Chocolate Cheesecake with Pretzel Crust and Salted Caramel Mousse

By kmad

Ingredients

• For the crust:
• 2 cups crushed pretzels (this is about 1/2 of a 16 ounce bag), don?t grind into fine powder.
• 5 T. butter, melted
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 1/2 t. cinnamon

Details

Servings 6

Preparation

Step 1

For the cheesecake:


16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

½ c. cocoa powder

1 t. vanilla

1 t. salt

2 T. corn starch

2 T. coffee, or 1 t. espresso powder


Salted Caramel Mousse


8 oz caramel (I bought mine, but you can make yours!)

2 cups heavy cream

½ t. sea salt

This makes one 6? cheesecake, 2 mini?s, or 24 bite size

For the crust:

Combine all ingredients, and press into the bottom of your pan(s). If you are doing bite size cheesecakes, about ½ tablespoon crust is perfect for bite size cheesecake pans, or a lined cupcake tin.


For the cheesecake:


Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl, whip cream cheese for a minute or two, just to soften further. Add sugar, and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl to make sure your batter is consistent. Add remaining ingredients, and mix for 2 minutes to get a smooth, consistent batter. Spoon over crust.


Bake in 350 oven for 40 minutes for 6?, 30 minutes for mini?s, and 15-25 minutes for bite size. Cool to room temperature. Garnish with salted caramel mousse.


Salted Caramel Mousse

In a medium size bowl, microwave caramel until hot, but not boiling. Whisk in 1 cup heavy cream. Continue whisking until no lumps remain. If you struggle with lumps, microwave in 10 second increments, just to get a smooth cream, do NOT boil.

Refrigerate mixture at least 1 hour. Add remaining cream and sea salt, and beat until soft peaks form. Chill until ready to use.