Rich and creamy, with a delectable chocolate flavor. My husband, Gary, has an annual cheese cake contest with his college friends. This cake has been entered twice, and it won both times. It's beautiful, too!
| Cheesecake | ||
|---|---|---|
| 20 | chocolate wafers (each 2 1/4 inches, crumbled) | |
| 1⁄4 | c | butter (melted) |
| 16 | oz | cream cheese (2 packages, room temperature) |
| 1 | c | sugar |
| 3 | eggs (room temperature) | |
| 1 1⁄2 | tsp | vanilla |
| 6 | oz | semisweet chocolate (melted and cooled) |
| 1 | c | Stonyfield Organic Fat Free Plain Yogurt |
| Glaze | ||
| 2 | oz | semisweet chocolate (melted) |
| 2 | tbsp | butter (melted) |
| 1 | tbsp | corn syrup |
| 1⁄2 | tsp | vanilla |
| 2 | oz | white chocolate |
For the crust, mix the chocolate wafer crumbs and butter together. Press the mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased 8 or 9 inch springform pan. Chill.
Preheat the oven to 300°. For the filling, in a food processor fitted with the steel blade, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the eggs, then the vanilla, melted chocolate, and yogurt, and mix until all the ingredients are combined. Spoon the mixture into the crust.
Place the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven and place a pan of water on the bottom rack. Bake for 50 to 60 minuted. (Do not open the oven door while the cheesecake is baking.) Turn off the oven; allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the oven with the door ajar. Then remove the cheesecake and continue cooling it in the pan on a wire rack.
Mix the chocolate, butter, corn syrup, and vanilla together while the chocolate and butter are still warm. Allow the glaze to cool; then spread it on top of the cooled cheesecake. For a decorative feathered effect, melt the white chocolate. Using a pastry tube, pipe lines of white chocolate across the still-warm glaze, then drag the knife perpendicularly across the lines to create a pattern.