Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake

I get excited to cook with two ingredients around St. Patrick’s Day. No, they aren’t corned beef and cabbage. Traditional those may be, and I won’t knock them here, but this girl cooks with Guinness (or other stout brands) and Irish Cream liqueur. I’m not much of a drinker, so in order to enjoy those quality beverages, I put them in recipes.

I’ve already make some of this great beef stew with Guinness this week, and I’ve paid respect to Irish Cream by stirring some into these brownies. I continued with the winning chocolate and Irish Cream combination, however, with a deliciously creamy and deliciously delicious Chocolate Irish Cream cheesecake. Perhaps not the smartest thing that someone who’s trying to lose a few pounds could do, but I need to take my holidays seriously, even if they aren’t serious holidays.

 

This cheesecake is not especially chocolaty or especially Irish Cream-y (or boozy), but it is a nice, rich, creamy and decadent combination of the two flavors. I love the crunchy, slightly crumbly chocolate crust with this dense but smooth cheesecake filling, and the cocoa and liqueur keep it from being overly sweet. It’s extremely satisfying, and, in my opinion, needs no topping or accompaniment, except maybe a cup of coffee with another plug of Irish cream in it.

 

I must have made this cheesecake sometime in the ancient past, and I must have liked it because I kept the recipe. It needed some updating, however, and a bit of a Messy Apron touch, so another test was in order. I changed the crust to be just like the one for this Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake, since I knew that one works well (and tastes good). The filling recipe is similar enough in proportions to the Cranberry one, with the addition of some sour cream (and the liqueur), that I felt I could count on it. The baking procedure for this cheesecake, whose original source has been lost (I apologize), is quite different, though, which made me a little nervous. It involves baking the cheesecake in a hot oven (450 F) for 10 minutes, then lowering the temperature for the rest of baking.

Even though it seemed unusual, I baked this cheesecake that way anyway, and the results were very good. I’m not sure what that initial hot-temperature baking did for my dessert, if anything, but I have been very happy. Have been and will continue to be happy, since there are only two people in my house and a cheesecake really shouldn’t be divided into just two servings. Luckily, cheesecakes tend to hold well in the freezer – I like to wrap up individual slices and put them in freezer bags – so even if those pounds won’t be coming off just yet, maybe more won’t be piling on. Just yet.

Chocolate Irish Cream Cheesecake

Adapted from a few sources

For the crust:

8 ounces chocolate wafer cookies (such as Nabisco Famous brand)

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 ½ ounces (7 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

¼ cup cocoa powder

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 eggs

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup Irish Cream liqueur (such as Bailey’s)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. To make the crust, place the chocolate wafer cookies in a food processor and process into fine crumbs. Add the 3 tablespoons sugar and pulse until well-combined. Pour in the melted butter and process until all of the crumbs are well-moistened and they start to come together into a mass.

2. Pour the crust mixture into a 9-inch springform pan. Press the mixture firmly and evenly on the bottom of the pan and about 2-3 inches up the sides of the pan.

3. Bake at 375 for 9-12 minutes or until the crust appears firm and dry. Set aside on a cooling rack until ready to fill.

4. Preheat the oven to 450 F. To make the filling, combine the cream cheese, 1 ¼ cups sugar and cocoa powder In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer (or in another large bowl if you are using a hand mixer). Beat, using the paddle attachment, on medium speed until well-blended, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and the paddle and beat again until smooth.

5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sour cream and Irish Cream and beat until very smooth.

6. Pour the filling over the baked crust. Bake at 450 F for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 250 F. Continue baking for 60-70 minutes or until the top of the filling appears dry and set and just wobbles a little when gently shaken.

7. Cool on a wire rack about 5 minutes. Slide a thin, sharp knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan. Cool completely. Remove the ring from the springform pan. Chill the cheesecake at least 2 hours before serving.

Makes 12 servings.

Other recipes like this one: Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust, Irish Cream Brownies

One year ago: Chocolate Pudding

Irish Cream Brownies

 

Sure, in this photo these just look like any old brownies. Not that there’s anything wrong with any old brownies, but perhaps there should have been some kind of prop in the photo to give you a clue. Maybe there was some kind of frosting I could have made to gussy them up a bit, make them more showy. Can I tell you, though, that they don’t need it? Much like us plain-looking girls, the best features may be on the inside.

That’s because I spiked these with a good, delicious dose of Irish cream liqueur. Bailey’s original to be exact, but other brands are certainly welcome. These are good brownies in the first place, a combination of this recipe and another one from The Ultimate Brownie Book by Bruce Weinstein. They are tender and lightly cakey, not quite fudgey, but I didn’t want them to be so super chocolaty that it would overwhelm the Irish cream flavor.

And you can really taste the Irish cream! I don’t think they quite qualify as “boozy” but there’s good flavor beyond the chocolate. I’ll warn you, however, that as much as the flavor of the liqueur comes out in the brownies, there’s even more oompf in the unbaked batter. Sample with caution and discretion. You may not have enough batter left to bake brownies to share.

So far, this is the only tribute to the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day in recipe form that I’ve put together this year. Even if it’s the only one I get to, however, I’ll be pretty darn happy. And then there’s the rest of that bottle of Irish cream to enjoy, too!

Irish Cream Brownies

Based on recipes in The Ultimate Brownie Book by Bruce Weinstein

1 cup all-purpose flour

¾ cup cocoa

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup Irish cream liqueur (such as Bailey’s)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray or grease it with butter.

2. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Whisk together until well-combined and free of lumps. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer (or another large bowl if you are using a hand mixer), combine the butter and sugar. Beat together using the paddle attachment on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beating until completely incorporated before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla and Irish cream liqueur. Continue beating until very smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.

5. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating in at low speed until just moistened. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

6. Bake at 350 F about 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center of the brownies comes out with just moist crumbs attached and no wet batter. Cool on a wire rack at least until cool enough to cut and handle. Store in an airtight container for a few days.

Another recipe like this one: Cocoa Chocolate Chip Brownies

One year ago: Mocha Granola