New York City Chocolate Cheesecake
Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 104.
This is a very rich dessert but oh, so good! I took Maida's advice and added whipped cream and cherries to offset the richness. You can also use strawberries or other fruit. The cookie crust is made from chocolate wafer cookies and I made these myself. If you don't have time to make the wafers, you can always buy cookies at the store or even use chocolate graham crackers.
This is a great treat to serve at a party or get-together. I ate a big slice of this last night while I was watching the Emmy Awards. I can tell you right now that this is a dessert I will be making again!
Note: A reader informs me that their cake sank as it was cooling. I didn't have this problem but she suggested letting it cool for several hours inside the oven.)
Crust
8 oz. chocolate wafer cookies (store-bought or make your own)
3 oz. (3/4 stick sweet butter, melted
Adjust rack one-third up from the bottom and preheat oven to 375. Butter the sides only of a 9x3 inch springform pan.
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| Place the wafer cookies in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. |
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| Process until the cookies become fine crumbs and transfer them to a mixing bowl. |
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| Pour the melted butter into the crumbs. |
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| Use a fork to stir the butter with the crumbs. |
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| Pour about two-thirds of the crumbs into the pan and tilting it at a 45-degree angle, form a layer of crumbs around the edge of the pan with your fingertips. |
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| Use the remainder of the crumbs for the bottom of the pan. Press gently but firmly. |
Filling
12 oz. semisweet chocolate (2 cups morsels or 12 squares, coarsely chopped)
24 oz. (3 8-oz. packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs (large or extra-large)
1 cup sour cream
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| Place chocolate in a double boiler and melt over low heat (barely simmering water). Set aside to cool slightly. |
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| Cream the cream cheese until it is very smooth. |
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| Add the vanilla. |
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| Add the salt. |
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| Add the sugar and mix well. |
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| Add the chocolate. |
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| Mix well, scraping sides of the bowl as necessary, until the mixture is smooth. |
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| Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well. |
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| Add the sour cream. |
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| Pour the mixture into the crumb crust. Smooth the top with a spatula or turn the bowl briskly back and forth. |
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| Ready for the oven - bake for one hour. |
Remove the cheesecake from the pan right before serving (or earlier). Before unclasping the pan, run a sharp knife around the sides. Release the pan. If you want to remove it from the bottom pan, use a thin, wide spatula and carefully slide it under the crust and rotate it all the way around. The cake is firm and easy to transfer. Refrigerate it until you are ready to serve.
Comments
To avoid sinking, I pile up a little more in the center.
Too much sugar? How much sugar do you think is in a chocolate layer cake? Plus the sugar in the icing.
Convert the recipe to metric? Do the math (there are plenty of conversion charts in the world), or use "American" measuring cups.
My, my - try thinking......