As if I needed an excuse to make a cheesecake, my mother sent me an email this past weekend asking if she could write a guest post on In Good Taste. Since the recipe she wanted to share is so-good-it-should-be-illegal good, I obliged (among other reasons). I did a little baking yesterday and snapped some photos to accompany her post.
Guest post by Daryl Callahan
I have asked Maris if I could contribute a guest post here so that I could honor my brother Glenn. Glenn was my brother and best friend, a kind sensitive boy with a heart of gold. Stubborn? Yes but that’s because he always knew he was right – and looking back he probably was!
He aspired to be a comedy writer and director and he would have been very successful but he died on October 1, 1974 at the age of 20, from an inoperable brain tumor.
When we were kids, sometime in the late 50′s, we pretended to get married. We even pretended my doll – whom we named Beth – was our daughter! As we grew up, every year on January 4 – through college – we sent each other anniversary cards.
His kind spirit was not just reserved for the family. In high school he organized and ran carnivals and charity events for American Heart and American Cancer Society. When he was no more then 8 years old he took his little red wagon and went door to door collecting clothes for the people of then earthquake ravaged Chile.
Toward the end of his illness he asked me to take him to the bank where he withdrew his savings stating “I won’t be needing it,” and proceeded to have me take him from store to store so he could buy presents for his family and friends. I could go on and on about his kind, selfless personality, but it is hard to type through tears, 37 years later.
I do want to share his absolute all time favorite cheesecake recipe with Maris’ readers. We call it, of course, Glenn’s cheesecake.
The recipe uses Zweiback Toast, which I think has been discontinued but I must write the recipe in it’s original form. If you can’t find Zwieback, you could supplement your favorite biscuit or graham crackers [Maris has substituted vanilla wafers, as indicated below and that works well].
I hope you enjoy this as much as my family always has. It has lots of fond memories. To personalize the recipe, you can serve it topped with your favorite canned or fresh fruit.
I made this once for my family when I was in nursing school and never lived down the fact that my lost band-aid turned up in my mother’s slice. Gross, I know!
Glenn’s Cheesecake
What You need:
For the Crust:
1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons of butter
10 Zweiback biscuits, crushed* (Use a food processor to crush the cookies into crumbs. If you don’t have one, you can crush the cookies in a ziplock bag).
2 tablespoons sugar
For the Filling:
1 pound (16 ounces) cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
*Note from Maris: If you can’t find Zwieback use 1/2 a box of vanilla wafers – about 25 1-inch cookies.
How-To:
Grease a 7- or 8- inch spring form pan with one tablespoon of butter. Mix together remaining butter, zweiback biscuits [or wafers] and sugar. Press mixture on the bottom of the pan. Set aside. Pre heat oven to 300 * F. Place a pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.
Beat cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch and salt until very smooth. Add egg yolks and eggs one at a time until smooth. Then add sweet cream and lemon juice and vanilla. Pour cheese mixture into prepared spring form. Place over the rack with pan of water. Bake for one hour and then turn off oven. Allow cake to cool in oven for at least 2 hours more Remove cake to rack but donot remove from pan til cool
Note: I seem to remember my mother leaving it in oven overnight.
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{ 74 comments… read them below or add one }
First off, Glenn sounds like an incredible man! Fabulous that you are able to remember him through all of the memories and this incredible recipe. Looks so yummy. I honestly have never made a cheesecake and now I want to!
Such a pretty little cheesecake and what a touching story. Thanks for sharing, Daryl!
Yum, sounds like a great recipe. Thanks for sharing Mrs. Callahan!
Thanks for sharing both the story and the recipe! The cheesecake looks perfect.
great to meet you Maris’s Mum and lovely recipe may your brothers memories continue to live on and inspire us all to be better people
What a sad but wonderful story, Daryl! I can tell your brother was a warm, sensitive and very special young man.
Your cheesecake looks delicious and how wonderful it bears your brother’s name. I was on the receiving end of a band-aid in food myself once, at a resort! Grossed me out too. Not so bad among family members
Nothing like something sweet and delicious to remember someone you love. The uncanny thing for me is that I have a brother named Glen that also loves making cheesecakes. Lovely story and a fabulous way to remember him.
This is a beautiful post–thank you so much for sharing your memories of your brother with us, and for sharing one of his favorite desserts, as well.
