Happy Birthday Boyfriend - Banana Fosters Cheesecake

Last weekend was my boyfriend's birthday. He is not a chocolate cake kind of person like I am, but he LOVES the banana cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. As a loving girlfriend, I figured I would try to make a banana cheesecake for him even though the thought is not appetizing to me whatsoever.

For some odd reason I chose a recipe that calls for the cake to be baked in a bath. This one was a lot tougher to bake than the flour-less chocolate cake because it called for some odd baking instructions. I tried my best...

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup finely chopped pecans

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:

1 2-oz packages reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

3 large eggs

2 cups pureed bananas (from 4 bananas)

1 cup low-fat sour cream

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

Topping:

1 cup low-fat sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 17oz jar carmel sauce

2 tablespoons dark rum

2 bananas, peeled, sliced

Preparation

For crust:

position rack in center of oven and preheat oven to 350*F. Wrap outside of 9-inch diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides with heavy-duty foil. (I had to finely chop the nuts in the food processor)

Combine flour, pecans, butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix well.
Press mixture onto bottom of prepared pan.
For filling:

Using electric mixer, beat cream in large bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in cornstarch. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just blended after each addition. Add pureed banana, sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Beat until just combined.

Transfer filling to crust-lined pan. Place pan in large roasting pan. Add enough hot water to roasting pan to come up 1 inch up sides of springform pan. Bake until center of cake is just set, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove cake from oven. Maintain oven temperature.

Meanwhile, prepare topping:

Mix together sour cream, sugar, and vanilla in small bowl until well blended. Spread topping over cheesecake
Bake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Turn off oven. Let cake stand in oven until cooled to room temperature, about 2 hours. Refrigerate cake until well chilled. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Cut around cake to loosen; remove pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Warm carmel sauce in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring often. Mix in rum. Drizzle some sauce decoratively over cake. Arrange bananas top cake and Enjoy

Overall, I think this cake came out pretty mediocre. It took FOREVER to bake and cool. I had to make it 5 days before his actually birthday just to ensure it would be done on time. The taste was decent, but boyfriend said it was not "banana enough". Next time he wants banana cheesecake I may just go out and buy it from Cheesecake Factory... I will have to find a new cake for next year!

Happy Birthday Boyfriend!

*If anyone has a better banana cheesecake recipe I should try, PLEASE share!

Recipe courtesy of epicurious: July 1996