Rich Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl with Chocolate Ganache Topping

Here’s a Rich Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirls and Chocolate Ganache Topping! Enjoy!

Rich Cheesecake with Chocolate Swirl with Chocolate Ganache Topping

Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: American

PREP TIME

40 mins

COOK TIME

40 mins

TOTAL TIME

1 hour 20 mins

INGREDIENTS

1 ¾ cups vanilla wafers (crushed)

3 tablespoons sugar

⅛ teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)

CHEESECAKE FILLING:

4 eight-ounce packages cream cheese (softened)

1 ½ cups sugar

⅓ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 ½ cups regular sour cream

CHOCOLATE GANACHE TOPPING:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

8 ounces Guittard or Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate (chopped)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350ᵒ.

2. Get out your 9-inch springform pan that is at least 2 ¾ inches to 3-inches high because this is a tall cheesecake. Butter the whole inside of the pan, including its inside walls.

3. After buttering the inside of the pan, wrap the outside bottom of the pan in some aluminum foil to prevent leakage. Set aside.

4. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the crushed vanilla wafers, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Add the melted butter over the mixture and stir around until the mixture is moist.

5. Now, put your crumb mixture into the buttered springform pan. Using your fingers, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect.

6. Next, cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the pan with the crust onto the papered pan.

7. Place the pan with the crust into your 350ᵒ oven, on the center rack, and bake for about 8 minutes.

8. Remove the crust from the oven after the 8 minutes, and set aside while we make the cheesecake filling.

9. First, turn the oven down to 325ᵒ and get out your hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

10. In a big mixing bowl, add the softened cream cheese and beat on medium speed for about 4-5 minutes, until it is nice and creamy. Now, add the sugar, salt, and vanilla extract and continue to beat on medium until blended, about another 4 minutes.

11. Then, add the eggs, one at a time, beating each egg into the mixture for at least 1 minute after adding. You want the ingredients to be completely incorporated or aerated. Next, turn your mixer down to low, and mix in the sour cream.

12. Get out a medium-sized bowl and spoon out about ¼ the of the batter into a bowl. Then, pour the rest of the batter into the cooled crust in the springform pan. Add to the spooned-out batter, the melted chocolate, and mix with a spoon until blended. Then, drop the chocolate mixture by the spoonful (sort of like creating chocolate polka-dots onto the batter in the springform pan. Lastly, take a butter knife or dinner knife and swirl the chocolate polka dots into the cream cheese batter. Then set aside.

13. Get out a pot or your tea kettle and boil some water.

14. Let’s give the cheesecake a bath to sit in while the water is boiling. While the water is boiling, place the foiled springform pan into a roasting pan that is big enough to have space all around it. Then, pour the boiled water into the roasting pan (about ⅓ the way up the foiled springform pan).

15. Now, place the roasting pan holding the cheesecake into the oven and bake the cheesecake at 325ᵒ for 90 minutes. The cheesecake will be browned on top (and maybe cracked-no worries-it’ll be covered in ganache).

16. When the 90 minutes is up, turn off the oven and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon and allow the cake to rest in the oven in the water bath-roasting pan for 1 hour. Then, remove the roasting pan from the oven, remove the foil from around the springform pan (be careful as it may still be hot) and place the springform pan with the cheesecake on a rack to cool.

17. Let’s make the ganache. In a saucepan, simmer the heavy whipping cream just until it starts to bubble around the edge. Then remove the pan from the stove, whisk in the chopped chocolate until it’s smooth and all chocolatey and shiny.

18. Let it cool to room temperature before spooning the ganache onto the top of the cooled cheesecake which is still in the springform pan on the rack.

19. Release the cheesecake from the springform pan when ready to serve. And slice and serve! Beautiful and dee-lish-us!

#Cheesecake