Seriously Chocolate Cheesecake with Red Wine Chocolate Ganache

A friend had a birthday and we were getting together for girls night to celebrate. She loves red wine and I remembered pinning a recipe for a chocolate ganache that had red wine in it, and I thought she would enjoy it on a chocolate cheesecake.

I didn’t know there was a cream cheese shortage going on when I went to pick up supplies. I hadn’t stocked up on cream cheese since November so I didn’t realize I would have a tough time finding my beloved 3 lb. Philly blocks at Costco. I missed the news story about a cyberattack against the largest US cheese manufacturer that caused this. I did at least find another brand at Vons grocery so I could make this cake. Yeah!

Crust

• 1 sleeve of chocolate graham cracker crumbs (9 sheets – about 1 1/4 cup) or 2 cups of chocolate Teddy Graham crumbs (comes out to about 1 1/3 cups of crumbs)
• 3 Tablespoons white sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 2 oz semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate*
• 5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling

• 24 oz cream cheese, softened (3 – 8 oz blocks)
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1/2 cup sour cream (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder or special dark dutched cocoa powder (I used half unsweetened cocoa and half Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa)
• 6 oz melted semi-sweet or dark chocolate, cooled*
• 3 eggs (room temperature)

Topping

Red Wine Chocolate Ganache by Sally’s Baking Addiction or your favorite chocolate ganache

Directions

Crust: Preheat oven to 350^oF (rack in the center of the oven).  Cover the bottom of a 9″ springform pan with parchment, attach the sides over the paper (this makes it easy to remove the cake if you want to put on a serving plate). Cover the outside of the springform pan with aluminum foil so that the butter doesn’t leak onto your oven. Spray inside of pan with non-stick spray. Pulse chocolate graham crackers and chocolate in the food processor. In the processor or a small bowl, mix together the crumbs and chocolate with the sugar, and salt. Add the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are coated. Pour crumbs evenly into the prepared springform pan and gently smooth out. I only like a crust on the bottom, but if you like it on the sides; work the crumbs up the sides so that they go about halfway up your pan. Place pan into the oven and bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool while preparing the filling.

Filling: Reduce the oven temperature to 300^o. Break chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Place bowl in microwave at medium (50%) power for 1 – 1 1/2 minutes. Remove and stir. If not melted, return to microwave and heat again at medium power for 30 seconds. Remove and stir and repeat if needed. Be careful not to scorch the chocolate. Set to side to cool. In a large bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar on medium speed for 2-4 minutes until smooth and creamy.  Add the vanilla, sour cream, cocoa powder, and cooled melted chocolate then beat on medium until combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low-medium just until incorporated. Don’t over mix the eggs. Pour the filling over the crust, then bake for 50-60 minutes. Cake is done when the center is set with a little jiggle. Turn off the oven and prop open the oven door open. Let cheesecake cool in the oven for at least 1 hour. Remove from oven, set on a wire rack and let cool completely. Refrigerate uncovered overnight.

Topping: At least a couple hours before serving, prepare the Red Wine Chocolate Ganache by Sally’s Baking Addiction or your favorite chocolate ganache recipe and let cool to room temperature. Run knife around the edge of the cake and remove the sides. Pour ganache over cheesecake and put back in the fridge until ready to serve.

It did make a good amount of red wine ganache so I used half on the cake and gave the rest to my friend to enjoy.

*I used a 4 oz bar of Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet chocolate and a 4 oz bar of Ghirardelli Bittersweet chocolate since that is what I had on hand. 1 oz of each went in the crust and 3 oz of each into the filling.