Triple Chocolate Cheesecake

I've been cutting back on how many desserts I make, because with only two of us in the apartment we'll end up being the ones who need to eat all of the sugar filled creations. One exception was this cheesecake which I made for Dave's birthday last Sunday. This cake is not for the faint of heart -- chocolate, upon chocolate, upon chocolate is what you're gearing up for.

Recipe from OMG Chocolate Desserts.

Ingredients:

For the Crust:

-24 Oreo cookies-finely crushed

-1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

For Cheesecake Filling:

-2 pounds cream cheese- room temperature

-11/3 cups powdered sugar

-3 tablespoons cocoa powder

-4 eggs- room temperature

-10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

For Chocolate Topping:

-3/4 cup heavy cream

-6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

-1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Crust:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, grease a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. Finely crush the cookies in a food processor, add melted butter and blend until the cookies are moist. Press crumb mixture onto the bottom of the prepared pan and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool while making the filling.

Filling:

Melt 10 ounces bittersweet chocolate and set aside to cool. Mix cream cheese and sugar until smooth, mix in cocoa powder Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed and do not over mix!! Add melted chocolate and mix on low speed to combine. Pour the filling over the crust and smooth the top. Bake the cheesecake until the center is set and the top looks dry (about an hour and ten minutes). Turn off the oven, leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door open for thirty minutes. After letting the cheesecake rest in the oven for thirty minutes, remove and then run a thin knife around the sides of the pan and set the cake in the refrigerator (uncovered), for at least 8 hours.

Topping:

In a medium saucepan stir together cream, chocolate and sugar on low heat until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Allow the mixture to cool and then pour over the cheesecake. Put the cheese cake back in the fridge. When the topping is set and cooled again run a thin knife around the sides and remove the springform pan sides.

This triple chocolate cheesecake got taste-tested by seven people -- but it received mixed reviews. My dad didn't love it, because he thought the chocolate on chocolate on chocolate was too much. Another person who loves chocolate thought this recipe was great. I thought it was incredibly rich, but that's how I feel about all cheesecake, so I settled for having a few small slices before Dave finished it up this week. This would be good if you didn't add the chocolate topping, but added some salted caramel sauce instead.