Kerrian's Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake

Once again my crime fiction and chocolate world collide, as I welcome mystery writer/reviewer Patti Phillips. Patti writes the online detective blog, www.KerriansNotebook.com. (Detective Kerrian chats about life as a detective as well as the case featured in Patti’s novel, One Sweet Motion.) Her love of cooking (and therefore Kerrian’s) spills onto the recipe pages of the blog. This special dessert will appear soon on the website, but makes its internet debut today on www.DyingforChocolate.com

Patti Phillips is a writer/photographer whose best investigative days are spent writing, cooking, traveling for research, and playing golf. Her time on the golf course was murderously valuable while creating the perfect alibi for the chief villain in One Sweet Motion. Did you know that there are spots on a golf course that can’t be accessed by listening devices? Of course, it helps to avoid suspicion if you work on lowering your handicap while plotting the dirty deeds.

Patti’s book reviews of mysteries and thrillers can be found on the Facebook, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble sites. Her own review site, ‘Nightstand Book Reviews’ is coming soon.

Patti Phillips is a transplanted metropolitan New Yorker/north Texan, now living in the piney state of North Carolina.

I love this cheesecake, especially the chocolate chip cookie crust!

Patti Phillips:
Kerrian’s Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake

Detective Charlie Kerrian loves pie! This yummy chocolate dessert was a great complement to his St. Patrick’s Day dinner. Serves 8-10

Ingredients
Vegetable oil for springform pan (I use almond oil)
20- 2” chocolate chip cookies
4 Tbs butter (salted)
10 oz. Ghirardelli milk chocolate baking chips
10 oz. Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate baking chips
1/3 cup extrafine sugar
12 oz. whipped cream cheese
1 pint heavy cream
2 Tbs. Bailey’s Irish Cream
sour cream and fresh fruit (picture shows strawberries)

Kitchen tools/supplies to have on hand for this recipe:
8” springform pan
Parchment paper
Pot with double-boiler insert
Standing electric mixer with large bowl & paddle attachment

Preparation
Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and wipe the sides with oil. Crush the cookies with a rolling pin. Melt the butter in a sauce pan, remove from heat, then stir in the crushed cookies. Press the cookie/butter mixture into the bottom (and ½ inch up the sides) of the prepared pan. Chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Place all the chocolate into the top of the double-boiler, with gently simmering water in the bottom. Melt the chocolate, stirring frequently until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat.

Add sugar and cream cheese to the mixing bowl and beat on lowest speed until smooth. Slowly add the heavy cream and beat on the lowest setting until thick and creamy. Slowly add the melted chocolate and continue to beat on lowest setting until thoroughly blended. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl and beat again. Add Bailey’s and mix until blended. Mixture should now have thick pudding consistency.

Spoon into the springform pan and then level surface with butter knife or spoon. Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours (until very firm). Transfer to cake plate and serve with fresh fruit and sour cream. Also nice with ice cream.

Recipe variation:
If you don’t own a springform pan, or are not comfortable using one, the recipe will also work nicely in a 9” deep-dish disposable pie pan. Press the cookie crumb/butter mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the unlined disposable pan, then follow the rest of the directions as written. Spoon any extra filling into ramekins, chill, garnish with fruit, and serve as individual desserts.

Photograph: Patti Phillips. Kerrian and Patti can be found at www.kerriansnotebook.com. They promise that no bodies have ever been discovered in Kerrian’s Kitchen. ☺