Paul's Birthday Bash

     Today we had an early birthday celebration for my wonderful hubby Paul! I am awful at keeping secrets from Paul so I figured I would save him the hassle of trying to keep a surprise party from him and just plan a regular ole party for friends and family in Cedar City to come to. I told him that if he really wanted a birthday party he could set up an invite on my facebook. Thats right, I made my husband set up his own birthday party event on facebook. I am an awful wife sometimes. Its ok though because Paul still loves me. I did want to give him a little bit of a surprise, so I decided to not tell him what I was going to do cake wise.

    I had planned to give Paul a few spring form pans for his birthday (I know its cheesy, but he really needed/wanted a new laptop so that was the plan for his main present. I still felt like Paul needed something smaller to open on his actual birthday). Back to the cheesecake pan, I thought to myself, "I should make an awesome cheesecake with Paul's new cheesecake pans!" Then I thought, "Paul might be a little bummed if I use his present first, but I know he loves cheesecake, so I guess I am just going to have to use Paul's cheesecake pans before he does."

     I got my best friend Lisa Walters on board to help me cook this cheesecake. Of course, I had looked on pintrest and picked the exact one that I wanted to attempt to make, now I just needed a distraction to keep Paul from knowing what I was up to. The easiest way to do that was to steal Lisa's kitchen for several hours. Paul got left at home to do homework while Lisa and I set to work in her kitchen making what I hoped would be an amazing recipe.



     We finally got the cheesecake cooked and cooled and decorated and it turned out quite fantastic! I had never made a two tier cheesecake before, but I have to say that the cheesecake turned out far better than I thought my hands were capable of making. All of our friends at the party raved about how good the cheesecake was, so I thought I would post the recipe just incase anyone wants to try it.

His party turned out lovely. We had family and friends over for pizza and games. Our friend Tricia Keeler totally gave the cheesecake surprise away on accident but it was great anyway! Paul still acted surprised so that made me happy :)













Delicious Cheesecake
               Crust
1 1/2 cups finely crushed Graham Crackers
1/4 cups walnuts
1 TBSP sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)    

For crust: in a bowl mix the graham crackers, walnuts, 1 TBSP sugar, and optional cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a spring form pan either an 8" or 9" pan.

               Filling
2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese
2- 8 oz packages of sour cream
1 cup sugar
2 TBSP flour
1 tsp vanilla
3 slightly beaten eggs

For filling: in a large bowl beat the cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup of sugar, flour, and vanilla with electric mixer until combined. Stir in the eggs.

Pour the filling into the crust lined pan. place the pan in a shallow baking pan and bake at 375* for 40-45 minutes for an 8 inch pan and about 45- 50 minutes if you used an 9 inch pan. The cake is done when 2 1/2 inches around the edge of the cake appear set when gently shaken.

Cool for 30 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan and cool the cheese cake completely. Then chill for at least 4 hours before serving.