I made this cheesecake for New Year's Eve. I followed the recipe pretty closely, except used 4T of kahlua on the crust and 4T on the cheesecake per other reviewer's suggestions. I did also only use two packages of lady fingers sold by Trader Joe's (4.25 oz ea) and it was quite a lot. Overall the flavor turned out very good and tasted like tiramisu, but was a bit heavy, not creamy and I like cheesecake. I probably will stick to regular tiramisu instead.

Reviewed On: Jan. 2, 2013

I have made this recipe a few times now and it is superb! Be sure not to overcook the vermicelli. If very thin my mother taught me to drop in boiling water, immediately after 2-3 minutes (extra minute if thicker) quickly drain and rinse in cold water. This will yield vermicelli that will not be sticky and a little bite. I made one other substitution which is to use Red leaf lettuce. I clean it and remove the ribs from the lettuce. I get rave reviews each time I make these, people asking for my version of the recipe. The fish sauce recipe provided is really good and authentic. You can halve it though, I feel I have a lot left over for a recipe this size. I made these recently for a friend who couldn't have gluten, and used the San-J Thai peanut sauce for dipping instead of hoisin sauce, and it was a very good substitute to make this recipe completely gluten free. Two meat variations: I've made this recipe pan frying chicken breast strips marinated with San-J Asian BBQ sauce (gluten free), and another time with pork strips marinated/sprinkled with Chinese Five Spice powder then pan-fry. These pair well with the fish sauce dipping sauce.

Reviewed On: May 31, 2012

I followed the recipe exactly. I did not have two 9" pans and instead had one 9" x 3" pan. The finished batter was somewhat soupy as stated by reviewer (Elli Sep. 5, 2006). I went to check my first one to only drop it on to the floor!!! On a brighter note that painful mistake let me get a preview (inside was slightly undone but outside was perfect). Onto cake #2, I put the pan on a baking sheet and wrapped around the edges of pan with foil. I had to bake it longer 1 hour (b/c of 9x3 pan). I had to go out and let it sit in the pan for ~6 hours. Took it out and it was perfect. (I buttered/floured and lined the bottom with a piece of parchment. This greatly helped removal and keeping it whole.) I kept it in a cake keeper, made frosting next day. Served immediately after. My sister who I made it for commented it was truly a great chocolate cake, no dryness, and perfect.

Reviewed On: Apr. 20, 2011