Espresso and Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

This recipe combines a couple of my favorite things, chocolate and coffee.  (Why, you wonder is she combining those two...?)

But wait, three things:  chocolate, coffee and cheesecake.

No, four:  chocolate, coffee, cheese and cake!

OK.  Enough of that. And, contrary to popular opinion, there are other things in life that I like.

So really, this is a mocha-flavored cake.  To me, mocha is coffee and chocolate together, though to some, it is just coffee.  This recipe uses instant espresso powder to give an intense coffee flavor without adding a lot of liquid.  You can also bag the entire coffee part and make a delicious chocolate swirl cheesecake.

I copied this recipe years ago.  I don't remember from where, but the card is yellowed (either from age, or from espresso and chocolate). I have, as usual, made some changes over time which I will share as well.

Now is a good time to practice making this cake so that you will have the technique perfected in time to make it for your sweetie for Valentine's Day.  If you practice a lot, you can probably gain ten pounds by then. I'm sure that's your goal...

Crust:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Crush nine ounces of chocolate wafer cookies or 7 ounces of chocolate snaps.  (Wafer cookies without the creme filling are kind of hard to find.  But you can get chocolate cookie crumbs in a box now--look near the graham cracker crumbs.  Also, you can make the crust with whatever kind of crumbs you like.  You can think outside the box, and make graham crackers if you want).  Anyway, mix the crumbs with 6 tbsp. of melted butter and press into the bottom and partway up the sides of a nine-inch springform pan. Then reduce the heat to 325 degrees.

Filling:

2 tbsp. instant espresso powder

1 tbsp. water (If you don't have espresso powder, and I'll bet you don't, any kind of instant or freeze dried coffee mixed in a very concentrated form will do.  You could even simmer some regular coffee on the stove until it is reduced.  I wouldn't add more than about 1/4 of coffee-liquid to the batter.  Heck, you can even bag the coffee altogether and get chocolate cheesecake.  How bad is that?)

3  8-oz. packages of cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs

1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled.

1 tbsp. finely ground coffee (just adds to the coffee flavor)

6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (or good quality semi-sweet chips)

1/4 cup whipping cream (the cream and chocolate make a ganache).

In a small bowl, dissolve the espresso powder in 1 tbsp. of hot water.

In electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple of times to get all the lumps out. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated.  Add the expresso and ground coffee and mix well.  Pour 1/2 of this filling into the prepared crust.

While you are making the filling, melt the chocolate: Place chocolate in a double boiler or heat-proof bowl over boiling water (bain-marie) until it melts. Add the cream and stir until smooth.

Drop five tablespoons of the chocolate mixture evenly spaced around the outer edges of the batter.  Use a small, sharp knife to swirl the chocolate into the filling.  Carefully pour the remainder of the batter over the top. Drop the remaining chocolate mixture into the center of the batter,  by tablespoons in a circle about 6 inches in diamerter, spacing evenly.  Swirly gently with the tip of the knife.

Place in the center of a 325 degree oven.  Bake 45-50 minutes until the edges look set and are beginning to brown.  The center will still jiggle when you nudge the pan (internal temperature 1" from the center will be 165 degrees or more).  Turn off the oven and slightly open the oven door.  Leave cheesecake in the oven for another hour or more.  The center will finish setting.  This technique keeps the cake from cracking and ensures a smooth texture, without having to cook it in a boiling water bath (which works but is difficult and dangerous, to my mind).

After an hour, remove from the oven and run a knife around the edge to allow the cake to contract as it cools. Refrigerate overnight.

Note:  Baking tips from The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion a wonderful resource. (Here from Amazon for $23.10--darn, you'll have to buy something else to get the free Super Saver Shipping).

Note:  King Arthur Flour's basic cheesecake recipe is like the above but they add one more egg, 1 cup of sour cream, 1/2 cup heavy cream and one tbsp. vanilla extract.  It makes a heckuva cake.  Feel free to add all or any to the batter above.  If you do, you might consider a 10" springform pan...

Comments

[keewee]

Yummm!! this cheesecake sound so sinfull.

[Rarity]

Gawd dang! That looks delicious! - I'm SO gonna try it - and I *have* got instant espresso powder.

I'll let you know if I can pull it off - I even got american mesuring cups for Christmas from my mummy dearest, cause I'm sick of trying to figure out how to convert one cup to xdl

[Armaedes]

I could positively never make something like this, far too many ingredients. Could you post something like hamburger helper, that only uses water and maybe milk?

[Scholiast]

Mmmm.. I'll have some if Rarity invites me, then ;)

I was given a hot chocolate machine for Christmas, works like a charm! And with marsh mallows stuffed in as well..?! Yes, almost compares with your delicious recipe here...