It's my birthday today!  Happy birthday to me!  This one actually kind of snuck up on me...  I had so much going on for the first half of August, it didn't really dawn on me that my birthday was approaching until last Friday.  However, we're celebrating by going on an adults-only daytime date to the nicest movie theater in the area (which is 2 hours away) to FINALLY go see "Guardians of the Galaxy" and then have lunch at a local Mexican restaurant.  I'm so excited!

I figured that, being my birthday and all, it'd be fun to make up a nice little cake or pie for myself.  No big deal, right?  Well, I stumbled on what I thought was the perfect idea...  Passion fruit cheesecake from 'Ohana.  I like tropical things!  I love cheesecake!  The Polynesian is one of my favorite places to stay!  It was a no-brainer...  What a great birthday treat.

Well, being older apparently doesn't make me wiser.  I didn't realize the recipe I had was horribly incomplete until I actually started making it because I didn't actually read past the ingredients section when I was thinking about doing the recipe.  Whoops.  Maybe I should have done so, especially considering the whole recipe is done by weights, not measuring cups.  Whoops again.

I still made a go at it...  I figured as long as the ingredients and their amounts were right, nothing would stop it from coming together...  Right?  I'm not a crummy cook, surely I can figure this out.  And I think I did.  Kinda.  Yes, it took over 1 hour and 45 minutes to bake.  No, I'm not sure this is what it's supposed to look like, taste like, or be.  Yes, it tastes really good.  No, I'm not going to make it again.  Should my readers...  Jury is out.

The problems of this recipe were numerous.  The bake time I was given was 45 minutes.  It

actually took closer to two hours.  There was no directions on how to specifically make the passion fruit sauce.  That took 45 minutes instead of 15 minutes to bake.  I over-beat the snot out of the custards, both of them, because I didn't know not to.  I didn't know I shouldn't have used fat free cream cheese so it didn't incorporate well.  I bought 2 and a half dozen eggs.  It wasn't enough.  So many lessons learned.

I loved the sweet tartness of the passion fruit sauce and the custardy cheesecake actually worked really well for the overall taste.  It was refreshing and exotic, though not as strongly flavored as I'd have hoped.  It was also very dramatic on the plate which is unique for cheesecakes.  But overall it generally wasn't worth the trouble to make, especially using the actual Disney recipe.  It's time consuming, complicated, hard-to-make, and while it's delicious, it's not delicious enough to justify the time, expense, add numerous eggs.  Maybe the complete recipe is, I don't know.  File this under "like the idea, but not what I thought it would be."

I have included the recipe as I did it below, and yes, all of it is by weight.  This can be converted online for those who wish to try making this recipe.  I can say that for the eggs, I didn't buy yolk-only liquid eggs (do they make such a thing?) but if there was ever a time to do so, it'd be for this recipe.  Maybe I had exceptionally small chickens laying exceptionally tiny yolks, but each yolk I got weighed about half an ounce or less.  So yes, I used 24 eggs to make this.  I'm literally swimming in unused egg whites.  I also think the original recipe implied doing this in individual sized containers, which I didn't understand until too late...  And I would have used my springform, however I just moved and I have not a clue where it is.

Keep in mind that this recipe was horribly incomplete and the recipe below is just what I cobbled together to get the final product above.  It tastes great, but it is complicated and time consuming.  If they still serve this at 'Ohana, and I didn't see that they do, whatever they charge for it isn't enough.  It's really hard to make!

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Passion Fruit Cheesecake

As is served at 'Ohana at the Polynesian Village Resort 

Cheesecake Custard  

°o°  2.5 ounces of cream cheese    
°o°  1 1/4 ounces granulated sugar  

°o°  1 1/4 teaspoon whole milk  

°o°  10 ounces butter

°o°  1 3/4 ounces whole eggs

°o°   5 ounces egg yolks

°o°  Premade pie graham cracker crust or a spring-form pan lined on the bottom and slightly up the sides with graham cracker crumbs

Passion Fruit Sauce 

°o°  1 14.5 ounce can of condensed milk  

°o°  7 ounces egg yolks

°o°  2 ounces lemon juice
°o°  8 ounces passion fruit puree 

Preheat oven to 250.

