I am more excited about this Christmas season than ever before! And it’s mostly because I will be baking my way through the next 25 plus days and documenting every gloriously sweet moment on this blog! Since there are so many awesome recipes I want to try right now, I’ll be posting a new one every Monday and Wednesday of the week from now until Christmas. Most likely one will be something baked (cookie, cake, etc) and one will be unbaked (candy, party mix, etc).
I’ve decided to kick off all the festive baking with this amazing Dark Chocolate Cheesecake with Cappuccino Ganache. This thing is decadent and rich and worth every single calorie you will have to burn on the treadmill the next day. You really can’t go wrong bringing chocolate to a holiday gathering because seriously, who doesn’t love it??
The only problem (well, ok there were two) I encountered with this cheesecake is that the butter in the cookie crust started seeping out of my springform pan for some reason (I have NEVER had that happen before–weird!) so I had to put a cookie sheet beneath it to catch it all. And problem number two was that I didn’t realize how much volume adding two cups of melted chocolate chips would add to this recipe so my 9-inch springform pan got very full…TOO full! I’d advise you to use at least a 10-inch round springform pan. And don’t freak if the top gets kind of funky and cracked; your just going to cover it with ganache anyway. I torted mine to give it a nice even surface before spreading the ganache over it and in the end it turned out perfect!
What are you most looking forward to baking this Christmas season?? I’d love to know!
- 2½ c. Oreos, crushed (I did mine in a food processor)
- 1 Stick Unsalted Butter, melted
- 4, 8 oz. Packages Cream Cheese, softened
- 1½ c. Granulated Sugar
- ¾ c. Whole Milk
- 4 Eggs
- 1 c. Sour Cream
- 2 T. Pure Vanilla
- ¼ c. All-Purpose Flour
- 1 c. Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 1 c. Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
- ¼ c. Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa
- 9 oz. Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped
- 1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream
- 2 T. Instant Coffee (or 1 T. Espresso Powder)
- ¼ t. Cinnamon
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 10-inch springform pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine the crushed Oreos and melted butter and press evenly into the bottom of the springform pan, pressing the crust up onto the sides of the pan just a little.
- In a small bowl, melt the semi-sweet and bittersweet chocolate chips in the microwave at 20-second intervals, stirring between each, until the chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside and let cool slightly.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Blend in the milk and then mix in the eggs, one at a time. Beat in sour cream, vanilla, flour and cocoa until smooth. Beat in the melted chocolate and spread evenly into the springform pan.
- Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the door closed for at least 1 hour (I left mine in for 3 but if I'm pressed for time, I take it out at about 1 hour...it's supposed to help prevent cracking, if you care about that). Let cool completely and then chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- Place the chopped chocolate and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, heat the heavy whipping cream over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. In a separate bowl, dissolve the instant coffee in 3 tablespoons of the boiling heavy whipping cream and then add back to the rest of the heavy whipping cream in the saucepan. Pour the heavy whipping cream over the chocolate and stir until smooth. Let cool slightly to barely warm and almost room temperature. Pour over cheesecake by starting at the center of the cake and with a spoon, slowly smooth it out toward the edges and slightly over. Let cool completely and store in the refrigerator. Decorate with shaved white chocolate, if desired.
