Ingredients:
2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
Directions:
Combine cookie crumbs and melted butter and press firmly into a 9″ springform pan, forming a crust.
Preheat oven to 300 F.
Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until very soft.
Add sugar and eggs and beat on low to combine, then on medium until very smooth and fluffy.
Spoon half of the cream cheese mixture into the crust.
Stir the 2 oz of melted chocolate into the remaining cream cheese mixture and combine well.
Drizzle the chocolate mixture over the plain cream cheese mixture to create a swirling pattern.
Do not stir!
Bake for 50-55 minutes- watch carefully -when ready, it should no longer be loose & watery looking, but will jiggle only slightly in the center(somewhat like firm gelatin) – also,when cooked, the surface will be dull, not shiny – if you need a little extra baking time based on your oven, cook it a little longer, but be careful – if you over bake, it will dry out and start to crack.
Once cooled completely, cover with plastic and chill at least 2 hours.
Optional topping: Melt a bit of sweetened chocolate, whip some heavy cream and swirl together, adding sugar to taste, and spread over cooled cheesecake just before serving.
NOTE: To help prevent cracks, I often will let the cheesecake cool in the (turned off) oven for about 30 minutes (door slightly ajar), then let it continue to cool on the counter another 30 minutes or so until cool enough to put into the fridge,so it does not get subjected to extreme changes in temperature (which can also cause cracks).
Servings: 10
Time preparation: 15 min.
Time total: 65 min.