In a saucepan, combine cream cheese, sugar milk, and butter.  Heat until the butter and cream cheese has melted, whisking constantly.  Heat until the liquid is close to boiling; there will be bubbles and a very light foam building around the edge of the liquid on the saucepan.  Remove from heat.

Combine the eggs and the yolks in a large heat tolerant container.  Using about a half of a cup of the heated butter mixture, slowly drizzle the liquid into the eggs while mixing constantly to temper the eggs.  Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan and over medium-low heat, cook until it's a thick custard consistency and all the cream cheese is re-melted.  Whisk constantly but not vigorously.  Should only take 5 or so minutes.  Pour into pie shell or graham cracker crumb-lined springform pan (if using a springform, graham crackers should line the bottom and only about an inch up the side of the edge of the pan).  Bake at 250 degrees in a water bath for between 45 minutes and one hour, or until the custard is completely set.

While the cheesecake custard is baking, combine all ingredients for the passion fruit sauce.
 After the cheesecake custard has finished baking (45-60 minutes), top with passion fruit sauce and bake an additional 30-45 minutes until the passion fruit sauce is set.  When set, neither the custard or the passion fruit sauce will appear liquidy and will jiggle like gelatin when shaked.

When done, remove from the oven and allow to cool uncovered until room temperature then refrigerate.  Cut and serve when cooled.  

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There are times where having a peanut allergy really, really stinks.

This is one of those times.

I'm not particularly sure why, but I really got it into my head that I needed to make this recipe.  Not wanted, needed.  I kept hearing that this was a signature treat on the Disney Wonder and Magic Cruise ships, and the fact that it's popped up in restaurants in the park sent people into a frenzy of excitement.  Despite the fact I couldn't really eat it, I really wanted to see what the fuss was about.

Really, it couldn't be easier or faster to make, and it's fairly inexpensive.  I actually got my son in on the action (he is quite the stirrer, despite his young age).  The fact that it's no-bake makes it a perfect dessert to make on a hot summer day...  If everybody else's kitchen is like mine, fire up the oven and the house is sweltering for the rest of the day...  And it's this interesting combination between sweet and light, but still heavily peanut flavored, dense, but deliciously creamy (Ok, I may have snuck a sample or two...).  I'm a big fan of the chocolate ganache topping which perfectly set off the whole pie.

What's important is that when I served it, I got nothing short of utterly rave reviews

from everybody.  Topped with whipped cream and another drizzle of chocolate, I was told it was a peanut butter lover's dream.  

What's not to love about an easy recipe for pie that gets fanfare? 

I made this exactly as I have the recipe for, but I did use a graham cracker crust instead of a regular pie shell.  The pie was originally in a regular pastry crust, but in recent years (and in the parks) it's been served with the graham cracker crust.  Really, it'll work in whichever, it's entirely up to preference. 

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Peanut Butter Pie

As is served on Disney Wonder and Disney Magic, Disney Cruise Lines

  

Peanut Butter Pie

°o°  1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
°o°  8 ounces cream cheese, softened
°o° 3/4 cup sugar

°o°  2 tablespoons butter, melted

°o°  1 cup heavy cream, whipped stiff

°o°  1 baked 8-inch pie shell

Chocolate Ganache 

°o°  1/2 cup heavy cream

°o°  4 ounces dark chocolate, chopped

To make the pie, blend peanut butter, sugar, and cream cheese until smooth using a stand or electric mixer.  Add the butter to peanut butter mixture and stir until well incorporated.  Gently fold in whipped cream, making sure no white streaks remain and the mixture is evenly folded, and pour into baked pie shell.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  Glaze with chocolate ganache if desired.

To make ganache, heat cream to a very low boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and fold in chocolate until no white streaks remain.  Cool until lukewarm and spread over pie.  Return to refrigerator for at least another 2 hours before serving.

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