Ultra Chocolate Cheesecake, Ooh Lala

My girls really love to find fun recipes to try out and they both came to the conclusion they had to have a cheesecake. I have had success in the past with the regular New York style so I handed them my Hershey's cookbook and told them to pick.

After much arguing back and forth they finally (with a little help from mom) decided on the Ultra Chocolate Cheesecake with Mocha Crumb Crust. Wow, I feel like I gained a pound just typing the name. But, it sure was tasty!

As long as you follow the recipe and use the proper equipment, making a cheesecake is not as hard as you may think. Read through the instructions thoroughly to know the steps before you prepare. You will want to have a 9-inch springform pan. Making cheesecakes is the only thing I use mine for. I usually don't like unitaskers but this is a must for the proper cheesecake.

First, heat your oven to 350° F.

We will start with the crust.

You will need 1 1/4 cups crushed vanilla wafers. You can smash them up in a bag or use the food processor. I used the food processor:

Next, you will stir in 1/4 sugar, 1/4 cocoa, and 1 tsp of either powdered instant espresso or coffee. Mix in 1/3 cup melted butter and mix until well-blended:

Next, you will add the mixture to your springform pan. Press up around the edges about an inch and the rest on the bottom of the pan so it looks something like this:

Bake for 8 minutes and allow to cool slightly while you prepare the filling.

Beat 3, 8 oz. packages of softened cream cheese and 1 1/4 cup sugar in large bowl until fluffy. Obviously this is a picture of the ingredients before they were mixed. Somehow, I missed taking the pic between mixing the ingredients together and just after poured just make sure you are reading along too so you don't miss that step.

Add 1, 8 oz container of sour cream and 2 tsp of vanilla extract. Add 1/2 cup cocoa and 2 tbsp of all purpose flour. Add 3 eggs then beat well. Make sure that mixture is mixed all the way through. Sometimes, small pieces of cream cheese get hidden in the mixture.

Pour the mixture into the crust:

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until set. I have found that a water bath will keep the cheesecake from cracking. Cracking doesn't effect the taste but I like a pretty cheesecake. Air bubbles in the mixture also causes cracks. Make sure the mixture is completely mixed up before adding the eggs. For a water bath, just fill a pan with at hot water and set the cheesecake, with bottom wrapped in foil, in the pan of water. Put pans in oven and cook.

Remove from oven and let it cool completely. Cover and refrigerate 4-6 hours:

and several hours later after refrigerated:

Ultra Chocolate Cheesecake with Mocha Crust

Mocha crust:

1 1/4 cups vanilla wafers, crushed (around 40)
1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cups cocoa
1 tsp powdered instant espresso or coffee
1/3 cup melted butter

Cheesecake:

3, 8 ounces packages of cream cheese
1 1/4 cups sugar
1, 8 ounce container of sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 eggs

Procedures

Crust:

1. Heat oven to 350°. 
2. Stir together vanilla wafer crumbs, sugar, cocoa, and instant espresso or coffee in a medium bowl.
3. Add butter; stir well until blended. 
4. Press mixture firmly into bottom and 1 inch up side of a springform pan.
5. Bake for 8 minutes.
6. Cool slightly.

Cheesecake:

1. Beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add sour cream and vanilla and beat until well-blended.
3. Add cocoa and flour, again beating until well-blended.
4. Add eggs and beat well.
5. Pour into crust.
6. Cover bottom of pan with foil and set in prepared 2nd pan with water that goes about half way up sides of springform pan.
7. Cook completely for 50-55 minutes. 
8. Set on wire rack and take knife, running along edges of crust to loosen cake from the side of the pan. Refrigerate 4-6 hours. 

Enjoy your cheesecake!