Cheesecake Challenge #6: Cappuccino-Fudge Cheesecake

This one was a success! Here is the source material:

From Handle the Heat

My husband loved it. He devoured it. I even took pictures, although it's not quite as lovely as the one above. My motivation is much more taste than appearance, though.

The taste was great--definitely had the coffee flavor--and the texture was jackpot. I finally got the texture down! I've decided it's very important to overly whip/beat the cream cheese in order to achieve that super creamy texture. Here is my cheesecake, in my new mini-springform:

Here's the recipe:

Cappuccino-Fudge Cheesecake


Crust:
9 oz. chocolate wafer cookies
1/2 cup melted butter

Ganache:
1 1/2 cup whipping cream
1 1/4 lb. semisweet chocolate
1/4 cup Kahlua

Filling:
32 oz. softened cream cheese
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 T flour
3 T instant espresso powder
1 T vanilla
2 tsp. molasses
4 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9" springform pan.
2. Grind chocolate cookies in food processor and mix with melted butter. Press into the bottom of the pan and bake 7 minutes
3. Simmer whipping cream and then remove from heat; add chocolate and Kahlua and stir until thick and smooth. Pour ganache over prepared crust and freeze until firm, about 30 minutes. Reserve some ganache for the top, if desired.
4. Beat cream cheese and sugar, then add flour, espresso powder, vanilla, and molasses. Beat in eggs one at a time.
5. Pour over cold ganache. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Allow to cool 3 hours and then chill overnight. As desired, use remaining chilled ganach as a garnish.