Chocolate Cheesecake

You may remember from my last cheesecake post, that it looked great, but the consistency was lacking.  My wife, the baker, suggested it was because the quality of the cream cheese.  I made sure to buy good cream cheese this time.  I definitely got the firm consistency I was looking for.  While purists will still prefer a traditional cheesecake, this chocolate, with Hershey kisses, has some real depth to the taste.

Recipe
Chocolate Cheesecake:
Crust:

1. Take one carton of vanilla Oreos with chocolate filling and pulse until turned into crumbs in your Cuisinart
2. Add 1/2 cup of powdered sugar, 1/4 cup of Hershey’s Cocoa and add 1/2 stick of melted butter and pulse until full combined
3. Put the crumbs into the bottom of a 9″ springform pan and press down going 1″ up the sides

Cheesecake:

1. Beat 3 – 8 oz packages of softened cream cheese with 3/4 cup of sugar until smooth
2. Gradually add in 4 eggs, 1/4 cup of heavy cream, 2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/4 tsp salt, blend well and set aside
3. Melt 1/3 of a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1/2 cup of dark chocolate Hershey Kisses in a microwaveable dish
4. Blend 1 1/2 cups of the cheesecake batter into the melted chocolate
5. Spread 2 cups of this mixture on the crumb layer in your springform pan
6. Finish by blending the rest of the cheesecake batter into the remaining chocolate mixture and pour on top of the 1st layer
7. Bake 45 – 50 minutes in a 350 degree oven
8. Melt 1/4 cup of dark chocolate Hershey Kisses and drizzle on top of the cheesecake
9. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.