We made this cheesecake especially for Valentines Day but it works for any occasion. You will need either a nine-inch heart-shaped springform pan or a round nine-inch springform pan.
The white swirl in the chocolate makes this a very attractive cheesecake.
For the crust
1/2 cup butter softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
Directions
- Cream the butter and sugar together. Beat in the vanilla and egg.
- Add the flour, cocoa, and salt and blend well.
- Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for an hour.
For the filling
3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
Directions
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and beat that in. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla.
- Remove one-third of the filling to another bowl and set aside.
- Add the cocoa to the remaining batter, folding it in with a spatula until smooth.
To assemble the cheesecake
- Pat 2/3’s of the crust dough into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake the crust bottom for 8 to 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove the pan and let it cool.
- Use the other 1/3 of the dough and pat a curst up the sides of the pan about two inches. Do not bake.
- Pour the chocolate batter into the crust. Drop the white batter onto the chocolate batter into three or four dollops spread around the pan.
- Hold a knife vertically, cut through the batter so that the white batter swirls into the chocolate. Do not mix the two batters rather; create distinct white swirls in the chocolate.
- Bake at 400 degrees for ten minutes and then turn the temperature down to 350 degrees. Bake for other 50 minutes or until the cheesecake tests done. (The cheesecake will be done when all but the center no longer jiggles when shook or when a knife inserted an inch from the center comes out clean.) Let the cheesecake cool on a wire rack and then refrigerate to chill, at least three hours.