Shelly's Recipe

CHOCOLATE FRANGELICO CHEESECAKE

Category: Cheesecake

Crust
1 1/4 cups Oreo cookie crumbs or chocolate graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling
3 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup plus 3 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
5 tsp cornstarch
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
1/3 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1 tsp almond extract
4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spray a 10 inch springform pan with cooking spry. Line bottom and sides of pan with parchment, cut to fit, allowing side pieces to extend a bit over the top of pan to make a collar. Mix crust ingredients together and press into pan.

Filling: Blend cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, sour cream and cornstarch. Add next 3 ingredients and process until well blended scraping bottom of mixing bowl often to make sure batter does not stick in well of bowl. Transfer 3/4 cup mixture into a small bowl; set aside.

To remaining cream cheese mixture, add next 3 ingredients and blend well. Spoon 2 1/2 cups of Frangelico mixture over crust. Mix cocoa powder and sugar over Frangelico mixture in pan.

Spoon remaining Frangelico mixture over cocoa mixture. Drop remaining cocoa mixture over by spoonfuls. Marbleize with a knife very briefly. Bake cheesecake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 and bake until sides are puffed and center is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer cake to rack.

Using a small knife, cut around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cool cake completely in pan. Cover; chill overnight. Remove pan sides from cake. Cut into wedges.