Chocolate Cheesecake - Baking with a Southern Accent

Adapted from this King Arthur Baking recipe.

Chocolate Pie Crust

6 tablespoons butter at room temperature

⅓ cup granulated sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup Dutch-process cocoa

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cream

Filling

1 ½ cups good quality dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (Callebaut dark chocolate chips work well)

½ cup good quality milk chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (Callebaut milk chocolate chips work well)

½ cup espresso style coffee freshly brewed and cooled a little

Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Topping

Bourbon caramel sauce

Toasted pecans, chopped

Make the crust

Preheat the oven to 400°. Beat the butter to soften it. Add the sugar and continue beating. Sift together the flour, cocoa and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter then add the vanilla and cream. This is a stiff pie dough so keep the mixer on a low speed and give the ingredients time to come together. Continue beating until smooth.

Line two round 6 by 3 inch cake pans with parchment covering the bottoms and about an inch or so up the sides. Press the pie dough into the parchment lined pans again covering the bottoms and about a ½ inch up the sides.

Line the pie crusts with parchment and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake for 10 minutes then remove the parchment and beans or weights. Continue baking until the center is no longer wet looking about 4 minutes more. Set on a rack to cool.

Make the filling

Place the milk chocolate and dark chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 60 seconds at 80% power. Stir. Continue to microwave at 80% power and stir in 20 second intervals until melted. Whisk in the coffee and set aside.

As you make the filling remember to keep the mixer at a low speed because you want the filling to be creamy and you do not want to beat in air.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar at a low speed until well combined. One at a time add the eggs beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla then the flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat for a few more minutes.

Add the chocolate and coffee into the cream cheese mixture and beat until well combined. Scrape the sides to the bowl and beat for a few more minutes.

Pour the filling over the crusts dividing evenly between the two pans.

Bake the cake

Place each 6 inch pan inside a larger cake pan (8 by 3 inch round cake pans work well) and fill the larger pan with an inch of water.

In the 400° oven bake the cakes in the water bath for 35 minutes. Turn the cakes and continue baking for 10 minutes more or until each cake is set halfway to the center.

Turn the oven off and leave the oven door open a few inches. Let the cakes cool in the oven for an hour. Remove the cakes from the oven and remove them from the water bath.

Cool on a rack until cool enough to remove from the pan then continue to cool completely on the rack. Cover and refrigerate overnight.