Week 35: Cheesecake Challah

Caramel Cheesecake Challah

I feel like this week needs no witty introduction.  Cheesecake challah. It’s hard to imagine anything better. Here’s how I did it:

The basic recipe included a healthy dose of cream cheese (12 ounces for a 5-lb batch of challah) in place of the oil, as well as some vanilla extract.  It gave the challah a nice dairy tanginess and a certain rich creaminess that you just don’t see in non-cheesecake-inspired challahs.  But the real glory is in what comes next…

As you might recall, cheesecake has a graham cracker crust.  So does cheesecake challah!  Similar to the preparation of the cinnamon roll-style challahs, I laid the dough out in a sheet, spread it with some butter, and sprinkled it was a graham cracker crumb and brown sugar mixture.  After patting the topping into the dough, I cut it into strips and braided the strips.  When it cooked, each strand of challah had a crunchy graham cracker essence.

Blueberry Cheesecake Challah

It was inspired.  I’m brilliant.

As you can see by the pictures, I drizzled some with store-bought caramel, and

another loaf I filled with fresh blueberries.  Caramel cheesecake challah and blueberry cheesecake challah!