Thursday, January 14, 2010

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake!!!


Do you want to be the most popular girl at the party?

If you do, you don't have to show up in the trendiest outfit or funkiest shoes to get anyone’s attention. In fact, you can even leave your personality at home, because you won't need it to be the hit of the party when you show up with this little number.

No dessert I've ever made has received as many accolades as this one has. So, if you want to knock off someone’s socks today, dust off that springform pan of yours and get baking.

Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake

CRUST:
1-1/2 Cups Chocolate Wafer Crumbs
(I like Paul Newman Alphabet Wafers)

1/4 Cup Melted Butter

FILLING:
1/4 Cup Semi-Sweet Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Whipping Cream
3 (8 oz each) Cream Cheese, softened
One Cup Sugar
1/3 Cup Baking Cocoa
3 Eggs
One Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

TOPPING:
1-1/2 Cups Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips
1/4 Cup Whipping Cream
One Teaspoon Vanilla

Combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press into 9-in greased springform pan. Bake @ 350 for 10 minutes. Cool. Reduce heat to 325.

Over low heat, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth; add cream and mix well. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cheese and sugar until smooth. Add cocoa and beat well. Add eggs on low until combined. Stir in vanilla and chocolate mixture until blended. Pour over crust. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until center is almost set.

For the topping, melt chocolate chips over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in cream and vanilla and mix well. Spread over the filling. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen and then remove the sides of the pan. Stand back and take a good look at the beautiful masterpiece you've created.

*******

I made this cheesecake for the first time when our family had a dessert making contest at Christmas one year. It competed against Cherry Pie, Apple Pie, Peanut Butter Pretzel Cheesecake, and Praline Cheesecake. I only mention this because…...I WON FIRST PRIZE!!! And it’s been a winner ever since!

Even after making this cheesecake for many years, the one frustration I've had is with the topping. I typically make my cheesecake days before an event for convenience, which works really well. The problem I've had is that the topping cracks under the knife every time I attempt to cut a slice. I have tried tweaking the topping to make it do what I want, but getting the perfect slice has been unobtainable – until now!

Now, I bake the cheesecake, freeze the cheesecake, de-thaw the cheesecake, and THEN I make the topping - which takes like three minutes - and pour it over the top an hour or so before serving. This way, the topping has set, but has not gotten hard – so NO cracks in the top when slicing.

This is the model dessert for the Making Food Disappear theory. I cut this into bite size pieces and brought it to a 30th birthday party where there was lots of fabulous food and two beautifully decorated cakes. I strategically placed my cheesecake bites on the bar where a group of men had gathered and then I walked away. The plate was picked clean in ten minutes! Ta-Da! Making Food Disappear!





6 comments:

Kuckie said...

My all-time favorite dessert....hands down!!!! Thanks Sheri, you know how hard it was for me to share with the family!! :) LOL!

Kate said...

I'm sold . . . will be trying it for Easter! And will do the bite-size pieces thing since there are a lot of kiddos in our family. Shoot - I have to share with them too! lol

Kuckie said...

Kate, I'm tellin' you... there is NO WAY you will be disappointed in this cheesecake. I was eating a piece for breakfast this morning when Sheri called. (Oooops...did I actually just admit that???) :)

Sheri said...

That IS true. Jen was eating the Cheesecake for breakfast when I called and I DO believe she said to me, "I should kneel down and worship the ground you walk on for making this for my birthday, because it is my FAVORITE thing in the world to eat!" Yep! That's what she said. :)

Kelly Loy Gilbert said...

Oh my goodness, that looks AMAZING. It's totally two in the morning and now I'm craving chocolate ... sigh.

Gorgeous pictures, too!

Sewing OCD said...

This is AMAZING!! I will definitely be making this again, and again, and again. So rich and delicious that I only wanted one piece (well one big piece).

Post a Comment