Mmmm, it looks incredible! What a wonderful way to carry on Glenn’s memory (one of many ways, I’m sure) and share his love with the world, he sounds like a wonderful spirit. Thanks so much for putting a smile on my face, a tear in my eye, and a rumble in my belly
Daryl, Thanks for sharing such a touching tribute to your brother’s memory. The cheesecake is lovely- I can see why it was his favorite!
oh what a great guest post!
Touchy story, great tribute. Donna Hay’s recipe suggests leaving in the oven for an hour afterwards and then I think an hour or two in the refrigerator. This recipe really tests your patience, and planning:)
Love how the filling has no flour, instead it has cornstarch. I bet it is definitely delicious!
awww haha cute post!! and ommmgshhhhh this looks sooooooooo good! reminds me of ricotta cake! one of my faves ever~
This cheesecake looks wonderful! I love a nice tall vanilla cheesecake unadorned! Making my mouth water…
I love the story behind the food. The cheesecake looks delicious!
Wonderful recipe – thanks Daryl! I lost my sister a little over three years ago and I know how very hard it is to lose a sibling.
What a great tribute to Glenn from your mother! Very touching indeed. The cheesecake looks fabulous and and prefer mine bandaid free.
What a lovely tribute to Glenn!!!! Thank you for sharing his story and the recipe.
Wow. Glenn sounds like an amazing person. Thanks for sharing his story, Maris!
That must have been hard to lose a brother when he was so young, but how nice that you’re sharing his memory with Maris through this recipe. Family recipes like this are so precious.
This was such a beautiful post. It warms my heart not only thinking about my own brother, but the possibility of the relationship between my own kids. Thank you so much for sharing.
This cheesecake is a fabulous way to remember someone, it looks amazing.
What a sweet tribute! Bittersweet. He sounds like the brother I always wish I had. And zwiebacks? I remember those! I think you may be able to still find them in the baby food section. The cheese cake is so thick and fluffy – scrumptious!
I feel blessed to be able to read this post.
Yum – it looks delicious. And what a great way to honor the memory of your uncle… How sad that his life was so short, he sounded like an amazing man.
I love that your mom guest blogged! I wonder if I could get my mom to do that!
Lovely story — and how nice to find your mom guest blogging here.
wow what a GORGEOUS cheesecake. recently i’ve heard of a few people who dislike cheesecake. my husband is one of them. how is this possible?!?
Wonderful story and guest post! This cheesecake looks fantastic. Love the fact that it uses Zwieback!
i had tears in my eyes reading this. But it’s a wonderful tribute to Glenn, and the cheesecake looks wonderful!
What a beautiful post, it brought tears to my eyes. Glenn sounds like such a wonderful person, brother and friend.
beautiful, and thanks for sharing!
Maris that looks absolutely divine! Just gorgeous and it makes me want to take a fork to my screen to have a bite
Such a gorgeous cake! The texture looks absolutely perfect!
What a beautifully written post in honor of a beautiful soul. Thank you for sharing about your brother, Daryl.
The images Maris captured of Glenn’s Cheesecake tells all. Looks sinfully delish and good looking texture! Hmmm, I wonder if there’s a good recipe to make Zwieback biscuits at home?
That is a wonderful tribute..Glenn sounds like a special person..thank you for sharing the story and the recipe..
I agree with Maris..this looks so good it should be illegal
What a lovely guest post! That cheesecake is fabulous and so tempting. A great use of Zwieback toasts.
Cheers,
Rosa
What a touching tribute. Thank you for sharing your memories and Glenn’s favorite cheesecake. I’ve never heard of Zweiback biscuits before. Now I’m curious.
What a wonderful guest post! I couldn’t hold back my tears reading about your brother because I too lost my brother 9 years ago from a terrible construction accident. He was only 26 years old. Thanks for sharing your beautiful childhood memories of your brother. I bet he’s eating this cheese cake somewhere smiling down at you!
Hi Daryl, lovely to meet you through your words and cheesecake. Not only did you have a fantastic brother but your daughter is one of the kindest people on the net. She’s treated me like an old friend since day one and I’ll never forget that. So putting all that together, I bet you’re a pretty special person yourself!
I can’t wait to try this cake. I love cheesecake.
Glenn sounds like he was an amazing person and that his spirit lives on in you, Daryl, and in Maris who is awesome in so many ways! I’m sure he is smiling down on this cheesecake and I am smiling because now I have this delicious recipe in my arsenal!
