Irish Coffee Cheesecake
Ingredients
- Crust
- 2 cups Oreo cookie crumbs from approximately 22 Oreos
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Filling
- 2 tablespoons instant espresso or coffee powder
- 4 tablespoons Irish whiskey
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light Brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 large eggs
- Ganache
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2/3 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey
- Whipped Cream Topping
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon Irish whiskey
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant espresso or coffee powder mixed with 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder for dusting the top of the cheesecake
Instructions
- Make Cheesecake
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and place on top of a large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil large enough to come up all sides of the pan. Bring the foil up and press it onto the sides of the pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the cookie crumbs and butter.
- Press crumbs onto the bottom and one inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for approximately 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Maintain oven temperature.
- In a small bowl, blend together the espresso, whiskey and vanilla. Stir until coffee is dissolved. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using the paddle attachment, cream together the cream cheese and both sugars until light and fluffy. Stop mixer frequently and use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- On low speed, add cornstarch followed by the coffee, whiskey and vanilla mixture. Blend well.
- On low speed, add eggs, one at a time, blending well before adding the next one. Mix batter until smooth.
- Pour batter into the pan.
- Place the springform pan into a larger heat proof pan or roasting pan.
- Place the pans onto the middle oven rack. Gently pour hot water into the larger pan until it comes one quarter the way up the springform pan.
- Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes or until just the center of the cheesecake barely jiggles when gently shaken.
- Carefully remove both pans from the oven. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath. Allow to cool.
- Make Ganache
- In a small saucepan, combine ½ cup heavy cream and corn syrup over medium-high heat and allow cream to come to a boil.
- Remove from the heat and add chocolate. Whisk until chocolate is completely melted.
- Add the whiskey and whisk well.
- Gently pour ganache over cheesecake spreading evenly over the top.
- Refrigerate cheesecake until cold. This will take at least 3-4 hours or overnight.
- Make the Whipped Topping
- In the bowl of an electric mixer using the whip attachment, beat the cream, sugar and whiskey on high speed until stiff peaks form.
- Remove the sides of the springform pan. Place the cheesecake on a serving platter.
- Decoratively pipe whipped cream all over top of cheesecake.
- Dust cocoa and coffee mixture over cream using a sieve. Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
Makes 1 9-inch round cheesecake