Irish Coffee Cheesecake #cheesecake

The cheesecake batter is what I refer to as dangerous territory.  I added espresso powder that lends this wonderful depth of rich, coffee flavor and goes so lovely with the Irish cream.

Seriously, I can’t even.  Then you’re going to whip together a little Irish whiskey ganache.  And if you’re sort of on the fence about whether you really need to make the ganache, you do.  As you whisk together the cream, a pat of butter and the chocolate, the ganache begins to glisten – literally.

A zip of Irish whiskey brightens it and adds a lovely layer of flavor.  It’s not too strong, it just caps off the cheesecake as it would the drink, tying everything together.  And smooth doesn’t even begin to describe the taste.  When you take a bite, that whiskey ganache melts like butter.

image credit : buttercreamblondie

Ingredients

Chocolate Cookie Crust

1. 2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
2. 3 Tbsp. sugar
3. 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder
4. 4 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Irish Cream Cheesecake

1. 24 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
2. 1 & 1/3 cups sugar
3. ¼ cup cornstarch
4. 2 Tbsp. instant espresso powder
5. 2 eggs
6. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
7. ½ cup Baileys Irish cream

Chocolate Whiskey Ganache

1. ½ cup heavy cream
2. 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3. 4 ounces semisweet or dark chocolate, chopped
4. 2 tsp. Jameson Irish Whiskey

Instructions

Cookie Crust

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix together graham cracker crumbs, espresso powder and melted butter.
3. Press into 9” springform pan and bake for 8-10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Cheesecake

1. Once crust is cooled, wrap pan in aluminum foil and set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth.
3. Add cornstarch and espresso powder and continue to mix until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed.
4. Drop the speed down to low and add eggs one at a time followed by vanilla extract and Baileys.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and place in a roasting pan.
6. Fill roasting pan about a quarter of the way with hot water and
7. bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes, rotating once halfway through, until the cheesecake is set around the edges and slightly loose in the center.
8. When the cheesecake is done, remove from the water bath and
9. set on a cooling rack.
10. Once cheesecake has cooled, remove aluminum foil and refrigerate.

Ganache

1. Bring heavy cream and butter up to a scant boil.
2. Pour over chopped chocolate and stir to combine.
3. Stir in Jameson.
4. Set aside for about 5-10 minutes just so ganache is not piping
5. hot when you pour it on the cheesecake.
6. Pour ganache on cheesecake and refrigerate until it sets.
7. Decorate cheesecake with homemade whipped cream or
8. buttercream.
9. Garnish with chocolate covered espresso beans.

For more detail buttercreamblondie

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