In case you didn’t already know, I love cheesecake.  For my birthday this year I decided to have cheesecake instead of cake.  My sister is down visiting so we had some fun making a couple of different ones.  This one was a new one for me and is, by far, the BEST cheesecake I have ever made.  It’s absolutely delicious and so creamy and moist.  As with all cheesecakes, try to make it ahead of time because it’s always better after it’s been sitting for a couple of days.

Crust Ingredients:

1/5 c. graham cracker crumbs
5 T. butter, melted

Filling Ingredients:
2 lbs. cream cheese, room temp
1 1/4 c. plus 2 T. sugar
2 T flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. lemon juice
2 T. whipping cream

Chocolate Truffle Sauce Ingredients:

3/4 c. whipping cream
2 T. butter
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Wrap the outside of the pan in aluminum foil and place it in a large pan with sides at least 2 inches high.  You will be adding water to this second pan later later on.

In a bowl, combine crust ingredients.  Pour into lightly oiled springform pan and press evenly across the bottom.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and sugar.  Mix until smooth and creamy.  Mix in the flour.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add the vanilla and lemon juice.  Mix in the whipping cream.  Remove 3/4 c. of  the batter and set aside.  This will be added to the chocolate sauce in the next step.

In a small saucepan, combine cream and butter for chocolate truffle sauce and heat over medium-low heat until cream is hot and the butter is melted.  The hot creamy mixture will form tiny bubbles.  You want it to be about 175 degrees with you are done.  Do not let it boil!  Remove pan from the heat and add the chocolate chips.  Let it sit for about 30 seconds to soften and then whisk until smooth and all of the chocolate is melted.  Add the 3/4 c. of vanilla filling to the chocolate mixture and whisk together.

Pour half of the vanilla filling over the crumb crust in your springform pan.  Reserve 1/4 c. of the chocolate sauce and pour the remaining batter slowly over the vanilla layer.  Gently pout the rest of the vanilla filling over the chocolate layer.

Using a small spoon, drizzle the reserved chocolate sauce over the top of the cheesecake, leaving 1 inch plain around the edges.  Use the spoon to gently swirl the chocolate sauce into a marbleized pattern over the top of the cheesecake.

In a small pan, bring 2-3 cups of water to a boil and pour gently into the baking dish that your springform pan is sitting in.  You want there to be about 1 inch of water in this pan when you are done.

Place pans in the oven and bake for about an hour.  The cheesecake is done when you can gently shake the pan and the top looks firm.  Do not over cook.

Cool the cheesecake, covered loosely with paper towels, in the water bath or an hour.  Remove from the water bath, uncover and let site another hour.  (At this point I also removed the sides of the springform pan to let out any excess water that may have seeped in through the bottom edge.) Cheesecake should feel cool to the touch.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.

Enjoy!!  This cheesecake is SO delicious!!