Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake

Chocolate Cookie Crust

11 milk chocolate sandwich cream cookies, crushed

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

In a small bowl stir together crushed cookies, cinnamon and melted butter or margarine until well combined.  Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan.

Chocolate Irish Cream Filling

24 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

5 eggs

2/3 cup whipping cream

¾ cup Irish Cream Liqueur

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons instant coffee

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 12-ounce package milk chocolate chops, melted

Sifted powdered sugar

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs, and sugar.  Beat with an electric mixer till smooth.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in liqueur and vanilla extract.  Stir together hot water, instant coffee and cinnamon.  Stir into cream cheese mixture.  Stir in melted chocolate.  Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.  Lower the temperature to 200° and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or till the center no longer looks wet or shiny.  Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.  Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 2 hours.  Chill, uncovered, overnight.

Place a decorative stencil over the top of the cheesecake.  Sift powdered sugar over the stencil.  Carefully remove stencil.  Chill till serving time.  Makes 12 to 18 slices.

Hints:  Bring cream cheese and eggs to room temperature before mixing.  Once you start adding the eggs, overbeating the mixture causes fine cracks, so just beat until ingredients are incorporated.  Very important to reduce the temperature, otherwise, big cracks.  Running a knife around the inside edge of the pan will release the cake during the cooling cycle and minimize cracks.   If you do get cracks, top the cheesecake with whipped cream, flavored with additional Bailey’s Irish Cream!!