Did you know you could make a Cheesecake taste even tastier? It is quite easy, just add chocolate, of course.
Cheesecakes actually date back to the Ancient Greeks and even seems to have been an offer at the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. The recipe has spread from there and has changed along the way. Today, cream cheese has replaced the flour, honey, and cheese ingredients that have been used in the earlier recipes.
Cheesecake takes a few hours to make, but every minute of the making is worth the aftertaste.
Ingredients:
Crust:
* 24 Oreos’
* 1/4 cup confectioners sugar
* 6 tbsp melted butter
Filling:
* 1/2 cup milk
* 2 cups chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)
* 1 tsp espresso powder
* 24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
* 4 large eggs, at room temperature
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. To make the crust: crush the cookies together with the sugar (or in a food processor). If desired, set aside about a tablespoon of the crumbs to garnish the finished cake.
3. Add the melted butter, processing briefly or stirring until the mixture is evenly crumbly. Press the moist crumbs into the bottom and sides of the pan.
4. Bake the crust for 15 minutes. Remove it from the oven, and set it aside as you make the filling.
5. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.
6. To make the filling: combine the milk and chocolate chips in a small saucepan. Heat, stirring frequently until the chips melt and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat, stir in the espresso powder, and set the mixture aside.
7. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese and sugar at low speed.
8. Add the eggs one at a time, beating to combine after each one.
9. Add the vanilla extract and then the flour.
10. Add the chocolate/milk mixture, beating slowly until combined.
11. Pour the butter on top of the crust in the pan.
12. Bake the cake (350 degrees) for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
13. Turn off the oven, crack the door open several inches, and allow the cake to cool in the oven for 1 hour.
14. Remove the cake from the oven, and set it on a rack to finish cooling. When it’s completely cool, cover the cake, and refrigerate it until ready to serve.
15. Garnish the cake with the reserved crumbs, if desired. Serve it in small slices, with whipped cream and berries.
