This was my first ever cheesecake, and I was prepared for a disaster of epic proportions. Especially since it's baked and more importantly, because of my history with baking desserts. Let me give you a hint: I suck. I've managed to blow up, melt, bubble up, reduce to lava and stick a single cake all in one go. I know, it takes talent.
Recipe adapted from The Gold Lining Girl.
So anyway, I thought I'd give it a shot and see what happened. It turned out... pretty great. I messed up the recipe a bit, overcalculated some things but I'm hoping I've finalized this enough to make it easy for you guys. To test whether this was a delusion or reality, I made my dad taste the cake. He loved it (and was utterly shocked that I'd managed to bake something that wasn't poison, lol) - so it's safe to make. And eat. Okay, to the recipe.
Ingredients
For the crust
Wheatable Biscuits 2 packs (about 6 oz.)
Butter (melted) 4 tbsp
For the cheesecake
Cream cheese 1½ cup
Sugar 1 cup
Eggs 2 (small)
Coffee 4 tbsp instant coffee in half a cup of water
Dark/milk chocolate 1 medium bar (4 - 6 oz.)
For the ganache
Milk chocolate 4 oz.
Semi sweet chocolate chips 4 oz.
Cream 1/3 cup
Butter 3 tbsp
Method
Preheat oven to 325 F or 162 C. Take a 9 inch springform pan and line it with wax paper, making sure it's covered and greased properly. Grease the wax paper also.
In a food processor, crush the biscuits into a fine powder. Take out in a bowl and mix in the melted butter. Once mixed thoroughly, press into the bottom of the springform pan with a glass or cup that's flat on the bottom for an even spreading of the crumbs. Set aside.
In another bowl, add the cream cheese and using an electric beater, add the sugar slowly until it dissolves completely. Add the eggs, one at a time, making sure they're mixed well after adding each one. Add the coffee mixture (you can make it stronger if you like). Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second bursts, then drizzle into the cheesecake mixture.
Pour batter into the pan and bake for 40 - 70 minutes; the baking time varies according to the oven you use and the consistency of your batter. My cake took about 40 minutes, while the original recipe calls for 70 minutes. Regardless, you should only take out your cake if you see it crusting golden on the sides, but still soft and jiggly in the middle. Once it's done, set aside to cool.
Make the ganache by heating the chocolate in the microwave (again in 20 sec bursts) then add the rest of the ingredients. Once smooth, pour ganache over the cheesecake and set in fridge to cool. I added some extra coffee to my ganache, so it's up to you however much coffee flavor you like.
I feel like I'm missing something, but can't figure out what. If you screw up, let me know and maybe then I'll have an AH-HA! moment. Until then, good luck!
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