Foodie Friday -- Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

I would first like to tell you that I have NEVER MADE THIS RECIPE.

Earlier this week my nephew asked if I had a chocolate cheesecake recipe. Yes, I do . . . many of them. Just because I've been clipping recipes for almost 40 years doesn't mean that I have had a chance to make all of them. But I could guess that this recipe is a Bon Appetit recipe simply by the style and paper. Sorry, but I never bothered to cut the important stuff like who published it or when it was published. I have never been disappointed by Bon Appetit recipes, sometimes I might call their ads into question, but never their quality control over their recipes.

Let me know if it works for you.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:
24 chocolate wafer cookies (from one 9-ounce package)
1 Tbls. sugar
1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick), melted

Filling:
1 9.7-ounce bar Sharffen Berger 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped
4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 2 Tbls. sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Sharffen Berger
4 large eggs

Topping:
3/4 cup whipping cream
6 ounces Sharffen Berger 70% cocoa bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 Tbls sugar

For Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Blend cookies in processor until finely ground, blend in sugar. Add melted butter and process until well blended. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake until just set about 5 minutes. Cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For Filling:
Stir chopped chocolate in metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water; cool chocolate until lukewarm, but still pourable. Blend cream cheese, sugar and cocoa powder in processor until smooth. Blend in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lukewarm chocolate. Pour filling over crust; smooth top. Bake until center is just set and appears dry, about 1 hour. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife around sides of cake to loosen. Chill overnight.

For Topping:
Stir cream, 6 ounces of chocolate and sugar in heavy medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over center of cheesecake, spreading to within 1/2-inch of edge and filling in any cracks. Chill until topping is set, about an hour.
Can be made 3 days ahead. Cover with foil and keep refrigerated.
Release pan sides. Transfer cheesecake to platter. Top with chocolate curls. Let stand 2 hours at room temperature before serving.

Hints and suggestions:

• When pressing the crumb crust into the bottom of the springform pan, I use a flat-bottomed drinking glass
• If you can't find the chocolate wafer cookies, you can use Oreos . . . but you have to remove the filling (darn!). Leaving the filling would make for a sweeter crust, but it would be more oily.
• bring eggs for filling to room temperature along with the cream cheese--I've set them out the night before if I plan to make the cheesecake in the morning or before you go to work in the morning if you plan to make it after work.
• I've used unsweetened, or 70% cocoa bittersweet, Hershey's chocolate in these instances before and it works fine, plus it's cheaper. If using unsweetened, you might need to adjust the sugar a little, so taste before you bake.
• Instead of melting chocolate over water, you can microwave it. Do this in SMALL time increments or the chocolate will seize and you'll have a glumpy mess that will have to be thrown away! I would start with 30 seconds and then stir it every 10 seconds afterward. DO NOT WALK AWAY.
• Use high quality cream cheese--Philadelphia brand regular, not low fat or no fat. The other stuff and less fat will make it grainy.

There is nothing healthy about cheesecake and trying to make it 'healthy' just ruins the joy of eating cheesecake. Do Not Make This Mistake.

Later, Peeps!