Description
The show-stopping recipe will wow holiday guests with two layers of cheesecake, a mirror-like glazed topping, and a crunchy chocolate crust. Pro tip: For the creamiest cheesecake, don’t overmix the batter, especially after adding the eggs. Over-beating the eggs can cause the cheesecake to souffle, fall, and crack. Garnish with seasonal fruit such as sugared cranberries, strawberries, etc.
Ingredients
- 3 cups finely crushed chocolate wafer cookies
- ½ cup salted butter, melted
- 3 pinches granulated sugar
- Cooking spray
- 5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 5 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 ounces Ghirardelli® 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 tablespoon coffee liqueur (such as Kahlua®)
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso granules
- ¾ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 6 ounces Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips
- Seasonal fruit for garnish, such as sugared cranberries, pomegranate seeds, and mint sprigs
Instructions
- Prepare the Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together cookie crumbs
- butter
- and sugar in a medium bowl until well blended. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray.
- Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Cool crust completely in pan on a wire rack
- about 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
- Prepare the Cheesecake: Beat cream cheese with a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and creamy
- about 2 minutes. Gradually add sugar and flour
- beating until smooth. Add eggs and egg yolks
- one at a time
- beating on low speed just until yellow disappears after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
- Divide batter into 2 equal portions in separate medium bowls. Pour 1 portion into prepared crust; spread evenly.
- Place Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips in a small microwaveable bowl. Microwave on medium (50% power) until melted and smooth
- 1 1/2 to 2 minutes
- stirring every 30 seconds.
- Stir together coffee liqueur and espresso granules in a small bowl until espresso dissolves; stir mixture into remaining bowl of cheesecake batter. Stir melted bittersweet chocolate into coffee batter until blended.
- Gently pour over plain cheesecake batter in prepared crust
- and spread evenly. Pan will be very full. Place springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake at 325 degrees F until center is almost set but center still jiggles slightly when pan is prodded
- 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely
- about 2 hours.
- Cover pan loosely with aluminum foil and chill 8 to 12 hours. Gently run a knife or offset spatula around outer edge of cheesecake to loosen from sides of pan. Remove sides of pan.
- Prepare the Topping: About 1 hour before serving
- bring cream and corn syrup just to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium. Place Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips in a small heatproof bowl; pour cream-syrup mixture over chocolate chips. Let stand 1 minute. Whisk gently until smooth. Cool slightly
- about 15 minutes.
- Pour chocolate mixture over top of cheesecake
- and gently spread to edge of crust. Chill until set
- about 30 minutes. Garnish if desired.
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr 20 mins
Total Time: 13 hrs 5 mins
Servings: 16