Day 2 of “12 Days of Baked Goods”

Last week, I spent Thanksgiving with my friend Diane Biancamano and her family. I’m typically the person who gets assigned desserts for parties, but Diane’s a super baker and I was thrilled to be able to sample the decadent Chocolate Cappuccino Cheesecake she made. Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate cookie crumbs
• ¼ cup butter, melted
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 8 1-ounce squares semisweet chocolate
• 2 Tbsp. whipping cream
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. instant coffee or Espresso granules dissolved in ¼ cup hot water
• ¼ cup coffee flavored liqueur (Kahlua, Bailey’s, etc…)
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter (or coat in cooking spray) the bottom and sides of a 9” springform pan.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs, the melted butter, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the cinnamon. Mix well and press all but 2 tablespoons of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of the springform pan, reserve the 2 tablespoons of crumbs for later use. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar, mixing until well combined. On low speed, add the eggs, one at a time until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
5. In a medium bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt the semisweet chocolate with the whipping cream until smooth, about 3 minutes. Don’t let the bowl touch the water!
6. Add the melted chocolate to the cream cheese mixture and blend well. Stir in the sour cream, the salt, the coffee, the coffee liqueur and the vanilla and beat until just smooth, about 1 minute. Pour batter into the springform pan.
7. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45 minutes. Note that the center of the cheesecake will be soft but it will firm up as it chills. Allow the cake to cool in the oven with the heat turned off and with the door ajar for 45 minutes. Remove cake from the oven and refrigerate for 12 hours.
8. Sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the cheesecake before serving. 

Yields 16 servings. Recipe inspired by All Recipes. Cheers, Veronique