Double-Crusted Chocolate Covered Sweet Surprise Cheesecake

By Caryl

A creamy, chocolatey filling is surrounded by an oatmeal-pretzel crust and topped with a decadent ganache in this mouthwatering cheesecake.

Ingredients

• Ganache Topping
• 12 ounce(s) Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup(s) heavy cream
• 2 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) instant coffee granules
• Oatmeal-Pretzel Crust
• 1/2 cup(s) lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cup(s) rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cup(s) salted pretzels, crushed (coarsely or finely per your preference)
• 1 1/2 stick(s) unsalted butter, melted
• Butter to grease pan
• Filling
• 2 block(s) (8 ounces each) Neufchatel cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cup(s) low-fat Greek yogurt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup(s) white sugar
• 2 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract
• 1 bag(s) (10-ounce) miniature Snickers Almond bars (about 15 mini bars)

Details

Servings 12
Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 90mins
Adapted from delish.com

Preparation

Step 1

Directions

1.Make Ganache: Put chocolate chips in a glass or steel bowl. In a small saucepan, bring cream and butter to a boil and pour it over the chocolate chips. Leave chocolate and cream alone for 5 minutes, then stir to combine; mix in vanilla and coffee granules. At room temperature the ganache is the perfect consistency to "frost" the cheesecake.
2.Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Use a fork to combine all ingredients for the crust. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan with butter. Pour half crust mixture (2 1/2 cups) into greased cheesecake pan and reserve other half of crust mixture for later. Use a glass to help you firmly press the mixture down evenly. Bake crust for 8 minutes. Once the crust is out of the oven, turn the oven down to 325°F.
3.Chop candy bars into bite-sized pieces. Use a mixer to blend together Neufchatel cheese and Greek yogurt; once they’re fully incorporated, mix in one egg at a time; add sugar and vanilla and mix until everything is just incorporated. Fold in chopped candy and pour mixture into pre-baked crust. Bake for 40 minutes, then remove cheesecake from the oven and evenly sprinkle remaining crust mixture on the top; bake for another 20 minutes.
4.Allow cheesecake to cool completely, then refrigerate for 2 hours. Pour the room-temperature ganache over the cheesecake and spread it out in an even layer (some chocolate will drip down the sides of the cheesecake, but don't worry about spreading it evenly over the sides). Refrigerate for another 2 hours.