For a delicious gift say cheesecake

Forget gold, frankincense and myrrh. Bring on the cream cheese, eggs and sugar. We would venture to guess that if the three wise men had lived in the era of cheesecakes, they would have whipped up this luscious dessert as a gift, much as people do these days for the most deserving on their holiday list.

The great thing about cheesecakes is how deceptively easy they are to make. Essentially, cheesecake is a custard, a delicious combination of cream cheese, eggs and sugar — at least for the sinfully rich New York-style cheesecake that's a staple at delis everywhere. Other versions use ricotta or cottage cheese, or even Swiss or cheddar for a savory cake.

But for gift-giving, nothing beats a fully loaded New York cheesecake, and from its basic three-ingredient palette, you can create a multitude of flavor combinations — some familiar, some more unusual.

Heidi Cottrill, owner of Amuse Gourmet and a pastry instructor at Paragon Culinary School in Colorado Springs, Colo., estimates she has about 65 cheesecake recipes.

"I make one I call Tuxedo Cheesecake for New Year's Eve," she said. "It's a play on dark and white chocolate for the tuxedo effect. I use three kinds of chocolate in it. White Chocolate-Pumpkin is another popular one around the holidays."

Elena Clement, a pastry instructor at Johnson and Wales University in Denver, has others up her sleeve — including a Caramelized Pineapple Cheesecake with a macadamia nut crust and Candy Cane Cheesecake with an Oreo crust.

If you're thinking of making cheesecakes to give as gifts, you might want to go with a small version.

"There are many sizes of springform pans, which are required to make a cheesecake," Cottrill said. "I like to use a mini springform pan to make individual cheesecakes."

Yes, it pays to pay for a springform pan or two for baking cheesecakes. These round pans, which come in diameters from 6 to 12 inches, are encircled by a 2-1⁄2- to 3-inch high ring that has a spring or clamp on one side. When you release the clamp or spring, you can easily remove the ring, leaving just the cheesecake and its base behind. With a regular cake pan, it would be nearly impossible to remove the cheesecake.

With so many possibilities for flavor combinations, you're bound to find at least one irresistible cheesecake recipe — probably many more. And for gift-giving, it's a wise move, indeed.

CRANBERRY-TURTLE CHEESECAKE

Yield: 20 servings

For crust:

18 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos), ground into crumbs

1⁄2 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

For filling:

4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping:

1 stick butter

1-1⁄2 cups sugar

1⁄2 cup corn syrup (such as Karo)

1⁄2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sliced cranberries (fresh or frozen)

Pinch of salt

1 cup chopped pecans

1⁄4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1⁄4 cup white chocolate chips

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For crust, combine cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom of large springform pan. Bake seven to 10 minutes, or until crust is set.

For filling, mix cream cheese with whip attachment of electric mixer until softened, scraping sides and bottom regularly to avoid lumps. Whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined. Gradually add to cream cheese while continuing to whip. Add filling to prepared crust and bake 60-75 minutes, or until set. Cool completely.

For topping, combine butter, sugar, syrup, vanilla, cranberries and salt in pot and cook over medium-high heat until soft-ball stage. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips. Allow to cool 10 minutes. Spoon topping onto cooled cheesecake and allow to cool completely before removing from springform pan and serving.

Source: Heidi M. Cottrill of Amuse Gourmet in Colorado Springs, Colo.

TUXEDO CHEESECAKE

Yield: 20 servings

For crust:

18 chocolate sandwich cookies (such as Oreos), ground into crumbs

1⁄2 cup sugar

1 stick butter, melted

For filling:

4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1⁄2 cup milk chocolate chips

1⁄2 cup white chocolate chips, melted

For topping:

1⁄2 cup heavy cream

1⁄2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Whipped cream (optional)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For crust, combine cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom of large springform pan. Bake seven to 10 minutes, or until crust is set.

For filling, mix cream cheese with whip attachment until softened, scraping sides and bottom regularly to avoid lumps. Whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined and gradually add to cream cheese while continuing to whip.

Separate filling into two bowls. Add melted milk chocolate to one batch of filling and mix until combined. Add melted white chocolate to the other batch of filling and mix until combined. Add milk chocolate filling to prepared crust, leveling the layer in the pan, then add white chocolate filling on top and bake 60-75 minutes, or until set. Cool completely.

For topping, heat cream to scalding and pour over semisweet chocolate chips. Whisk until smooth. Spread onto cooled cheesecake and allow to cool completely before removing from springform pan and serving. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Source: Heidi M. Cottrill of Amuse Gourmet in Colorado Springs, Colo.

WHITE CHOCOLATE-PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

Yield: 20 servings

For crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1⁄2 cup sugar

1 stick (1⁄2 cup) butter, melted

For filling:

4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

4 eggs, at room temperature

1-1⁄4 cups sugar, divided use

1-1⁄2 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided use

3⁄4 cup pumpkin

1⁄2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1-1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon

1⁄2 cup white chocolate chips, melted

1 cup sour cream

1 cup whipped cream, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom of large springform pan. Bake seven to 10 minutes, or until crust is set.

For filling, mix cream cheese with whip attachment of electric mixer until softened, scraping sides and bottom regularly to avoid lumps. Whisk together eggs, 1 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until combined. Gradually add to cream cheese while continuing to whip.

Separate filling into two bowls. Add pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon to one batch of filling and mix until combined. Add melted white chocolate to other batch of filling and mix until combined.

Pour white chocolate filling into prepared crust, leveling the layer in the pan, then add pumpkin filling on top and bake 55-65 minutes, or until set.

Combine sour cream, remaining sugar and remaining vanilla and spread onto baked cheesecake. Return to oven and continue to bake five minutes. Cool completely before removing cheesecake from springform pan and serving. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

Source: Heidi M. Cottrill of Amuse Gourmet in Colorado Springs, Colo.

CANDY CANE CHEESECAKE

Yield: 20 servings

For crust:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1⁄3 cup granulated sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For filling:

5 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1-1⁄4 cups granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Pinch salt 4 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon mint extract

1⁄2 cup crushed candy canes

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

For crust, mix cracker crumbs and sugar together and add melted butter. Press firmly into bottom and up sides of 10-inch cake pan and bake about 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.

For filling, reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. In large mixing bowl, cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add cornstarch and salt and mix. Add eggs one at a time, mixing completely after each addition. Add vanilla and mint extracts. Fold in candy.

Pour into crust and bake in a water bath until set, about 50 minutes. Cool and refrigerate overnight. Remove from pan and serve.

Source: Elena Clement of Johnson & Wales University, Denver