Milk Chocolate & Amarula Cheesecake
 with Raspberry-Cassis Sauce

( makes 12 generous and very fattening servings)

Karen and I collaborated once again --this time over the phone--in making a wonderful cheesecake!

We took our basic Amarula cheesecake recipe and adapted it for milk chocolate, covered it with Chocolate and added a favorite sauce of Raspberries and Crème de Cassis.

So here is what we whipped up! Just Fab!

Make it for those you love!

2 cups crushed Oreo Cookies ( about 20 cookies)

3 tablespoons butter

1 slightly beaten egg yolk

¼ tsp Amarula

STEP  1. 

Place crushed cookies in bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly.

STEP  2. 

Add egg yolk and Amarula and mix well.

STEP  3. 

Remove the sides of a 9-inch spring form pan, butter the bottom, and pat 1/3 of the crust mixture onto the bottom.

STEP  4. 

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes   Cool.

STEP  5. Butter sides of pan and reattach to the bottom.

Pat remaining 2/3 crust mixture onto the sides, reaching a height of about 1 ¾ inches

Filling:

 5 8-oz packages of cream cheese

¼ tsp Amarula

12 oz. milk chocolate ( or chips)

1 ¾ cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

¼ tsp salt

4-5 eggs (we prefer 5)

2 egg yolks

¼ cup heavy whipping cream

STEP 1.

Soften cream cheese, either in microwave or by standing at room temperature. Beat with electric mixer until creamy.

STEP  2. 

Add Amarula  to cream cheese.

STEP  3. 

Mix sugar, flour, and salt in bowl. Add gradually to cream cheese mixture.

STEP  4. 

Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition.

 

STEP  5.  

Add cream.

STEP  6.

Soften Milk Chocolate for cheesecake

Place 12 oz. milk chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50% power) 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 1 minute more or until chocolate softens. Stir until smooth. Let cool. Add chocolate last to cheesecake mixture.

STEP 7. 

Pour pre-softened chocolate in to cheesecake batter until completely mixed

STEP  8.

Pour Chocolate and batter mixture into crust

if you make this version...  You Can
omit the cassis sauce

STEP  9.

Bake at 450 degrees for 12 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 300 degrees
and bake for an additional 55-75 minutes.

A knife inserted away from the center should come out clean. 

WOW!

Looks good to me!

The Oreo Crust oozed up along the edge!

STEP  10.

Cool cheesecake for ½ hour. Use thin spatula to loosen sides from pan. Cool an additional ½ hour   

STEP  11. 

Chill for an additional 2 hours. 
 

STEP  12. 

Chocolate Cap for Cheesecake

6-12 oz.  Milk Chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Making the Cap:

 

Place milk chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (50% power) 1 minute. Stir. Microwave 1 minute more or until chocolate softens. Stir until smooth. Let cool. Add last to mixture…. Pour over top of cheese cake and spread slowly over top with plastic spatula…. Allow to drip over sides.

STEP 13.

Preparing the Raspberry-Cassis Sauce

3 cups (one 12-ounce bag) frozen unsweetened raspberries
1 cup red currant jelly
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon arrowroot
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon or more Creme de Cassis

Making the Raspberry-Cassis sauce:

A) Combine frozen raspberries, red currant jelly and sugar in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is completely dissolved and the berries are soft. Do not let mixture boil. Strain raspberry mixture through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Discard seeds. Pour raspberry purée back into medium saucepan.

B) Put arrowroot in small cup. Slowly stir in water until mixture is smooth. Stir arrowroot paste into raspberry mixture. Cook raspberry mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a gentle boil. Continue to boil for 30 to 60 seconds or until sauce is translucent. Do not boil longer than 1 minute or the sauce will become watery. Remove pan from heat. Cool sauce to room temperature and stir in Creme de Cassis to taste. Transfer sauce to a bowl; cover and refrigerate.

STEP 14 .

Pour Cassis mixture around base of cheesecake and chill. Serve Raspberry-Cassis Sauce on the side to cover cheesecake as desired