavoring. If you like the flavors of liqueurs such as Amaretto and Cointreau as I do, then you are going to love baking with them. The Amaretto, Irish Cream, Praline, Butterscotch, and Rum Raisin cheesecakes turned out to be our favorites. We were astonished by how good the Bananas Foster Cheesecake tastes--we couldn't stop eating it, and polished it off for breakfast the next day--amazing. The only one so far that could use some improvement was the Piña Colada cheesecake in that the rum and coconut flavors were rather bland. The fresh strawberry and blueberry cheesecakes were good, the berries being surrounded by a vanilla-flavored cream cheese. All of them I'd be happy to remake if asked to. There is a nice variety of different flavors in here, so you're sure to find something you and your loved ones like. If you feel some of the alcohol flavors are too strong, then simply reduce the amount--you're in charge, not the recipe. Most of the schnapps and liqueurs I found easily--I love DeKuyper's--only a couple eluded me. La Grande Passion, for instance, is no longer made, but you can substitute Passoa or one of the other varieties with good results. About Tweaking: following the recipes as suggested will produce very good cheesecakes, but you should feel free to experiment. For instance, there are now high-quality chocolate brands out there like Droste, Callebaut, and Ghirardelli that will taste better than the old Baker's German chocolate that Grandma used. Always use a high quality pure vanilla extract like Madagascar-Bourbon Vanilla extract. (And you can make your own with vanilla beans and some vodka that tastes better than what you buy in the store, too.)The fresher your ingredients are, the better flavor your cheesecake will have. Many of the cheesecakes in this book are great stand-alone pieces and don't require the toppings that Crownover suggests. Often the toppings seem superfluous because they have the same flavors as the cheesecake filling. At times using a simple topping is much easier and offers a flavor contrast. (For example, Trader Joe's "Fleur de Sel" caramel is quite good--it was great drizzled over the Praline Cheesecake). So don't feel slavish about having to make the toppings. I like the inventiveness and versatility of the recipes in this book, but they are kind of basic. They don't experiment with different cheeses like ricotta or different techniques like water baths. This book may be most helpful to beginning and intermediate cooks. The cheesecake recipes in the Cook's Illustrated cookbooks, for example, are more demanding, but they produce far superior cheesecakes. This book has a great variety of flavors for cheesecake fillings, a lot of inventive ideas for toppings, and several crusts that one can use as suggested or in different combinations. Follow the recipes as suggested or be inventive and make your own. Decades after its initial publication, Crownover's book still hits home runs with a public that has evolving tastes and increasing access to high-quality ingredients. Buy it. Say "I love you!" to someone with a cheesecake. Or to yourself--you deserve it.

