Killer Chocolate Cheesecake
(from saymyname’s recipe box)
Source: In 'Luscious Chocolate Desserts' by Lori Longbottom
Serves 12 peopleCategories: Cheesecake, Dessert
Ingredients
- Crust
- 1 (9 ounce) package chocolate wafers, broken into large pieces
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Filling
- 1 lb bittersweet chocolate or 1 lb semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- salt, a pinch
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Position oven rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 350°.
- Butter a 9-inch springform pan and wrap the outside tightly with heavy-duty foil.
- Have a roasting pan ready, and put a kettle of water on to boil for the water bath.
- Make the crust: pulse the chocolate wafers in a food processor until finely ground.
- With the motor running, slowly add the butter, and process just until blended.
- Press mixture onto the bottom of the pan.
- Bake crust for 8-10 minutes, until it is set; let cool on a wire rack.
- Make the filling: melt the chocolate with the butter in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of about 1 1/2 inches of nearly simmering water, whisking until smooth.
- Whisk in the cocoa powder.
- Remove the bowl from the heat and let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Beat the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer, beginning on low speed and increasing to med-high speed, in a medium deep bowl until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Beat in the salt.
- Beat in the chocolate mixture just until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Add in the sour cream and vanilla; beat until smooth, scraping sides of bowl as needed.
- Transfer the filling to the springform pan.
- Set the pan in the roasting pan, place it in the oven, and carefully pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is almost set but still slightly jiggly; do not overbake—the cheesecake will firm as it cools.
- Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the cheesecake cool in the water bath for 15 minutes.
- Remove the springform pan from the water bath and let cool completely on a wire rack, then remove the foil and refrigerate the cheesecake, loosely covered, until thoroughly chilled, at least 12 hours, or overnight.
- To serve—let the cheesecake stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.
- Remove the pan sides, smooth the sides of the cheesecake with a table knife, and cut into wedges.