DECADENT TRIO CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT CHEESECAKE

Decadent Trio Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake image

This is a really rich and thick chocolate cheesecake. A small piece will go a long way...but I can't promise that you won't still want seconds!

Provided by Nancy Manlove

Time 3h40m

Number Of Ingredients 12

Ingredients

1 tsp vegetable oil
16 oz your favorite chocolate chip cookies, (ready-to-eat), reserving 4 ounces
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate morsels
8 oz milk chocolate morsels
8 oz dark chocolate morsels
1/2 c white granulated sugar
3 c cream cheese, at room temperature
2 c heavy whipping cream
8 Tbsp hazelnut liqueur
1 c sour cream, (optional) for plating/garnish
12 fresh strawberries, (optional) for plating/garnish

Steps:

1. Place a circle of parchment paper cut to fit an 10 inch round spring-form cake pan in the bottom of the pan. Brush the SIDES of the pan with the oil.
2. Place the ready to use cookies in a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin or your hand until in small bits.
3. Place 12 ounces (about 2/3) of the crushed cookies in a bowl and add in the melted butter and stir until well mixed. Press the cookie-butter mixture into the bottom of the parchment lined cake pan. Place the pan in refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
4. Place ALL the chocolate morsels in a metal or glass heatproof bowl and set it over a pan of simmering water to melt. Stir it every few minutes. This steps takes about 15 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and allow it to cool.
5. While chocolate cools, whip the heavy whipping cream in a separate mixing bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks forms. Keep cold and set aside.
6. In another bowl add the sugar and cream cheese and beat until smooth, about 3 minutes. Fold in the cooled chocolate and prepared whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and then stir in the liqueur.
7. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the spring-form cake pan that contains the cookie layer. Smooth the surface. Take the reserved 4 ounces of the crushed cookies and sprinkle them lightly over the entire top of the cheesecake. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.
8. When ready to serve, remove from the refrigerator, then open and remove the sides of the spring-form cake pan and transfer the chilled cheesecake to a cake platter. Cut into slices. Plate each serving portion with a nice dollop of sour cream and strawberries (both optional). Cover and chill any leftovers!