Thursday, November 24, 2016

Chocolate Custard Cheesecake

A while back I posted a recipe for a chocolate custard cheesecake dip.  Since then, I’ve been working on modifying the recipe to be stiff enough to actually be a cheesecake, and this Thanksgiving, I think I’ve got it!

My favorite part, besides the taste, is that it is no-bake (after the crust is made), so no complicated baking regimens to prevent cake from cracking or browning.

Chocolate Custard Cheesecake

Crust*:

Cream:
1 stick of salted butter
1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 c. brown sugar.

Mix in:
1 eggs
1 egg YOLK

Add:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 t. salt
1/2 t. baking POWDER.
Stir until just combined.

Add:
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 c. sugar
Stir/knead until sugar and flour is incorporated.

Press dough into bottom and barely up sides of a large spring form pan (at least 9 inches in diameter).

Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, until crust is set, still soft, and only barely starting to turn golden (edges will be a bit darker golden brown).

*Alternatively, for an entirely no-bake cheesecake, you could use a traditional chocolate cookie crust (1 package crushed chocolate cookie pieces and 1/4 c. melted butter) pressed into a spring form pan.  Chill this in the refrigerator while preparing the rest of the crust.  I haven’t tried this crust, just read it online.

Cheesecake:
In medium saucepan, whisk together and heat to a simmer on MED:
¾ c. (or 1 small can) EVAPORATED milk
¼ c. flour

Stir in until melted, and remove from heat:
½ c. chocolate chips

Separately, beat until pale:
3 egg YOLKS
⅓ c. sugar

Slowly pour warm milk mixture into eggs, whisking constantly.  (If not done carefully, there will be small pieces of cooked egg in the custard, which should then be strained out before the next step.) Return to MED-LOW heat.

Mix in:
(another) ½ c. chocolate chips
2 t. corn starch
Cook until it thickens, about 5 minutes.  Keep stirring.

Separately, beat:
3 packages cream cheese (24 ounces total)
⅓ c. sugar
dash of salt

Pour chocolate custard into sweetened cream cheese and mix thoroughly.  Top crust with this custard mixture and chill at least 4 hours. 

When slicing, make sure knife goes all the way through crust; hitting chocolate chips feels like hitting the bottom of the pan sometimes.

To God be all glory.