Olivia the Pig Cake and cupcakes

Olivia the Pig loves red and therefore I had to make red velvet cake for the Birthday party.  But I wanted to elevate the cake some how because I find red velvet a bit boring.  I found a blogger that had a red velvet cake with cheesecake inside.  This was such a great idea therefore that is what I made and it turned out so yummy!!!!

Recipe by Browneyedbaker.com

Prep time: 1 hr. (active) 8 hrs. (inactive)  /bake time 1 hr. 20 mins.

Cheesecake
32 ounces cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs (at room temperature)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Red Velvet Cake
1 cup unsalted butter (at room temp.)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tablespoons red food coloring (liquid)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Making the cheesecake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Now prep your pans:  I wanted my cheesecake for the cake to be the same size so I used the actual cake pans then for the cupcakes I put remaining cheesecake batter into a small casserole dish.  Spray the bottom and sides of all pans with oil.  Then put a piece of wax paper in the base of all the pans.  This will help the cheesecake not to stick and all come out without problems.
2.  Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and sugar at med until completely smooth, about three mins.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a min. or so after each addition.  Scrap down the sides of the bowl as needed.  Add the heavy cream and vanilla extract and beat until completely incorporated.
3.  Pour the batter into the cake pans first and then the small casserole dish.  Make sure the top is smooth and even.
4.  Now you will need casserole dishes large enough to hold your different pans.  Put a cake pan with the cheesecake already in it, into the empty casserole dish.  Fill a cup up with very hot water and add it to the base of the casserole dish.  Fill till it is about half way up the cake pan.
5.  Place the water bath and cheesecake mix in the oven.  Bake for about 50 mins. Once time is over turn off oven and allow pan to sit in the oven for another hour with out the heat on.   Take out of the oven and place on a cooling rack to cool till room temp. 
6.  I took a large cookie sheet and covered with wax paper once the cheesecake is cooled the cake pans over onto of cookie sheet to get out the cheesecake round.  The cheesecake for the cupcakes I left in the casserole dish, put everything into the fridge for at least four hours or overnight.

cheesecake round



Making the red velvet cake:
1.  Preheat oven 350 degrees F.  Grease cake pans and line bottom with wax paper.
2.  On med.-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 mins.  Turn the mixer on high and add the eggs one at a time.
3.  In a separate small bowl mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla, and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add to the batter and mix on med. speed until completely combined.  Scrape sides and bottom to make sure all batter is well mixed.
4.  Reduce mixer to low and add half of the buttermilk and then half of the flour.  Repeat until completely mixed.  Beat on high until smooth. 
5.  Add the salt, baking soda, and vinegar and beat on high for about 30 seconds.
6.  Fill cake pans and fill cupcake pan with the remaining if you are making cupcakes.
7.  Place into oven and bake for about 30 mins.  Remove and allow to cool for about 15 mins. and remove from the pans.

Once cheesecake is cooled for about 4 hours and cake is completely cooled it is time to stack and decorate how ever you wish.  Remember you need to level both cake layers, the side you trimmed have it on the inside of the cake so when you go to frost you will not have crumbs in the frosting.  The picture below is how the cake should look.

Cake/cheesecake/cake



For the cupcakes  I used a small round cookie cutter to cut out the middles of the cupcake and also used it to cut the rounds on the cheesecake in the casserole dish.  This was messy but I wanted the hole to be the same.  See pictures below:

Hole in cupcake

Cheesecake in cupcake

Finished cupcake