Childhood memories

I remember Sara Lee Cheesecake from my childhood.  

I remember climbing up onto a chair and taking the box of Sara Lee cheesecake out of the freezer.  

On the outside edges of the top of the cheesecake were swirly little decorations (rosettes, maybe?) and I remember cutting only enough so that I would have one full swirly decoration on my slice.  I remember being in a bit of a quandry if a slice had been cut out and halved the swirly decoration - do I cut half of the next swirly decoration to make a full one in total, or do I cut one AND a half to bring it back to status quo?  

I remember putting the rest of the Sara Lee cheesecake back into the box and climbing back up on the chair and, if I was the naughty one to have the first slice of the cheesecake, I remember spinning the box around so that on first glance it would look like the box had not yet been opened.

I remember just looking at the cheesecake, poking it once in a while to see if the slice of cheesecake had defrosted enough to just take the frozen edge off.

And then I remember digging my fork into the slice, making sure that there was a bit of the topping and a bit of the cheesecake and a bit of the biscuit base.

And I remember putting that sweet, creamy, slightly tartish bite into my mouth and savouring the combination of the cold gorgeous cheesecake on top of that buttery biscuit base.

It's been a very long time since I've had a Sara Lee Cheesecake.  I truly can't remember the actual taste of the cheesecake, just the decadent (and grownup) feeling that came with eating that luscious dessert.

When I bit into my first attempt at Hummingbird Bakery's Strawberries and Cream Cheesecake, I was transported back to my childhood and that decadent feeling.  That cold, creamy, buttery lusciousness.  This cheesecake is divine.  

The usual cheesecake mix is enhanced by delectable stewed strawberries.  And the whole concoction is topped with a delicious mascarpone cheese, sugar and whipped cream mixture.  In my opinion, this MAKES the cheesecake.  (Also it hides any cracks in the baked cheesecake :))

Three out of three for me from the Hummingbird Bakery : Cake Days cookbook.  I'm impressed.