I hope all these wonderful commenters are able to see my reply. . I am so very touched by all your kind words. I feel very blessed that Maris is surrounded by such an extraordinary and supportive group of people. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
I cried in my oatmeal when I read about how he withdrew his savings to buy presents for family and friends. What a wonderful man. Very worthy of a cheesecake!
What a beautiful and moving tribute to an incredible man! Thank you for sharing this with us. The cheesecake looks amazing. I have never tried to make one before; but you have inspired me to give it a shot.
Daryl, this is a touching beautiful post. Cheesecakes are my favorite and I am definitely going to try this but most importantly carry on it’s name, Glenn’s Cheesecake, and the story behind it every time I bake and serve it. Thanks for sharing.
A wonderful story and a super recipe (sans bandaid, of course).
I love it! Love it! This post is awesome. That cheesecake beats any I have ever seen or even made. this is going to be made THIS weekend. Inspirational and Irresistible!
What lovely memories you chosen to celebrate your friend’s life. His favorite cake sounds delicious and I’ll be sure to try it. I hope you havea great day. Blessings…Mary
A beautiful tribute and a beautiful cake! This is such a lovely post Maris
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What a wonderful story. Glenn sounds like he was amazing. What a wonderful way to remember him through a recipe.
This looks so delicious! Beautiful post
What a sweet tribute, he sounds like a very special person. This recipe looks incredible, and of course even better because it brings back such great memories!
Wow, that is a really touching story about your uncle. Thanks for sharing his favourite recipe with us. I think it makes it all the more meaningful
Thank you for sharing. I cried too.
They do still make Zweiback crackers, but they are not imported like they used to be…I have family members bring them back from Europe when they travel abroad.
A very touching tribute for a wonderful sounding person. What a lovely way to honor his memory.
Darryl, Glenn sounds like a wonderful brother! Thank you for the touching story and the delicious sounding recipe!
What a wonderful recipe and tribute to your brother! Thank you for sharing
what a touching tribute!! cheesecake is one of my favorites as well
I am sorry to hear about Glen’s passing at such an early age but this is such a great way to honor him. He sounds like a fantastic guy! And this cheesecake looks finger lickin good
Glenn sounded like quite an amazing guy. What a blessing that you had him in your life those 20 years. This recipe sounds wonderful and is a great tribute! Adding this to my recipes to try
What a sweet and sensitive post. The cheesecake looks like perfection and I am so glad you shared the recipe and your Brother’s story. It must be so difficult to lose such a beloved sibling at such an early age. Your last few sentences made me smile at the end though…and reminded of my first time I used pie weights and accidentally baked them IN to the crust. My father-in-law almost broke a tooth on one. I will never live that down.
wow, what a beautiful way to remember someone. thanks for sharing
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Hello mom!! I loved this post, a tasty way to remember beloved Glenn. thank you for sharing
sweetlife
bonnie
Hi Mrs. Callahan! Thank you for sharing a wonderful story about your brother and delicious cheesecake! What a nice way to remember him. Great team work as mom and daughter. Beautiful post Maris!!!
What a great story – and a delicious looking cheesecake!
beautiful post, mrs. callahan – thanks for sharing something that’s so close to your heart with us and i’m glad that this delicious cheesecake brings back all these lovely memories
I love cheesecake and yours looks so so delicious!
What a wonderful tribute to Glenn. I love your Mom’s guest post, how awesome of her to do this and share this wonderful recipe and story. I was crying while I was reading it and then laughed at the end when I read about the bandaid.
What a beautiful & moving post. I just love what your mom has shared. This cheesecake sounds like a wonderful tribute… Thank you for sharing Glenn’s story and this recipe that is obviously special to you & your family! I would LOVE a slice of that cheesecake right now (minus the bandaid, of course!
Looks delicious!
This is an awesome story and a great looking cake.
Mrs. Callahan- What great memories of your brother. Thank you for sharing, although I have to admitt I got a bit teary. I sampled this cheesecake and it’s delicious!!
What a beautiful post. Glenn sounds like an amazing person – now an amazing angel. God Bless you! Thanks for his yummy cheesecake recipe!
this cake looks picture perfect!
What a fantastic way to honor Glenn. Even 37 years later I want to offer my condolences. It sounds like the world is missing an absolutely wonderful person.
Very touching – he is lucky to have such a wonderful family!
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