Lost Brain Cells
I wish that I could say that I remember all of my desserts and their recipes off the top of my head, but my brain has simply lost too many cells. The perfect case in point was this past weekend when I was asked to make a Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.
I was out of the house at the time I got the request and I proceeded to pull up Desserts Required on my phone, so I could get the list of ingredients. Only then did I discover that I had never blogged about my Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. Shocked the heck out of me, because this is one of my favorite cheesecakes to bake and eat.
It actually worked out perfectly, for a couple of reasons. First, I had not yet decided what I wanted to blog about today. The other reason is the state of my kitchen at the moment; it looks like a war zone. I am in the process of moving and you can only imagine how relieved I was that I had not packed my 10” cake pan.
I love the chocolate ganache layer that sits on top of the chocolate crust. The creaminess of the cheesecake is delightful and it has just the right amount of chocolate chips, which allows the combination to work in perfect symmetry.
It was fun for me to bake an oldie but goodie recipe again, even if we did not get to eat it. If only I could get back brain cells as easily as I am able to bake this Chocolate Chip Cheesecake!
| Chocolate Chip Cheesecake | | Print |
- Crust:
- 1 package Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Chocolate layer:
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- Cream cheese filling:
- 4 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Decorative topping:
- 2 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325°. Set aside a 10" cake pan.
- Combine cookies and sugar in a food processor fitted with a metal blade and process until it is the consistency of powder. Add melted butter and pulse on/off until well mixed. Grease cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer cookie mixture to the pan and pat evenly onto the bottom and up ½” of the side. Set aside.
- For the chocolate layer:
- Place chocolate chips and cream in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave very briefly to melt chocolate. Remove and stir until thoroughly combined. Pour into middle of crust and very gently push it towards edge of crust, leaving a ½” gap. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
- For the cream cheese filling:
- Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping bowl down as needed. Add eggs one at a time and continue to mix until smooth. Add vanilla and cream. Remove from mixer and fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour filling into pan and bake at 325° for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on a cooling rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
- Cover a 12” cakeboard round with plastic wrap. Place cheesecake in a larger pan. Fill halfway up side of cheesecake pan with very warm water. Let sit for about 20 seconds. Take cheesecake out of the water and dry pan. Cover with 12” covered cakeboard and turn upside down. Tap firmly once or twice against the countertop to loosen the cake from the pan. Remove cake pan. Place a serving plate over bottom of cheesecake and invert. Prepare the topping.
- For the topping:
- Place chocolate chips and cream in small microwaveable bowl. Microwave very briefly to melt chocolate. Remove and stir until thoroughly combined. Spoon into a small plastic freezer bag and cut off a small piece from one of the bottom corners. Squeeze topping out over cake in a swirl pattern. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
- Betsy's tidbit:
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake may be made in a springform pan. Once the cheesecake is cool, remove the side of the pan and continue with the topping.
