Every year my son, Noah wants me to make my classic cheesecake with raspberry sauce for his birthday. This year, he changed things up and requested chocolate cheesecake. After a lot of surfing the web and a little tweaking, I created this Triple Chocolate Cheesecake that was a huge hit with guests. I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients

Crust:

• 16 chocolate sandwich cookies (like Oreos)

• 1/4 cup melted butter

Cheesecake:

• 10 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, melted (I used chocolate chips)

• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 4 eggs

Ganache:

• 5 ounces semi sweet chocolate (again I used chips)

• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees

2. Crush cookies in a blender or food processor until it forms fine crumbs.

3. In a large bowl, combine cookie crumbs and melted butter until the crumbs are fully coated in butter.

4. Press the cookie mixture in the bottom of a 9” springform pan (MUST be springform for it to turn out correctly) Double wrap the bottom of the springform pan with foil, sealing it tightly to prevent any leaking. - set aside

5. Melt the 10 ounces of chocolate in the microwave or using a double boiler until smooth. Set aside.

6. In a large bowl mix cream cheese and sugar on medium speed, until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.

7. Turn the mixer to low and add the sour cream and cocoa powder; mix well, scraping sides of the bowl as necessary. Add in the melted chocolate and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until mixed. Pour the filling over crust and spread evenly.

8. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until the center is almost set. The center will still jiggle while the edges will be set.

9. Remove from the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool at room temperature for at least an hour. Leave it in the pan and do NOT loosen sides.

10. Melt the chocolate and heavy cream in a small bowl in the microwave - stir until smooth (I do this in 15-second increments to be sure not to burn the chocolate.

11. Pour the ganache on top of the cooled cheesecake.

12. Cover the springform pan and transfer the cheesecake into the refrigerator to chill for 6 hours or overnight.

13. Release the sides of the springform pan and remove it before slicing.

14. OPTIONAL - top with chocolate shavings and/or garnish with whipped cream, strawberries, or raspberries.

TIPS - Do NOT open the oven at all during the cooking time. When the 60-70 minutes is up, turn off the oven and crack the door - let the cheesecake remain in the oven another 15 mins. This will slowly adjust the cheesecake to the air and will reduce cracking. Remove from the oven to cool completely (about an hour - an hour and 1/2 before pouring on the ganache). I personally have better success with cheesecakes not cracking with cooking them in a larger toaster oven. I think the smaller oven size allows less airflow and helps with cracking (my opinion, not facts).