Cooking Therapy

You don’t have to wait until the colder months to enjoy this dessert. The semisweet chocolate swirls blended with the creamy sweet cheesecake filling make for mouthwatering combination. Like any traditional hot chocolate, I topped the dessert with marshmallows, toasting them into a gooey morsel under a blow torch. This will be your go to dessert to enjoy at home or make for someone.

Prep Time: 30 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour 30 Minutes

Rest/cooling Time: 4 Hours

Ingredients:

4 packages of cream cheese at room temperature

2 cups of sugar

5 eggs at room temperature

2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour

¾ cups of sour cream at room temperature

¼ cup of heavy cream at room temperature

1 ½ tablespoons of vanilla extract

8oz bar of semisweet chocolate

1 stick of butter, melted

½ cup of pecans

½ cup of graham crackers

1 cup of ginger snap cookies

1 cup of marshmallows (If using large marshmallows like I did, cut them in ¼ s)

Instructions:

For the crust:

• Line a springform pan with parchment paper and using a brush, spread some butter across the paper
• In a food processor, blend the graham crackers, ginger snap cookies, pecans and butter, until they form a moldable mixture
• Pour the mixture in the pan, and using your hand spread it evenly across the pan, patting it down, and press it against the sides of the pan. Press the raised mixture around the side of pan so you can mold a “crust wall.” Let the crust sit until the filling is ready
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

For the filling:

• Melt the chocolate using a double boiler. In a small pot add about 1 inch of water. Place over a medium heat. Add a glass bowl into the pot so that it covers the pot but does not touch the water. Add the chocolate in the glass bowl. The steam from the pot will melt the chocolate without burning it. Using a silicone spatula, stir the chocolate occasionally so that the parts that have not melted will melt as well
• Add the cream cheese, the flour and the sugar into a mixer and blend until a smooth mixture forms
• Add the vanilla and mix again
• Using a slow setting of the mixer, add the eggs one by one into the cream cheese mixture and blend
• Add the sour cream and heavy cream and mix
• Pour the mixture into the crust
• Using a spoon, drizzle and add dollops of the melted chocolate on the cheesecake
• Using the back end if the spoon, carefully stir the chocolate in the cheesecake mixture so it forms a marbled appearance

For the baking/serving:

• We are going to do a water bath while baking
• Cover the springform pan in aluminum foil so water does not enter it. DO NOT cover the top of the cheesecake. Simply cover the sides slightly so that there is no water leaking in, about halfway up the pan.
• In a roasting pan add 1 inch of hot water
• Add the covered springform pan into the roasting pan carefully.
• Place the pans in the oven and bake until the cheesecake is in the center but still has a slight jiggle when moved. About an hour and fifteen to an hour and a half
• Let the cheesecake cool and rest for 3 hours
• Place in the fridge for 1 hour
• After the cheesecake has cooled down, add the marshmallows on top, leaving a slight space in between, until the cheesecake is covered
• Using a cooking blow torch, toast the marshmallows, but careful to not burn. If you do not have a blow torch you can use a long necked lighter but the process will take longer
• Slice, serve and enjoy