Tropical Coconut Cheesecake

Easter has come! Yes! Easter is always so fun; For me and my family at least. Even now, I still go easter egg hunting. Makes me feel like a little kid again. Plus, I do it for my little brother. I mean, he's still younger than me. But as I grow up and get older, my parents kind of stop doing the things they did for me as a kid for my brother. Because they've already done it. So it forces my little brother to grow up faster. And I don't want that. I want him to have fun as a little kid like I did. Plus, I'm still a kid inside. I still love doing these kind of things.

For Easter, we usually go to a brunch at a restaurant called Dubsdread. This is the only time they actually do a brunch, and it's always packed! You have to make reservations a month in advance just so you can have a table! But we always make sure to do such. They're food really good to. There's so much to choose from. This year, my boyfriend got to come with us for the first time. He loves buffets (which he shouldn't!!), so he was in heaven we he saw all what they had. It was fun with just the 5 of us, my mom, dad, brother and Chris. But, then we had to go see the ENTIRE family after words.

We went over to my aunts house to see everyone; And I mean everyone. Had to of been 100 people in that house. We're a big family here. Which, I like my big family :]. After going to my aunts, we head back home to have dinner with my grandparents (on my fathers side). And they love it when my mom cooks and I bake. They'll eat everything to. They're big eaters. I decided to make a cheesecake for them. I know my Nana loves cheesecake, and my grandfather, well, he'll eat anything really. With all the sugar he eats, you'd never know he was actually diabetic!! But he's started to get his sugar intake under control.

After a long day, it was great to get to sit down, with your close family, and have a slice of a delicious cheesecake. I even gave the cheesecake a light pink color to it for the holiday. It was so cute; And it was so good. And everyone loved it, which was what I was hoping for. Everything turned out great.

Recipe

Coconut Cake Base

2 eggs
2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 (18-ounce) jar pineapple ice cream topping, divided

Cream Cheese Filling

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 (8.5-ounce) can cream of coconut
4 eggs
1 cup sweetened coconut
1 tablespoon rum

Garnish

1/2 cup toasted sweetened coconut


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 10-inch spring form pan.

2. Combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla, coconut, baking powder and flour in a medium bowl and spread in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove from oven and set aside to cool slightly. Spread with 1/2 of the pineapple topping, reserving remaining topping for use later in the recipe.

3. Place cream cheese in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer. Beat on low speed until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until combined. Add the cream of coconut, and beat again. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until well incorporated. Add the rum and coconut and beat until just combined. Pour over prepared base and bake 1 hour and 15 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Place the remaining 1/2 cup of sweetened coconut in a glass pie plate and toast in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until it becomes golden. Sprinkle the toasted coconut around the outside of the cheesecake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Makes 12 to 16 servings