Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake

By Christie

This chocolate cheesecake gets its extra richness from sour cream, whipping cream, and chocolate.

Ingredients

• Chocolate Cookie Crust
• 11 milk chocolate sandwich cream cookies, crushed (I use EL Fudge)
• 3 Tablespoons Butter or margarine, melted
• Chocolate Mousse Filling
• (all ingredients should be at room temperature)
• 19 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 5 eggs
• 10 ounces milk chocolate chips, melted
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup whipping cream

Preparation

Step 1

Crust
In a small bowl stir together crushed cookies and melted butter or margarine till well combined. Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch spring-form pan. (Chill while making filling to create a more crisp crust)

Filling
In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sour cream, and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer till smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. (Be careful not to beat filling too much while adding eggs or your cheesecake could crack down the middle). Beat in melted chocolate and vanilla extract. Stir in whipping cream. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

Place spring-form pan on a baking sheet to prevent spills in your over. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 200F and bake for 2 hours 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.

Note: If you want a cheesecake with a creamy consistency, have all of the ingredients at room temperature before starting.
If the crusts is not baked, you can make them more crisp. Chill them, uncovered, in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Cheesecakes often crack. But you can reduce the chances of your cake cracking with these simple precautions. Do not overbeat the batter when adding the eggs. Beating to long or at too high a speed will cause concentric cracks. Always beat eggs using the lowest speed of you electric mixer. Also, do not overbake your cheesecake. Overbaking can cause the "Grand Canyon" crack.
Cracking can occur during the cooling process. As the cake cools, it begins to shrink. If the filling sticks to the side of the pan, it will crack in the center. To avoid this, run a knife around the edge of the cake to separate the cheesecake from the pan.
Oops! Your cheesecake cracked. Just cover with raspberry jam. (you can also resmooth with a hot wet knife for most cheesecakes. However, wet can discolor a chocolate cheesecake so dip your knife in hot water and quickly dry with a paper towel and smooth.