Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cheesecake

February is the month of love. It is the month for chocolates, roses, fine dining, and romancing. It's still February, and while I missed Valentine's Day with this dessert, this still would be the perfect thing to make for your special someone. Dark chocolate, Raspberry, Mousse, and Cheesecake are four of the most delectable desserts that I am aware of, and combining all four of them into one indulgent masterpiece is enough to make time stop for a little bit. It really is that good. The chocolate mousse itself would be divine, but the addition of the raspberry and raspberry sauce brings this dessert to a whole new level of decadence. Give this recipe a try, it will be sure to be a crowd pleaser. 

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Cheesecake

Yields 1 9-inch Cheesecake

Ingredients:


Crust:

15 Oreo cookies {separated, with the filling scraped out}

1 tbsp sugar

5 tbsp butter {melted}


Raspberry Sauce:

1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries

2 tbsp sugar


Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake:

4 {8-ounce)} packages cream cheese

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Chocolate Ganache: 

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp sugar



Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. In a food processor blend together the cookies and the sugar. Add in the melted butter and blend again. 

Prepare your 9-inch springform pan by putting parchment paper on the bottom of it and spraying the sides. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan evenly.

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes; bring out and cool.



While the crust is baking, start making the raspberry sauce.


In a small sauce pan over low to medium heat, break down the berries and combine them with the sugar. Be careful not to burn them!

Once they are combined, allow them to remain at a gentle rolling boil over low heat for a minute or so.

Remove the sauce from the heat, but keep stirring so that it stays liquid. Press the sauce through a sieve to get rid of any seeds or burned parts. This will give you a nice, smooth sauce.

Brush about a quarter of the sauce into the baked Oreo crust. Set the rest aside for later.


To start making the cake beat the cream cheese until it is fluffy and aerated {about 3 minutes}. Beat in the sugar and sifted cocoa powder. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the sides.

In a separate bowl, microwave the semisweet chocolate chips until smooth {at 40 second bursts}. Do not microwave any more than necessary, as it will take a long time to cool.

Once the chocolate has cooled, beat it into the cream cheese mixture. 


Pour half of the mousse filling over the crust.

Spoon the remaining raspberry sauce into the mousse batter. Use a fork to swirl it into the batter and spread it out. Pour the remaining mousse into the pan.

Bake on 350 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. 

After baking, cool the cake {still in the pan!} for 10 to 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around the parameter of the cake to help loosen it from the sides. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.


In the morning, make the chocolate ganache.

In a small sauce pan using a whisk, melt the semisweet chocolate chips with the cream and sugar. Do not let the ganache boil.

Set it aside to cool for 15 minutes before pouring over the cake.

Once the ganache has cooled a bit, pour it slowly over the top of the cake {while the cake is still in the pan!}. Pour and spread it until it is about a half an inch from the edges. 

Cover with plastic wrap again, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

After chilling, run a butter knife around the cake to loosen if from the pan again. Carefully remove the sides of the pan. 

Place raspberries around the top of the cake, using the ganache to hold them in place.

Drizzle any remaining ganache over the top of the raspberries.

Chill until ready to serve.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Ok, so I've been on a bit of an apple kick lately, but who can blame me? Apple season is almost over, and I've been waiting for it all year! This cheesecake is so yummy and great, because unlike most cheesecake recipes that I've come across in my years of cheesecake-making it does not need to rest over night! It can if you want it to, but it is not required. I love this because I can make it in the morning and bring it to a party at night...it just makes my life easier. The caramel and apples on top are marvelous too! I do recommend not topping it until you are ready to serve it, that way it won't get soggy in the mean time.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake

Yields 1 9" cheesecake

Cheesecake and Crust:

About 2 packages {not boxes!} graham crackers {enough for about 2 cups crumbs}

1/3 cup butter

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of nutmeg

32 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs


Apples:

1 cup apple juice

3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla extract

5-6 medium apples


Caramel Sauce:

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp apple juice

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 cup heavy cream


*Important!!! Use a 9" springform pan to make this recipe. To make taking the cake out of the pan easier, I suggest stretching parchment paper over the bottom of the pan and then closing the edges of the pan around it, leaving some of the paper visible from the outside of the pan...that way you can just take it off of the bottom and move it to a plate without breaking it. You could also use a cardboard round to do this. *


Directions:


Using a food processor or a rolling pin and Ziploc bag {the old fashion way!}, crush the graham crackers until you have crumbs. Pour the crumbs through a sieve so the crumbs are small and smooth. 

It's good to sift the crumbs because if you have big chunks of graham cracker in your crust that one point can get soggy or too hard, and the crust won't be uniform. Technically you don't need to sift the crumbs, but it helps improve the overall quality of your cake. You need about 2 cups of crumbs {it's good to have a little more than that}, so definitely re-crush the crumbs that were too big to fit through the sieve. 

Add the cinnamon and nutmeg to the bowl that the crumbs are in, and mix with a fork until evenly combined.

Melt the butter in the microwave. Pour the melted butter into the graham cracker crumb mixture, and mix with the fork or your fingers until all of the crumbs are moist. Pour them into the prepared springform pan and press evenly around the bottom and up half of the side of the cake pan. 

Wrap around the outside with tin foil and freeze while you make the cake part.

Preheat the oven to 475. Prepare a water bath for the cake pan by filling a large pan {I used a roasting pan} with about an inch of water. While the oven takes an eternity to heat up, start making the cake.

In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, yogurt, sugar, and vanilla until completely combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time. 

Pour the batter evenly over the crust. Put the cake in the water bath, and the water bath in the oven.

Bake at 475 for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350 and bake for 50-60 minutes or until it only jiggles slightly when the pan is gently shaken.

Take out of the water bath and cool for a few minutes, then cover and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

For the apple topping, peel and thinly slice 5 to 6 medium apples.

I used several different kinds of apples to improve the flavor.

Put the apple juice, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla into a large sauce pan over medium heat. Melt the brown sugar and butter, and bring the mixture to a boil. 

Once the apple juice has been boiling for 2-3 minutes, add all of the apples into the saucepan. 

Stir with a wooden spoon and cover all of the apples with the apple juice. Stir occasionally and let lightly boil for 10-15 minutes until the apples have softened.

Use a slotted spoon to take the apples out of the liquid and put on a plate to dry and cool down.

For the caramel sauce, put both of the sugars, water, and apple juice in a medium sauce pan. Dissolve the sugars over medium heat. Add the vanilla, and bring to a rolling boil.

Let the sauce boil for 3-5 minutes until it has a dark caramel color. While whisking, slowly pour the cream into the boiling caramel and keep whisking until it is combined. Remove from the heat and cool to warm before putting it on the cheesecake.


Assembly:

Run a smooth butter knife around the inside of the pan to prevent the cheesecake from sticking to it. Remove the sides of the pan, and transfer the cheesecake to the plate you will be serving it on. I like to also remove the bottom of the pan, but you can choose to leave it underneath the cake.

Pile the apples on top of the cheesecake.

I recommend waiting until you plan on serving to pour the caramel on top, as you don't want the cake to get soggy. If the caramel sauce is cooled down to warm, pour it on top. 

If you have extra caramel sauce, save it in a small pitcher so you can offer it per slice. Enjoy!