Baking is fun! Baked goods are delicious! I am going to tell you a little quirk of mine though...I do not like it when my fun to make, yummy desserts are UGLY! You go through all the work and, even if it's good, it just gets under my skin when the presentation is horrible. I may be a little strange, but I can't help it. After making this cheesecake for my mother in law, I had a smile on my face. I didn't want to cut it because I thought it was so pretty. I don't like to give myself too much credit, but come on people, this is a pretty dessert. I am sure, on a special occasion, you wouldn't feel bad presenting this as your final course. :)
Just so you are aware, this dessert is a little time consuming, but from the multiple layers to the homemade whipped cream, the time is shown nicely. Whoever you are making this for will appreciate it!
FOUR LAYER CHOCOLATE TRUFFLE CHEESECAKE
CHEESECAKE
30 oreos
1/4 cup melted butter
Crush cookies. Stir in melted butter. In a 10" spring form pan, press cookies. Place in water bath prepared pan. If you do not know how to do this, it is very easy. Click on the link HERE if you don't feel confident with this method. Bake at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.
*Another note: Learning from experience, get the extra large aluminum foil so you don't have cracks for the water to seep. As I said, I learned that one with some trial and error. To save yourself some frustration, DON'T try using to cheap aluminum foil to get by. As previously mentioned, this recipe is time consuming and you wouldn't want it to be ruined because water got in the pan!)
8- 1 oz. semi sweet chocolate squares
6 T. butter
3 eggs
3 T. flour
Melt chocolate and the 6 T. of butter. Stir well. Add eggs and flour. Stir well until thick and shiny. Pour on crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.
3- 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 can sweetened condensed milk
4 eggs
12 oz semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. strong prepared coffee (the reason I state PREPARED?!?...when I was young, I thought 1/4 cup coffee meant 1/4 cup of coffee grounds. Maybe you aren't as dumb as I was when I was 10 but you never know. ;)
Blend cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until mixed well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla. Mix. Melt 12 oz of chocolate chips. Add. Mix well. Add strong coffee. Mix until light pudding consistency or mousse-like. Pour on top of truffle layer. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees. After 20 minutes of baking, carefully cover for the following 40 minutes.
*You can prepare the Decorations and Raspberry Sauce so they are ready ahead of time.*
DECORATIONS
Box of fresh raspberries, washed
Mint leaves, washed
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
RASPBERRY SAUCE
12 oz raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
Beat together. Using a sieve, strain the raspberry mixture so there are no seeds. It makes an easy, beautiful addition to your cheesecake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
CHOCOLATE DRIZZLE *Make after allowing the fully baked cheesecake to cool for awhile!*
1/4 heavy cream
4 oz. semisweet squares
1 T. butter
Bring cream to a boil. Remove from stove. Stir in chocolate and butter.
After allowing the cheesecake to cool for awhile, drizzle chocolate over cheesecake. Allow cheesecake to cool completely on the counter. Once cooled, refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM *Make within 30 minutes of serving!*
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 T. sugar
Whip cream until stiff peaks are about to form. Beat in vanilla and sugar. Continuing beating until stiff peaks form. Do not over beat or the the cream will be butter-like and lumpy! Refrigerate until ready to serve. I used a piping bag and a star tip to make it more decorative. If you didn't have these, cutting the tip off a filled Ziploc bag will give you more precise placement of the whipped cream.
NOW DECORATE YOUR BEAUTIFUL CHEESECAKE!!!
Beautiful!!
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