Grilled Chocolate Cheesecake Sandwich

In April, Cakespy.com had a fabulous entry on their blog for Grilled Cheesecake: A Sweet Take on a Classic Sandwich. It really looks and tastes heavenly--how could it not when it includes all the best food groups: Cake, Cheescake, Butter-- and it's Fried! The photos are stupendous on the Cakespy site, too. And, if you haven't checked out Cakespy for other recipes and comments, you absolutely must.

So how is this Grilled Cheescake Sandwich made? Well it's really slivered cheesecake layered between slices of buttered pound cake. Be sure and butter the pound cake on the outside. Assemble as you would a sandwich with the buttered side of the pound cake down. Cakespy includes the crust from the cheesecake for crunch. Good idea. Then add the other slice of pound cake, buttered side up. After about a minute and half, lift with spatula and if it's browned enough flip it. Press down with a spatula, as you would a 'regular' grilled cheese sandwich. Second side browns faster, so watch it. Remove from heat, slice in half and eat.

This is such a great and easy recipe, I thought --well how about a grilled chocolate cheesecake sandwich? And, yes, it does work. Perhaps it doesn't look as pure as the original, but it certainly is tasty. Want to get inventive? Try this with a chocolate pound cake. O.K. it's a different type of dessert, but still fabulous! What isn't good fried? I was going to do an easy chocolate cheesecake recipe, but I decided that with a little more effort a quality chocolate cheesecake would make this better. I usually use the recipe from Epicurious. If you don't have Scharffen Berger, use another high quality chocolate with a high percentage cacao. So here it is, without the topping!

Crust
24 chocolate wafer cookies (from one 9-ounce package)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Filling
1 9.7-ounce bar Scharffen Berger 70% Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate,* chopped
4 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Scharffen Berger)
4 large eggs

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Blend cookies in processor until finely ground; blend in sugar. Add melted butter and process until well blended. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom (not sides) of prepared pan. Bake just until set, about 5 minutes. Cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.

For filling:
Stir chopped chocolate in metal bowl set over saucepan of simmering water until melted and smooth. Remove bowl from over water; cool chocolate until lukewarm but still pourable. Blend cream cheese, sugar, and cocoa powder in processor until smooth. Blend in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in lukewarm chocolate. Pour filling over crust; smooth top. Bake until center is just set and just appears dry, about 1 hour. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife around sides of cake to loosen. Chill overnight.

So now, use this cheesecake (in slivers between plain or chocolate pound cake) for a Grilled Chocolate Cheesecake. Enjoy! And, thanks to Cakespy for such a creative fun Grilled Cheesecake idea!!