Mocha Cheesecake with raspberry sauce and ganache

Its been a long, long time since I posted.  Which is sad, and hopefully not happening again soon.  I plan to post more, but of course, that will also require me to cook or bake more, and take pictures of my cooking and baking.
Today I am posting a recipe I actually made back in October.  (No delicious cheesecake for me today; my sister and I were on a 'no sugar' week and the next few weeks are still supposed to be 'low sugar' Gotta cut back after Christmas junk food!)
But cheesecake is really good...and for this cheesecake I decided to have some fun and make some raspberry jam-ish topping, and some chocolate with cream (ganache) topping; it was yummy.
My original inspiration for this recipe was a cheesecake my friend entered in the fair.  Cranberry Mocha Cheesecake  Now here's a problem.  I made this so long ago, I cannot remember exactly how I did it...but I shall do my best!

Mocha Cheesecake

• CRUST:
• 18 oreo cookies, crushed finely
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• FILLING:
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee granules
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• RASPBERRY TOPPING:
• 1 cup frozen red raspberries
• cornstarch
• cold water
• 
  

Directions

Combine cookie crumbs and butter; press onto the bottom and about 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Combine sugar and flour; add to cream cheese and mix well. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.

In a small bowl, dissolve coffee in water; add cream and vanilla. Stir into the cream cheese mixture just until blended. Pour over crust. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 50-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer.

In a small saucepan heat raspberries until bubbly.  Combine a spoonful of cornstarch with a little cold water. Add to raspberries and simmer to thicken.  (Just like gravy except with raspberries.  I meant for mine to sort of be sauce but it turned into a jam; it was still good!)

Ganache.  Ok I really can't replicate the way I made mine.  Because I think what happened was sort of like this...I had some chocolate in a pan already so I melted it.  Added some cream, and some more chocolate and some more cream until it tasted good and had the consistency I wanted. I don't think I used butter, and I know I didn't use any alcohol, but I thats not helping me.  So here's a recipe for ganache without either of those ingredients and looks pretty good.  Ganache  Now I skipped all the refrigerating stuff and just added cream till it was just the right thickness....but whatever works works.  :D

I put the jam and the chocolate on each piece after slicing it.  Looks pretty that way, and saved some of my poor siblings from having 'oh no!' jam on their cheesecake!  

Yummmm I think I'll make cheesecake for Valentines day because I got a heart-shaped spring-form pan a little while ago...but I'm gonna make chocolate cheesecake cuz thats still my fav!  But for now...less is more.  So not a lot of sugar for me!

Ciao my friends!

Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake

This is my favorite cheesecake.  Probably my favorite dessert too.  This is what I had for my birthday a few weeks ago.  It was originally a Taste of Home recipe.  They have some great recipes.
I had fun baking and taking pictures with my new camera.  If you like chocolate, Oreos, and cheesecake, you really should try this recipe!

Ingredients:
2-1/4 cups Oreo cookies (about 24 Oreos
4 Tablespoons and 2 teaspoons butter, melted
4 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, lightly beaten
16 Oreos, coarsely chopped
whipped cream, optional

In a gallon zip-lock bag smash 24 Oreos until finely crushed.  In a mixing bowl, combine with melted butter.  Firmly pack mixture into a 10 inch spring-form pan.  Chill in freezer for several hours, until firm.

Preheat oven to 325° F.

In a small sauce pan melt chocolate chips, set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in chocolate and vanilla.  Add eggs; beat on low speed until just combined.  Fold in half of the cookies.  Pour batter over crust.
Sprinkle with remaining cookies.  

Place pan on baking sheet.

Bake at 325° F. for 50-60 minutes until center is almost set, and top appears dull.  Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.  Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer before removing pan sides.  Refrigerate overnight before serving.  Yield: 12 servings

Garnish with whipping cream, if desired.