Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Last week was our "Reading Week" from school. I did everything except read, isn't that was a week off from school is for?

A friend of mine and I were really looking forward to this week because we wanted to bake together. I usually bake alone, so it was fun to have someone to share my worries with! Like after we spent all night baking, cooling and trying to speed up the chilling process (by putting it in the freezer!) of this delicious-looking marble cheesecake, we had to have a tiny slice. But it was still warm and creamy inside, kind of like a mousse! We were a bit disappointed! I had a hunch though that it really needed to be overnight in the fridge, at the least. The next morning, I sneaked a bite and yes, it was an absolute success!

The original recipe asked for crushed graham cookies for the crust which we substituted for Oreo crumbs and also made a marble on the top for a chocolate twist to the New York-Style cheesecake!

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Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Adapted from Ricardo, Volume 8 Number 5

Crust

1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 cup melted butter

2 sheets aluminium foil, 46-cm (18-inch) wide

Filling

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

4 containers (250 g/8 oz each) of cream cheese, at room temperature

3/4 cup sour cream

4 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

Position the rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the bottom of a 20-cm (8-inch) spring form pan with parchment paper.

Crust

1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients for the crust. Press lightly into the bottom on the spring form pan and bake for about 12 minutes. Let it cool.

2. Brush in the inner sides of the spring form pan with some melted butter. Wrap the base and the outer sides of the spring form pan with the aluminium foil, making sure it's watertight. Double the aluminium foil.

3. Turn the oven's temperature down to 325 degrees F.

Filling

1. Place the sugar and flour in a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the rest of the ingredients for the filling and pulse just until the mixture is smooth. Pour onto the crust, reserving about 1/4 cup of the filling.

2. Melt the chopped chocolate in a double boiler and pour into the reserved filling. Mix well and with a teaspoon, dollop the chocolate mixture in a few dots on top of the filling in the spring form pan. Swirl the chocolate mixture into the filling with a knife.

3. Prepare a bain marie: place the spring form pan in a large baking dish. Fill the baking dish with boiling water until it comes halfway up the sides of the spring form pan.

4. Bake in the middle of the oven for about 1 hour and 50 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the middle of the cheesecake shows 150 degrees F. Remove the spring form pan from the bain marie as well as from the aluminium foil. Let cool for about 1 hour. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours, or until completely chilled (best left overnight). To remove the cheesecake from the pan, run a thin knife all around, between the spring form pan and the cheesecake.