Everything is Better in Texas, including the Espresso Kahlua Chocolate Cheesecake

Helllooooooo, Yankee Belle Cafe!

 The Fresh Pioneer is back and I've got the most delicious recipe. I think the original title is Cappuccino Cheesecake, but I didn't think that was descriptive enough. That sounded a bit like a lightly flavored coffee. NOOOO, this is some seriously STRONG cheesecake. The original blog post where I found it is over on Smitten Kitchen. I think she said one might need to take a break and jog around the block a few times while consuming a slice. This isn't for the faint of heart! 

Now, before I get started, let me just say that my Texas friend Christalee was also trying out this recipe AT THE SAME TIME. I made that all caps because I said I was going to try it, and she said she would too. All is well and good, yes? But we're homeschooling moms and juggling households and writing and kids and appointments and hungry peeps, so when we SAY we're going to do something, it doesn't always mean RIGHT THIS MINUTE, or even sometime in the next week. But oddly enough, we actually ended up making the cheese cake almost simultaneously, two thousand miles apart. 

(Here she is with her handsome husband, Greg. Aren't they adorable? This was at something called a Denim and Diamonds themed Christmas party. I'd never heard of such a thing. I had to Google. Like with a foreign language. Google translate said it had nothin' so I went ahead and asked.... The answer is basically: BLING. And more BLING. But she took off her blinged out jacket for the pic, so just use your imagination.)

Anyway, so, I think we started making cheesecake-making noises on a Monday. And then I got distracted, and then I had to go shopping, and then someone ate some of the ingredients and then I had revisions and then I made something else and... finally, I got everything together. 

And this is only some of it. 

MMMMM. Gratuitous chocolate picture.

So, starting with the crust, as all good cheesecakes do: 

1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies 

(I used graham crackers because I couldn't find any wafer cookies that came in chocolate. Apparently, Oregon is a vanilla wafer state.)

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup  dark brown sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

7 tablespoons hot melted unsalted butter

 Crush the cookies and add in the brown sugar, butter, and chocolate. I used a tiny little grinder I have and almost killed it. A food processor would be dandy. Press into the bottom of the pan and push a few inches up the sides.

Uh oh. A lego criminal is scaling the side of the cheesecake pan!

 Now, there's a thick layer of ganache at the bottom of the cheesecake. (What is ganache? Heaven. that's all you need to know.)

1 1/2 cups heavy or whipping cream
20 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur
Melt the whipping cream and chocolate together, and add Kahlua.

Pour TWO CUPS of the ganache into the bottom of the cheesecake and let it chill for 30 minutes. (You'll need the reserve for the decorations.)

 Ok, now we're ready to assemble the filling. Preheat the oven to 350F.
Beat together the first three ingredients first, then add all the rest, one at a time, mixing well after each.

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder or coffee crystals
1 1/2 tablespoons espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons mild-flavored (light) molasses (all I could find was the normal stuff)
3 large eggs

 (Christalee used egg substitute and  everything worked just perfectly.)

 Here I am, holding up a spoon of cheesecake batter for Edna's approval. She said, "A few more minutes." So Thor kept a-going.
Wait, you don't remember who Thor is?
                                              
He's been working VERY hard to learn all the ins and outs of being a good mixer. Here, he's reading Edna's Sunbeam manual. See?  No bitter rivalry! Edna is the kind of mixer that will help you out when you need it.

 Here, she says the ganache is set and read for the cheesecake to be poured in!

 Mmmmmm...... Put the cheesecake on the middle rack and bake until browned at the edges, and moves just a little at the center, about one hour.

 Sour cream topping:

1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

 Oooooh, looking pretty!

 Now leave it to cool for 15 minutes. Don't turn off the oven, we'll need it.

 Spread the sour cream mix on the top and pop back into the oven.

Bake until the topping is set, about 15 minutes more.

 Chill the cheesecake for about 3 hours. Now put the ganache into a piping bag or tool and decorate. Add espresso beans.

 Hm. Well, I wasn't really sure about this cheesecake. I admit I didn't wait the entire 3 hours. And the flavor was VERY strong.

Huh. Even worse. the kids were loving it, and I was thinking I'd wasted $25 on a cheesecake that tasted like a gingerbread cookie soaked in coffee.

So, I was whining to Christalee about the cheesecake. (Specifically, I said, "Don't make the cheesecake! BAD! BAD!")

But she was already started! We were living parallel lives. (Except one of us was a lot cooler because she was TEXAN. I think it makes a difference in the kitchen. It's a genetic thing. Something you pick up in the air or something. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. I bet The Tex will back me up on this.)

 Can you believe this?? This is hers. Gorgeous, tall, not sloppy and oozing. (P.S. Note her cornflower blue mixer in the background. That's Alice Leavitt (that means 'baker', of course), but you can call her Alice for short. She and Thor have been having Skype dates. Thor doesn't talk much, but I don't think Alice minds.

 Another picture of perfection.

A slice, note the specks of espresso. Funny, I think Christalee had to take this at 3AM because every other attempt was marred by photo-bombing children. Mostly fingers and spoons but I did see one whole face headed in with the mouth wide open. I don't blame them. I would have elbowed her out of the way, too.

 Shot of the inside. No oozing. No mess. THIS is what happens when you make an uber-complicated recipe and you're Texan.
                                                

To be fair, I did let it chill overnight and tried it again. It was MUCH better the next day. Still not a flavor I was crazy about, but I tend to like my cheesecakes fruity, not chocolaty. As for everyone else, they devoured it. Gone in two days. 

OK, I hope you enjoyed this transnational bake-a-thon! And many thanks to Christalee for sharing her photos (especially the Denim and Diamonds one!). 

Until next time!