Having several cheesecake books, and having purchased this book several years ago, I have been blissfully baking cheesecakes that many friends and family have enjoyed. For that important reason, and for the many wonderful reviews that this book has garnished, I would like to give a bit more detail to help someone both appreciate and perhaps, want to purchase this particularly wonderful book.Starting with the many incredibly beautiful and luscious photographs, you will be in a difficult spot to try and figure out which of the over 100 recipes you would like to try. There seems to be a cake for every season and occasion, and all with just the right amount of effort to make them as spectacular as the finished photo itself.The Foreward is an interesting page itself in that the Cardiopulmonary Dietician who wrote it has a philosphy that I agree with in that, in moderation, one can enjoy just about any food, especially if it prepared properly. It is a great read for those who might feel that "cheesecake" is a forbidden word. And when you get to the "Guilt Free Cheesecake" section, you will be pleasantly surprised on the good flavor and texture on the lighter cheesecakes.As an aside, I found some recipes to be a bit heavy with the sugar content, so I scaled back about a 1/4 cup or so, and that seemed to be just right for myself, though is there such a thing as too much sweetness with cheesecake? And as far as the "Beverage Cheesecakes", the Margarita Cheesecake, Irish Cream Cheesecake, and Amaretto Cheesecakes were just perfect cheesecake cousins of those particular liqueurs.Ms. Crownover goes into her first chapter of how to be successful every time by having the knowledge of "ingredients, equipment, and other helpful hints" to make your cheesecake baking experience the best. One of the parts that I appreciated was the modification of recipes depending on the size of your pan; extremely useful when having to increase/decrease amounts needed for different size pans.Next comes the cakes and the different categories to give you a quick index of flavors:BEVERAGE BASED CHEESECAKES:Grasshopper CheesecakeAmaretto CheesecakeAmaretto Chocolate CheesecakeCoffee and Cream CheesecakeEggnog CheesecakeFuzzy Navel CheesecakeDaiquiri CheesecakeGrand Passion CheesecakeMarbles Grasshopper CheesecakeHawaiian Tropics CheesecakeJamaican Banana CheesecakeChocolate Irish Cream CheesecakeIrish Cream CheesecakeMocha CheesecakeMai Tai CheesecakeMargarita CheesecakeNeopolitan CheesecakeNutty Colada CheesecakeOrange Pineapple CheesecakePina Colada CheesecakePink Lemonade CheesecakeRum Raisin CheesecakeStrawberry Daiquiri CheesecakeVandermint CheesecakeCANDY AND COOKIES CHEESECAKES:Chocolate Candy Cheesecake (an M&M's kind of cake)Cookies and Cream CheesecakeButterscotch CheesecakeButter Rum CheesecakeTurtle CheesecakePraline CheesecakeCARAMEL CHEESECAKES:Caramel Chocolate Chunk CheesecakeCaramel Apple CheesecakeCaramel Pecan CheesecakeMolasses CheesecakeCaramel Mocha CheesecakeChocolate Caramel Pecan CheesecakeCHOCOLATE CHEESECAKES (the most requested ones):Chocolate CheesecakeBlack Bottom CheesecakeBlack Forest CheesecakeChocolate Banana CheesecakeMocha Almond Swirl CheesecakeChocolate Mint Swirl CheesecakeChocolate Orange and Almond Swirl CheesecakeChocolate Orange CheesecakeChocolate Mousse CheesecakeChocolate Peanut Butter CheesecakeChocolate Toffee CheesecakeChocolate Fantasy CheesecakeGerman Chocolate CheesecakeMilk Chocolate CheesecakeCOCONUT CHEESECAKE:Chocolate Coconut Almond CheesecakeCoconut Pineapple Almond CheesecakeCoconut Chocolate Rum CheesecakeCoconut Almond CheesecakeCUSTARD AND SPICE CHEESECAKE:Pumpkin CheesecakeCarrot CheesecakeFRUIT CHEESECAKE:Mandarin Orange CheesecakeApple Pie CheesecakeApricot CheesecakeApricot Mousse CheesecakeBanana Cream CheesecakeBananas Foster CheesecakeCherry CheesecakeImperial Bing Cherry CheesecakeAmbrosia CheesecakeBlueberry CheesecakeBlackberry CheesecakeCherry Almond CheesecakeChocolate Cherry Almond CheesecakeBanana Split CheesecakeCreamy Lemon CheesecakeCreamy Orange Swirl CheesecakeKey Lime CheesecakeLemon Drop CheesecakeLimon CheesecakeNew England Apple CheesecakePeaches and Cream CheesecakePear Elegance CheesecakePeach Pecan CheesecakeFrench Pineapple CheesecakeStrawberry Chocolate CheesecakeRaspberry Almond CheesecakeStrawberry CheesecakeTangerine CheesecakeRaspberry Chocolate CheesecakeCranberry Orange CheesecakeMINT CHEESECAKE:Peppermint Chip CheesecakeMint Almond Swirl CheesecakeChocolate Mint CheesecakeNUT CHEESECAKE:Almond Toffee CheesecakeCalifornia Amaretto CheesecakeBaklava CheesecakeMapel Pecan CheesecakePEANUT BUTTER CHEESECAKE:PB and Chocolate CheesecakePB and Banana CheesecakePB and Jelly CheesecakeVANILLA CHEESECAKE:Super New York Style CheesecakeDutch Vanilla CheesecakeIndividual CheesecakesHoney Vanilla CheesecakeGUILT-FREE CHEESECAKE (light cheesecakes substituting some cream cheese with tofu, egg whites rather than all eggs):Fresh Strawberry CheesecakeLow-Calorie Amaretto CheesecakeLight Lime CheesecakeCoffee Cream CheesecakeSlim Chocolate Mint CheesecakeCaramel Praline CheesecakeSkinny Banana Split CheesecakeFresh Tangerine CheesecakeTropical Blend CheesecakeLight Lemon CheesecakeTangy Orange CheesecakeSlice of Lemon Cheesecake (very refreshing)Calorie Trimmed Coffee CheesecakeVery Vanilla CheesecakeLigth Daiquiri CheesecakePeachy Diet CheesecakeBanana Dream CheesecakeCarefree Cocoa CheesecakeSlender Cherry CheesecakeCaramel Coffee CheesecakeBlueberry Patch CheesecakeThis is a great book as well as reference tool for making the most delectable of cheesecakes; it is definitely one that you will refer to and that you can rely on for making a hit with this favorite dessert!

I will start by saying I don't personally eat cheesecake, but bring one to every event and party and potluck because they go over so well with others. I have never had one turn out poorly from these recipes (even when I've screwed up, it still manages to work out) and I've never had someone turn down a piece. (Usually, they take a second one!)Once caution I will point out is that the recipes are based on a 9" spring-form pan; if you are using pans of different sizes, you'll have to account for it either by adjusting the recipe (per the conversion chart in the front) or adjusting the cooking time (cook longer for smaller pans because the cake will be much thicker).

Sorry so late. I owned the hardcover and a friend lost it. I am very happy to own a copy again. Excellent condition.

Just got my book today. Awesome book so happy.