Salvador's Chocolate Cheesecake

[mixfinder]

Shortbread crust:

Place in a processor fitted with the metal blade:

1 1/4 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 cup cold butter

Crumble and add:

1/4 cup cream. 

Process until damp and clumpy.

Press on bottom and side of springform pan and bake 12 minutes at 350.

 

In heavy saucepan heat:

1/2 cup cream

1 shot espresso

remove from heat and add:

12 ounces bitter sweet chocolate. 

Stir until smooth. 

Spread 1/2 cup of chocolate ganache in bottom of crust reserving remaining chocolate.

 

Filling

In the already used processor place:

18 ounces cream cheese

2/3 cup sugar

2 teaspoons Mexican vanilla

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

Process until smooth and pour over chocolate layer. 

 

[mixfinder]

Round II

Bake the cheescake at 350 for 28 - 30 minutes or until set.  Remove from oven

 

Chocolate Layer

 

Place remaining chocolate mixture in a mixer bowl and add:

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix until smooth.

 

Carefully, carefully drop the chocolate mixture over the hot cheesecake and smooth (if you dump it on there's a chance it will break through the top crust of the cheesecake)

 

[mixfinder]

Round III

Return the chocolate topped cheesecake to 350 degree oven and bake for an additional 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and let stand on counter to cool.  Like many rich desserts they taste better at room temperature that ice cold.  Cake may be stored in fridge but allow it to temper before serving.

 

[appnut]

Hey, I have that same LeChef food processor!  What I use to make my bread dough!!

 

[mixfinder]

Left in the Dirt

I worked with Whirlpool's Kitchenaid Forum and participated in making a couple infomercials.  In the end, the way the company ditched some great long term employees, the rush to obsolete parts and the continued double talk to frustrated customers made me loose my taste for all things Kitchenaid.  I have returned to my Sunbeam roots and that is the only brand used in the kitchen.  When the LeChef was introed in the mid 70's I was lucky enough to do some pretesting and a couple recipes in the manual are mine.  The plastic stems for the shredding blades snap under a load but the basic processor is absolutely bullet proof and quiet.

 

[appnut]

Wow.  I've had mine since like 1981 or 1982, my dad got one soon thereafer, they gave it to me for christmas one year.  My original noe is just about shot.  I still have my dads, which I got when they moved out of the house.  And yes, all the shredding/slicing disks are shot.  It pretty much gets used only for bread dough making and chopping.  My little manual got accidentally ripped, I took the FP on vacation to Dallas one year and put the manual in the bowl with the blade cuz I needed some of the recipes.  Needless to say, ....

 

[mixfinder]

Pealed or Peeled?

Bob, I'll keep my eyes out for pieces is parts for your LeChef.  My daughter and family are moving to Dallas so I am taking a trip back to Kansas this week to help her pack since her husband is already in Dallas. I'll drive the Lexus back home since they have decided not to buy it meandering though Omaha, Denver to gather Peter from the airport and then to Las Vegas, Yosemite and back home by the end of the month.  I am looking forward to a trip to Texas soon to make sure they're settled in Saginaw and look for the 'big' stuff Texas is so famous for.

 

Shouldn't you be getting your beauty sleep?

 

[gansky1]

Mmmmmm.  Cheesecake is one of my favorites - and chocolate too!

 

[henry200]

That recipe looks fabulous, and I'm not even a big fan of chocolate! I'll have to try it out on some of my chocoholic friends. My Kitchenaid food processor hasn't let me down yet, and I would never give up my mixer, but my aunt's Mixmaster served her well for 60 years, likewise Mom's little Mixette.

 

[mixfinder]

Flawless

My Kitchenaid processor works like a charm although the polycarbinate of the work bowl etched early on.  I gave mine to one of my daughters along with a blender and gave the remaining complement to my sister.  My criticisma are not at all about the quality of Kitchenaid.  I do believe Bowl-Fit beaters do a superior job to Kitchenaid's paddle when creaming, whipping and aerating. Besides I'm 60 and I don't want to make peace with anything that doesn't thrill me at this advancing age.

 

[frigilux]

You had me at "shortbread crust!" That recipe is a keeper. The photo of it going into the oven is beautiful---all that gleaming stainless steel...

I have a KitchenAid processor (11-cup, I think) which I use for almost everything except bread dough. I use a 14-cup Cuisinart for that job. The KitchenAid is definitely more user-friendly, as you don't have to pull out the food pusher each time you want to take the top off to scrape down the sides of the bowl, as you do with the Cuisinart.

When it comes to the brute strength necessary to knead a dough containing 6-8 cups of flour, the Cuisinart is my go-to processor.

I have a baby Cuisinart for grinding Parmesan or making small amounts of bread crumbs.

 

[vacbear58]

Size matters

Hey Kelly

What was the diameter of the baking pan please?

Al

 

[mixfinder]

I Have 10 Inches!

I have several 10 inch springform pans but this one from West Bend is the deepest so I don't worry about the sour cream layer softening and spilling over the top edge.  I bought a springform pan with a glass bottom that was recommended by ATK but I am under impressed.  I also bought their recommneded tube pan but gave it away because the metal was so heavy the weight of the tube and bottom plate crushed an Angel or Sponge Cake as it was cooling.