Whatever Thursday - Cheesecake!

So I'm about 10 days behind on commenting on this. What can I say?

For her birthday, Savvy toyed with the idea of either a Grand Marnier Chocolate Cake and a Cannoli Cheesecake. 

She finally decided on the cheesecake, mainly because she had seen one on FaceBook which she drooled over. The Mascarpone Cannoli Cheesecake was by Giada De Laurentiis, so how could I go wrong. 

Of course, in my mind, why make one if you can make two!

I really loved how the addition of the mascarpone made this batter really creamy. In fact, this is probably my favorite cheesecake in the overall texture category.

Since Savvy worked on her birthday, I had time to make it and let it set overnight (or at least the 4 hours). The 'pretty' one was going to be for her and the other one I was going to take to work.

So I forgot to take a picture of the cheesecake before they were cut into!

I picked up a hint from another version of the recipe and crumbled waffle cones on top of the cheesecake. I made a note to myself not to do that until I am getting ready to serve the cheesecake. The waffle cones absorb moisture and get a little chewy if they are put on and left there.

The cheesecake didn't have a really sharp cannoli taste to me, but Savvy enjoyed it. I think the use of almond biscotti as the base for the cheesecake added to it greatly. As did those at work. So this is a keeper recipe. I can see it being adapted fairly easily by incorporating different flavorings to the basic mascarpone/cream cheese base. 

But now I really want to make the Grand Marnier Chocolate Cake!