Difficutly: very easy
Time: 5 Min
Portion: 1 serving
Ingredients:
Crust
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (graham cracker crumbs also work)
Filling
2 pounds (4 eight once packages) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream (I used evaporated milk the second time and it worked just fine)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping
3 tablespoons heavy cream
4 ounces (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
The topping shown:
6 tablespoons heavy cream (or evaporated milk)
4 ounces semisweet chocolate
4 ounces melting caramels
1/2 – 1 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
To make the crust: In a small bowl, combine the butter with the chocolate wafer crumbs. Press into the bottom of a buttered 10-inch spring form pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
To make the filling: In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until very smooth. Gradually add the sugar. Add the eggs one at a time. To ensure that the batter has no lumps and that no ingredients are stuck t o the bottom of the bowl, stop the mixer several times, and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla extract.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and set the pan on a baking sheet.
To prepare the topping: In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the heavy cream to a simmer. Add the chocolate, turning heat down to low and stirring constantly until chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Drop this mixture by the teaspoonful onto the top of the batter. Using the tip of a sharp knife, swirl chocolate mixture into batter, forming a decorative pattern. (I skipped this step completely the second time around.)
Bake until edges are set and center moves only slightly when pan is shaken, about 1 hour. At the end of baking time, turn off the heat, and using a wooden spoon to keep oven door slightly ajar, cool cake in oven for 1 hour before removing. (Ummmm, not with two kids in the house. I only did this for half an hour because I got sick of guarding the oven.) Cover and refrigerate for at least 12 hours. (The long time to chill the cheesecake is essential! Do not skip or try to speed this up. I chilled mine for only 6 hours and it was very soft. It smashed under the weight of the knife.)
My topping version:
Melt chocolate as directed. Drizzle on top of cheesecake half way through chill time. Sprinkle with chopped nuts. Melt caramel in the same method as the chocolate (3 tablespoons heavy cream or evaporated milk with 1/2 cup caramel). Drizzle above nuts. Return to fridge to chill until completely set.
Remove cake from the refrigerator at least 15-30 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes:
http://lifeofmineblogged.blogspot.com/2010/08/hello-cheesecake.html