Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

My husband and I just LOVE eating at the Cheesecake Factory! Whenever we would go my husband would encourage me to pick out a cheesecake after our meal. As a creature of habit, I would always go for the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake! I just knew I would have to do my best to recreate this masterpiece! My recipe is not an exact repilca of the Cheesecake Factory's, but it tastes VERY similar and satisfies my cheesecake cravings!

This recipe is easily one of my best known desserts! This baby has made me famous among my friends and family for over 2 years now! It's bittersweet to be giving this recipe away, but I hope you all will love and enjoy it as much as my family has!

Oreo Cookie Crust

1 Pre Packaged Oreo Cookie Crust

I will admit to you, I will usually buy a pre-packaged Oreo Cookie Crust from the store, dump it into my springform pan and firmly smooth it out into a nice, even crust. I do this because it's probably the same price as a package of Oreo cookies anyways and saves me time (and the guilt of throwing away all of those yummy Oreo cream fillings). But if you choose to, you could easily make the crust yourself with the following recipe:

Ingredients:
24 Oreo Cookies
1/4 C. Melted Butter or Margarine

Directions:
Remove all the cream fillings from the 24 cookies. Add the cookies to a food processor or blender and finely crush the cookies. Mix with 1/4 c. melted butter. Evenly spread the Oreo Cookie Crust in the bottom of a springform pan. Set aside.

Raspberry Filling:

This layer is optional. It doesn't affect the flavor much. I mostly use it for the beautiful raspberry ribbon it creates. If I'm making this with a short time allowance I will skip this step. Sometimes I will  make this filling the day before. I made a whole post dedicated to this wonderful Raspberry Filling. =D (I've seen Raspberry Filling in a can at the store before. I've never used it before, but I'm thinking I may try it next time I whip one of these up!) For now I just use the following recipe.

Ingredients:1, 12 oz. Frozen Bag of Raspberries (You can also use fresh Raspberries, about 2 1/2 cups.)
1 C. Water
1/2 C. Sugar, or more to taste
1 tsp. Cornstarch

Directions:
1. Put the whole bag of raspberries, 1 cup water and 1/2 cup sugar into a saucepan.
2. Turn the burner to medium- high and let the sauce start to boil.
3. Stir the sauce constantly until the raspberries have completely broke down.
4. Take the sauce off the heat and run the sauce through a sieve. Use a spatula to help push the sauce through the sieve. (This step is to eliminate those nasty seeds. If you like lots of seeds you can skip this step.) I usually put about 1 tsp. of the seeds back into the sauce, because I like the authenticity of it! And to me it's the perfect amount!
5. Return the seedles, or near seedless, sauce back to the saucepan. Add in 1 tsp. Cornstarch and simmer at medium heat. It may take 15-20 minutes of simmering to get a nice thick texture. Keep in mind, it will thicken quite a bit as it cools. If you make it the day before, you may need to heat it up to make it easier to spread.
You will only need about 1/2 cup- 3/4 cup of the Raspberry Filling.

Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake & Assembly

1/4 C. Sugar
3, 8 oz. Packages of Cream Cheese
1, 14 oz. Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 Cups Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 Large Eggs
2 tsp. Raspberry Extract
1/2 C. Mini Chocolate Chips

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat Cream Cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 
2. Gradually beat in Sweetened Condensed Milk until smooth.

3. Using a double boiler, melt the 2 cups of semi- sweet chocolate chips.

4. Add in the remaining ingredients, including the melted chocolate, and beat until well combined.
5. Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
6. Pour half of the Cheesecake mixture over the Oreo Cookie Crust in the springform pan.

7. Layer about 1/2 cup -3/4 cup of the Raspberry Filling (just put enough on to make ya satisfied) over the Cheesecake mixture in the springform pan and evenly spread.
8. Add the remaining half of the Cheesecake mixture over the Raspberry filling.
9. Optional: Make a water bath to prevent cracking in your cheesecake. (pour boiling water into a 9x13 pan and place on the bottom rack in the oven. The cheesecake will go on the middle oven rack.)
10. Bake the cheesecake at 300 degrees for 1 hour. Open the oven to check the cheesecake after 1 hour. (This is also important to let out lots of the heat for the following step).
11.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour more. (Just to be clear, the cheesecake will bake for 1 hour, then rest for 1 hour in the oven.)

12. Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter.

 Chocolate Ganache

If you choose to cut out each piece of cheesecake and then drizzle the ganache over each individual piece, you may want to double the following recipe.

Ingredients:
1/3 C. Semi- Sweet Chocolate Chips
4 Tbs. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 tsp. Vanilla Extract.

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan combine the chocolate chips and the heavy whipping cream.
2. Cook until the chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is well combined.
3. Remove from heat and add the vanilla.
4. After the cheesecake has cooled, top with the ganache and let the Cheesecake chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours or, for best results, overnight! (It's a good idea that once the ganache has set, maybe 30 minutes, to cover the cheesecake so that the fridge doesn't dry it out, especially if you pre- slice the cheesecake!)




Big Thanks to the following website/ recipe contributor for posting the recipe to inspire my Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake!!!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chocolate-cheesecake/detail.aspx