I've only ever made two other cheesecakes (my birthday cheesecake and the pecan pie cheesecake), so I was a little skeptical about baking this. Luckily, my buddy Emeril was here to guide me to a recipe that looked fairly easy. The end result was pretty great; it mixed a lot better than my birthday cheesecake and had a deep chocolate flavor. My brother enjoyed it, too. The only thing I would change if I made it again would be the strawberries - after about two days on the cheesecake, they started to get slimy and the cake touching the strawberries did the same.
New York Style Chocolate Cheesecake
Makes about 12 servings
1 1/2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside of pod and reserved
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces melted semisweet chocolate, cooled slightly
Fresh strawberries, for garnish
Preheat oven to 350 degrees (if using a light springform pan; or 325 degrees if using a dark nonstick springform pan).
Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate wafer crumbs, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, and the butter and mix well. Press onto the bottom of springform pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, remaining cup of sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean seeds; beat until light and creamy. Add the flour to the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth.
Add the melted chocolate and sour cream and mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition until just blended. Pour the batter into prepared pan and bake for one hour, until the center is almost set.
Run a sharp knife around the rim of the pan and allow cake to cool on a wire rack before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate at least four hours, or overnight, before serving. Cheesecake may be made up to 2 days in advance before serving and will keep for up to one week in the refrigerator. Serve the cheesecake garnished with fresh strawberries.
