Mocha Cheesecake Recipe

This mocha cheesecake recipe is made with a chocolate graham crumb crust and is served with milk chocolate ganache and fresh walnut halves.

Ingredients

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup dutch-process cocoa
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup salted butter, melted

Caramel Mocha Filling
1 3/4 cups milk chocolate chips, melted
24 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
5 teaspoons cornstarch
4 eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 teaspoons hot water
2 1/2 teaspoons instant coffee
2 1/2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup

Milk Chocolate Ganache
1 cup milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces
Or you can use milk chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

*Optional
Walnut halves to garnish

Directions

Crust

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Grease 9" springform pan

In a small bowl, combine graham crumbs, cocoa sugar and melted butter together.

Press the crumbs evenly into the bottom and a little up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Set aside.

Caramel Mocha Filling

Using a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and set aside.

Using a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, brown sugar and cornstarch and beat with an electric mixer of medium speed until creamy smooth.

Add the eggs one at a time, and beat each one in as you add.

Stir the vanilla into the sour cream, then stir into the cream cheese mixture and mix in.

Heat the water in a small saucepan on the stove top and stir in the instant coffee. Set aside and let cool to warm. Stir in the sugar.

Next measure out 3/4 cup of the cream cheese mixture into a small bowl and mix in the warm coffee water mixture.

Next take the melted chocolate chips and corn syrup and mix with the remaining cheese mixture using an electric mixer. Mix in the cream cheese coffee mixture. All the ingredients should be combined now.

Spoon the batter into the cooled crust.

Bake in the preheated 350 degrees F. oven for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 225 degrees F. and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the center no longer looks wet or shiny.

Open the oven door and slide the cake out. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pan, to loosen.

Turn the oven off and put the cheesecake back into the oven for an additional 30 minute to cool and set.

Remove from the oven and put into the refrigerator, uncovered overnight.

Milk Chocolate Ganache

Chop the chocolate into pieces if you are using chocolate chunks.

Pour the heavy cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and dump in the chocolate pieces. Let sit for 5 minutes, the chocolate will melt from the heat of the milk.

Once you see the chocolate is mostly melted, use a whisk to whisk to combine into a creamy smooth.

Leave cake in springform pan until you are ready to serve. Then slice the cheesecake, place a couple walnut halves on each piece and spoon on some ganache.

Keep any uneaten cheesecake in the refrigerator, covered.

Chill till serving.