Super Bowl Dessert - Black Forest Cheesecake

Another Super Bowl has come and gone and that means most of us are now regretting some of the food decisions we made on Sunday. Some of us are even attempting to start up our 2016 New Years resolutions again. Do it! I Believe in you! I am too! In fact, I jumped on my bike yesterday and cycled up the wonderful hills that encompass my awesome city. It's day 1 version 2.0.

Now not to throw a damper on this get fit and eat right party, but after much debate, I have decided to actually post a recipe. This recipe is the dessert I made for Super Bowl. Enjoy! Oh and check out our new Instagram account - TheBerginsLoveFood

Black Forest Cheesecake

The Base

1/2 - 3/4 Box Oreo Crumbs
1/2 C Butter, melted

The Cake Part
2 Bricks Cream Cheese (room temp)
1/3 C Sugar
3 Eggs (room temp)
2 tsp Vanilla 
2 Packages Dark Chocolate Chips
1 T Butter, melted
1 C Whipping Cream

The Chocolate Ganache Layer
1 Package Milk Chocolate Chips
1/2 C Whipping Cream

The Cherry Topping
1 Can Cherry Pie Filling

The Directions

I find this recipe works best in a 9 inch spring form pan, although I did screw up the cake part once which I'll talk about later - I actually made little cheesecakes in a small cupcake tin. So there is some forgiveness, but not much!

Start by making your base. Just mix the melted butter and the Oreo crumbs until you get a nice consistency where you can press it into the bottom of the buttered and wax papered pan. Put the pan aside and start the cake part.

Now this is where I give a shout out to my mother-in-law Nova, she has graciously allowed me to store and use her Kitchen Aid mixer while she waits for her new house to be finished. Whilst this is happening I have lovingly named the mixer Martha! Martha has been amazing, trying to make this cake with a hand mixer is indeed possible but incredibly messy and annoyingly time consuming. Martha has changed my life, I will miss Martha.

Start with the the cream cheese and get that into your Martha-like mixer. While the cheese is being whipped add the sugar. Once you feel the sugar and cheese are combined, start adding the eggs, make sure you take time in between adding each egg to let the mixer combine. Once the eggs are mixed in, add the vanilla. You can now also add the butter.

Here is where I made the mistake I referred to previously. You need to stop mixing everything and start melting the dark chocolate chips. I decided to try adding the whipped cream first. This is not a good idea as once the cake cooked I ended up with a crack that was so big, Grand Canyon tours were lining up with donkeys in hopes of descending into the chocolaty cheese cake canyon. Anyway...

Start a pot boiling on the stove, don't put too much water in it as my wife has informed me that you don't want the water to touch the bowl you are melting the chocolate in or there will be a chocolate catastrophe. I have learned to listen without asking questions... Once the pot is boiling turn it down to a simmer and place your bowl of chocolate chips on top and start stirring, don't burn yourself on the steam by the way.

Once the chocolate has melted to the point where there are no more chips, turn on the mixer and start pouring the chocolaty goodness into the cheesecake batter. Make sure the speed is going fast enough to mix the chocolate before it thickens too much.

Once this complete and the mixer is a nice consistent chocolate colour (what does that even mean?), get your cup of whipping cream, put the mixer on the lowest setting and fold in the cream. The reason you don't want this to whip is due to the air bubbles that will form and later cause you the crack that I mentioned. Once the cream is folded in you can pour it into the springform pan where you have already prepared the Oreo base.

If you are making this in the afternoon or evening feel free to make yourself a nice drink or pour a glass of wine as you have to let the cake sit on the counter for about a half hour to 45 minutes. While this is happening preheat your oven to 325C and place a pan of water on the bottom shelf. This will keep the oven air from drying out and hopefully help the cake not to crack.

Once the half hour has passed place the cake in the oven and cook it for 60 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR! Once the hour has passed turn off the heat and gradually open the door over a 30 minute period. I do this in 10 minute increments, and I only open it less then a half inch bigger each time. This will also hopefully help the cake not crack (but truth be told, I have never had a cheesecake not crack on me - that's why I put the chocolate ganache on top).

Once the cake is cooled, I place the cake in the fridge for at least 4 hours before I add the ganache and cherry pie filling. Use the same process to melt the milk chocolate chips but this time add the whipped cream to the chips while you are melting it. Once melted pour the ganache over the cheesecake. After this has cooled in the fridge, I add the cherry pie filling on top and when I am about to serve it, I add actual whipped, whipped cream to the top. Oh and to cut the cake, boil water and keep dipping your knife into it to heat the blade, also wipe the blade after heating it up, this will give you amazingly perfect slices.

Alright, there's my first recipe, please try  it out and if you would like to give me feedback please do!

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