Chocolate Cheesecake
For the crust :
18 oreos
Cuisinart the oreos. Yup, chop them babies up fine as they go. No need
to add butter or anything to the crumbs, the frosting will hold them together.
Spray your 11" springform pan with Pam or any of those cooking sprays.
For the cake:
2 squares semisweet chocolate
3 packages (8oz. each) cream cheese
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
Kahlua (or other liquier)
First, melt two squares of chocolate and set aside (the original recipe
I based this on called for semi sweet; I have always used unsweetened for
a darker taste. OK, I'll admit it, the first few times I didn't pay enough
attention to the fact it was supposed to be semi sweet, and by the tmim
I realized I'd been making it "wrong", we liked it that way).Have
at room temperature cream cheese (I sometimes use the Neufchatel lower fat
version to convince myself it's not SO bad) Cream together with sugar. Beat
in eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl. If you have a kitchenaid
like I do, be sure to scrape all across the bottom around that funny little
hump in the middle, or you will have unmixed cheese down there. Add in vanilla.
Here is your opportunity to fool with the recipe, if you wish. I have added
Kahlua...a healthy pour...I dunno, a shot or two? You can try kirsch, Grand
Marnier, whatever...Then pour all the batter except 1 cup into the pan.
Beat the melted chocolate into the last cupful, then pour the chocolate
mix into the pan, swirling it around. It gets thicker than the rest real
fast, so may not "pour" so much as"glob" out. Run spatula
around through it for a nice marbly effect. Bake at 300 for 55 minutes (?)
Ok, now this is what the recipe said, and maybe my oven is weird, but actually
it tends to burn everything else, so let me warn you that it has NEVER actually
been done in 55 minutes. That is when I start checking it, and once it looks
almost all set up...still shiny in the center, I turn off the oven and leave
the oven door open. Leaving it to cool slowly helps keep it from developing
huge cracks in the middle. Once it has cooled significantly, chill it in
the fridge, I usually bake the day before, because next comes...the FROSTING!
Ok, don't forget to take the cake out of the pan and put it on a platter.
Frosting:
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
3/4 cup sour cream
dash salt
To frost, melt chocolate chips, stir til smooth and all are melted. Beat
in sour cream (again, I use lowfat, not that ishy NO fat) until well blended.
Original recipe called for a dash of salt, I personally can't tell the difference
with or without....ANyway, start spreading the frosting and do it fast,
as it starts to set up to a fudgy consistency when it hits the cold cake.
After it looks all pretty, decorate with teensy non pareils around the edge,
or use white chocolate chips if you can't find them (Sno-caps, but teensy
ones). Depending on the occasion, I often (yes the spirit of Martha has
me in her grip) press a simple outline cookie cutter...a big star looks
great...gently into the center of the cake, then outline with the non pareils,
chips, whatever
Serves one. Ok, two, if you are truly in love.
Submitted by Shelly MacGregor (StampnBead@aol.com) |