Mocha Cheesecake

If you’re thinking “Hey, is she making a lot of cheesecakes lately?” by looking at Facebook and some of the recent posts, the answer is Yes.  Actually, Heck Yes.  I’ve been a huge fan of cheesecakes throughout my life, and up until recently, I’d never made a REAL one from scratch.  I learn something new about the process from each cheesecake that’s made, and after I finish one, another idea pops into the ole noggin to try out another.  So, that means there will be quite a few more cheesecake flavors that I’ll be experimenting with, but will try to spread them out with the posts here and there so it’s not an overwhelming amount of cheesecakes showing up.  Not like that’s a bad thing, but if you’re not into cheesecake, it could pose a problem.

I found a recipe for a cappuccino cheesecake, but changed a few things around to make it mocha…and it was a success.  And you know it’s a success when a child (who thinks coffee is yucky) loves it and wants more.  I actually used my homemade coffee liquor in this recipe, and it was absolutely delicious.  Doing a double duty by handling this way.  I thinned the chocolate out on top by adding a little bit of vegetable oil after melting it, so that it would be a little softer when cutting through that glorious piece of deliciousness and not be too crunchy or overwhelming.

Mocha Cheesecake Recipe:

25 Oreo cookies, crushed into crumbs

1/2 stick butter, melted

5 (8oz.) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

4 eggs

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

2 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules

3 tablespoons coffee liquor

8 oz. sour cream

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place 25 of the cookies in a food processor or food chopper.  Cover and process until finely ground.  Add butter, mix well.  Press firmly into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan.  Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, cocoa, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.  Add sour cream, mix well.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.  Stir together coffee granules and liquor until the granules dissolve.  Add to bowl and mix on low speed just until combined.  Pour over crust.  Wrap aluminum foil around edges of pan, so that all of the bottom and sides are completely covered (to make sure it’s completely covered, wrap the pan with two pieces of foil in opposite directions).  Place inside a larger pan, pour water to make a 1 inch water bath around the outside of springform pan (this will keep the cheesecake from cracking during the baking process).  Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes, until cheesecake is puffed up, the edges are a light golden brown, but the center is still a little jiggly.  Remove from oven, cool on cooling rack for 1 hour.  Place in refrigerator and to let set overnight.  Melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until completely melted.  Drizzle over cheesecake.  Store in refrigerator.