Cookbook:Chocolate Cheesecake

| Cuisine of the USA

This chocolate cheesecake is rich in both chocolate and cheese. It is noticeably less sweet than many other American desserts, and somewhat more complicated.

Crust

 * 5 Tbsp butter, melted
 * 2 cups chocolate wafer/cookie/graham cracker crumbs

Filling

 * 3 packages (24 ounces / 705 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
 * 1 cup packed brown sugar
 * 5 ea. (250 g) eggs
 * 4 ounces (215 g / 4 squares) semisweet chocolate, melted

Topping

 * 6 ounces (150 g / 6 squares) semisweet chocolate, melted
 * ½ cup sour cream

Helpful equipment

 * Electric mixer
 * Springform pan

Procedure

 * 1) Place rack in center of the oven. Preheat oven to 150 °C (300 °F).
 * 2) If starting with whole cookies, crackers, or wafers, place them in a sturdy plastic bag a few at a time and crush using a rolling pin, or grind using a food processor.
 * 3) Mix together chocolate crumbs and melted butter.
 * 4) Press crumb mixture into bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan.
 * 5) In a large bowl, beat together sugar and eggs at medium speed, slowly adding cream cheese, until smooth and fluffy.
 * 6) Spoon half of cream cheese mixture into crust.
 * 7) Melt 4 ounces of chocolate using a double boiler or, with care, a microwave. Stir into remaining cream cheese mixture until well blended.
 * 8) Drizzle chocolate cream cheese mixture over batter in crust. Draw a spoon or other implement through the batter a few times to make swirls. Spread evenly.
 * 9) Bake cheesecake for 50 minutes. After the first 30 minutes has gone by, place aluminum foil on top to prevent cracking and scorching.
 * 10) Cool completely.
 * 11) Cover with plastic wrap, and chill for about 2 hours or up to several days.
 * 12) Transfer cheesecake to a serving plate.
 * 13) Uncover cheesecake; carefully remove side of pan.

Topping

 * 1) Melt remaining chocolate.
 * 2) Mix with sour cream.
 * 3) Spread over cake, and chill to set.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * Brown sugar is not absolutely necessary (you can substitute granulated), but it provides better flavor.
 * If no electric mixer is available, the cream cheese can be mixed with egg yolks one-at-a-time before the whites are added. Unless you find separating eggs extremely difficult, this will be worthwhile for the effort saved in mixing.
 * Without a springform pan, a cake this stiff will require that at least the first piece be broken up in the process of serving. Fortunately, it's often easy to find someone who doesn't care.
 * Without aluminum foil, the top of the cake will crack and brown somewhat, but the topping covers it effectively, making it practically unnoticeable.