Math comes in handy to make Cappuccino Cheesecake Bars

Sometimes junior high school math comes in handy, such as it did when I made Cappuccino Cheesecake Bars from the October 2010 issue of Bon Appetit.
   The recipe calls for an 11x7x1 ½ inch metal baking pan.
   I didn’t notice this when I went out to buy ingredients for the recipe, and didn’t have this size of pan around. (It sounds a little unusual, doesn’t it?)
   I got out a 13 x 9 inch pan and a kitchen calculator, and using ratios and cross multiplication learned in Grade 8 math, I figured out the ingredient amounts I would need with a larger surface area.

   Update: I've written about the conversions I made and the ingredient amounts I used. Click here to see them!

   At this point, unfortunately, I realized I needed more cream cheese, and had to run out for it.
   Luckily, the trip was worth it – this was a delicious dessert.
   Most people over the age of 12 will probably like it, and coffee and Coffee Crisp chocolate bar admirers will love it.
   The recipe calls for instant espresso powder. The only supermarket around I’ve ever found this in is Safeway, and the brand is Nescafe.
   The end of the recipe instructs to beat whipping cream, then put dollops of it on the cheesecake after it has been cut into pieces.
   Rather, I beat the cream, spread it over the chilled cheesecake, sprinkled over reserved crumb mixture and then I cut it and served it.
   That way, I could cut the rest of the bars up and store them, and not have to re-dollop them with whipped cream every time I served it.
   Make sure to keep these babies in the fridge if they're not all going to be served at the same time.
   Graham crackers, sugar, butter and espresso powder are blended together in a food processor until moist crumbs are formed. Some of the crumbs are transferred to a pie plate; the rest are pressed into the bottom of the buttered baking pan. Both are baked for 10 minutes.
   More espresso powder, whipping cream and vanilla are stirred together. Cream cheese is beaten until smooth, then sugar, the coffee mixture and egg is added and beaten in.
   The filling is spread evenly over the crust, and the cheesecake is baked for 25 minutes. After a chilling time of at least two hours, there are two options: My method, which is to spread whipping cream over the entire cheesecake, sprinkle the baked crumbs over, then cut; or the cut cheesecake into pieces, then serve with a dollop of whipped cream or crumb mixture over (the way to go if you’re going to serve all the bars at once).

Another good treat recipe: Chocolate Chewies

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