15 Jun 2010

Hot Chocolate Cheesecake

Hot Chocolate Cheesecake 
by Richard "Tweet" Angstadt, Uptown Espresso Bar, Kutztown
Serves: 8

Ingredients: 
1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese
3/4 cup of brown sugar
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate Ghirardelli
3 eggs
1/2 cup of heavy cream
4 - 5 dried ancho peppers (dried Poblano)
1 1/2 cup of chocolate graham cracker crumbs
3 oz. of butter 
Floured or greased Springform pan

Method of Preparation:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Soak peppers in water for an hour. In a saucepan, melt the chocolate in heavy cream on very, very low heat, for about 15 minutes, stir frequently (chocolate is very persnickety). Remove peppers from water and slice down the center, open up, and scrape out seeds and flesh of the wall. Add to chocolate cream mixture. Meanwhile, in a food processor, mix the cream cheese with the brown sugar, add eggs one at a time. Then, add chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix until incorporated. 
To make the crust, pulverize graham crackers in food processor, grate 3 ounces of chilled butter into graham cracker crumbs, and it up a bit with your hands. Place in pan and bake for 2 hours.