Granini's Black & White Cheesecake

Granini's Black & White Oreo Cheesecake

SO good, you'll want to risk salmonella, just so you can lick the bowl!

[Imagine a pretty picture of it here.  I'll insert one the next time I make it.]

Ingredients:

3/4 of a bag of Oreos, smashed into smithereens.  

1 cube (8 Tablespoons) salted butter

3 cubes (8 ounces per cube) cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, melted

2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (I love Ghiradelli)

2 Tablespoons HOT water

For the chocolate curls:

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1 Tablespoon butter or margarine

Recipe:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Smash up the Oreos (either in a cuisinart, or stuff 'em all in a plastic bag and bash them to smithereens with a rolling pin.  Pour the crumbs into a 9 inch springform pan.  Melt 1 cube of salted butter and pour over the Oreo crumbs.  Using a fork, mix the crumbs together with the melted butter until all the crumbs are moistened.  Gentle press the crumbs onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan, making sure not to leave any holes.  I put my hand inside of a plastic sandwich bag to keep my fingers from getting icky and to keep all the crumbs for making their way up my fingernails, but you do what you gotta do.   Set the crust aside.

In a stand-up mixer, place the 3 cubes of soft cream cheese, the sugar and the salt, and slowly mix together, gradually increasing the speed of the mixer until they are light and fluffy.  Turn your mixer speed down, but leave it running, and add one egg in at a time.  Slowly add in the sour cream.  Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn on the mixer for a few more turns, making sure all the ingredients are fully incorporated.  

Pour half of this mixture into a bowl and set aside.  

With the remaining mixture, slowly turn on the mixer again, and slowly add in the melted chocolate chips.  In a small bowl, add 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa and 2 Tablespoons of HOT water.  Stir until they mixed thoroughly, almost like a thin paste.  Then add 1 Tablespoon of the thin paste to the mixture, allowing it to mix in thoroughly, before adding in 1 more Tablespoon of the thin paste.  Don't worry if you have a wee bit of the thin paste left over.

Pour the chocolate cheesecake mixture directly onto the Oreo crumb crust.  Smooth with a rubber spatula until it completely covers the bottom of the pan.

Then, pick up the remaining cheesecake mixture (from the bowl you set aside), and plop that on top, smoothing it out with a rubber spatula, until it covers the surface.

At this point, you may feel free to either put your cheesecake in a water bath and then pop it in the oven.  OR, if you're lazy and don't want the mess of the water bath, simply pop the whole thing in the oven for 1 hour.  Turn off the heat, and then let the cheesecake stay in the oven for another hour.

Allow the cheesecake to cool completely on a baking rack, and then refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight.

Recipe for chocolate curls:

Place chocolate and butter/margarine in a glass bowl and melt in the microwave for 44 seconds, or until thoroughly melted.  Pour melted chocolate onto a baking sheet or marble slab.  Quickly spread chocolate in a very thin layer with a metal spatula.  Refrigerate until firm, but still pliable.  Using a small spatula, held at a 45 degree angle, push chocolate, so the chocolate curls as it is pushed.  Use a small skewer or toothpick to transfer chocolate into a container.  I pop mine in the freezer for months at a time, and they turn out great.  * This recipe is taken from a Treasury of Christmas.

Before serving, place the chocolate curls on the top in a decorative pattern, and enjoy!!

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