This is without a doubt my favorite cheesecake recipe. Alot of cheesecake recipes can be complicated or in the case of say a French Cheesecake need to be baked in a water bath. This recipe is not only easy, but really is the only one you need. You can easily modify it to make just about any type of cheesecake you want. For example if you want to make a regular cheesecake you can change the crust ingredent to graham crackers and leave out the chocolate. If you want an Amerato cheesesake just substitute the vanilla extract with almond extract.



Cheesecake ingredients

1/2 cup chocolate wafers crumbs

1 tablespoon softened butter or margarine

24 ounces cream cheese softened

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 eggs

2- 1 ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate, melted

In a small bowl combine the wafer crumbs and butter. Lightly grease the bottom of a 9in. springform pan, press the wafer crumbs mixture evenly over the bottom of pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Put in the large bowl of your electric mixer the cream cheese, sugar, and extract, mix at medium speed till mixture is smooth, scraping bowl, and beaters as necessary. Mix till no lumps remain. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg. Set aside 1 cup of the mixture and pour the rest into the springform pan. Fold the melted chocolate into the cup of mixture you set aside, incorparating completly. Spoon chocolate mix into pan and using a knife cut through batter in a spiral motion creating the marble effect.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until mixture is just set and firm. Remove from oven and set on a wire cooling rack till cool. Chill for 2 hours.

topping ingredients

6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 cup sour cream

dash of salt

Melt chocolate, add sour cream and salt, remove from heat and using a wooden spoon beat until smooth and spreadable.

Using a small spatula lossen cake from springform pan and place on serving plate. Spread topping evenly over top and sides of cheese cake.

Chill cake for about 4 hours, and serve.

To melt chocolate use a double boiler. If you don't have a double boiler you can use a pot and metal mixing bowl. Add water to pot and put on stove, heat water till steam is formed. Put chocolate in mixing bowl and set on the pot of steaming water. Stir often with a rubber spatula till chocoate is melted.