This is a favorite of the family. I found it in Kraft Foods magazine. Also, probably more popular is the pumpkin layer cheesecake. Although it isn't a "true" cheesecake... I can get you the recipe for that if you like. Citrus Cheesecake 1 cup HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs 1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted 4 (8 ounce) packages PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons flour 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 eggs 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel 1 teaspoon grated lime peel 1 teaspoon grated orange peel (I always put in a little more juice then it calls for) 2. Cooking Directions Preheat oven to 325 degrees F if using a silver 9-inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs, brown sugar and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, flour and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients; pour over crust. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

Actually a pound cake type recipe works best for anything that's in a more intricate mold. There are good chocolate pound cakes too. I'll look around for recipes I have later if you don't get anything that you want. As far as the icing goes, sure a basic cream cheese icing can work, but it needs to stay pretty stiff. The main thing to remember when wanting to decorate with icing is to keep it fairly stiff so it's easy to work with. Just keep checking when you add the liquid to see the consistency. The recipe below is from Cooks Country and went with a red velvet cake... which might work actually. It has so much cream cheese that it doesn't use milk. I make it with about half the cream cheese and then add milk to get the consistency I want. Frosting 16 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened 4 cups confectioners' sugar 16 ounces cream cheese , cut into 8 pieces, softened 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract Pinch salt With electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add cream cheese, one piece at a time, and beat until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in vanilla and salt. Refrigerate until ready to use. My basic butter cream is a stick of butter per pound of confectioners sugar, flavoring, pinch of salt and then enough milk to get whatever stiffness I need for the application.

Lou, my daughter's best friends mom, made this, and we have adopted the recipe: Banana Bread 2 c sugar 1/2 c oil (I use grape seed oil, as that is the only one in my house) 2 eggs 3 c flour 1 pinch salt 1/2 c buttermilk 1 to 1 1/2 t baking soda 3 to 4 ripe bananas mashed 1/2 c nuts (optional) Cream sugar and oil, add eggs, flour, salt, buttermilk (mix the buttermilk and baking soda together) mix and finally bananas and nuts. Pour in to greased bread pans (we use small ones, makes three). Bake at 350 degree for about 1 hour, top should be split. and then there is the Zucchini Chocolate Cake I used to have the Zucchini listed as secret ingredient, cause that was the only way I could get my girls to eat it. :) t=teaspoon T=Tablespoon c=cup (German measure) 2 1/2 c unsifted flour (370gramm) 1/2 c cocoa (60 gramm) 2 1/2 t soda (1 Paeckchen Backpulver) 1 t salt (1 Prise) 1 t cinnamon 3/4 c margarine or butter (ca. 160 gramm) 2 c sugar (400 gramm) 3 eggs 2 t vanilla 2 t grated orange peel (optional) 2 c shredded zucchini (1/2 Liter) 1/3 c milk (ca. 1/15 liter oder 70 gramm) 1 c nuts (optional) 350 degree oven (ca. Mittlehitze?) mix first 3 ingredients, set aside Beat margarine and add the next 5 ingredients and add the flour mixture and milk. Mix well. Pour in to greased and floured bundt cake form (springform). Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. Cool in pan for about 15 minutes and then take it out of the pan to let cool the rest. Drizzle with icing if desired. Icing 2 c powdered sugar 3 T milk Really yummy with a dollop of whipping cream on top. :)

I'm a simple cook. To be in my "favorites" file, it has to be easy, economical, and not require me to run to the store. For years I have used the "Hot Milk Sponge Cake" recipe in my old Better Homes & Gardens cookbook. I noticed they've posted it on AllRecipes.com but they never allow anyone to give credit to the original printing of it. Here's the link to that recipe. Leave off the last three ingredients and the fifth level of instructions if you don't want to use the frosting. That was not part of the original recipe and probably something they threw in. I never frost this cake. I usually bake it especially to serve with strawberries and vanilla ice cream, but DH in in the habit of eating up the cake before the strawberries are gone so I have to make extra. So, OK, I know a sponge cake is not a pound cake, because historically a pound cake gets its name from the fact that it calls for a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour.... but we actually like this better because it's not so high in fat. And when I serve it to guests, they always compliment me on my delicious "pound cake". --Ilene