With more than 60 recipes for down-home favorites, ranging from Chicken and Cornmeal Dumplings to Buffalo Stout Beer Chili to Brown Beans and Fatback, The Southern Slow Cooker (Ten Speed Press, 2013) is packed with real Southern flavor. Author Kendra Bailey Morris presents regional classics from all over the South: church potlucks, Cajun and Creole traditions in the bayou, even her West Virginia granny’s old recipe book. The following Chocolate-Banana Cheesecake Recipe is excerpted from chapter 4, “Desserts and Sweets.”
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More from The Southern Slow Cooker:
•Beef Stew Recipe
• Pork Ribs Recipe With Raspberry Sorghum Barbecue Sauce
Chocolate-Banana Cheesecake Recipe
1 cup chocolate wafer crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large banana, cut into thin slices, plus additional sliced bananas for garnish
Whipped cream, for garnish
Shaved dark chocolate, for garnish
In a small bowl, mix together the crushed chocolate wafers, sugar, and melted ?butter. Partially fill six half-pint canning jars with about 3 tablespoons of this mixture, being sure to distribute it evenly. Set aside any leftover chocolate crust mixture.
In a large mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until fluffy. Add the eggs, one by one, still beating the mixture. Pour in the condensed milk and the vanilla and continue to beat.
Fill each jar with about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the cream cheese mixture. Add an even layer of banana slices along with some of the reserved chocolate crust. Finally fill each jar with more cheesecake mixture, leaving about an inch of headspace. Lay a kitchen towel on the bottom of the slow cooker to protect the ceramic surface and place the uncovered jars in the slow cooker insert, making sure they are not touching each other or the sides of the cooker.
Fill a tea kettle with water and heat to just boiling. Pour just enough water into the slow cooker to come halfway up the glass jars. Cover the top of the slow cooker with several thick sheets of paper towels to absorb additional moisture. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 1 to 2 hours, until the cheesecakes begin to pull away from the sides of the jars. Using a pair of tongs, carefully transfer the jars (they will be very hot) to a wire rack. Cool completely. Screw on the lids and place the cheesecakes in the fridge until well chilled, at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
Just before serving, top each jar of cake with additional sliced bananas, a dollop of whipped cream, and shaved chocolate. Serve the cakes straight from the jars with spoons. Serves 6.
Note: To crush the chocolate wafers, pulse them in a food processor or add them to a resealable plastic bag and crush them with the back of a large spoon.
Reprinted with permission from The Southern Slow Cooker by Kendra Bailey Morris, copyright © 2013. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc. Photo credit: Erin Kunkel © 2013. Buy this book from our store: The Southern Slow Cooker.