Chocolate Glazed Espresso Cheesecake

Can’t decide if you need a coffee hit or a chocolate fix? Why not both?! This delicious chocolate espresso cheesecake will satisfy all your needs.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 ½ cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheesecake:

• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 ½ tablespoons instant espresso powder (we suggest grinding your favourite St. Remio blend)
• 3kg of cream cheese
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 ¾ cups of sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt

Glaze:

• 1/3 cups of heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons corn syrup
• ½ cup chopped milk chocolate

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160° Lightly grease the base of a 10-inch spring-form pan with non-stick spray
2. Make the crust:
   Mix the chocolate cookie crumbs with the sugar and melted butter to combine. Press evenly into the tin. Bake until set, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool.
3. Make the batter:
   In a small pot, bring the cream to a simmer over medium heat. Add the espresso powder and stir to combine. Cool to room temperature.
4. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cream cheese, sour cream, cooled heavy cream with espresso powder and sugar until well combined. Scrape well after mixing. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing and scraping well after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, and pulse to combine.
5. Bake the cheesecake:
   Pour the batter over the cooled crust and transfer to the oven. Once the cheesecake is in the oven, reduce the temperature to 150° Bake until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly in the centre, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
6. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and refrigerate until fully cooled, about 2 hours. Run a knife around the edge of the cooled cheesecake, then release it from the spring-form pan.
7. Make the glaze:
   In a small pot, heat the cream and corn syrup over medium heat. Place the milk chocolate into a small heat-safe bowl. When the cream comes to a boil, pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for 15 seconds, untouched. Mix the ganache to combine, and pour immediately over the cheesecake. Let set before slicing and serving.